NHL Player News

Talbot will defend the home crease Sunday versus the Maple Leafs, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.

Talbot will get the start in the second half of a back-to-back after John Gibson was in goal for Saturday's 5-2 loss to the Hurricanes. Talbot is 10-6-2 with a 3.00 GAA and an .887 save percentage through 19 appearances this season. The Maple Leafs also played Saturday, picking up a 7-5 win over Ottawa, and they have scored a total of 13 goals in their last two games.

Knight will be between the home pipes against the Penguins on Sunday, per Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times.

Knight has lost four consecutive games in regulation, posting a 2.81 GAA and a .902 save percentage during that stretch. The Penguins have struggled lately, as they have dropped nine of their last 10 games. This matchup is the second half of a back-to-back for Chicago, while this will be the first game for the Penguins out of the holiday break.

Vladar will guard the road goal against the Kraken on Sunday.

Vladar is coming off a 23-save performance in Monday's 5-2 win over Vancouver. He has a 13-5-3 record this season with a 2.39 GAA and a .910 save percentage through 21 appearances. Seattle sits 31st in the league with 2.54 goals per game this year.

Sogaard posted a 31-save shutout in AHL Belleville's 7-0 win over Utica on Sunday.

Sogaard had a fantastic performance, but he also received plenty of support from his offense. This was his first shutout of the campaign and the third of his AHL career. For the season, the netminder is at a 2-6-3 record with a 3.47 GAA and an .885 save percentage. Sogaard could be in line for a call-up to the Senators while Linus Ullmark (personal) is on a leave from the team, though veteran AHL netminder Hunter Shepard has been a little better for Belleville this season and is also on a two-way deal.

Gardner posted a 28-save shutout in WHL Saskatoon's 4-0 win over Regina on Sunday.

This was Gardner's second shutout of the season. He's done okay this year, but not as well as he did in the previous two campaigns. Gardner's at a 13-8-3 record with a 2.93 GAA and an .897 save percentage through 27 appearances. He's earned nine shutouts in his WHL career and is one away from matching his total from the 2024-25 regular season.

Johansson will patrol the home crease against Montreal on Sunday, according to Benjamin Pierce of the Lightning's official site.

Johansson will get the second half of Tampa Bay's back-to-back after Andrei Vasilevskiy played in Saturday's 4-2 win over Florida. The 30-year-old Johansson has a 7-6-1 record with a 2.76 GAA and an .897 save percentage through 15 appearances this season. Montreal is tied for seventh in the league with 3.27 goals per game during the 2025-26 campaign.

Rittich will start Sunday's road contest against the Blue Jackets, Andrew Gross of Newsday reports.

With Ilya Sorokin (lower body) on injured reserve, Rittch will be called upon to shoulder more responsibility. The good news is that the 33-year-old Rittich has been as good of a No. 2 goaltender as they come this season, going 9-3-2 with a 2.25 GAA and a .919 save percentage. The last-place Blue Jackets average 2.89 goals per game.

Lankinen will start Monday's game at Seattle, Ben Kuzma of Postmedia reports Sunday.

Lankinen will make just his second start in eight games Monday night against the Kraken. The 30-year-old has taken a back seat to Thatcher Demko while the latter has been playing at a high level, but it will be Lankinen who will start the second game out of the holiday break. Lankinen carries a 5-10-3 record, 3.51 GAA and .880 save percentage into the matchup with Seattle, who will be on the second of a back-to-back.

Pickard will defend the road net against Winnipeg on Monday, Oilers play-by-play announcer Jack Michaels reports.

Pickard will return to the crease after Connor Ingram started three straight games, including Saturday's 3-2 loss to Calgary. The 33-year-old Pickard has a 3-5-2 record this season with a 3.93 GAA and an .861 save percentage through 13 appearances. Winnipeg ranks 21st in the league with 2.92 goals per game this year.

Ullmark (personal) was granted a leave of absence Sunday from the team for personal reasons.

It's unclear how long Ullmark will be away from the Senators. He has posted a 14-8-5 record with one shutout, a 2.95 GAA and an .881 save percentage through 28 appearances this season. In Ullmark's absence, Ottawa could recall Mads Sogaard or Hunter Shepard from AHL Belleville to compete for starts with Leevi Merilainen.