NHL Player News

Vladar turned aside 19 shots in Thursday's 3-2 overtime loss to Vegas.

The 28-year-old kept the Flyers in the game, but there wasn't much he could do on Mark Stone's OT winner, which stemmed from a Travis Konecny giveaway in his own zone. Vladar has just one regulation loss in his last seven starts, going 5-1-1 with a 2.67 GAA and .900 save percentage over that stretch.

Schmid made 17 saves in Thursday's 3-2 overtime win over the Flyers.

The 25-year-old netminder has taken a back seat to Carter Hart to begin December, but that arrangement may not last long, as Schmid continues to shine when called upon. He's taken just one regulation loss since the beginning of November, going 6-1-4 over his last 11 starts with a 2.13 GAA and .908 save percentage.

Skinner, Brett Kulak and a 2029 second-round pick were traded to the Penguins from the Oilers on Friday in exchange for Tristan Jarry and Samuel Poulin.

Skinner has been a disappointment in goal for the Oilers over the last couple of seasons, and the need to upgrade sends Skinner to Pittsburgh. Skinner should share the Pittsburgh net with Arturs Silovs the rest of the way, barring any injuries. Skinner was 11-8-4 with a pair of shutouts, a 2.82 GAA and an .891 save percentage across 23 appearances with Edmonton this season.

Jarry was traded to the Oilers from the Penguins on Friday, along with Samuel Poulin, in exchange for Stuart Skinner, Brett Kulak and a 2029 second-round pick.

Before the season started, Jarry didn't have much value on the trade market after having been sent down to the minors twice last year. Now, with the British Columbia native having seemingly rediscovered his game, going 9-3-1 with one shutout and a 2.66 GAA over 14 appearances, this move comes as a bit of a surprise since the Penguins are currently holding onto a playoff spot. With Skinner coming the other way, this represents a salary dump for the Penguins, who shed two more years of Jarry at a $5.375 million AAV, while getting back Skinner's expiring deal.

Greaves was stuck with the loss Thursday, turning aside 21 of 23 shots after replacing Elvis Merzlikins late in the first period of a 6-3 defeat at the hands of Ottawa.

Greaves was the better of the two Columbus netminders on the night, but the first goal he allowed after replacing Merzlikins wound up being the game-winner. Greaves has taken three straight losing decisions despite allowing just six goals on 91 shots (.934 save percentage) during that span, and he's 0-3-3 over his last six appearances even though he's posted a respectable 2.78 GAA and .907 save percentage. Merzlikins has a woeful 5.20 GAA and .837 save percentage over his last six outings, so Greaves needs only some consistent offensive support to lock down the top job in the Columbus crease.

Merzlikins gave up three goals on five shots before being replaced by Jet Greaves late in the first period of Thursday's 6-3 loss to the Senators.

Poor rebound control contributed to Ottawa's first tally of the night, but Merzlikins simply got beaten by good shots from Drake Batherson and Tim Stutzle for the final two before being lifted by coach Dean Evason. Merzlikins wound up escaping the loss, but it was another ugly line in the box score for the veteran netminder, who's stumbled to a brutal 5.20 GAA and .837 save percentage over his last six outings.

Saros stopped 24 of 26 shots in Thursday's 7-2 win over the Blues.

Saros had a solid showing between the pipes Thursday, but it's not like he needed to be at his best since the Preds supported him with seven goals, including four from Steven Stamkos. Saros has been playing well lately and has won five of his last six starts, going 5-1-0 with a 2.70 GAA and a .917 save percentage over that span.

Binnington stopped 19 of 25 shots before being replaced in goal by Joel Hofer during the third period of Thursday's 7-2 loss to the Predators.

Binnington gave up a season-worst six goals and also notched his third-worst save percentage in a single game. He's been struggling of late and has posted a save percentage below the .900 mark in each of his last six starts. He owns a 4.51 GAA and an .843 save percentage, as well as a 2-3-1 record, over that stretch.

Gustavsson stopped 16 of 18 shots in Thursday's 5-2 win over the Stars.

Gustavsson made back-to-back starts for the first time since a five-start stretch between Oct. 28 and Nov. 6. He's been sharing the workload between the pipes with Jesper Wallstedt, but Gustavsson's play of late suggests he might be able to recover his No. 1 role in the near future. He has won five of his last seven outings, posting a 1.82 GAA and a .930 save percentage over that span.

Oettinger stopped 27 of 30 shots in Thursday's 5-2 loss to the Wild. The other two goals were empty-netters.

Oettinger saw his run of six straight wins come to an end Thursday, but at least he extended his run of allowing three or fewer goals for a 10th consecutive outing. Over that stretch, the star netminder owns an 8-2-0 record with elite stats, such as a 1.99 GAA and a .926 save percentage.