NHL Player News

Lankinen will draw the road start against Carolina on Friday, Dan Murphy of Sportsnet reports.

Lankinen has seen increased playing time recently while Thatcher Demko (lower body) has been hampered by injuries. Lankinen has had mixed results over his last four appearances, going 1-2-1 with a 3.61 GAA and .884 save percentage during that time. He'll draw the start for the fourth time in five games Friday but will face a tough test against the Hurricanes, who rank third in the league with 3.69 goals per game.

Woll (personal) was activated to the 23-man roster Friday.

Woll's return to the team comes at a good time, considering Anthony Stolarz (upper body) is currently on the shelf. It's unclear when Woll might be given his first start of the NHL season, though he could be in the mix as early as Saturday's road clash with Chicago.

Akhtyamov was assigned to AHL Toronto on Friday.

Akhtyamov was called up by the Maple Leafs to serve as the backup goaltender for Thursday's game against the Kings, but he'll head back to the minors a day later since Joseph Woll (personal) was activated to the roster Friday. Akhtyamov has made six appearances for the Marlies this year, going 4-2-0 with a 2.82 GAA and .894 save percentage.

Montembeault stopped four of six shots Thursday after replacing Jakub Dobes to begin the third period of a 7-0 loss to the Stars.

Neither netminder got much help from their defense, and both goals that Montembeault allowed came from right on his doorstep, as a Dallas player was allowed to bang home a loose puck. Montembeault has started four of Montreal's last six games, more due to Dobes' struggles than anything else, and over that stretch he's gone 2-1-1 with a 3.38 GAA and .872 save percentage.

Dobes gave up five goals on 13 shots before being replaced by Sam Montembeault to begin the third period of Thursday's 7-0 loss to the Stars.

Nothing went right for Montreal in an embarrassing home loss, and while Dobes got lifted after a four-goal second period by Dallas, he was still on the hook for his first regulation loss of the campaign. It's the first time this season the 24-year-old netminder has allowed more than four goals in a start, but his last start Nov. 6 was the first time in 2025-26 he's given up more than three. Over his last four outings, Dobes has stumbled to a 4.05 GAA and .839 save percentage.

DeSmith made 24 saves in Thursday's 7-0 rout over the Canadiens.

The shutout was the first of the season for DeSmith and the 13th of his career. The veteran backup to Jake Oettinger hasn't taken a regulation loss since his first start of 2025-26, going 4-0-1 over his last five outings with a dazzling 1.75 GAA and .933 save percentage, and that level of play has been earning DeSmith a bigger share of the workload of late -- those five starts have come in the Stars' last 10 games.

Greaves stopped 25 of 29 shots in Thursday's 5-4 win over the Oilers.

Greaves was beaten twice in the second period and twice more in the third, but he was able to hold off Edmonton's comeback attempt in the final moments of the game. The 24-year-old has started in each of the Blue Jackets' last three games and might be in a position to take over the No. 1 role from Elvis Merzlikins. Greaves has gone 2-0-1 with a 3.23 GAA and an .868 save percentage over those three games, however, so Merzlikins might still have a shot at seeing regular playing time if Greaves' numbers don't improve substantially in the coming games.

Pickard stopped 20 of 25 shots in Thursday's 5-4 loss to the Blue Jackets.

Pickard was beaten once in the first period, three more times in the second and once more in the final frame. The 33-year-old veteran netminder has been delivering subpar performances of late and has gone winless in his last four outings, going 0-2-1 with a 4.85 GAA and an .821 save percentage over that span. Pickard has posted a save percentage above .900 in just one of his seven appearances this season.

Korpisalo stopped 17 of 21 shots in Thursday's 5-3 loss to the Senators. The fifth goal was an empty-netter with 18 seconds left in the game.

Korpisalo was coming off three straight wins while posting a save percentage above .900 each time. However, that streak ended abruptly in this matchup against the Senators -- a game in which both goaltenders delivered subpar showings. Korpisalo has won only 50 percent of his starts this season, going 4-4-0 with a 3.35 GAA, but perhaps the most worrying sign is that he's posted a save percentage above .910 in just two of those eight outings. It's hard for fantasy managers to trust the 31-year-old Finnish netminder every time he's between the pipes.

Merilainen stopped 18 of 21 shots in Thursday's 5-3 win over the Bruins.

Merilainen posted an .857 save percentage, and while that was a step in the wrong direction compared to his recent two outings, it was enough to earn the win thanks to the support provided by the offense. Merilainen has won each of his last three starts, going 3-0-0 with a 2.33 GAA and a .912 save percentage over that span.