NHL Player News

Merilainen has been loaned back to AHL Belleville, the Senators announced Sunday.

Merilainen has been the number two goaltender this season behind Linus Ullmark, but the one start he got didn't go so well; he allowed seven goals to a previously struggling Sabres offense in an 8-4 loss. As a result, the 23-year-old is being subbed out for Mads Sogaard from the AHL, where Merilainen is headed in order to regain confidence and get more consistent playing time.

Demko will defend the road net against Washington on Sunday, Tom Gulitti of NHL.com reports.

Demko is coming off a 28-save performance in a 5-3 win over Dallas on Thursday. He has a 2-1-0 record this season while stopping 79 of 85 shots. Washington is riding a four-game winning streak, and the team has potted 14 goals through five games this campaign.

Lindgren will patrol the home crease against Vancouver on Sunday, according to Bailey Johnson of The Washington Post.

Lindgren is coming off a 1-0 shutout win over the Rangers last Sunday, making 35 saves in his first start of the year. He has stopped 44 of the 47 shots he has faced en route to a 1-1-0 record in two previous regular-season appearances versus the Canucks. Vancouver has registered 15 goals across five games this campaign.

Binnington stopped 18 of 19 shots in Saturday's 3-1 win over the Stars.

Binnington was only a few minutes away from posting a shootout, but Mikko Rantanen's deflection at the 17:42 mark of the third period erased those plans. Binnington has won his last two starts, against Vancouver and Dallas, while posting a .938 save percentage over that span and stopping 45 of 48 shots faced.

Oettinger gave up two goals on 21 shots in Saturday's 3-1 loss to the Blues. The third goal was an empty-netter with 1:01 left in the third period.

Oettinger was beaten twice in the second period, via Jordan Kyrou and Jimmy Snuggerud, and by the time the Blues tacked on a third goal, he was already on the bench with the Stars pushing for a late equalizer. This was Oettinger's first loss of the season, but his numbers haven't been eye-popping at all. Through four starts, he owns a 3-1-0 record with a 2.95 GAA and a .905 save percentage.

Montembeault stopped 18 of 22 shots in Saturday's 4-3 loss to the Rangers.

Montembeault has endured a rough start to the season and delivered another woeful showing in this contest. He's given up exactly four goals in his last two starts, but perhaps even more worrisome is that he's posted a save percentage below the .900 mark in three of his four starts to date. Through four contests, the 28-year-old netminder has gone 2-2-0 with a 3.26 GAA and a disappointing .857 save percentage.

Quick stopped 21 of 24 shots in Saturday's 4-3 win over the Canadiens.

Quick made his second start of the season Saturday and earned his first win. His previous start was also a solid outing despite him being tagged with the loss, as he allowed just one goal on 21 shots against the Capitals. Through two starts, Quick owns a .911 save percentage and has stopped 41 of the 45 shots he's faced. He remains firmly in a backup role behind Igor Shesterkin, but the former might be a good matchup-based play given his solid start to the season -- even if he starts only from time to time.

Halverson posted a 31-save shutout in AHL Syracuse's 3-0 win over Rochester on Saturday.

Halverson has won both of his starts at the AHL level this season, allowing just two goals on 47 shots. This was his seventh shutout in the AHL, all of which have come with Syracuse in the last three years since he returned to the level following stints in the ECHL and the German second division between 2020 and 2023. Halverson made a start with the Lightning in 2024-25, but he's unlikely to see significant time with the big club unless one of Andrei Vasilevskiy or Jonas Johansson is injured.

Cooley stopped eight of nine shots in relief of Dustin Wolf in Saturday's 6-1 loss to the Golden Knights.

Cooley played the third period and held his own. The Flames have scored just two goals in Cooley's two appearances -- that's too low to help him have a chance at collecting wins. Wolf remains the starter but has struggled mightily early in the season under a heavy workload, so Cooley may get more looks until Wolf gets on track. Neither goalie is a great fantasy play for the start at home Monday versus the Jets.

Wolf gave up five goals on 19 shots in two periods of Saturday's 6-1 loss to the Golden Knights.

Head coach Ryan Huska pulled Wolf after two frames, allowing Devin Cooley to get some work in mop-up duty. Wolf has lost four straight games, and the Flames have five consecutive defeats since pulling off a comeback win over the Oilers on Opening Night. Wolf's at a 4.30 GAA and an .854 save percentage through five starts. He'll put in better performances eventually, but wins look like they'll be hard to come by -- the Flames are dead last in the NHL with just 10 goals scored through six games. It won't get any easier when the high-flying Jets visit Calgary on Monday.