NHL Player News

Skinner stopped 29 of 32 shots in Wednesday's 4-3 overtime win over the Panthers in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals.

Skinner and the Oilers found themselves down 3-1 early in the second period, but the 26-year-old netminder shut the door from there. Leon Draisaitl completed Edmonton's comeback on a power play late in overtime after Florida's Tomas Nosek was penalized for delay of game. Skinner has rattled off five straight wins, allowing a total of eight goals on 137 shots in that span, so he is dialed in at the right time. He's a virtual guarantee to be between the pipes Friday for Game 2.

Skinner will guard the cage at home for Game 1 versus the Panthers on Wednesday, per Jason Gregor of Sports 1440 Edmonton.

Skinner will face off against Sergei Bobrovsky in a rematch of last season's Stanley Cup Finals. Over his last seven outings, the 26-year-old Skinner has recorded three shutouts while posting a 6-1 record and 1.41 GAA. Given his recent performances, Skinner should be given some leash if he puts up a disappointing performance, though Calvin Pickard is waiting for another opportunity and returning from injury.

Bobrovsky is expected to be in the crease on the road for Wednesday's Game 1 clash with Edmonton, Tom Gulitti of NHL.com reports.

Bobrovsky has given up more than two goals in just one of his last nine appearances, posting a 7-2 record, 1.34 GAA and .944 save percentage. The veteran backstop will need to remain at an elite level to get past the star-studded Oilers and lift Lord Stanley's Cup for a second straight year. Barring an injury, Bobrovsky will be the starter for the Cats the rest of the way.

Fanti signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Lightning on Monday, according to PuckPedia.

Fanti played on a minor-league only contract in 2024-25 and appeared in 37 regular-season games with ECHL Orlando, posting an 18-13-5 record, .907 save percentage and 2.71 GAA. He also made seven regular-season appearances with AHL Syracuse this past campaign, going 3-1-0 while registering a stellar .946 save percentage and a 1.45 GAA. The 25-year-old backstop will probably start in the minors in 2025-26, but if he continues to put up solid numbers with the Crunch, he could eventually challenge Jonas Johansson for the No. 2 gig behind Andrei Vasilevskiy.

Bjorklund signed a one-year, two-way contract with Washington on Monday.

Bjorklund posted a 21-4-3 record with a 2.02 GAA and a .927 save percentage in 29 regular-season appearances with ECHL South Carolina in 2024-25. He also went 2-0-0 with a 1.49 GAA and a .942 save percentage in two outings with AHL Hershey during the 2024-25 regular season. The 23-year-old netminder doesn't have any NHL experience yet, and he'll likely spend most of the 2025-26 campaign in the minors.

Kraws was loaned to AHL Texas on Sunday.

Kraws spent most of the 2024-25 regular season with ECHL Idaho, posting a 23-12-5 record with a 2.88 GAA and a .910 save percentage in 40 appearances. He will provide goaltending depth for Texas during the Calder Cup Playoffs.

Skinner made 14 saves in Thursday's 6-3 win over the Stars in Game 5.

Skinner heads back for another run at Lord Stanley after enduring a tumultuous regular season and postseason. There are many who think he'd still be on bench if Calvin Pickard, who took the blue paint earlier in the playoffs, hadn't gotten hurt. However, Skinner has battled, regained his confidence and gotten better. He has won four straight games, including one by shutout, and he heads into the Stanley Cup Finals against Florida with a 6-4 record (10 games) with a 2.52 GAA and .904 save percentage. Three of his postseason wins have come by shutout.

DeSmith stopped 17 of 20 shots in relief after replacing starter Jake Oettinger early in the first period of Thursday's 6-3 loss to Edmonton in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals.

This was DeSmith's first action since April 26 when he replaced Oettinger in Game 4 against the Avalanche in the first round of the playoffs. The Avalanche won 4-0, and DeSmith stopped 13 of 14 shots in that matchup. DeSmith is a good goalie, but the whole team was rattled Thursday, and he allowed a goal 58 seconds after taking the blue paint. DeSmith is signed for two more seasons at $1 million to back up Oettinger, and when he sees playing time, DeSmith will provide steady fantasy contributions in daily formats given the strength of the squad he plays behind.

Oettinger was pulled Thursday in the first period after he allowed goals on each of the first two shots he faced in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals against the Oilers. The Oilers ultimately defeated the Stars 6-3 to take the series.

He was replaced by Casey DeSmith at 7:09 of the first period. Oettinger, who allowed 16 goals in the series, had little chance on either goal allowed. Corey Perry was alone and unmarked in front of goal when he scored a power-play marker at 2:31, and Mattias Janmark scored on a breakaway at 7:09 after being sprung behind the Dallas defense by a couple of seeing-eye passes. Oettinger was far from his stellar self this postseason. He was 1-3 in the first four games of this series with a 3.55 GAA and .869 save percentage, and he was 9-8 through his first 17 starts with a 2.72 GAA and .908 save percentage overall.

Oettinger will protect the home goal versus the Oilers in Game 5 on Thursday, Sam Nestler of DLLS Stars reports.

Oettinger has allowed 11 goals while losing each of the last three games. He has no margin for error now, as the Stars are facing elimination in Game 5. The 26-year-old is 9-8 with a 2.72 GAA and a .908 save percentage over 17 contests this postseason.