NHL Player News

Ullmark will start Thursday's home game against the Lightning, TSN 1200 Ottawa reports.

Ullmark snapped a three-game winning streak Tuesday against the Sabres by allowing four goals on 21 shots (.810 save percentage), but he'll start in a second consecutive game Thursday. He made a road start against the Lightning on Feb. 4 and turned aside 34 of 37 shots (.919 save percentage) en route to the loss.

Merzlikins will defend the home crease versus Colorado on Thursday, Jeff Svoboda of the Blue Jackets' official site reports.

Merzlikins has won three straight games despite allowing 14 goals on 98 shots (.867 save percentage). Overall, the 30-year-old netminder is 25-15 with one shutout, a 3.11 GAA and an .894 save percentage. The Avalanche are generating 3.30 goals per game, which ranks sixth in the NHL this season.

Andersen made 20 saves in Wednesday's 5-1 win over the Capitals.

The one puck to get past him came via an Alex Ovechkin one-timer on the power play in the final minute of the second period. Andersen has won seven straight starts, posting a dazzling 1.43 GAA and .942 save percentage over that stretch, and he's been the better of Carolina's netminder of late -- since the beginning of March, Pyotr Kochetkov has a 2.57 GAA and .895 save percentage in his seven outings.

Lindgren turned aside 17 of 19 shots after replacing Logan Thompson (upper body) to begin the second period of Wednesday's 5-1 loss to the Hurricanes.

Neither Washington goalie saw much success in this one, but the loss went on Thompson's ledger. Lindgren has allowed three goals or fewer in all seven of his outings since the beginning of March, going 4-2-0 with a 2.54 GAA and .898 save percentage over that span while working in a timeshare with Thompson. Lindgren's workload would be set to increase dramatically if the other netminder's injury proves to be serious.

Shesterkin stopped 20 shots in Wednesday's 5-4 overtime win over the Wild.

The teams traded goals through the first 40-plus minutes, with Marco Rossi taking advantage of a Rangers turnover just 22 seconds into the third period to tie the game at 4-4, but Shesterkin stood tall the rest of the way and got rewarded when Artemi Panarin found Vincent Trocheck for the OT winner. Shesterkin has only two wins in his last seven starts, going 2-4-1 with a 3.35 GAA and .893 save percentage, and he may need to turn things around if the Rangers are going to make the playoffs -- they're currently tied with the Canadiens at 79 points for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, but Montreal has a game in hand.

Gustavsson made 34 saves in Wednesday's 5-4 overtime loss to the Rangers.

The teams traded tallies through two-plus periods, with Marco Rossi tying the game at 4-4 just 22 seconds into the third frame, and Gustavsson and Igor Shesterkin both stood tall to close out regulation. The Minnesota netminder got caught in OT, however, as Artemi Panarin's shot-pass slipped right under Gustavsson's pad to be tapped home by Vincent Trocheck. Gustavsson is 1-2-2 over his last five starts with a 3.16 GAA and .899 save percentage, a swoon which has prevented the Wild from pulling away in the race for a wild-card spot in the Western Conference.

Daccord recorded a 24-save shutout in Wednesday's 5-0 win over the Canucks.

Daccord was stout between the pipes, earning the fifth shutout of his career, two of which have come this season. He's had mixed results more recently -- he allowed at least three goals in nine of his 11 appearances in March. With the win, Daccord reached the 25-win mark for the first time in his career. He's at a 25-20-5 record with a 2.66 GAA and a .909 save percentage over 52 appearances. The Kraken's next game is on the road Saturday at San Jose, which would be a favorable matchup should Daccord get the start.

Demko allowed four goals on 18 shots in Wednesday's 5-0 loss to the Kraken. The fifth goal was an empty-netter.

This was essentially a must-win game for the Canucks, but the whole team fell flat. Demko is now 2-2-0 with 12 goals allowed over his last four outings since returning from a lower-body injury. The 29-year-old is 8-8-3 with a 2.90 GAA and an .888 save percentage over 21 starts this season. The Canucks aren't mathematically out of the playoff race yet, but they're eight points back with one game in hand after this contest. Demko could be rested once they're eliminated, as he's had a rough season between poor performance and injuries. He'll likely start one of the next two games, as the Canucks host the Ducks on Saturday and the Golden Knights on Sunday.

Knight stopped 29 of 31 shots in Wednesday's 3-2 shootout loss to the Avalanche.

Knight had a shutout going through two periods, but he gave up goals to Cale Makar and Martin Necas in the third. The 23-year-old Knight then yielded two tallies on three attempts in the shootout. On the bright side, he allowed fewer than four goals for the first time in four games, but he's still 1-6-1 over his last eight outings. Knight is at 15-14-2 with a 2.62 GAA and a .902 save percentage over a career-high 33 appearances this season. The Blackhawks have a tough matchup Friday against the Capitals, so the netminder should probably be avoided in fantasy until Sunday's game versus the Penguins, assuming he gets that start.

Wedgewood stopped 22 of 24 shots in Wednesday's 3-2 shootout win over the Blackhawks.

Things weren't looking good for the Avalanche -- they trailed 2-0 after two periods. Goals by Cale Makar and Martin Necas erased the deficit, and Wedgewood stopped two of three shootout attempts to come away with his sixth win in seven outings. The 32-year-old netminder is up to 12-6-2 with a 2.35 GAA and a .909 save percentage across 22 appearances. This was Wedgewood's second start in a row, but there's been no indication from the Avalanche that Mackenzie Blackwood is unavailable even after the team recalled Kevin Mandolese on Wednesday. Head coach Jared Bednar did not reveal his starter for Thursday's game in Columbus after Wednesday's contest.