Hofer and Vejmelka Share a Double Shutout, Three Canadian Goalies Blank Three Straight at Worlds

NHLVasilevskiy enters the top 50 in career games

Andrei Vasilevskiy’s start in Buffalo on Wednesday, 28 saves in an 8-3 Lightning win, was the 612th regular-season game of his NHL career. That puts him level with Kirk McLean for 50th among goalies all time, according to Hockey-Reference. Benjamin Pierce, the Lightning’s beat writer and manager of media relations, was first to flag it, on X. Two active goalies sit just above him: Semyon Varlamov, 48th with 626, and Connor Hellebuyck, 46th with 630. The next name for Vasilevskiy to catch is Miikka Kiprusoff, 49th with 623. The 32-year-old is already 19th in wins with 379, a spot he took when he passed John Vanbiesbrouck, as we reported in our Oct. 21 edition.

On InGoal: Legs Like Vasilevskiy, and Bauer Pro Chest Protector Goalie Review: Vasilevskiy’s Gear.

NHLWoll, Dostal, Husso, and Vladar on the ‘unconscious’ goaltending Devin Cooley describes

For his Unmasked column on NHL.com, InGoal co-founder Kevin Woodley asked NHL goalies what they make of Devin Cooley’s talk about playing on instinct. Cooley’s version, given to Sportsnet after a win: “my conscious brain is really bad at playing goalie, so I have to let my unconscious brain do the work.” Philadelphia’s Joseph Woll said Cooley simply finds words for what others feel: “Devin’s a really smart dude, so I think he verbalizes his experience very well.” Anaheim’s Ville Husso agreed that overthinking hurts: “You play the best when you are in that flow mode and let the game come to you instead of thinking the game,” and his teammate Lukas Dostal put it as not thinking at all once the flow arrives. Woll’s Flyers teammate Dan Vladar backed the idea but said he wouldn’t talk about it so openly himself: “Obviously less is more, especially when it comes down to your thoughts.” Former NHL goalie Mike Condon, now a mental performance coach, explained the science with an iceberg: the conscious mind is the small part above the water, and trying to steer a learned movement with it is what makes a goalie’s movement “clunky” (Kevin Woodley, NHL.com).

Condon took the same idea further on InGoal Radio in July, in Mike Condon: Mastering the Goalie Mental Game (Ep. 360).

On InGoal: Why Devin Cooley’s Viral “Nothing Matters” Mindset Actually Works for Goalies, and To Slide or Not to Slide with Devin Cooley.

NHLThe Kings wear Kuemper’s 500 games on their T-shirts

The Kings arrived for Thursday’s game against the Islanders in grey T-shirts made for Darcy Kuemper’s 500th NHL game. Each one carried his No. 35, an outline of his home province of Saskatchewan, “500 Career Games,” and the logos of the four teams he played for before Los Angeles: Minnesota, Arizona, Washington, and Colorado. The Stanley Cup he won with the Avalanche in 2022 was drawn inside one of the zeros. “All dressed up for Darcy’s 500th,” the Kings posted. Minnesota took him in the sixth round in 2009; he is now in his third season since returning to Los Angeles and 15th in the league (Anna Kulesa, NHL.com). He is the 10th active goalie to reach 500 games, the NHLPA noted after the game, in which he made 16 saves.

On InGoal: Kuemper on InGoal Radio Episode 287.

NHLFowler’s fifth straight road win ties a Charlie Hodge Canadiens record

Back in Boston, where he played his college hockey at Boston College, Jacob Fowler made 30 saves on Thursday in a 5-2 Canadiens win over the Bruins. He has won all five of his road starts this season, matching the Canadiens mark Charlie Hodge set for consecutive road wins at the start of a season, and NHL.com counts only four other rookies in league history with a run that long. He has a point in each of his last 11 starts, at 9-0-2. “He’s our rock,” forward Kirby Dach said (Sean Farrell, NHL.com).

On InGoal: InGoal Radio Episode 339 with Jacob Fowler, and Jacob Fowler and Apophenia.

NHLKorpisalo and Garand settle into a Rangers tandem

With Dylan Garand expected to start in Vancouver on Friday, the Rangers will have alternated goalies for four straight games, something they couldn’t do for the first 17. Joonas Korpisalo missed the start of the season with a foot infection, and Igor Shesterkin was lost for the season six games in, so the rookie Garand played 12 games in a row. Korpisalo has stopped 54 of 58 shots in his first two games as a Ranger, including the sprawling stop on Zayne Parekh in Calgary on Wednesday that led our Nov. 12 edition, though he said there are parts of his game he still wants to clean up. “I think the benefit of sharing the workload is potentially getting the best version of both guys because they’re both going to see action, but they’re both going to have the ability to recover,” coach Mike Sullivan said, adding that both will get “quality reps” with goalie coach Jeff Malcolm on off days. “I think it could be a real good tandem for us” (Mollie Walker, New York Post).

On InGoal: Garand’s latest Pro Read.

NHLAround the league: Ullmark returns, Lyon’s first start of the season, Hildeby in Columbus, and Rinne in Helsinki

• Linus Ullmark was back in Ottawa’s net on Thursday after nine games out with a lower-body injury, and made 26 saves on 29 shots as the Senators beat Colorado 4-3 on Shane Pinto’s overtime goal (Zoe Pierce, NHL.com).
• Buffalo’s Alex Lyon, hurt in the preseason, came off injured reserve and started for the first time this season, in Chicago, with 22 saves in a game that went to overtime. “Pretty comfortable. I put in a lot of work here in the last couple of weeks,” he said (Bruce Miles, NHL.com).
• Dennis Hildeby stopped 28 of 29 shots in Tampa Bay’s 3-1 win in Columbus, the night after Vasilevskiy’s 612th. “Dennis made some huge saves,” defenceman Charle-Edouard D’Astous said (Craig Merz, NHL.com).
• Days after becoming the first Finnish-born goalie in the Hockey Hall of Fame, Pekka Rinne got a loud ovation in Helsinki when he dropped the ceremonial puck before Carolina and Seattle’s Global Series game on Thursday (Dan O’Leary, NHL.com).

On InGoal: Why Alex Lyon Cradles Confidence Like “Little Baby Bird”, and Linus Ullmark Pro Reads.

CollegeUMass freshman Ethan Eskit is third in the NCAA at .952

UMass lost Michael Hrabal to the pros last spring, and freshman Ethan Eskit has taken over the net. The 20-year-old from Calgary, who played three WHL seasons and went 22-21-9 with a .904 save percentage in 53 games for Victoria last year, has a .952 save percentage, third in the NCAA and first among freshmen. He stopped 88 of 91 shots in a weekend split at Maine and was named Hockey East goaltender of the week. “I think it’s a big confidence boost but at the same time we split Maine, so there’s definitely room for growth,” he said. Freshman Tobias Trejbal, a 2026 Calgary Flames pick, and senior Jackson Irving have each started twice and won their most recent starts, and the Minutemen are 10th in the country at .931 as a team. “Goaltending has been the highlight of our season so far,” coach Greg Carvel said. Eskit on the jump from major junior: “Being an older league where guys are really desperate and doing everything they can every night, that compete is that much higher” (Daily Hampshire Gazette).

InternationalGascon, Osborne, and Desbiens give Canada three straight Women’s Worlds shutouts

Canada used a different goalie in each of its last three group games at the Women’s World Championship in Herning, Denmark, and none of them allowed a goal. Minnesota Duluth’s Eve Gascon, in her first game at a Worlds, made 14 saves in a 9-0 win over Japan on Nov. 8 (The Canadian Press via TSN). That made her the fifth Canadian goalie with a shutout in her first game at a Worlds or an Olympics, after Ann-Renée Desbiens, Shannon Szabados, Kim St-Pierre, and Manon Rhéaume (Pat Laprade, The Hockey News).

The next night, Kayle Osborne needed only six saves in a 10-0 win over Denmark, while Denmark’s Caroline Bjergstad (35 saves) and Aya Juhl Petersen (29) faced 74 shots between them (The Canadian Press via TSN). Then Ann-Renée Desbiens made 25 saves to blank Finland 2-0 on Wednesday, as we reported in yesterday’s edition. Thursday was a rest day. Canada plays Czechia in Friday’s quarterfinals, with Germany–Finland, USA–Denmark, and Sweden–Switzerland the other three (IIHF).

On InGoal: Osborne on InGoal Radio Episode 332, and Smile Between Whistles: the Mental Reset that Fuels Desbiens.

InternationalLudvig Persson blanks Timrå for Växjö in the SHL

In Sweden’s SHL on Thursday, Växjö Lakers goalie Ludvig Persson stopped all 29 shots he faced in a 5-0 home win over Timrå IK, according to the SHL’s game statistics.

JuniorHernandez and Gillham-Cirka share a QMJHL double shutout, McIvor blanks Sarnia

Notable performances in the CHL

• QMJHL: Baie-Comeau’s Mathias Hernandez, 19, and Blainville-Boisbriand’s Nicolas Gillham-Cirka, 18, kept the game scoreless through 65 minutes on Thursday. Hernandez stopped all 40 shots he faced and Gillham-Cirka all 28, and the Drakkar won 1-0 on shootout goals by Robin Benoit and Johannes Dobrovolny. Hernandez was the first star and Gillham-Cirka the second (QMJHL game report).
• OHL: North Bay’s Mike McIvor, 20, stopped all 28 Sarnia shots for his first shutout of the season in a 2-0 Battalion win, and was named the night’s first star (North Bay Battalion). The OHL also gave him its save of the night for a late breakaway stop that kept the Sting off the board (OHL on X).

Have goalie news, a big save, a signing, or a coaching hire? Send it to news@ingoalmag.com.