Daniil Tarasov
Tarasov is Detroit's No. 2 goalie behind John Gibson and has been unusually sharp in a small sample, but he is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury, so his near-term work depends on his health and on Gibson's.
Role
Backup to Gibson on a one-year, $2 million deal signed July 1 (NHL.com). Detroit Hockey Now's lines page (indexed 3 days ago, not fetched) shows the No. 1 job swapping between the two. Tarasov started Oct. 19 and Oct. 20 in Seattle, then went down with an undisclosed injury after the Seattle shootout loss (Ted Kulfan, Oct. 22). Michal Postava was recalled from Grand Rapids and was expected to back up Gibson in Vancouver. Inside the Rink's Oct. 26 Edmonton preview lists Gibson in goal and Tarasov as day-to-day. Gibson left the Vancouver game after two periods with an upper-body injury but was reported back for Calgary (Daily Faceoff via Yahoo). I did not fetch Daily Faceoff's live line page, so the current depth chart is unconfirmed. The injury's severity and a return date have not been reported.
He has a 1.40 GAA and .940 save percentage in four appearances (1-0-2), including a 30-save shutout in a shootout loss to Montreal. Daily Faceoff noted he was getting more starts as a result, with three in Detroit's last five games before the injury. ESPN's tracking data also has his high-danger save percentage at .933 over 15 shots. If Gibson is hurt or struggles, he could keep taking starts.
The sample is four games, and his record is 1-0-2 on a team that started 1-3-2. His track record is weaker: a career .897 save percentage over 98 NHL games before this season, and .895 with Florida last year (NHL.com). Gibson is the established starter, Postava is waiting in the AHL, and a recurring injury could cost him the job. The goal support is also thin, at 1.40 goals per game in his starts.
Where analysts split
Reporting does not show a split between analysts. The open question is how much Tarasov plays when healthy: whether his early results keep him in a near-even tandem with Gibson or he drops back to a standard backup. Neither the injury's severity nor Gibson's health after the Vancouver exit has been resolved in what I found.
Research confidence: reported. Outlooks are grounded in web search over current reporting and refreshed through the season.
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