NHL Player News

Sorokin will defend the home crease versus Toronto on Thursday, according to Stefen Rosner of NHL.com.

Sorokin will make his 14th start in the Islanders' last 15 games. Sorokin is 6-6-1 with a 3.17 GAA and an .884 save percentage since Semyon Varlamov (lower body) last played Nov. 29. Overall, Sorokin is 11-12-4 with a 2.92 GAA and an .898 save percentage. The Maple Leafs have tallied 118 goals in 38 games, 12th-best in the NHL this season.

Kuemper recorded a 33-save shutout in Wednesday's 3-0 win over the Devils.

This game featured the most shots Kuemper has faced since Oct. 14 versus the Senators, but he was up to the task. He earned his second shutout of the campaign, surpassing the total he had across 33 regular-season outings with the Capitals last year (one). The 34-year-old netminder has gone 6-0-2 with just 15 goals allowed across his last eight starts, improving his season numbers to a 10-2-5 record, a 2.29 GAA and a .914 save percentage over 18 starts. The Kings' next game is Saturday at home against the Lightning, which is a tough matchup.

Allen allowed two goals on 23 shots in Wednesday's 3-0 loss to the Kings. The third goal was an empty-netter.

Allen didn't get any help from his teammates as he took his fifth straight loss. Two of his defeats in that span have been shutout losses, but he's also allowed 18 goals during the skid. Allen is down to 5-7-1 with a 2.83 GAA and a .901 save percentage through 13 games this season. The Devils continue their road trip Saturday in San Jose, but that will likely be a start for Jacob Markstrom.

Ersson is day-to-day with a lower-body injury after leaving Tuesday's game versus the Sharks.

Ersson has already been sidelined on two other occasions by lower-body issues this season, so this is not a positive update. Aleksei Kolosov and Ivan Fedotov will handle the goaltending duties until Ersson is cleared to play again, beginning with Thursday's game in Vegas.

Kuemper is expected to start at home against the Devils on Wednesday, according to Zach Dooley of the Kings' official site.

Kuemper has a 9-2-5 record, 2.43 GAA and .907 save percentage in 17 appearances in 2024-25. While the campaign has been largely positive for him, he's been less than ideal over his past four appearances, allowing three goals in each of those outings. The Devils rank eighth in goals per game with 3.30.

Daccord (upper body) didn't participate in Wednesday's practice and will probably miss Thursday's home game against Vancouver, according to Kate Shefte of The Seattle Times.

Daccord is dealing with a lingering injury and is still regarded as day-to-day. He hasn't played between the pipes since Dec. 22. Ales Stezka is with the Kraken and will likely serve as Philipp Grubauer's understudy Thursday.

Allen is expected to start on the road against the Kings on Wednesday, per Amanda Stein of the Devils' official site.

Allen has lost his past four appearances while allowing 16 goals on 114 shots (.860 save percentage). He's 5-6-1 with a 2.89 GAA and an .897 save percentage in 12 outings in 2024-25. The Kings rank 12th in goals per game with 3.14.

Markstrom stopped 23 of 26 shots in Tuesday's 3-2 loss to the Ducks.

Markstrom was beaten once in the first period and twice in the third, including the game-winning goal from Ryan Strome when the Devils had erased a two-goal deficit. This was Markstrom's first loss in regulation since Nov. 27, when he allowed three goals in a 3-0 defeat against the Blues. Markstrom posted an 8-1-1 record through 10 starts in December while posting elite numbers, including a 1.30 GAA and a .937 save percentage.

Merzlikins made 32 saves in regulation and overtime and stopped three of four shootout attempts in Tuesday's 4-3 win over the Hurricanes.

The 30-year-old netminder wraps up 2024 having gone 3-0-1 in his last four starts with a 2.90 GAA and .910 save percentage. Merzlikins has a fairly firm grip on the starting job in Columbus at the moment, largely due to the struggles of Daniil Tarasov (4.23 GAA, .857 save percentage), but Elvis may be playing well enough to get a team in need of help between the pipes to consider taking on his contract, which still has two years and $10.8 million left on it after 2024-25.

Dostal stopped 32 of 34 shots in Tuesday's 3-2 win over the Devils.

Dostal was beaten by Jonas Siegenthaler and Timo Meier in the third period, but a late goal from Ryan Strome allowed the 24-year-old to record back-to-back wins for the second time since the beginning of December. Wins aside, the .941 save percentage he posted Tuesday was among his highest marks of the season from a single-game perspective. Dostal has made five starts in a row for the Ducks, going 3-2-0 with a 2.98 GAA and an .891 save percentage in that span.