NHL Player News

Ersson will patrol the visiting crease in Minnesota on Saturday, Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports.

Ersson is 1-1-0, allowing seven goals on 43 shots, over two appearances since returning from an 11-game absence due to a lower-body injury. Ersson is 6-3-2 with a 2.85 GAA and an .893 save percentage across 13 outings this season. He will face the Wild, who are averaging 3.14 goals per game in 2024-25.

Oettinger stopped 22 of 25 shots in Thursday's 4-1 loss to the Predators, with Nashville's final goal getting scored into an empty net.

Dallas out-shot the visitors 36-25 on the night, but Stars skaters had trouble solving Justus Annunen in the other crease, while Oettinger gave up all three of his goals in a three-minute stretch during the second period. The 25-year-old netminder has dropped three of his last four decisions, but he's gone six straight starts without allowing more than three tallies, posting a 2.54 GAA and .906 save percentage over the latter stretch.

Ullmark will defend the road crease in Carolina on Friday, according to Cory Lavalette of the North State Journal.

Ullmark has been sensational of late, as he has won his last three games, giving up only three goals on 89 shots (.966 save percentage). Overall, the 31-year-old netminder is 8-7-2 with one shutout, a 2.70 GAA and a .903 save percentage. Ullmark will have a tough matchup, as the Hurricanes are third in scoring, averaging 3.71 goals per game in 2024-25.

Annunen turned aside 35 shots in Thursday's 4-1 win over the Stars.

The 24-year-old was impressive en route to his first win since being traded to Nashville, with Lian Bichsel spoiling his shutout bid midway through the third period. Annunen was a victim of Colorado's defensive struggles earlier in the season, but in two appearances since being shipped to Nashville, he's allowed only three goals on 65 shots for a .954 save percentage while backing up Juuse Saros.

Sorokin made 26 saves in Thursday's 5-4 win over Chicago.

The Islanders seemed to have things well in hand when they took a 5-1 lead midway through the third period and chased Arvid Soderblom from the game, but the visitors caught fire late and scored the final three goals of the night, including two by Tyler Bertuzzi in the final 70 seconds. Since Semyon Varlamov (lower body) has been sidelined since late November, Sorokin has started seven straight games, going 4-2-1 with a 2.54 GAA and .911 save percentage. He could be feeling some fatigue, but it's not clear if the Islanders trust backup Marcus Hogberg enough to give Sorokin a breather.

Commesso turned aside both the shots he faced after replacing Arvid Soderblom midway through the third period of Thursday's 5-4 loss to the Islanders.

It was the first NHL action of Commesso's career, and the 22-year-old netminder nearly got rewarded with a win when Chicago almost rallied from a 5-1 deficit. Petr Mrazek (groin) isn't expected back for at least another week, and with the team playing back-to-back games this weekend, Commesso seems likely to get his first NHL start either Saturday in New Jersey or Sunday back at home in a rematch with the Isles.

Soderblom gave up five goals on 19 shots before being replaced by Drew Commesso midway through the third period of Thursday's 5-4 loss to the Islanders.

New York scored three goals in under three minutes in the final frame to surge out to a 5-1 lead, and while Soderblom wasn't necessarily to blame for any of them, Chicago interim coach Anders Sorensen decided to send a message to his team by getting out his hook. The move almost worked, but Chicago's comeback attempt ran out of time. The 25-year-old goalie has appeared in four of six games to begin December, going 1-3-0 with a 3.35 GAA and .872 save percentage, but with Petr Mrazek (groin) likely out for another week or more, Soderblom will likely continue to hold down the top job in the crease.

Markstrom stopped 12 shots in Thursday's 3-1 win over the Kings.

Los Angeles grabbed a 1-0 lead late in the second period on a Jordan Spence one-timer, but for the most part, Markstrom was unbothered in the New Jersey crease. The veteran netminder has gone five straight starts without taking a regulation loss, going 4-0-1 over that stretch with a 1.98 GAA and .914 save percentage, and Markstrom's 14 wins on the season have him tied for second in the NHL behind Connor Hellebuyck's 18.

Rittich made 23 saves in Thursday's 3-1 loss to the Devils.

The Kings were thoroughly outplayed all night, managing to get only 13 shots on net against Jacob Markstrom, but Rittich kept his squad in the game until Jack Hughes broke a 1-1 tie with about seven minutes left in the third period. It was only the second time since the beginning of November that Rittich had allowed more than two goals, and over his last 12 appearances, he's gone 7-4-0 with a 2.16 GAA and .902 save percentage. However, since Darcy Kuemper is healthy again, Rittich seems ticketed to return to the No. 2 role.

Hildeby was recalled by the Maple Leafs on an emergency basis Friday, Darren Dreger of TSN reports.

Anthony Stolarz exited Thursday's game against the Ducks due to a lower-body injury, and the Maple Leafs are still awaiting the results of testing to determine the extent of the issue. Hildeby will join the NHL club to provide additional depth in the net, but Joseph Woll will likely serve as the No. 1 netminder if Stolarz is forced to miss time.