NHL Player News

Vasilevskiy will defend the visiting crease in Calgary on Thursday, Gabby Shirley of FanDuel Sports Network Florida & Sun reports.

Vasilevskiy will play in his 500th NHL game, becoming the 83rd goaltender in NHL history to hit the mark. He is 12-9-1 with a pair of shutouts, a 2.39 GAA and a .910 save percentage in 22 games this season, making everyone forget about his injury-filled season in 2023-24, when he had a 2.90 GAA and a .900 save percentage across 52 appearances. The Flames are 26th in league scoring, averaging 2.59 goals per game in 2024-25.

Lankinen was the first goalie off Thursday, Brendan Batchelor of Sportsnet 650 reports, indicating that he'll draw the home start against Florida.

Lankinen got the night off Tuesday against the Blues, but he'll draw the start for the sixth time in the Canucks' last seven games Thursday. Across his last five outings, he's posted a 3-1-1 record, 2.91 GAA and .905 save percentage. The 29-year-old netminder will likely have his hands full Thursday, as the Panthers rank fifth in the NHL with 3.66 goals per game.

Binnington was the first goalie off Thursday, Lou Korac of NHL.com reports, indicating he'll draw the start at home against San Jose.

Binnington struggled during his last start, turning aside 17 of 21 shots (.810 save percentage) in a loss to Edmonton on Saturday. However, he's had decent results overall in recent outings, posting a 3-2-1 record, 2.31 GAA and .921 save percentage across his last six appearances. The 31-year-old netminder will have a favorable opportunity to bounce back Thursday, as the Sharks have scored just 2.71 goals per game this year.

Pickard will defend the road cage against the Wild on Thursday, Jessi Pierce of NHL.com reports.

Pickard is actually riding a two-game winning streak during which he posted a .887 save percentage, but he has played in only two of the Oilers' last nine contests. While he won't be taking over Stuart Skinner's starting job any time soon, Pickard could play his way into a larger share of the workload if he can string some wins together.

Wedgewood will patrol the home crease versus Utah on Thursday, Adrian Hernandez of Mile High Hockey reports.

Wedgewood will make his third straight start as the Avalanche return home from a five-game road trip. Wedgewood has allowed only two goals on 52 shots in wins over Pittsburgh and New Jersey, raising his record to 4-3-1 across nine appearances this season. He will face Utah, who are averaging 2.96 goals in 2024-25.

Georgiev will defend the road crease during Thursday's game against St. Louis, Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now reports.

Georgiev was traded from the Avalanche to the Sharks on Monday, and he'll make his first appearance in his new uniform on the road Thursday. Over 18 starts with Colorado to begin the year, he went 8-7-0 with a 3.38 GAA and .874 save percentage.

Vladar will defend the home crease versus Tampa Bay on Thursday, Pat Steinberg of Sportsnet 960 The Fan reports.

Vladar will make his fifth start in the last six games as Dustin Wolf seems to be second on the depth chart of late. Vladar is 2-0-1 in his last three games, stopping seven of 60 shots. He has a tough matchup versus Tampa Bay as the Lightning are second in NHL scoring, averaging 3.81 goals in 2024-25.

Jarry was the first goalie off the ice Thursday, Penguins play-by-play announcer Josh Getzoff reports, indicating he'll be between the pipes on the road versus Montreal.

Jarry had started to look better of late, going on a four-game winning streak from Nov. 27 through Dec. 7, but the wheels came off versus Colorado on Tuesday. In that outing, the 29-year-old backstop gave up five goals on 26 shots (.808 save percentage) in an underwhelming performance that included some goals that Jarry will no doubt want back. Still, at this point, the Pens seem content to ride Jarry the rest of the way in the hopes of either getting him back to being an All-Star caliber netminder or improving his potential trade stock.

Allen (upper body) will not be an option against Los Angeles on Thursday after head coach Sheldon Keefe told reporters, " [Allen] skated this morning, which is positive. He won't backup tonight; we'll see where he's at going into practice tomorrow and make a determination from there," per Mike Morreale of NHL.com.

Allen has played in just two of the Devils' last eight contests, dropping both results while posting a 4.75 GAA. Youngster Isaac Poulter will remain up with the NHL club to serve as the backup behind Jacob Markstrom heading into Thursday's tilt and beyond.

Hellebuyck will be in the home blue paint versus Vegas on Thursday, Stars radio analyst Bruce LeVine reports.

Hellebuyck has won three straight games and has not allowed more than three goals in his last nine starts, going 6-3-0 with a 2.00 GAA and a .927 save percentage. Hellebuyck leads the NHL with 18 wins, four better than Jake Oettinger and Filip Gustavsson. Hellebuyck will face the Golden Knights, who are scoring 3.50 goals per game in 2024-25.