NHL Player News

Mrazek won't return to Saturday's tilt against Winnipeg after sustaining an undisclosed injury.

Mrazek stopped the four shots he faced in 10:46 of ice time before Arvid Soderblom took over between the pipes. The 32-year-old Mrazek has done alright under difficult circumstances with the Blackhawks, entering Saturday's action with a 7-11-1 record, 2.86 GAA and .905 save percentage across 19 appearances. If Mrazek misses additional time due to his injury, Soderblom will likely receive a much heavier workload.

Varlamov (lower body) won't be in the lineup for Saturday's home matchup against Carolina, according to Andrew Gross of Newsday.

Varlamov will miss his second straight game, and it's unclear if he will be ready to return on the road versus Ottawa on Sunday. Ilya Sorokin will start versus the Hurricanes, and he could face the Senators in the second half of the Islanders' back-to-back, per Gross. Marcus Hogberg has been the backup goalie during Varlamov's absence.

Sorokin is set to start in Saturday's home tilt versus Carolina, per Andrew Gross of Newsday.

Sorokin will attempt to rebound after surrendering four goals on 13 shots in Thursday's 5-2 loss to Seattle. He's 6-7-4 with a 2.62 GAA and a .910 save percentage in 17 outings in 2024-25. The Hurricanes are having a great campaign with a 17-8-1 record, and they rank fourth in goals per game with 3.77.

Binnington will defend the road net versus Edmonton on Saturday, according to Lou Korac of The Hockey News.

Binnington is coming off a 36-save performance in Thursday's 4-3 overtime win over Calgary. He has posted a record of 8-9-2 with one shutout, a 2.87 GAA and a .900 save percentage through 20 appearances this season. Edmonton is tied for 16th in the league with 3.00 goals per game in 2024-25.

Hellebuyck is expected to start on the road against Chicago on Saturday, according to Ken Wiebe of The Winnipeg Free Press.

Hellebuyck stopped 28 of 30 shots en route to a 3-2 overtime win over Buffalo on Thursday, ending his three-game losing skid. He has a 16-5-0 record, 2.14 GAA and .927 save percentage in 21 outings this campaign. The Blackhawks rank 31st in goals per game with 2.42.

Kochetkov is expected to start on the road against the Islanders on Saturday, per Stefen Rosner of NHL.com.

Kochetkov has an 11-3-0 record, 2.58 GAA and .897 save percentage across 15 appearances in 2024-25. He stopped just 16 of 19 shots in his last start Thursday, but the Hurricanes helped him out, leading to a 5-3 victory over Colorado. The Islanders rank 29th in goals per game with 2.48.

Mrazek will be between the home pipes versus Winnipeg on Saturday, per Charlie Roumeliotis of WGN Radio.

Mrazek has lost three straight games, giving up 12 goals on 91 shots. He is 7-11-1 with a 2.86 GAA and a .905 save percentage in 19 outings this season. Mrazek will have a tough matchup against the Jets. Winnipeg sits fifth in the NHL with 3.63 goals per game.

Shesterkin stopped 20 of 22 shots in Friday's 4-2 win over the Penguins.

Shesterkin struggled mightily with a 2-7-0 record, 3.93 GAA and .882 save percentage across nine appearances from Nov. 7-Dec. 2. While we'll never know if there was a direct relation between his contract talks and that slump, he looked good in his first start after signing an eight-year, $92 million contract extension with the Rangers. The 28-year-old will need a few more performances to confirm the slump is in the rearview, but this was certainly a step in the right direction. He's 9-9-1 with a 2.99 GAA and a .908 save percentage in 19 outings overall.

Nedeljkovic stopped 28 of 32 shots in Friday's 4-2 loss to the Rangers.

Nedeljkovic has traded wins and losses in his last four starts, but the numbers haven't been encouraging for the 28-year-old. He's given up at least three goals in three of those four starts while posting a 3.71 GAA and an .878 save percentage. The Penguins have been rotating starters between the pipes lately, and Tristan Jarry should be in line to play Saturday against the Maple Leafs.

Grubauer stopped 33 of 36 shots in Friday's 3-2 loss to the Devils.

Grubauer has made nine starts this season, but the results haven't been encouraging for the 33-year-old German netminder. He has dropped his last six starts over a stretch from Oct. 22-Dec. 6, posting a 3.81 GAA and a disappointing .867 save percentage amid that losing skid. On the season, the 13-year veteran has gone 1-8-0 with a 3.56 GAA and an .870 save percentage.