NHL Player News

Nedeljkovic turned aside 25 of 26 shots on net in Thursday's 6-1 win over the Jets.

Nedeljkovic ended the 2025-26 campaign on the right foot, allowing just one early goal before keeping the Jets off the scoresheet for the final 56 minutes of Thursday's contest. With the win, the 30-year-old netminder finished the season with an 18-14-4 record, a 2.87 GAA and an .896 save percentage across 40 appearances this season. While his first season in San Jose had its ups and downs, he played some of his best hockey down the stretch with a 5-1-0 record, a 2.17 GAA and a .915 save percentage over his final six outings. He will likely compete with Yaroslav Askarov for the starting job next season, but Nedeljkovic will likely receive enough chances in net to remain fantasy relevant in various deep leagues.

Saros made 35 saves in a 5-4 loss to Anaheim on Thursday.

Yes, Saros has had the worst stats of his career this year, but there are only so many miracles that a strong goalie can invoke in front of a team defense as abysmal as the Preds showed this season. He finished 28-21-8 with a 3.13 GAA and .894 save percentage. But those aren't that bad in an era when ".900 is the new .915 or .920", according to fellow netminder, Darcy Kuemper. Saros will get the rest he needs over the summer. Here's hoping the Preds get what they need to tighten things up in front of him for 2026-27.

Grubauer (lower body) is not expected to be available Thursday versus the Avalanche.

Grubauer wasn't named by head coach Lane Lambert in pregame, but the fact that Victor Ostman was indicated to be the starter suggests Grubauer remains out. The 34-year-old Grubauer will finish with a 13-12-4 record, a 2.65 GAA and a .909 save percentage in 32 appearances, his best ratios in five years for the Kraken. He'll be in a contract year in 2026-27. If Grubauer's injury isn't too serious, he could also be a contender to be invited in May to the IIHF World Championship for Germany.

Daccord (lower body) is not expected to play Thursday versus the Avalanche.

Head coach Lane Lambert hinted that Victor Ostman would start, and that makes it likely Daccord will not be in uniform since Ostman is up with the big club under emergency conditions. Daccord will end the season at 20-20-6 with a 3.03 GAA and an .896 save percentage, his worst numbers in three years as a starter for the Kraken.

Ostman will guard the road goal versus the Avalanche on Thursday.

Head coach Lane Lambert didn't specifically name Ostman, but referenced the goalie for the game is making his first appearance. That's true for Ostman, who has spent the bulk of the year in the AHL with Coachella Valley, going 17-14-3 with a 2.77 GAA and a .907 save percentage in 35 games. He came up from the AHL over the weekend to provide depth while Joey Daccord and Philipp Grubauer close out the season on the shelf due to their respective lower-body injuries.

Husso will guard the road goal versus the Predators on Thursday, Brooks Bratten of the Predators' official site reports.

Husso will get the start even though the Ducks still have positioning to play for. He has gone 2-1-1 over his last four games, but he's allowed 16 goals on just 102 shots (.843 save percentage) in that span. The Predators are without a few regulars for their season finale, but Husso will need to do better than he has lately to give the Ducks the best chance of finishing where they want to in the standings.

Saros will guard the home goal versus the Ducks on Thursday, Brooks Bratten of the Predators' official site reports.

Saros will get the nod in the season finale after taking a seat for the Predators' last two contests. He has had the worst year of his career with a 3.13 GAA and an .894 save percentage over 59 appearances. Saros will face a Ducks team that is still hungry to secure better positioning in the postseason, so this won't be an easy matchup.

Vejmelka will start Thursday's home game versus the Blues, per the NHL media site.

The Mammoth are not leaning into the rest concept heading into the postseason, as Vejmelka will make his 11th appearance in 12 contests. That's even with Utah locked into the first wild-card spot and a first-round series versus the Golden Knights. Vejmelka is on a roll, going 7-2-0 with a 3.08 GAA and an .888 save percentage over his last 10 games.

Hofer will guard the road goal versus the Mammoth on Thursday, Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic reports.

Hofer will look to end the season on a high note. He's won four of his last five games, allowing just 13 goals on 157 shots (.917 save percentage) in that span. The Mammoth's lineup hasn't been confirmed yet, but since they're locked into a first-round matchup versus the Golden Knights, they could rotate players out for rest. That would make things a little easier on Hofer if it ends up happening that way.

Nedeljkovic is set to start on the road against Winnipeg on Thursday, per Max Miller of NHL.com.

Nedeljkovic stopped 26 of 28 shots en route to a 3-2 win over Nashville in his last start Monday. He's 17-14-4 with a 2.92 GAA and an .894 save percentage in 39 appearances in 2025-26. Manning the net against the Jets will make this the second time he's reached 40 games played in a regular season. Thursday's action will also be an opportunity for him to complete his sweep of the Jets in 2025-26 after stopping 59 of 61 shots (.967 save percentage) en route to victories over Winnipeg on Nov. 7 and March 1.