NHL Player News

Saros will protect the road goal versus the Blackhawks on Friday, Brooks Bratten of the Predators' official site reports.

Saros earned his first win and shutout of the season in a 4-0 victory over the Bruins on Tuesday. The 29-year-old was not immune from the Predators' rough start, but things may even out now that the team has had a taste of success. It'll help that Saros has a fairly easy matchup for Friday's outing.

Soderblom is battling an illness and won't suit up Friday versus the Predators, Mark Lazerus of The Athletic reports.

The news of Soderblom's illness explains why the Blackhawks called up prospect goalie Drew Commesso prior to Friday's game. It's unclear if Soderblom will be healthy enough to start Saturday in Dallas -- if not, Commesso may get the second half of a back-to-back after Petr Mrazek starts Friday.

Commesso was called up from AHL Rockford on Friday.

Commesso's recall is an interesting one, as Petr Mrazek or Arvid Soderblom may be dealing with some sort of issue, though the team has not revealed anything. The 22-year-old Commesso is considered a potential goalie-of-the-future for the Blackhawks, but he has yet to make his NHL debut, and it's unclear if he will during this stint with the big club.

Hill will serve as the starting goaltender for Friday's home game against the Senators, Jesse Granger of The Athletic reports.

Hill will make his first start in over a week after taking losses in his last two outings. The 28-year-old hasn't had a particularly strong start to the season, recording a 2-2-0 record, 3.81 GAA and .851 save percentage. He'll face a tough test against the Senators, who have averaged 3.67 goals per game over their first six games of the year.

Ullmark (strain) will be between the pipes for Friday's road game against Vegas, Steve Lloyd of TSN 1200 Ottawa reports.

Ullmark was officially expected to return to action Tuesday in Utah, but he needed a few extra days to recover. However, head coach Travis Green confirmed before Friday's matchup that Ullmark would be in the road crease against the Golden Knights, putting an end to his four-game absence. Over his first two starts of the season, he recorded a 1-1-0 record, 2.59 GAA and .914 save percentage.

Varlamov is slated to start on the road against Florida on Saturday, per Stefen Rosner of NHL.com on Friday.

Varlamov has a 1-1-1 record, 3.26 GAA and .868 save percentage across three appearances in 2024-25. He'll be playing in the second half of a back-to-back after Ilya Sorokin gets the assignment in Friday's road game versus the Devils. The Panthers are in a three-way tie for 18th offensively with 3.00 goals per game this season.

Sorokin will start in the road crease during Friday's matchup against New Jersey, Andrew Gross of Newsday reports.

Sorokin has drawn starts in three of the Islanders' last four games, posting a 1-1-1 record, 1.33 GAA and .947 save percentage. He hasn't picked up a win since his season debut against Colorado on Oct. 14 but will attempt to bounce back against the Devils, who have scored 35 goals over 10 games to begin the season.

Blomqvist will start Friday's road game against the Oilers, Penguins play-by-play announcer Josh Getzoff reports.

Blomqvist didn't start in either of Pittsburgh's last two games, but he'll be in the crease for the first half of a back-to-back Friday. Over his four starts this season, the 22-year-old has posted a 2-2-0 record, 3.16 GAA and .908 save percentage.

Lyon will protect the visiting crease in Buffalo on Saturday, Daniella Bruce of the Red Wings' official site reports.

Lyon has been sharing the net with Cam Talbot thus far in the early going. Lyon is coming off a 1-0 shutout win over the Islanders on Tuesday, stopping 29 shots. He is 2-1-0 with a 1.46 GAA and a .955 save percentage in four appearances this season. The Sabres have found the back of the net 25 times in eight games.

Head coach John Tortorella said Friday that Ersson will be in the home crease for Saturday's game against Minnesota, Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports.

Ersson has started in five of the Flyers' first seven games of the season, posting a 1-2-1 record, 3.22 GAA and .886 save percentage. He'll draw the start in the first half of a back-to-back Saturday, while it wouldn't be surprising to see Ivan Fedotov start Sunday's home matchup against Montreal.