NHL Player News

Andersen gave up two goals and made 19 saves in Friday's 4-1 loss to the Lightning.

There's no question this wasn't the start Andersen would've wanted, but on the other hand, he was facing one of the top offensive units in the NHL, so a defeat was well within the realm of possibilities. The result looks worse than his stat line because two of the four Lightning goals were empty-netters late in the game. Andersen went 13-2-0 with three shutouts, a 1.84 GAA and a .932 save percentage in 16 regular-season games last season, and he'll look to bounce back against the Devils on Tuesday.

Vasilevskiy stopped 20 of 21 shots in Friday's 4-1 win over the Hurricanes.

Vasilevskiy conceded the first goal of the game to Jordan Staal but was excellent the rest of the way as the Lightning cruised to a comfortable victory thanks to Nikita Kucherov's natural hat trick. The 30-year-old netminder has reached the 30-win mark in seven seasons in a row, and while he had a down year in 2023-24 by some other metrics, he started this campaign on the right foot. He should be back between the posts when Tampa Bay takes on Vancouver on Tuesday.

Lankinen gave up two goals on 31 shots in Friday's 3-2 shootout loss to the Flyers.

Lankinen put in a steadier effort in this game than Arturs Silovs did versus the Flames on Wednesday. The 29-year-old Lankinen was unable to protect a pair of one-goal leads, and the Flyers won after converting two of their five shootout attempts. For now, the Finnish netminder appears to have a small edge for the starting job in goal, but the Canucks could opt for a timeshare in the crease until Thatcher Demko (knee) can make his season debut.

Ersson allowed two goals on 26 shots in Friday's 3-2 shootout win over the Canucks.

Ersson got the nod in the Flyers' season opener, and he delivered a good performance. The Canucks' first goal came off a bad turnover, but the Flyers were twice erase a deficit before Morgan Frost and Travis Konecny lifted them to victory in the shootout. In 2023-24, Ersson went 23-19-7 with a 2.82 GAA and an .890 save percentage, though his numbers were skewed by a late fade. The 24-year-old should be better prepared for the rigors of a full season this year, though he'll also face competition from Ivan Fedotov for the No. 1 job in goal. Fedotov is expected to play Saturday in Calgary.

Binnington allowed four goals on 28 shots in Friday's 4-3 loss to the Golden Knights.

The Blues didn't have a third straight multi-goal comeback in store Friday, leaving Binnington to drop to 1-1-0 through two starts. The 31-year-old was beat twice by the Golden Knights' top line in the first period, and Shea Theodore and Nicolas Roy had the other tallies. With six goals allowed on 60 shots, Binnington is playing at an acceptable level for early in the season. The Blues' home opener is Tuesday versus the Wild, and it's likely the Ontario native will be between the pipes for that contest.

Hill stopped 19 of 22 shots in Friday's 4-3 win over the Blues.

Hill has won both of his starts this season, but he's allowed seven goals on just 54 shots. The Blues were able to chip away at the Golden Knights' lead at times but fell short of making a third straight comeback rally. Hill is holding onto the starting job, but given his middling play so far, Ilya Samsonov likely won't have to wait much longer for his season debut.

Binnington will be between the pipes in Friday's road game versus the Golden Knights, Matthew DeFranks of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Binnington won his season debut Tuesday in Seattle, stopping 30 of 32 shots. The 31-year-old is poised to remain the Blues' No. 1 goalie throughout 2024-25, though he could be pushed for playing time by backup Joel Hofer, who won in overtime Thursday over the Sharks.

Vasilevskiy will be in goal on the road versus the Hurricanes on Friday, Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

As if there was any doubt, Vasilevskiy will be in goal for the Lightning's first game of the season. The 30-year-old netminder reached the 30-win mark for the seventh year in a row last season, but he also posted a 2.90 GAA and a .900 save percentage in 52 regular-season games, which represent the worst ratios of his career.

Andersen will protect the home goal versus the Lightning on Friday, Cory Lavalette of the North State Journal reports.

Andersen will get the nod as the Hurricanes open the season at home. The 35-year-old went 13-2-0 with three shutouts, a 1.84 GAA and a .932 save percentage in 16 regular-season games last season, but a blood-clotting disorder cost him a large chunk of the campaign. Andersen is expected to share the goaltending duties with Pyotr Kochetkov in 2024-25.

Head coach John Tortorella said before Friday's road game against Vancouver that Ersson will serve as the Flyers' starting goalie.

Ersson was inconsistent during the 2023-24 campaign after taking over as Philadelphia's primary goaltender, and he posted a 23-19-7 record, 2.82 GAA and .890 save percentage over 51 regular-season appearances. The 24-year-old will draw the Opening Night start this year, but Ivan Fedotov could push for playing time if Ersson struggles at some point.