NHL Player News

Lindgren will patrol the home crease versus the Devils on Saturday, Tarik El-Bashir of Monumental Sports Network reports.

Lindgren will get the Opening Night start Saturday, with Logan Thompson backing him up. Lindgren was the No. 1 goaltender in Washington last season, going 25-16-7 with six shutouts, a 2.67 GAA and a .911 save percentage in 50 regular-season appearances. He will face the Devils, who have already played three games (2-1-0) while finding the back of the net nine times thus far.

Ullmark made 30 saves in Thursday's 3-1 win over the Panthers.

Gustav Forsling blasted a shot past him through traffic late in the second period, but otherwise Ullmark was impregnable in his Senators' debut. The 31-year-old netminder won't benefit from working behind the Bruins' stingy defensive system in 2024-25, but he should still be able to post strong ratios while seeing more starts than he did in Boston's strict tandem alongside Jeremy Swayman.

Hellebuyck is going through his usual routine and will defend the home crease versus Chicago on Friday, Mitchell Clinton of the Jets' official site reports.

Hellebuyck won the Vezina Trophy last season and was superb in his first start of the 2024-25 campaign, turning aside all 30 shots in a 6-0 romp over the Oilers. Hellebuyck will face the low-scoring Blackhawks in the Jets' home opener. The Blackhawks were 32nd in NHL scoring last season with 179 goals and started this season with only two goals in their Opening Night loss in Utah on Tuesday.

Bobrovsky turned aside 28 of 30 shots in Thursday's 3-1 loss to the Senators, with Ottawa's final goal getting scored into an empty net.

The two Sens tallies against Bobrovsky both came before the 11-minutes mark of the first period, including a power-play strike through traffic by Tim Stutzle. The 36-year-old goalie stood tall the rest of the way, but the Panthers' offense had trouble solving Linus Ullmark. Bobrovsky is 1-1 with a 3.03 GAA as he settles into the current season.

Luukkonen stopped 20 of 22 shots in Thursday's 3-1 loss to the Kings, with Los Angeles' final goal getting scored into an empty net.

The 25-year-old netminder took a shutout into the third period, but Anze Kopitar snapped a shot top shelf on Luukkonen just 13 seconds into the final frame, en route to a natural hat trick that decided the game. The Sabres' offense has been asleep to begin the season -- they've scored only one goal in each of their first three games, and Thursday's tally came on a shorthanded breakaway by Alex Tuch -- so Luukkonen has had no margin for error, leaving him with an 0-2 record despite a respectable 2.56 GAA.

Kuemper made 32 saves in Thursday's 3-1 win over the Sabres.

Alex Tuch beat him on a shorthanded breakaway in the second period, but even then Kuemper made the initial save only for the Buffalo forward to get enough of a bouncing puck on the rebound to put it into the net. Otherwise, he had an answer for everything the Sabres fired his way. Kuemper is coming off a shaky 2023-24 season with the Capitals in which he stumbled to a 3.31 GAA and .890 save percentage over 33 appearances, but playing behind the Kings' tighter defensive system should have the 34-year-old netminder poised for significant improvement.

Varlamov allowed five goals on 26 shots in Thursday's 5-4 overtime loss against Utah.

Varlamov was far from perfect Thursday night, but the team in front of him didn't do him many favors. The 36-year-old is in his 17th season in the NHL, and he could be in for a big workload to start the campaign -- the Islanders will likely ease Ilya Sorokin into action after undergoing back surgery during the offseason. Varlamov posted a 14-8-4 record with a .918 save percentage and a 2.60 GAA in 28 regular-season appearances in 2023-24. The Russian netminder's next chance to rebound will be Saturday against the Stars.

Ingram allowed four goals on 25 shots in Thursday's 5-4 overtime win against the Islanders.

Ingram was beaten twice at even strength Thursday -- the Islanders' other two goals came on special teams -- one on the power play and one while shorthanded. The 27-year-old could be in store for a career year given the offensive talent that Utah possesses. Ingram went 23-21-3 with a .907 save percentage and a 2.91 GAA in 50 regular-season appearances last season. The Saskatchewan native could draw the start again versus the Rangers on Saturday.

Thompson (personal) returned to practice Friday, according to Sammi Silber of The Hockey News.

Thompson was away from the Capitals all week while tending to a family matter. There is no word as to whether or not he will start Opening Night on Saturday against the Devils or if Charlie Lindgren will get the assignment. Thompson was 25-14-5 with a 2.70 GAA and a .908 save percentage in 46 regular-season appearances for the Golden Knights in 2023-24. He is expected to share the net with Lindgren this season.

Gustavsson stopped 31 of 33 shots in Thursday's 3-2 win over the Blue Jackets.

Gustavsson gave up goals to Kent Johnson and Zach Werenski in the second and third period, respectively, but other than that, he looked solid while opening the campaign with a victory. He's won at least 20 games in each of his previous two seasons with Minnesota, and he should remain between the pipes for Saturday's matchup against the Kraken.