NHL Player News

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.

Merzlikins gave up three goals on 26 shots in Thursday's 3-2 loss to the Wild.

Merzlikins was defeated once in each period, and there's nothing he could've done to avoid any of the goals he conceded. This wasn't the start of the season the 30-year-old would've wanted, though wins will certainly be hard to come by while guarding the net of a Blue Jackets team likely to struggle in 2024-25. Merzlikins will aim to secure his first win of the season Saturday on the road against the Avalanche.

Blackwood allowed five goals on 40 shots in Thursday's 5-4 overtime loss to the Blues.

Blackwood was sharp through two periods, but the Blues pushed back in the third and tied the game with three goals in that frame. Brayden Schenn completed the visitors' comeback 45 seconds into overtime. The big takeaway from Opening Night in San Jose is the 40 shots against -- Blackwood and Vitek Vanecek figure to face a lot of rubber behind a lackluster defense this year. In leagues that value saves, that will be a plus, but Blackwood's ratios are going to be unappealing for the majority of fantasy managers, and wins will be hard to come by as well.

Hofer allowed four goals on 29 shots in Thursday's 5-4 overtime win over the Sharks.

Hofer gave up all four goals over the first two periods. He dialed in for the third, allowing the Blues to build a comeback that Brayden Schenn completed 45 seconds into overtime. While this wasn't a great first impression for Hofer in 2024-25, he's still one of the better true backup goalies in the league. The 24-year-old had a 2.65 GAA and .913 save percentage in 30 appearances last season. He'll likely be watching from the bench Friday when the Blues wrap up their season-opening three-game road trip in Vegas, which is projected to be a start for Jordan Binnington.

Swayman blocked 20 of 24 shots and picked up the win in Thursday's 6-4 victory over Montreal.

Swayman didn't have to face too many shots, but Montreal had its fair share of dangerous chances. Two of the four goals could be chalked up to breakdowns by the defense, while the other two were redirects. Swayman, who didn't play during the preseason while involved in a contract dispute, showed some rust in first game action. He and Joonas Korpisalo may have an even split early on until Swayman acclimates to the flow of the game. Boston's next game is Saturday afternoon at home against the Kings.

Talbot appeared in relief Thursday and gave up two goals on 14 shots in a 6-3 loss to the Penguins.

The loss gets saddled on Ville Husso, who was flat-footed to start the game and never recovered. Talbot is 37 years old and on the downslope of his career, but he delivered a 27-20-6 record, 2.50 GAA and .913 save percentage for the Kings last year. With Husso struggling, Talbot and Alex Lyon could carry more of the load in relatively short order.

Husso allowed four goals on 14 shots Thursday before being replaced by Cam Talbot early in the second period. Detroit lost 6-3 to Pittsburgh.

Sure, the Wings D was porous, but at some point, Husso needs to step into the role or leave. It took less than a period for Wings fans to explode in fury on social media with this performance. Husso showed such promise in St. Louis, but has never been able to fulfill it in Detroit. Beware your fantasy bottom line if you rely on him. He could end up at the end of the bench... or worse.

Wedgewood surrendered four goals on 20 shots in Thursday's 4-3 loss to the Stars.

While the Predators' new-look offense controlled play pretty well, the Stars were opportunistic against their former teammate, striking four times in the second period. Wedgewood got the Opening Night assignment because Juuse Saros (lower body) was unavailable. Depending on the length of Saros' absence, Wedgewood may have some short-term fantasy appeal, but he was roughly average last season with a 16-7-5 record, 2.85 GAA and .899 save percentage over 32 appearances.

Oettinger stopped 32 of 35 shots in Thursday's 4-3 win over the Predators.

After a scoreless first period, the Stars erupted for a 4-1 lead after the middle frame. Oettinger let in a couple of goals in the third, but the lead held. After career-worsts in GAA (2.72) and save percentage (.905) over 54 appearances in the 2023-24 regular season, Oettinger will look to bounce back this season. The 25-year-old should see a large share of starts in goal, though he'll likely split this weekend's back-to-back at home with Casey DeSmith. The Stars face the Islanders on Saturday and the Kraken on Sunday.