NHL Player News

Vasilevskiy and the Lightning won't play at home against the Hurricanes on Saturday after the game was postponed due to the effects of Hurricane Milton.

Although Saturday's game has been called off, the Lightning are still scheduled to begin the regular season on the road against Carolina on Friday, and Vasilevskiy seems likely to draw the start in the crease. Over 52 regular-season appearances last year, the 30-year-old posted a 30-20-2 record, 2.90 GAA and .900 save percentage.

Hofer was the first goaltender off the ice at morning skate, Matthew DeFranks of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports, and will defend the visiting crease in San Jose on Thursday.

Hofer was on the bench Opening Night as Jordan Binnington picked up the start in Seattle. Hofer appeared in 30 regular-season games in 2023-24, registering 15 wins, a 2.65 GAA and a .913 save percentage. The netminder will face the Sharks, who scored only 181 goals in 82 contests last season -- 31st overall in the NHL.

Kahkonen was placed on waivers Thursday, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.

The Jets will send Kahkonen to AHL Manitoba if he is not claimed. Kahkonen was in a battle with Eric Comrie for the back up spot behind Connor Hellebuyck in Winnipeg and he was unable to unseat Comrie. Kahkonen was 7-24-2 with a 3.64 GAA and an .898 save percentage in 37 regular-season appearances split between San Jose and New Jersey last season.

Merzlikins will get the starting nod on the road against the Wild on Thursday, Jeff Svoboda of the Blue Jackets' official site reports.

Merzlikins has reached the 20-win mark in just one of his five NHL seasons and likely will struggle to get to that threshold this year as well. If the 30-year-old backstop continues to underwhelm, he could see Daniil Tarasov stealing starts away from him down the stretch.

Ingram will serve as the starting goalie for Thursday's road matchup against the Islanders, Cole Bagley of KSL Sports reports.

Ingram drew the start in Utah's Opening Night win over Chicago and turned aside 24 of 26 shots. While Karel Vejmelka could have some opportunities to compete for playing time as the season progresses, Ingram will draw a second consecutive start to begin the regular season.

Kuemper was the first goalie off Thursday, Heather Engel of NHL.com reports, indicating he'll be in the road crease for the Kings' regular-season opener against the Sabres on Thursday.

Kuemper spent the last two seasons in Washington, and he had one of the worst years of his career during the 2023-24 campaign, posting a 13-14-3 record, 3.31 GAA and .890 save percentage over 33 regular-season appearances. However, the 34-year-old had a strong preseason and will begin the regular season as the Kings' top goalie.

Bobrovsky will defend the road crease in Ottawa on Thursday, Jameson Olive of the Panthers' official site reports.

Bobrovsky will make his second consecutive start to begin the 2024-25 campaign. Bobrovsky gave up four goals on 28 shots in a 6-4 win over Boston on Opening Night. The 36-year-old will face the Senators, who were 14th in the Eastern Conference standings last season with 76 points.

Head coach Spencer Carbery said Thursday that Thompson (personal) is expected to return to practice Friday, Tom Gulitti of NHL.com reports.

Thompson has been away from the team in recent days while tending to a family matter, but he should be back on the ice Friday. It's not yet clear whether he'll be available for Opening Night against the Devils on Saturday, but it appears as though he'll return to game action early in the season.

The Wild reassigned Wallstedt to AHL Iowa on Thursday.

Minnesota had only six healthy defensemen since Declan Chisholm is out with an illness, so they demoted Wallstedt, who was set to be the Wild's third goaltender Thursday, and they promoted Daemon Hunt as their seventh defenseman. Wallstedt is expected to see plenty of action at the NHL level this season, as the Wild are likely to share the net between Wallstedt, Filip Gustavsson and Marc-Andre Fleury, unless one of the threesome gets hot. Wallstedt should make approximately 25-30 appearances this year, as he is the Wild's goaltender of the future.

Oettinger will get the Opening Night start on the road versus Nashville on Thursday, according to Stars radio analyst Bruce LeVine.

Oettinger is expected to handle the majority of the starts for the Stars this season, with Casey DeSmith backing him up. Oettinger finished last season with 35 wins, his third consecutive season with at least 30 victories in the regular season. Oettinger will face the Predators, who will start Scott Wedgewood, Oettinger's backup in Dallas last season.