NHL Player News

Wedgewood was the first goalie off Thursday, Emma Lingan of The Hockey News reports, indicating he'll be in the home crease against Dallas.

Since Juuse Saros (lower body) is hurt, Wedgewood will draw the Opening Night start against his former team. Over 32 regular-season appearances with the Stars last year, he posted a 16-7-5 record, 2.85 GAA and .899 save percentage. Saros should take over as the clear No. 1 option at goaltender once he's healthy.

Gustavsson will patrol the blue paint versus Columbus at home Thursday, Michael Russo of The Athletic reports.

Gustavsson gets the Opening Night assignment, and the Wild will begin the regular season with Gustavsson and Marc-Andre Fleury as their goaltending options after Jesper Wallstedt was sent down Thursday. Gustavsson was mediocre last season, as he had a 20-17-5 record, with a 3.06 GAA and an .899 save percentage. He faces lowly Columbus, who finished the 2023-24 campaign with 66 points, the worst in the Eastern Conference.

Primeau is starting Thursday's road game against the Bruins.

Sam Montembeault drew the start in Wednesday's Opening Night matchup against the Maple Leafs and turned aside 48 shots in the 1-0 win. Primeau made 23 regular-season appearances for Montreal last year and recorded an 8-9-4 record, 2.99 GAA and .910 save percentage.

Swayman will defend the home crease versus Montreal on Thursday, per Conor Ryan of The Boston Globe.

Swayman will make his first start of the season after inking an eight-year contract Sunday. The 25-year-old takes over as the No. 1 netminder with the Bruins after sharing the net with the departed Linus Ullmark over the last three seasons. Swayman was outstanding last year, going 25-10-8 with a 2.53 GAA and a .916 save percentage in 44 regular-season appearances. He faces the Canadiens, who beat the Maple Leafs 1-0 on Wednesday, despite giving up 47 shots on goal.

Annunen allowed two goals on four shots after replacing Alexandar Georgiev in the third period of Wednesday's 8-4 loss to the Golden Knights.

Annunen could have a chance to be Colorado's No. 1 netminder if Alexandar Georgiev continues to struggle. Georgiev has appeared in at least 62 games in each of the last two seasons and posted a 3.02 GAA and .897 save percentage in 2023-24. Annunen has only 19 regular-season games of NHL experience, but he sports a career record of 10-5-2 with a 2.68 GAA and a .911 save percentage.

Georgiev allowed five goals on 16 shots in Wednesday's 8-4 loss to the Golden Knights.

Georgiev played the first two frames before being replaced by Justus Annunen in net for the third period. Georgiev looked off starting with the first goal -- he cheated off his post and was beaten cleanly on a short-side shot by Victor Olofsson. Georgiev is an unrestricted free agent after this season, so he should have a lot to prove in order to secure a long-term contract. The Bulgarian netminder's next chance to rebound will come Saturday against Columbus.

Ullmark will be between the home pipes versus Florida on Thursday, Julian McKenzie of The Athletic reports.

Ullmark will get the Opening Night assignment after the Senators dealt with Boston in the offseason to bring in the netminder. Ullmark was 22-10-7 with a 2.58 GAA and a .915 save percentage with the Bruins last year, one season removed from his 40-6-1 Vezina Trophy-winning campaign in 2022-23. Ullmark gets a tough assignment as the Panthers are the defending Stanley Cup champions.

Hill made 28 saves on 32 shots in Wednesday's 8-4 win over Colorado.

Hill was far from perfect Wednesday night, but he was buoyed with eight goals in Vegas' home opener. The 28-year-old has never made more than 35 regular-season appearances since entering the league in 2017-18, so it'll be interesting to see how much work Hill cedes to Ilya Samsonov in 2024-25. Hill's next chance to improve between the pipes will be against the Blues on Friday.

Luukkonen was the first goalie off Thursday, Joe Yerdon of Bleacher Report reports, indicating he'll be in the home crease against the Kings.

Luukkonen drew the start during the first game of the Sabres' Global Series matchups against New Jersey and gave up three goals on 22 shots. He had one of the best years of his career in 2023-24, posting a 27-22-4 record, 2.57 GAA and .910 save percentage over 54 appearances.

Markstrom is expected to start in the home crease for Thursday's game against the Maple Leafs, Amanda Stein of the Devils' official site reports.

Markstrom started in the Devils' Global Series matchup against Buffalo last Friday and turned aside 30 of 31 shots. He'll attempt to remain effective during Thursday's home opener. The 34-year-old posted a 23-23-2 record, 2.78 GAA and .905 save percentage over 48 appearances with Calgary last year.