NHL Player News

Romanov will defend the road crease versus the Ducks on Thursday, Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now reports.

Romanov played in two NHL games last season in which he faced 30 shots, making 29 saves without registering a win. Even if Romanov hangs around training camp a little longer, he is not expected to make the Sharks' Opening Night roster, especially with three NHL-caliber backstops ahead of him on the depth chart.

Stolarz is set to guard the home net in Thursday's preseason clash against Montreal, per Mark Masters of TSN.

Stolarz stopped 15 of 16 shots across 30 minutes in a 2-1 loss to Ottawa on Tuesday. It's not clear if Stolarz is scheduled to serve for the full three periods of Thursday's exhibition game, but Matt Murray is the other netminder who will dress. Stolarz and Joseph Woll are set to enter the season in a close competition for starts.

Lyon is expected to start at home in Friday's preseason game against Chicago, Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press reports Thursday.

Lyon had a 21-18-5 record, 3.05 GAA and .904 save percentage in 44 regular-season contests in 2023-24. The plan is for Lyon to serve for two periods Friday before Cam Talbot steps in for the third frame. Talbot is projected to be the Red Wings' No. 1 goalie in 2024-25, but with Lyon and Ville Husso also set to make the team, it's going to be difficult for any one netminder to rack up a lot of starts in Detroit.

Ullmark is expected to start at home in Thursday's preseason game against Buffalo, per Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia.

Ullmark posted a 22-10-7 record, 2.58 GAA and .915 save percentage in 40 contests with the Bruins in 2023-24. He was dealt to Ottawa over the summer and is set to begin the campaign as the Senators' clear No. 1 goaltender. Anton Forsberg will likely enter the season as the backup netminder, but Mads Sogaard is also challenging for the role of Ullmark's understudy.

Sandstrom will guard the cage on the road versus Ottawa on Thursday, Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald reports.

Sandstrom is expected to play the full game Thursday while Scott Ratzlaff serves as the No. 2 option. In limited action last year, the 27-year-old Sandstrom went 1-2-0 with a 3.88 GAA and .823 save percentage for the Flyers. Given the Sabres' goaltending depth, Sandstrom will almost certainly start the year in the minors with AHL Rochester, likely splitting the workload with Devon Levi.

Ersson will be between the pipes at home versus the Islanders on Thursday, Bill Meltzer of NHL.com reports.

Ersson saw action in 51 games last season in which he posted a 23-19-7 record, 2.82 GAA and four shutouts. With Ivan Fedotov having signed a new contract in the offseason, the 24-year-old Ersson will face significant pressure to maintain the top job in the City of Brotherly Love. As such, it seems unlikely Ersson will get back over the 50-game mark this upcoming season.

Patera will start in goal for Wednesday's preseason game versus the Flames in Abbotsford, British Columbia, Jeff Paterson of CanucksArmy.com reports.

Patera went 11-10-4 with a 2.99 GAA and a .903 save percentage over 25 games with AHL Henderson last year. He was also 1-3-1 with a 3.98 GAA and an .893 save percentage in six NHL contests with the Golden Knights. Patera signed a two-year deal to bolster Vancouver's goaltending depth, but he is likely no higher than fourth on the depth chart when everyone else is healthy.

Johansson will protect the home goal in Wednesday's preseason game versus the Panthers, Erik Erlendsson of LightningInsider.com reports.

Johansson will get his first preseason action in this game. The 29-year-old enters 2024-25 as the presumed backup to Andrei Vasilevskiy. Johansson appeared in a career-high 26 games last year, going 12-7-5 despite a 3.37 GAA and an .890 save percentage.

Merzlikins will guard the home goal in Wednesday's preseason game versus the Blues, Mark Scheig of The Hockey Writers reports.

Merzlikins will be making his preseason debut in this contest. The 30-year-old goalie had another rough campaign in 2023-24, posting a 3.45 GAA and an .897 save percentage while going 13-17-8 over 41 appearances. Due to his $5.4 million cap hit, Merzlikins is projected to be the Blue Jackets' top goalie to begin this season.

Driedger is set to start in Wednesday's road preseason game against Tampa Bay, per George Richards of Florida Hockey Now.

Driedger had a 2.26 GAA and a .917 save percentage in 39 contests with AHL Coachella Valley in 2023-24. He also posted a record of 1-1-0 with a 2.50 GAA and a .917 save percentage in two appearances with Seattle. Driedger is competing with Spencer Knight for the backup role in Florida behind Sergei Bobrovsky.