NHL Player News

Talbot will protect the home goal versus the Blackhawks on Thursday, Zach Dooley of the Kings' official site reports.

Talbot has gone 3-3-0 with 16 goals allowed over six contests in April. The 36-year-old is likely getting the start Thursday since the Kings need a win to have a chance at the No. 3 seed in the Pacific Division. Talbot figures to be the Kings' starter in the postseason as well, and he'll have a favorable matchup Thursday to potentially grab positive momentum.

Dostal will guard the road goal versus the Golden Knights on Thursday, Derek Lee of The Sporting Tribune reports.

Dostal will end up having played in seven of the Ducks' final eight games. He's gone 2-3-1 with 18 goals allowed over his last six outings. The Golden Knights still have playoff positioning to play for, so this is likely to be a challenging season finale for Dostal in his 44th outing of the campaign.

Skinner will guard the road goal versus the Avalanche on Thursday, per the NHL media site.

Skinner has gone 3-1-1 with 10 goals allowed on 118 shots over five outings in April. He'll get one more tune-up versus the Avalanche in preparation for the playoffs. Skinner may have a tough time getting a win, as the Oilers' entire top line and first defense pairing is being rested for Thursday's game, while the Avalanche will have all of their key players in the lineup.

Daccord will guard the road goal versus the Wild on Thursday, per the NHL media site.

Daccord will get the last game of the season, having allowed eight goals during his current three-game losing streak. The Wild have scored 19 goals over their last six contests and could be a challenge.

Jarry made one relief appearance over the Penguins' last 12 games while Alex Nedeljkovic took over as the No. 1 netminder.

For the first time since Jarry's rookie campaign back in 2017-18, in which he played in just 26 games, the netminder failed to reach the 20-win threshold in 2023-24. In his 51 outings this season, Jarry posted a career-worst 2.91 GAA and .903 save percentage while going 19-25-5.

Soderblom is expected to start on the road against LA on Thursday, per Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times.

Soderblom has a 5-22-1 record, 3.88 GAA and .880 save percentage in 31 appearances this season. He faced LA on March 15 and allowed four goals on 14 shots in just 14:19 of ice time en route to a 5-0 loss, so this is an opportunity for him to get some revenge. The Kings rank 18th offensively with 3.07 goals per contest this campaign.

Annunen will defend the home crease versus Edmonton on Thursday, Ryan Boulding of NHL.com reports.

Annunen will get the final start of the regular season Thursday, paving the way for Alexandar Georgiev to play all, if not the majority, of the team's playoff games. Annunen has been terrific in a back up role this year, going 7-4-1 with a 2.35 GAA and a .925 save percentage. The Oilers have scored 293 goals, fourth best in the NHL.

Demko will be between the visiting pipes versus Winnipeg on Thursday, John Lu of TSN reports.

Demko was sensational Tuesday in a 4-1 win over Calgary -- he stopped 39 shots and looked playoff ready. Demko is 35-13-2 with a 2.44 GAA and a .918 save percentage in 50 contests this season. He will face the Jets, who will be resting all their top regulars, including Josh Morrissey and Kyle Connor.

Hellebuyck (rest) will sit out Thursday's regular-season finale at home against Vancouver, per Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press.

Hellebuyck was solid in his last start, stopping 20 of 23 shots in Tuesday's 4-3 win over Seattle. The 30-year-old had a spectacular regular season, recording a .921 save percentage and a 37-19-4 record in 60 appearances. He can be penciled in as the starter for Game 1 of Winnipeg's first-round series versus Colorado.

Cooley will guard the road crease in Thursday's regular-season finale against Calgary, per Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now.

Cooley struggled tremendously in his last start, allowing eight goals on 22 shots in a 9-2 loss to Edmonton on Monday. The 26-year-old has recorded an .882 save percentage and a 2-2-1 record in five NHL appearances this year.