NHL Player News

Annunen will patrol the visiting crease in Minnesota on Thursday, per Jesse Montano of Guerilla Sports.

Annunen has provided the Avalanche will more than adequate backup goaltending this season -- he is 6-4-1 with a 2.26 GAA and a .927 save percentage. The Wild are averaging 3.03 goals, 19th in the NHL.

Saros will start Thursday at home against St. Louis, per Alex Daugherty of The Tennessean.

Saros was solid in his last start, stopping 29 of 31 shots against Boston on Tuesday, but he still came away with a loss in that contest due to a complete lack of goal support from his teammates. Overall, the 28-year-old has been pretty good for Nashville this year, posting a .907 save percentage and a 32-23-4 record through 59 appearances. He will have a favorable matchup at home against the Blues, who are scoring only 2.83 goals per game this season, 26th in the NHL.

Gustavsson will be guarding the home crease Thursday against Colorado, per Michael Russo of The Athletic.

Gustavsson was sharp in his last start Saturday, stopping 29 of 30 shots in a 2-1 loss in overtime to Vegas. The 25-year-old has been decent this year, recording a .900 save percentage and a 19-16-4 record in 42 starts. He will have a tough home matchup against Colorado which is first in the league for goals per game at 3.71.

Sorokin was first off the ice at morning skate, signifying he will guard the visitors crease against the Blue Jackets on Thursday, per Ethan Sears of the New York Post.

Sorokin was solid in his last start Tuesday, stopping 18 of 19 shots in a 2-1 win over Chicago. The 28-year-old has put together a solid season, recording a .907 save percentage and a 23-19-11 record in 53 starts. He will have a favorable matchup in what is essentially a must-win home game for the Isles, as the Blue Jackets are 10-20-7 on the road this year.

Jarry (illness) will back up Alex Nedeljkovic versus Washington on Thursday, per Tom Gulitti of NHL.com.

Jarry missed the last two games due to an illness. He is 19-24-5 with a 2.90 GAA and a .903 save percentage this season. Jarry is 1-5-1 in his last eight appearances and is now battling Nedeljkovic for the No. 1 job with the Penguins.

Nedeljkovic will defend the visiting crease in Washington on Thursday, Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Nedeljkovic will make his seventh straight start -- he's gone 4-0-2 in his last six games. Nedeljkovic is 14-6-6 with a 2.84 GAA and a .906 save percentage this season. The Capitals are averaging just 2.69 goals this year, 28th in the league, so this is a favorable matchup for Nedeljkovic.

Shesterkin made 17 saves in Wednesday's 4-3 win over the Devils.

The 28-year-old netminder survived a tough second period that saw New Jersey score three goals on only eight shots, although Shesterkin had little chance on any of them, and he shut the door in the final frame as the Rangers regained the lead. Over his last 10 starts, Shesterkin has gone 7-3-0 with a 2.57 GAA and .908 save percentage -- he needs four more wins over New York's final six games to tie the career-high 37 he racked up in 2022-23.

Lindgren will defend the home crease versus Pittsburgh on Thursday, according to Bailey Johnson of The Washington Post.

Lindgren was shaky Tuesday as he gave up six goals on 31 shots before being pulled in the third period in a 6-2 loss to Buffalo. Lindgren is 21-14-6 with a 2.81 GAA and a .909 save percentage in 2023-24. The Penguins are averaging 32.8 shots on goal, sixth in the NHL, so Lindgren will likely be busy Thursday.

Kahkonen turned aside 37 shots in Wednesday's 4-3 loss to the Rangers.

The Devils erased an early 2-0 deficit with a three-goal second period, but Kahkonen couldn't hold on to the lead against a 15-shot New York barrage in the final frame. The 27-year-old netminder is 1-3-0 in four starts since getting traded to New Jersey, but that record is largely due to a lack of goal support -- he's given up only nine goals on 117 shots (.923 save percentage) with the Devils.

Woll stopped 21 shots in Wednesday's 4-1 loss to the Lightning.

The game was tied 1-1 after the first period, but while Toronto's offense went cold the rest of the night, Woll couldn't slow down Tampa. The 25-year-old goalie is 2-5-0 in seven starts since the beginning of March with a 3.32 GAA and .878 save percentage, but with the Leafs having all but clinched a playoff spot, Woll will likely continue seeing steady work over the final couple weeks to keep Ilya Samsonov as fresh as possible for the postseason.