NHL Player News

Ellis will protect the home goal versus the Canadiens on Thursday, Heather Engel of NHL.com reports.

Ellis will make his third start in the last five games, which suggests he's worked his way into a timeshare with Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. The 25-year-old Ellis has allowed five goals on 63 shots while going 1-1-0 in his last two outings. The Canadiens have 22 goals over their last six games, going 4-1-1 in that span.

Lankinen is slated to start Thursday's road game against Columbus, Mark Scheig of The Hockey Writers reports.

Lankinen has yet to enter the win column over four appearances since the start of the calendar year, going 0-2-1 with a 2.98 GAA and .894 save percentage during that time. He made a home start against the Blue Jackets on Nov. 8 and turned aside 29 of 32 shots in a 4-3 victory.

Ersson will start Thursday's road game against Pittsburgh.

Ersson has taken losses in each of his last three outings, but he'll draw the start Thursday after Dan Vladar (undisclosed) exited Wednesday's game against the Sabres. It's not yet clear when Vladar will return to action, but Ersson will likely serve as the Flyers' No. 1 netminder if Vladar misses time, while Aleksei Kolosov was also called up Thursday.

Hart (lower body) was put on injured reserve Thursday, per SinBin.vegas.

Hart has a 5-3-3 record, 3.28 GAA and .871 save percentage in 12 outings in 2025-26. He hasn't played since Jan. 8 due to the injury. Adin Hill (lower body) has been taken off injured reserve in a corresponding move and will probably serve as the No. 1 netminder, while Akira Schmid will serve as the No. 2. Goaltender Carl Lindbom is also on the active roster, but it wouldn't be surprising to see him sent to the minors in the near future now that Hill is healthy. Once Hart is ready to return, he might supplement Schmid as the No. 2 netminder, though Schmid, Hill and Hart might find themselves all getting starts on a semi-regular basis.

Hill (lower body) was activated from injured reserve ahead of Thursday's home game against the Maple Leafs, SinBin Vegas reports.

Hill had been sidelined since Oct. 20 due to a lower-body injury, but he made progress in his recovery recently and has been cleared to return to game action. The Golden Knights haven't yet named their starting netminder for Thursday's matchup, but it seems likely that Hill will tend the twine after being activated. Over five appearances this season, Hill has gone 1-0-2 with a 2.73 GAA and .888 save percentage.

Oettinger will start Thursday's road game against Utah, Mike Heika of the Stars' official site reports.

Oettinger has started in just one of the Stars' last four games, but he'll return to the crease Thursday after getting a night off Tuesday in Anaheim during the second half of a back-to-back set. He's been relatively shaky since the start of the calendar year, but he had a successful outing against Los Angeles on Monday, turning aside 24 of 25 shots en route to a 3-1 victory.

Sorokin will be between the visiting pipes in Edmonton on Thursday, Andrew Gross of Newsday reports.

Sorokin struggled Tuesday, allowing five goals on only 22 shots in a 5-4 loss to Winnipeg. Sorokin is 14-11-2 with four shutouts, a 2.57 GAA and a .911 save percentage across 27 appearances this season. The Oilers are third in NHL scoring, averaging 3.38 goals per contest.

Woll is expected to guard the visiting cage in Vegas on Thursday, according to David Alter of The Hockey News.

Woll has won his last three starts, including a 4-3 overtime win in Colorado on Monday. Woll is 11-4-2 with a 2.54 GAA and a .918 save percentage across 18 appearances this season. He will face the Golden Knights, who are 10th in NHL scoring this season, generating 3.24 goals per game.

Vejmelka was the first goalie to leave the ice Thursday, Brogan Houston of Deseret News Sports reports, indicating he'll guard the cage at home versus Dallas.

Vejmelka is riding a four-game winning streak during which he has posted a 1.49 GAA and .943 save percentage. The 29-year-old netminder currently leads the NHL with 21 wins, and his 35 starts trail only Nashville's Juuse Saros (36). At this rate, Vejmelka should be a lock for the 30-win threshold and should even push for 40. If he continues to rack up wins, Vejmelka could find himself receiving a Vezina Trophy nomination at the end of the year.

Ingram is slated to start Thursday's home game against the Islanders, Andrew Gross of Newsday reports.

Ingram got the night off in the second half of a back-to-back set Tuesday against Nashville, but he'll return to the crease Thursday for the third time in the Oilers' last four games. Across his last three appearances, Ingram has gone 2-0-1 with a 1.95 GAA and .930 save percentage.