NHL Player News

Kuemper stopped 21 of 29 shots in Wednesday's 8-4 loss to the Avalanche.

Kuemper had no answer for the Avalanche's power play, which accounted for four of the goals. The 36-year-old netminder didn't get a lot of help from his teammates, though this was always going to be a tough season opener given the relative quality of each lineup. Kuemper struggled to a 19-14-15 record with a 2.78 GAA and an .891 save percentage in 50 regular-season games last year, and he lost the starting job to Anton Forsberg prior to the postseason. Forsberg could see a larger role if Kuemper doesn't bounce back quickly. The Kings are set to visit the Sharks on Saturday.

Blackwood stopped 27 of 31 shots in Wednesday's 8-4 win over the Kings.

The Avalanche had some rust to shake off in front of Blackwood, leading to a bit of a messy game. Two of the Kings' goals came shorthanded, but the Avalanche also went 4-for-5 on the power play. Blackwood is better than this game's stat line would suggest, and he should settle into a nice groove as the team in front of him gets up to speed. The Avalanche's next game is Saturday versus the Blues, and it's not yet clear if the team will lean on a starter or have Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood rotate in the net early in the year.

Nedeljkovic is battling an illness, but he's expected to be available for Thursday's home game against Florida, per Curtis Pashelka of The San Jose Mercury News.

Nedeljkovic had an 18-14-4 record, 2.87 GAA and .896 save percentage in 40 regular-season appearances with the Sharks in 2025-26. San Jose hasn't named a starter for Thursday, but Nedeljkovic will likely serve as Yaroslav Askarov's understudy in that contest.

Kuemper was the first goalie to leave the ice Wednesday, Zach Dooley of the Kings' official site reports, indicating he'll be in goal on the road versus the Avalanche.

Last season, Kuemper failed to reach the 20-win mark for the second time in the last three years, posting a 19-14-15 record in 50 regular-season tilts. It's unlikely the Kings will rack up nearly that many overtime defeats in 2026-27, which should help Kuemper get back to his winning way.

Primeau was put on waivers by Carolina on Wednesday, per Walt Ruff of the Hurricanes' official site.

The Hurricanes plan to reassign Primeau to AHL Chicago if he clears waivers. The 27-year-old netminder had a 2-1-0 record, 4.31 GAA and .838 save percentage in three regular-season appearances with the Maple Leafs in 2025-26. While those numbers are obviously rough, he did post an 8-9-4 record, 2.99 GAA and .910 save percentage in 23 regular-season appearances with Montreal in 2023-24, so at least in that one instance, he was able to hold his own at the top level. Nevertheless, Carolina's top-two goaltenders are clearly Pyotr Kochetkov and Brandon Bussi, and Primeau doesn't fit into the NHL picture when those two are available.

Wolf is set to start at home against Seattle on Thursday, per Pat Steinberg of QR Calgary 770 AM.

Wolf had a 23-29-3 record, 3.01 GAA and .899 save percentage in 57 regular-season appearances with the Flames in 2025-26. He's set to once again be Calgary's No. 1 netminder this campaign. Devin Cooley will serve as the backup and is likely to get his first start of the campaign either Saturday in Vancouver or Sunday in Seattle.

Oettinger (lower body) is available for Friday's season opener at home against St. Louis, per Owen Newkirk of DLLS Sports.

Oettinger hasn't been named the starter for the upcoming game versus the Blues, but the chances of him getting the assignment are high. He had a 35-12-6 record, 2.59 GAA and .899 save percentage in 54 regular-season appearances with Dallas in 2025-26. Oettinger is Dallas' clear No. 1 netminder, while Casey DeSmith is set to continue to serve as his understudy.

Blackwood is set to start at home against Los Angeles on Wednesday, per Evan Rawal of the Denver Gazette.

Blackwood had a 23-10-2 record, 2.50 GAA and .904 save percentage in 38 regular-season appearances with the Avalanche in 2025-26. Although Blackwood's getting the Opening Night assignment, Scott Wedgewood can't be easily categorized as Colorado's No. 2 goaltender. It wouldn't be surprising if the two netminders evenly split the workload in 2026-27, provided they both stay relatively healthy.

Silovs will get the starting nod on the road against the Flyers on Wednesday, Josh Yohe of The Athletic reports.

Silovs gets the nod over rookie Sergei Murashov in what could be a season-long battle for starts. In his 39 regular-season outings last year, the 25-year-old Silovs went 19-12-8 with a 3.07 GAA and two shutouts. Given the likelihood of a goalie rotation, Silovs figures to be a mid-range fantasy option.

Stolarz is set to start at home against the Islanders on Wednesday, per Lance Hornby of The Toronto Sun.

Stolarz had a 10-10-3 record, 3.28 GAA and .893 save percentage in 26 regular-season appearances with the Maple Leafs in 2025-26. Toronto is playing in the second half of a back-to-back after suffering a 3-2 loss to Montreal on Tuesday. Sergei Bobrovsky got the assignment for that game, turning aside 21 of 24 shots in the loss. Stolarz is Toronto's No. 2 option, but he's capable of taking a bigger share of the workload than your typical understudy, provided he stays healthy.