NHL Player News

Talbot will protect the road goal Thursday versus the Penguins, Penguins play-by-play announcer Josh Getzoff reports.

Talbot has won his last two outings, allowing four goals on 60 shots in those games. The 38-year-old is starting in the second half of a back-to-back after John Gibson earned a 2-1 win over the Jets on Wednesday. The Penguins have scored 18 goals over their last four games, going 3-1-0 in that span.

Johansson is expected to start on the road against the Kings on Thursday, per Zach Dooley of the Kings' official site.

Johansson stopped 31 of 35 shots in a 5-4 shootout win over Montreal in his last start Sunday. He's 8-6-1 with a 2.82 GAA and an .896 save percentage in 16 outings in 2025-26. The Kings rank 29th in goals per game with 2.58.

Kuemper will guard the home goal versus the Lightning on Thursday, Zach Dooley of the Kings' official site reports.

Kuemper will make his first start since sustaining an upper-body injury Dec. 15 versus the Stars. He was activated from injured reserve Tuesday. Kuemper has a tough task ahead, as the Lightning have scored 23 goals during their five-game winning streak.

Comrie will guard the road goal versus the Maple Leafs on Thursday, Ken Wiebe of The Winnipeg Free Press reports.

Wiebe will get into action for the first time since Dec. 11. The 30-year-old netminder closed out his time as the Jets' starter with three straight losses before Connor Hellebuyck returned from knee surgery. Comrie allowed 13 goals over those losses, and the Maple Leafs have 20 goals over their last five games, a span in which they are 3-1-1.

Bussi is slated to start at home against Montreal on Thursday.

Bussi will attempt to earn his third straight win after turning aside 36 of 40 shots (.900 save percentage) across his past two outings. He's 13-1-1 with a 2.08 GAA and a .912 save percentage in 15 appearances this season. Montreal is tied for sixth in goals per game with 3.28.

Vejmelka (upper body) will patrol the visiting crease against the Islanders on Thursday, per Stefen Rosner of NHL.com.

Vejmelka was activated off injured reserve with the Mammoth sending Matt Villalta to AHL Tucson in a corresponding move. Vejmelka is 16-10-2 with a 2.70 GAA and an .894 save percentage over 29 games this season. The Islanders are 25th in NHL scoring, generating 2.75 goals per game.

DeSmith stopped 27 of 31 shots in Wednesday's 4-1 loss to the Sabres.

DeSmith has been trending in the wrong direction of late, allowing three or more goals in each of his last three starts while dropping his previous two outings. DeSmith remains one of the best backups in the league, but he's trending in the wrong direction of late. He owns a 3-1-1 record, but with a 3.01 GAA and an .894 save percentage over his last five appearances.

Luukkonen stopped 28 of 29 shots in Wednesday's 4-1 win over the Stars.

Luukkonen was beaten once in the first period, but that would be all the damage he'd allow as the Sabres cruised to an easy win. The 26-year-old didn't play in five straight games between Dec. 9 and Dec. 20 due to his struggles, but he's turned things around of late and has won his last three starts. Over that stretch, he owns a 1.00 GAA and an impressive, yet unsustainable, .962 save percentage.

Greaves stopped 30 of 33 shots in Wednesday's 3-2 loss to the Devils.

Greaves was excellent in the first 40 minutes of play, but things changed quickly once the Devils scored three unanswered goals in the third period over a 1:56 span. Despite the loss, Greaves continues to deliver solid peripheral numbers while looking increasingly comfortable as the Blue Jackets' No. 1 goaltender. He has a 2.29 GAA and a .922 save percentage over his last 10 games despite a subpar 4-6-0 record.

Vejmelka (upper body) was activated from injured reserve Thursday, per the NHL media site.

Vejmelka could start Thursday's tilt against the Islanders in Long Island. The netminder has missed the last two games. He is 16-10-2 with a 2.70 GAA and an .894 save percentage across 29 appearances this season.