NHL Player News

Shesterkin will defend the road crease against the Sabres on Thursday, Jim Cerny of NHL.com reports.

Shesterkin drew the Opening Night start against the Penguins on Tuesday, and he turned aside 27 of 28 shots but didn't get any offensive help from the Rangers in the loss. He'll have another opportunity to pick up his first win of the 2025-26 campaign during Thursday's road matchup.

Sorokin will be between the visiting pipes in Pittsburgh on Thursday, Stefen Rosner of NHL.com reports.

Sorokin rebounded from an inconsistent 2023-24 campaign to go 30-24-6 with four shutouts, a 2.71 GAA and a .907 save percentage across 61 regular-season appearances in 2024-25. The 30-year-old netminder was a perfect 3-0-0 against the Penguins last season, stopping 73 of 81 shots.

Vasilevskiy was the first goalie off during Thursday's morning skate, Benjamin Pierce of the Lightning's official site signaling that he'll draw the Opening Night start at home against the Senators.

Vasilevskiy dealt with an undisclosed injury for most of training camp, but he suited up in Tampa Bay's preseason finale against Florida on Saturday and will unsurprisingly draw the start in Thursday's regular-season opener. He made 63 regular-season appearances last year, going 38-20-5 with a 2.18 GAA and .921 save percentage, and he should remain one of the league's top netminders during the 2025-26 campaign.

Bobrovsky was the first netminder off the ice at morning skate, an indication that he will defend the home crease versus Philadelphia on Thursday, Jordan McPherson of the Miami Herald reports.

Bobrovsky picked up his first win of the season Opening Night, stopping 17 of 19 shots versus Chicago on Tuesday. Bobrovsky was stellar in 2024-25, leading the Panthers to their second straight Stanley Cup. He had a GAA of 2.44 in 54 regular-season games last year and should be considered among the top netminders in the NHL.

Stolarz made 29 saves in Wednesday's 5-2 win over the Canadiens.

The Habs and the Leafs traded goals through the first two periods, but Stolarz shut the door in the third as his squad pulled away. The 31-year-old netminder is coming off a career-best campaign in his first season with Toronto, recording 21 wins with a 2.14 GAA and .926 save percentage over 34 regular-season contests, and with Joseph Woll (personal) away from the team indefinitely, Stolarz figures to see a heavy workload in the early portion of 2025-26.

Montembeault stopped 22 of 25 shots in Wednesday's 5-2 loss to the Maple Leafs. Toronto's final two goals were scored into an empty net.

The 28-year-old netminder kept things close on the road in the Canadiens' season opener, but his offense couldn't find an equalizer after Morgan Rielly potted what proved to be the game-winner midway through the third period. Montembeault is coming off a career-best campaign in which he racked up 31 wins and a 2.82 GAA in 62 games, and a stronger Montreal lineup in front of him could help him maintain that level of play or even exceed it in 2025-26.

Thompson stopped 18 of 20 shots he faced in Wednesday's 3-1 loss to the Bruins. The third goal was an empty-netter with 58 seconds left in the game.

Thompson allowed a tally in the first period at even strength and in the third period on the power play. By the time the Bruins added a third goal, Thompson was already on the bench and Washington was pushing for an equalizer with an extra attacker. Thompson went 31-6-6 with a 2.49 GAA and a .910 save percentage across 43 regular-season appearances in 2024-25. He'll aim to clinch his first win of the season in a road matchup against the Islanders on Saturday.

Swayman stopped 35 of 36 shots in Wednesday's win over the Capitals.

Swayman was beaten by Tom Wilson in the third period, a goal that made it a 1-1 tie, but he was outstanding the rest of the way and kicked off the new season with a win. Swayman is coming off a woeful season in 2024-25, going 22-29-7 with a 3.11 GAA and an .892 save percentage, but he certainly enjoyed a positive start to the season with this outing. The Bruins play the second leg of a back-to-back set Thursday, so it wouldn't be surprising if Swayman is rested against the Blackhawks, giving Joonas Korpisalo the chance to start.

Skinner stopped 19 of 22 shots in Wednesday's 4-3 shootout loss to the Flames.

A couple of bad bounces led to the Flames' first two goals, but it was Skinner's own puck-handling mishap early in the third that led to the tying tally. He then stopped six of eight shootout attempts, but Dustin Wolf was one save better, leaving Skinner on the hook for a frustrating loss to open the season. The 26-year-old can't afford many blunders this year, as the spotlight has already been on him for his playoff struggles despite the team's overall success. Should Skinner go through an extended slump, Calvin Pickard could earn an even split of time in the crease, or the Oilers could opt to make a move to upgrade their goaltending altogether. The Oilers are back in action at home versus the Canucks on Saturday.

Wolf stopped 32 of 35 shots in Wednesday's 4-3 shootout win over the Oilers.

The Oilers started well and took a 3-0 lead before the halfway mark of regulation. Two of those goals were on the power play, but Wolf was able to stay calm and provide steadiness between the pipes as the Flames put together a comeback win. He also stopped seven of eight shootout attempts to complete the effort. Wolf is locked in as Calgary's No. 1 goalie after producing an impressive 29-16-8 record, 2.64 GAA and .910 save percentage over 53 games in 2024-25. He'll likely get a breather Thursday as the Flames visit the Canucks, with Devin Cooley likely to start that contest before Wolf gets back between the pipes for the home opener Saturday against the Blues.