NHL Player News

Hill stopped 21 of 26 shots in Wednesday's 6-5 shootout loss to the Kings.

Hill's season debut wasn't great, especially after he allowed two goals over the last nine minutes to squander a 5-3 lead. The 29-year-old stopped just one of three attempts in the shootout to complete the Golden Knights' collapse. The good news is that his team's offense is looking strong early on, which should give Hill some leeway if he's unable to replicate his 2.47 GAA and .906 save percentage from 50 regular-season appearances in 2024-25. Should Hill struggle, Akira Schmid could get a chance to carve out a timeshare in the crease. It'll likely be Schmid between the pipes for Thursday's contest in San Jose as the Golden Knights begin a three-game road trip.

Forsberg stopped 30 of 35 shots in Wednesday's 6-5 shootout win over the Golden Knights.

The Kings' defense wasn't up to par when the Golden Knights' top players were on the ice. Forsberg did what he could, and he got enough support to guide the game to a shootout, where he stopped two of three attempts to claim the win. The 32-year-old netminder should continue to fill the backup role, though it's not clear when he'll get his next start, as the Kings don't have another back-to-back in the next week.

Forsberg will guard the road goal versus the Golden Knights on Wednesday, Dennis Bernstein of The Fourth Period reports.

Forsberg will get the second half of the Kings' back-to-back set to open the season. Darcy Kuemper was in net for a 4-1 loss to the Avalanche on Tuesday. This outing will be Forsberg's official Kings debut after he signed with the team in free agency. Given that Los Angeles has two veteran goalies, expect Forsberg to start at least once in every back-to-back set as well as some additional times throughout the year to keep Kuemper fresh.

Hill was the first goalie off during Wednesday's morning skate, Jesse Granger of The Athletic reports, signaling that he'll draw the Opening Night start at home against the Kings.

Hill had one of the best years of his career for the Golden Knights last season, going 32-13-5 with a 2.47 GAA and .906 save percentage over 50 regular-season appearances. He secured a six-year extension in March and is in line to serve as Vegas' No. 1 netminder once again during the 2025-26 campaign.

Romanov signed a one-year, two-way contract with St. Louis on Wednesday.

Romanov attended New Jersey's training camp on a PTO, but he ultimately didn't land a contract with the Devils. Still, the 25-year-old has managed to earn a two-way deal, though Romanov is projected to begin the campaign in the minors. Romanov had a record of 0-6-0 with a 3.88 GAA and an .877 save percentage across eight appearances with the Sharks in 2024-25.

Wolf will start Wednesday's Opening Night matchup on the road against Edmonton, Derek Wills of Sportsnet 960 The Fan reports.

Wolf earned a starting role during the 2024-25 campaign and went 29-16-8 with a 2.64 GAA and a .910 save percentage over 53 regular-season appearances. He enters 2025-26 as the Flames' No. 1 netminder, and he'll draw the start in the first half of a back-to-back set to open the campaign. The Flames visit Vancouver on Thursday, and backup Devin Cooley might get the nod in that contest.

Swayman will defend the road crease during Wednesday's Opening Night matchup against Washington, Tom Gulitti of NHL.com reports.

Swayman made a career-high 58 regular-season appearances for the Bruins but had one of the worst years of his career, going 22-29-7 with a 3.11 GAA and an .892 save percentage as Boston took a step back as a team. Despite last year's struggles, Swayman should have the opportunity to maintain a full-time starting role in 2025-26 and will attempt to return to form.

Skinner will get the starting nod at home versus the Flames on Wednesday, Tony Brar of Oilers TV reports.

Skinner has reached the 50-game mark in each of his previous three seasons and figures to do so again in 2025-26. Despite the heavy workload, the 26-year-old backstop has just one 30-win campaign, though with the team around him, he should be in the mix to reach that threshold again this year.

Gibson will patrol the home crease in the Red Wings' season opener against Montreal on Thursday, per Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press.

Gibson will also make his Detroit debut after being acquired from Anaheim over the summer. The 32-year-old netminder had an 11-11-2 record, 2.77 GAA and .911 save percentage in 29 regular-season appearances with the Ducks last year. Gibson should get the majority of the Red Wings' starts this year, but Cam Talbot might still get a larger workload than a typical backup.

Kochetkov missed Wednesday's practice due to an undisclosed injury, per Ryan Henkel of The Hockey News.

It sounds like this is the same injury Kochetkov was dealing with during training camp. The goaltender was able to start in Saturday's exhibition clash against Nashville without issue, but the injury is bothering him again. Kochetkov's availability for Carolina's season opener against New Jersey on Thursday is uncertain as a result. Frederik Andersen will probably start Thursday regardless, but if Kochetkov isn't an option, then Brandon Bussi would slot in as Andersen's understudy.