NHL Player News

Talbot (undisclosed) is expected to be the backup goalie behind Alex Lyon in Thursday's home matchup versus Ottawa, Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press reports.

Talbot's return from a one-game absence will result in Sebastian Cossa's return to AHL Grand Rapids. The 37-year-old Talbot has permitted 20 goals on 135 shots during his five-game losing streak. He has a 17-16-3 record with two shutouts, a 3.02 GAA and an .898 save percentage through 38 appearances this campaign.

Lyon will patrol the home crease against Ottawa on Thursday, according to Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press.

Lyon has allowed four goals in three of his last five appearances, including Tuesday's 5-2 loss to Colorado. He has a 12-9-1 record with one shutout, a 2.76 GAA and an .899 save percentage across 27 appearances this season. Ottawa sits 20th in the league with 2.90 goals per game in 2024-25.

Gustavsson will protect the home net against Washington on Thursday, per Jessi Pierce of NHL.com.

Gustavsson has gone 3-1-0 in his last four outings, allowing only four goals on 112 shots. He has a 28-16-4 record with five shutouts, a 2.47 GAA and a .918 save percentage through 49 appearances this season. Washington ranks first in the league with 3.63 goals per game in 2024-25.

Vasilevskiy was the first goalie off the ice at the morning skate and is expected to patrol the home crease against Utah on Thursday, Benjamin Pierce of the Lightning's official site reports.

Vasilevskiy is coming off a 14-save effort in a 6-1 win over Pittsburgh on Tuesday. He has a 34-19-3 record with five shutouts, a 2.22 GAA and a .919 save percentage through 56 appearances this season. Utah sits 22nd in the league with 2.85 goals per game in 2024-25.

Knight turned aside 15 of 19 shots in Wednesday's 5-3 loss to the Devils, with New Jersey's final goal getting scored into an empty net.

The 23-year-old netminder didn't get a lot of help from his defense, as all four goals came either from right on his doorstep, or through partial screens. Knight has handled a starter's workload since being acquired from the Panthers in the Seth Jones trade, going 3-5-0 in eight March starts with a 3.15 GAA and .894 save percentage.

Markstrom turned aside 21 shots in Wednesday's 5-3 win over Chicago.

The Devils grabbed an early 2-0 lead with goals 27 seconds apart in the first period, and Markstrom made sure the home squad was never able to draw level. It's only the second win in March for the veteran netminder, who's gone 2-5-1 in his last eight starts with a 3.87 GAA and .847 save percentage. New Jersey is comfortably in a playoff spot -- they're nine points clear of the Islanders for third place in the Metropolitan Division -- so Markstrom should get every opportunity down the stretch to regain his form ahead of the postseason.

Hogberg stopped all five shots he faced after replacing Ilya Sorokin early in the third period of Wednesday's 5-2 loss to the Canucks.

Head coach Patrick Roy made the desperation switch in the crease after the Islanders fell behind 4-2, but the move didn't pay off. Hogberg has made three appearances (two starts) in nine games since coming off IR in early March, allowing seven goals on 67 shots while going 0-1-1. With New York leaning heavily on Sorokin while fighting for a playoff spot, Hogberg may not get many opportunities between the pipes over the final weeks of the season.

Sorokin gave up four goals on 19 shots before being replaced by Marcus Hogberg early in the third period of Wednesday's 5-2 loss to Vancouver.

With the Isles sitting one point back of the Canadiens for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, head coach Patrick Roy made a desperation move to try and wake up his squad after New York fell behind 4-2, but it didn't work. Sorokin may be showing signs of fatigue without Semyon Varlamov (lower body) to help shoulder the load -- he's started 11 of 13 games in March, going 6-3-2 on the month with a 2.78 GAA and .907 save percentage.

Demko made 26 saves in Wednesday's 5-2 win over the Islanders.

The 29-year-old netminder has started two straight games since returning from a lower-body injury that had sidelined him since the 4 Nations Face-Off, and he's won them both. The Canucks sit three points back of the Blues in the race for the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference, and if Demko is healthy and back in something close to peak form, he should see a heavy workload over the final weeks of the season.

Pickard stopped all three shots he faced in relief of Stuart Skinner (head) in Wednesday's 4-3 loss to the Stars.

Skinner left in the third period after a collision with Mikko Rantanen. Pickard did his part to give the Oilers a chance at an improbable comeback, which fell one goal short of forcing overtime. Skinner won't travel to Seattle for Thursday's game, Tony Brar of Oilers TV reports, so expect Pickard to get the starting nod for that game, while Collin Delia or Olivier Rodrigue are due to be called up to fill the backup role. Pickard would likely handle the bulk of the goaltending duties as long as Skinner is out. Through 28 appearances this season, Pickard is 17-7-1 with a 2.61 GAA and a .901 save percentage.