NHL Player News

Howden scored a goal on two shots, dished an assist, added two PIM and logged three hits in Tuesday's 5-4 win over the Hurricanes in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals.

This was Howden's first multi-point effort since Game 3 of the second round versus the Ducks. The 28-year-old had a hand in William Karlsson's go-ahead tally in the second period before putting Vegas up 4-3 himself with a goal 1:21 into the third. Howden has had an excellent postseason with 11 goals, three assists, 30 shots on net, 49 hits and a plus-10 rating over 17 appearances, mainly in a top-six role.

Theodore scored a goal on two shots, added two assists, went plus-2 and blocked two shots in Tuesday's 5-4 win over the Hurricanes in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals.

Theodore's goal in the first period started the Golden Knights' early comeback. He then helped out on third-period tallies by Brett Howden and Tomas Hertl. With five points over his last three games, Theodore continues to contribute from a top-pairing role. He's up to five goals, nine assists, 33 shots on net, 48 blocked shots and a plus-10 rating over 17 playoff appearances.

Hart allowed four goals on 29 shots in Tuesday's 5-4 win over the Hurricanes in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals.

Hart gave up the first two goals of the game, but the Golden Knights were able to erase the deficit early in the second period. From there, it was a back-and-forth game, with Tomas Hertl delivering the game-winner at 16:36 of the third period. Hart has won seven contests in a row, and this was just the second time in that span he's given up three or more goals. He's 13-4 with a 2.33 GAA and a .918 save percentage over 17 outings this postseason. Hart will likely start again in Thursday's Game 2.

Hart is expected to defend the road net in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals against Carolina on Tuesday, per SinBin.vegas.

Hart has stopped 183 of the 193 shots he has faced during his six-game winning streak. He has posted a 12-4 record this postseason with a 2.22 GAA and a .922 save percentage through 16 appearances. During the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Carolina has registered 3.23 goals per game and a league-high 33.7 shots per game.

Lauzon (upper body) will suit up in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals versus the Hurricanes on Tuesday, Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports.

Lauzon hasn't been in the lineup since Game 6 against Utah in the first round. The left-shot blueliner will presumably replace Kaedan Korczak on the third pairing. Lauzon might also see some time on the penalty kill, but he could be eased back into action overall after missing 10 games in a row.

Andersen will be between the home pipes in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals against the Golden Knights on Tuesday, per Jesse Granger of The Athletic.

Andersen has been phenomenal throughout the postseason -- he's allowed two or fewer goals in 12 of 13 games during the Hurricanes' run through the Eastern Conference bracket. The veteran netminder will have his toughest test yet, however, as the Golden Knights rank second in playoff scoring with 3.63 goals per game. The Hurricanes have been good at limiting shots against per game, though, with an average of 22.3 being tied for first in the 2026 postseason. Neither team is missing any players due to injury heading into Game 1 on Tuesday, which only adds to the intrigue of this series.

Cranley signed a one-year, two-way contract extension with St. Louis on Monday.

Cranley split time in the 2025-26 regular season between the AHL and the ECHL. He posted a 6-4-0 record with a 3.03 GAA and an .892 save percentage in 10 appearances for AHL Springfield. In 18 outings for ECHL Florida, he went 14-3-1 with a 2.17 GAA and a .915 save percentage.

Tynan logged three assists in AHL Colorado's 5-2 win over Chicago in Game 2 on Saturday.

Tynan played a key role in the Eagles' comeback push. He continues to thrive as a playmaker this postseason with two goals and 10 assists over 12 playoff contests. Tynan had three goals and 47 assists in 67 regular-season outings as well.

Caufield scored a power-play goal on three shots and went minus-2 in Friday's 6-1 loss to the Hurricanes in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

Caufield managed to put up four points (two goals, two assists) in this series. He had a total of six goals, 13 points (10 on the power play), 43 shots on net, 27 hits and a minus-10 rating over 19 playoff outings. Caufield will have high expectations in fantasy next year after a 51-goal, 88-point breakout over 81 regular-season games in 2025-26.

Dobes stopped 23 of 28 shots in Friday's 6-1 loss to the Hurricanes in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals. The sixth goal was an empty-netter.

Dobes did well to get the young Canadiens this far, but they met their match against the Hurricanes. The 25-year-old lost four straight games to end the postseason. He wrapped up with a 9-10 record, a 2.66 GAA and a .908 save percentage across 19 playoff outings. Heading into 2026-27, Dobes figures to be part of Montreal's plans in the crease, likely in a tandem with either Sam Montembeault or Jacob Fowler depending on the team's moves this offseason.