NHL Player News

Malkin (upper body) won't play Saturday against Dallas.

Malkin is set to miss his third consecutive game. Pittsburgh still considers Malkin to be day-to-day, so a return Monday versus the Islanders hasn't been ruled out. Malkin has 15 goals and 52 points in 50 outings in 2025-26.

Bussi is set to start at home against New Jersey on Saturday, per Ryan Henkel of The Hockey News.

Bussi has surrendered at least three goals in five of his past six outings. That's put a damper on what has otherwise been a strong rookie campaign. He's 26-6-1 with a 2.47 GAA and an .895 save percentage in 33 outings with Carolina in 2025-26. New Jersey is 9-3-0 while averaging 4.00 goals per game across its past 12 matches.

Gostisbehere (lower body) is slated to play against New Jersey on Saturday, per Ryan Henkel of The Hockey News.

Following a nine-game absence, Gostisbehere is poised to occupy a spot on the third pairing and see time on the first power-play unit against the Devils on Saturday. He has compiled 11 goals, 43 points, 98 shots on net and 50 blocked shots across 45 appearances this season.

Parssinen was reassigned to AHL Hartford on Saturday.

Parssinen's reassignment comes after he was a healthy scratch in New York's past two games. He has two goals and three points in 20 games with the Rangers in 2025-26. He also has five goals and six points in 11 appearances with Hartford this season.

Askarov (upper body) won't be in the lineup for Saturday's road matchup against Columbus, per Mark Scheig of The Hockey Writers.

Askarov is day-to-day and will miss at least one game after getting hurt in Thursday's 2-1 overtime loss to St. Louis. Alex Nedeljkovic will start against the Blue Jackets on Saturday, and Laurent Brossoit will serve as the backup.

Merzlikins is set to start at home against San Jose on Saturday, per Jeff Svoboda of the Blue Jackets' official site.

Merzlikins stopped 15 of 17 shots in a 5-2 win over Seattle in his most recent start last Saturday. He has a 14-9-3 record, 3.35 GAA and .885 save percentage in 28 outings in 2025-26. San Jose has lost its past six games (0-5-1) to drop to 32-31-7 on the season. The Sharks have also managed just five goals over their past four games.

Klingberg (upper body) is expected to remain out of the lineup Saturday in Columbus, per Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now.

Klingberg also missed Thursday's game against St. Louis because of the injury. He has 10 goals and 24 points through 54 outings in 2025-26. Nick Leddy will stay in the lineup Saturday due to Klingberg's continued absence.

Nedeljkovic will guard the road goal against Columbus on Saturday, according to Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now.

Nedeljkovic has gone 0-4-1 in his last five appearances while surrendering 20 goals on 110 shots. He has a 13-13-4 record with a 3.00 GAA and an .893 save percentage through 34 games this season. Columbus is tied for 13th in the 2025-26 campaign with 3.14 goals per game.

Tolopilo is expected to start on the road against Calgary on Saturday, per Pat Steinberg of Sportsnet 960 The Fan.

Tolopilo has a 5-6-2 record, 3.34 GAA and .892 save percentage in 15 outings in 2025-26. His last start came March 14 when he stopped 28 of 33 shots en route to a 5-2 loss to Seattle. Calgary has a subpar 30-34-8 record, but it has secured at least one point in five straight games (4-0-1).

Koppanen was reassigned to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Saturday.

Avery Hayes was also sent to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, and Rutger McGroarty was called up by Pittsburgh in corresponding moves. Koppanen has an assist in 10 outings with Pittsburgh this season. He also has seven goals and 19 points in 37 outings with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in 2025-26.