NHL Player News

Blackwood is expected to start at home against Chicago on Saturday, per Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times.

Blackwood has a 16-6-1 record, 2.29 GAA and .916 save percentage in 23 outings with Colorado in 2025-26. He turned aside 31 of 34 shots en route to a 5-2 loss to Minnesota on Thursday. Chicago is 1-5-2 while averaging just 2.13 goals per game across its past eight outings.

Knight will defend the road net against the Avalanche on Saturday, Scott Powers of The Athletic reports.

Knight stopped 22 of 25 shots in Thursday's 4-2 loss to Nashville, with the fourth goal being an empty-netter. He has a 16-17-7 record this campaign with a 2.63 GAA and a .907 save percentage through 40 appearances. Colorado ranks first in the league with 3.81 goals per game during the 2025-26 season.

Sorokin is set to start on the road against Columbus on Saturday, per Andrew Gross of Newsday.

Sorokin has won his last three outings with the Islanders while turning aside 76 of 84 shots (.905 save percentage). He's 21-13-2 with a 2.45 GAA and a .915 save percentage in 36 appearances in 2025-26. Columbus went on an incredible 11-1-0 run across its final 12 games before the Olympic break, but the Blue Jackets suffered a 4-2 loss to Boston on Thursday.

Markstrom is expected to start on the road against St. Louis on Saturday, per Amanda Stein of the Devils' official site.

Markstrom has a 15-14-1 record, 3.20 GAA and .884 save percentage in 31 appearances in 2025-26. He stopped 33 of 36 shots en route to a 4-1 loss to Pittsburgh in his last start Thursday. St. Louis went 1-7-1 in its final nine games before the Olympic break, but it started off the post-Olympic schedule on a positive note with a 5-1 victory over Seattle on Thursday.

Wahlberg was loaned to AHL Rochester on Saturday, per Heather Engel of NHL.com.

Buffalo activated Zach Benson (upper body) from injured reserve in a corresponding move. Wahlberg was a healthy scratch for Buffalo's last two games. He has six goals and 25 points in 47 AHL appearances this season.

Benson (upper body) has been activated off injured reserve Saturday, per Heather Engel of NHL.com.

The Sabres returned Anton Wahlberg to AHL Rochester in a corresponding move. Benson has seven goals, 26 points, 20 PIM, 75 shots, 21 hits and 15 blocks in 42 appearances in 2025-26. He missed four straight games due to the injury, and an illness delayed his return to practice. However, he will return to the lineup against Tampa Bay on Saturday.

Binnington will patrol the home crease in Saturday's matchup against New Jersey, Matthew DeFranks of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Binnington will take the ice for the first time since the 2026 Winter Olympics. While he's struggled with the Blues this season, he'll look to build upon his solid effort for Canada in the Olympics, where he posted a .917 save percentage and a 1.78 GAA across six appearances. Overall, the 32-year-old netminder has an 8-17-6 record, a 3.65 GAA and an .864 save percentage across 32 outings for the Blues. Binnington will draw a favorable matchup Saturday against a New Jersey team that ranks at the bottom of the NHL with 2.46 goals per game.

Parayko is expected to miss Saturday's game against New Jersey and Sunday's match in Minnesota due to back spasms, Lou Korac of NHL.com reports.

Parayko has a goal, 14 points, 16 PIM, 67 hits and 141 blocks in 58 appearances with St. Louis in 2025-26. Matt Kessel is set to draw into the lineup due to Parayko's absence. The 32-year-old Parayko might be an option to return Wednesday in Seattle.

Lankinen was the first goalie off the ice during the pregame skate, indicating he'll draw the start in Saturday's road clash against the Kraken, per Thomas Drance of The Athletic.

Lankinen will return to the Canucks' crease for the first time since the Olympic break. Despite not hitting the ice for Team Finland while serving as the backup to Juuse Saros, he'll have the opportunity to provide a much-needed spark for Vancouver. Across 30 appearances this season, the 30-year-old netminder has a 7-19-4 record, a 3.67 GAA and an .876 save percentage. He'll face off against the Kraken, who have scored just two goals across their first two games since the Olympic break. The matchup provides Lankinen a solid chance to put the Canucks back in the win column, giving him decent fantasy value as a spot start.

Niederreiter (lower body) underwent surgery and remains week-to-week, Mitchell Clinton of the Jets' official site reports Saturday.

Niederreiter has already missed the last two games and is on injured reserve. Prior to getting hurt, the 33-year-old winger posted eight goals, 19 points and 76 shots on net across 55 games this season. Once he's ready to return to action, he'll look to bolster Winnipeg's forward group and will likely return to a bottom-six role.