NHL Player News

Vasilevskiy was the first goaltender off the ice at morning practice and will guard the home cage versus Detroit on Saturday, according to Gabby Shirley of FanDuel Sports Network Florida & Sun.

Vasilevskiy is 3-1-1 in his last five starts, giving up 13 goals on 144 shots (.910 save percentage). Overall, the 30-year-old netminder is 19-13-2 with two shutouts, a 2.40 GAA and a .912 save percentage. The Red Wings are averaging 2.91 goals per game in 2024-25, 20th in the NHL.

Thompson was the first goaltender off the ice at the morning skate, according to Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press, indicating he will patrol the home crease versus Pittsburgh on Saturday.

Thompson will try for his third straight shutout after blanking the Ducks and Senators in his last two starts. Thompson is 20-2-3 with a gaudy 2.13 GAA and an impressive .924 save percentage. The Penguins earned a 5-2 victory over Buffalo on Friday and could be a tired team Saturday. Pittsburgh is averaging 3.00 goals per game in 2024-25.

Knight will patrol the home crease versus Anaheim on Saturday, George Richards of Florida Hockey Now reports.

Knight is starting to turn his season around after winning his last two starts, allowing three goals on 58 shots in victories over Pittsburgh and New Jersey. He is 8-6-1 with a 2.60 GAA and an .897 save percentage across 17 appearances this season. Look for Knight to get two starts next week as the Panthers play a pair of back-to-back games during a four-game road trip to California and Vegas. The Ducks sit 32nd in the league with 2.42 goals per game in 2024-25.

Hill stopped 25 of 28 shots in Friday's 3-2 loss to the Hurricanes.

Hill has alternated wins and losses over his last six outings, and this was the fourth time in that span he's given up three goals. The 28-year-old isn't playing poorly, as the Golden Knights' offense has had some trouble giving him enough support. For the season, Hill is 18-8-2 with a 2.56 GAA and a .903 save percentage through 28 appearances. The Golden Knights complete their back-to-back with a game in Chicago on Saturday, which will likely be a start for Ilya Samsonov.

Kochetkov stopped 29 of 31 shots in Friday's 3-2 win over the Golden Knights.

Vegas scored the first and last goals of the game, but the Hurricanes had the three tallies in between to give Kochetkov enough support for the win. The 25-year-old has won just three of his last eight starts while giving up 22 goals in that span, and his margin of error is thinner now that Frederik Andersen (knee) is back from a nearly three-month absence. Kochetkov is up to 17-9-2 with a 2.52 GAA and a .902 save percentage through 29 starts this season, but he may get stuck in a 50-50 timeshare moving forward.

Luukkonen stopped 14 of 18 shots in Friday's 5-2 loss to the Penguins. The fifth goal was an empty-netter.

Luukkonen gave up a pair of goals in quick succession early in the second period, and the Penguins went 3-for-5 on the power play in the contest. It didn't help Luukkonen's cause that opposing goalie Alex Nedeljkovic put up a 40-save performance and added the empty-netter as well as an assist. Luukkonen is now 14-14-4 with a 3.02 GAA and an .896 save percentage after this poor outing. The Sabres begin a four-game road trip Monday in Seattle.

Nedeljkovic stopped 40 of 42 shots, scored a goal and added an assist in Friday's 5-2 win over the Sabres.

A soft dump-in by the Sabres ended up in the trapezoid, and Nedeljkovic flung the puck toward the empty net from behind his own net. Per Chris Jastrzembski of NHL on TNT, Nedeljkovic is the first goalie to score in the NHL, AHL and ECHL, as well as the first goalie to have a goal and an assist in the same game. On top of the unexpected offense, the 29-year-old was stellar between the pipes, with the 40 saves matching a season high. He's now 8-7-4 with a 3.33 GAA and an .890 save percentage over 20 appearances this season. Nedeljkovic figures to see ample playing time in the near future after the Penguins waived Tristan Jarry following Tuesday's loss to the Kraken. That said, Nedeljkovic has earned a little rest after an unforgettable performance, and it'll likely be Joel Blomqvist's turn in goal against the Capitals on Saturday.

Hill is set to start on the road versus the Hurricanes on Friday, Chip Alexander of The Raleigh News & Observer reports.

Hill will take his turn in the Golden Knights' goalie rotation in the first half of a back-to-back. He has gone 2-1-0 with five goals allowed on 60 shots over three outings in January. The Hurricanes have scored 18 goals over their last six games, going 3-2-1 in that span.

Kochetkov is slated to start in Friday's home tilt against Vegas.

Kochetkov has allowed three goals in each of his past four appearances while posting a 1-2-1 record and an .893 save percentage in that span. He's 16-9-2 with a 2.54 GAA and a .901 save percentage in 28 outings overall. Frederik Andersen (knee) was activated off injured reserve and is expected to serve as the backup netminder. Beyond that, Andersen's return will likely result in Kochetkov's workload diminishing meaningfully. A strong showing against Vegas might help Kochetkov stave that off for at least a little longer, but the Golden Knights rank fourth in goals per game with 3.41, so they're a challenging adversary.

Ersson will defend the visiting cage in New Jersey on Saturday, according to Jackie Spiegel of The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Ersson has won three straight games, allowing six goals on 74 shots in victories over Anaheim, Florida and the Islanders. Overall, Ersson is 12-7-2 with two shutouts, a 2.87 GAA and a .888 save percentage. The Devils are averaging 3.11 goals in 2024-25.