NHL Player News

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.

Hogberg will tend the twine at home against the Sharks on Saturday, Stefen Rosner of NHL.com reports.

Hogberg has conceded just one goal in each of his last two appearances while stopping 46 shots (.958 save percentage). Given his solid numbers of late, another high-end performance out of the 30-year-old backstop Saturday could see him challenge Ilya Sorokin for more opportunities between the crease.

Gustavsson will serve as the starting netminder for Monday's road game against Colorado, Michael Russo of The Athletic reports.

Although Marc-Andre Fleury will get the start Saturday against Nashville as the Wild begin a two-game road trip, Gustavsson will be in the net a few days later. Gustavsson is in the midst of a three-game slump in which he's gone 0-3-0 with a 5.07 GAA and .850 save percentage. He struggled against the Avalanche last week, allowing six goals on 27 shots (.778 save percentage) en route to the home loss.

Fleury will patrol the road crease in Nashville on Saturday, according to Jessi Pierce of NHL.com.

Fleury was outstanding in his last start, turning aside 36 shots in a 3-1 win over San Jose on Jan 11. The win gave Fleury a 9-3-1 record with a 2.54 GAA and a .910 save percentage. Fleury will face the Predators, who are scoring 2.45 goals per game, 31st in the NHL this season.

Saros stopped 24 of 26 shots in Thursday's 3-2 shootout win over the Blackhawks.

Saros bounced back after losing his previous two starts, and even though he needed a shootout to get the victory, he still found a way to get back to winning ways. The Predators' struggles on defense have hurt Saros, though. Over his last six games, he's gone 2-4-0 with a 3.02 GAA and an .879 save percentage.