NHL Player News

Vejmelka will be between the pipes at home versus the Rangers on Thursday, Cole Bagley of KSL Sports reports.

Vejmelka will look to bounce back from a difficult performance against Montreal on Tuesday in which he gave up five goals on 26 shots (.808 save percentage). The Rangers have started to find their offensive of late, scoring 3.29 goals per game in January, which is the sixth-best mark in the NHL since the calendar turned to 2025. At this point, Vejmelka is cemented in the No. 1 job in Utah, but Connor Ingram is waiting for his opportunity to stake his claim.

Luukkonen is expected to start at home against the Hurricanes on Wednesday, Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News reports.

Luukkonen will attempt to rebound after stopping just 23 of 28 shots in a 6-2 loss to Seattle on Saturday. He's 13-13-4 with a 3.02 GAA and an .896 save percentage in 31 outings in 2024-25. Carolina ranks sixth in goals per game with 3.34.

The Penguins will recall Blomqvist from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Wednesday, Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

Blomqvist has a 3-5-0 record, 3.61 GAA and .904 save percentage in eight appearances in 2024-25. He also has a 2.93 GAA and a .912 save percentage across 12 outings with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Blomqvist will presumably serve as Pittsburgh's No. 2 goaltender behind Alex Nedeljkovic going forward. Tristan Jarry was waived Wednesday and is expected to be sent to the minors if he goes unclaimed.

Lyon (upper body) will travel with the Red Wings for their four-game road trip, Daniella Bruce of the Red Wings' official site reports Wednesday.

In addition to Lyon, the team will also have Ville Husso on the trip, so there is no clear indication when Lyon will be given the green light to play. Prior to getting hurt, the 32-year-old Minnesota native was seeing the bulk of the minutes, appearing in seven of Detroit's 10 games while posting a 4-1-0 record and 2.66 GAA.

Pickard is set to start on the road against Minnesota on Wednesday, according to Tony Brar of Oilers TV.

Pickard has a 10-4-0 record, 2.50 GAA and .896 save percentage in 16 appearances in 2024-25. He stopped 19 of 22 shots en route to a 4-3 win over Chicago in his last start Saturday. The Wild are a high-end opponent with a commanding 27-13-4 record, though they're mediocre in terms of goals per game, tying for 17th with 2.95.

Jarry will be waived by the Penguins on Wednesday.

Jarry has struggled in recent weeks, culminating in Wednesday's loss to the Kraken in which he allowed a pair of third-period goals within a span of 50 seconds to turn a 2-1 lead into a 3-2 deficit. The 29-year-old had still served as Pittsburgh's primary netminder for most of the year despite one of the worst seasons of his career, as he posted an 8-8-4 record, 3.31 GAA and .884 save percentage over 22 appearances to begin the 2024-25 campaign. Jarry will likely have a chance to get back into form at AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton if he clears waivers, while Alex Nedeljkovic should take over as Pittsburgh's No. 1 goaltender for now.

Gustavsson will get the starting nod at home against Edmonton on Wednesday, Jessi Pierce of NHL.com reports.

Gustavsson has been struggling of late, going 0-2-0 in his last three appearances while sporting a disastrous 5.81 GAA and .829 save percentage. Despite his underwhelming performances, the 26-year-old backstop will start for the ninth time in the Wild's last 11 outings. Still, if Gustavsson stumbles again, the team will have to consider giving more opportunities to Marc-Andre Fleury, who is currently riding a three-game winning streak.

Although Lindgren (upper body) won't return Thursday in Ottawa, he will travel with the Capitals, according to Tom Gulitti of NHL.com.

Lindgren practiced with the Capitals on Wednesday and traveling will allow him to continue to skate with his teammates. He seems to be making good progress and might return as early as Saturday versus Pittsburgh. The 31-year-old has a 10-8-2 record, 2.65 GAA and .900 save percentage in 21 appearances in 2024-25.

Hogberg turned aside 25 of 26 shots in Tuesday's 2-0 loss to the Senators, with Ottawa's final goal getting scored into an empty net.

The 30-year-old netminder made his NHL debut with Ottawa in 2018-19 and did his best to deliver a revenge game against his former organization, but Adam Gaudette tipped a point shot past Hogberg in the second period, and it was all the offense Leevi Merilainen would need in the other crease. Hogberg has started two straight games while Ilya Sorokin dealt with an illness and played well, allowing only two goals on 48 shots, but Sorokin figures to reclaim the No. 1 job as soon as he's deemed fit. Semyon Varlamov (lower body) has no timeline for his return from LTIR however, and Hogberg's recent performances might earn him more consistent work as Sorokin's backup.

Merilainen made 24 saves in Tuesday's 2-0 win over the Islanders.

All of a sudden, the 22-year-old rookie might be the hottest goalie in the NHL. Merilainen has started three straight games and won all three, with two of those outings producing his first two career shutouts. In seven outings since he was called up in mid-December, he's gone 5-2-0 with a 1.98 GAA and .925 save percentage, and the Senators appear willing to give him a shot at taking the No. 1 job away from Anton Forsberg. There's no timeline yet for Linus Ullmark (back) to make his return from IR, but the Sens could have a dilemma on their hands when he does -- or an opportunity to trade one of their veteran netminders -- if Merilainen is still surging.