NHL Player News

Markstrom is expected to defend the home crease versus the Kings on Thursday, according to Amanda Stein of the Devils' official site.

Markstrom has allowed only five goals on 75 shots in his last three games, going 2-0-1. The veteran netminder is 13-6-2 with a 2.48 GAA and a .906 save percentage across 21 appearances with the Devils this season. He will face the red-hot Kings who are 8-2-0 in their last 10 games.

Sorokin was the first goalie off Thursday, Andrew Gross of Newsday reports, indicating he'll start at home against the Blackhawks.

Sorokin has been relatively effective in recent outings with a 2.29 GAA and .919 save percentage over his last six appearances, but he's had to settle for a 3-2-1 record during that time. Although the Islanders' offense remains lackluster, he'll have a favorable matchup Thursday, as the Blackhawks generate just 2.39 goals per game, the third-worst mark in the league.

Kolosov will start Thursday's home game against the Red Wings, Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports.

Kolosov has been somewhat inconsistent in recent starts, but he'll have a chance to right the ship Thursday against the Red Wings, who rank 27th in the NHL with 2.57 goals per game this year. Across his last three starts, Kolosov has posted a 1-1-1 record, 3.69 GAA and .872 save percentage.

Gibson gave up five goals on 34 shots in Wednesday's 5-1 loss to the Senators.

Ottawa cashed in three times on the power play, with Drake Batherson scoring two-thirds of his hat trick with the man advantage. The Ducks rank 28th in the league in penalty killing, checking in at a 72.4 percent success rate. Gibson has lost four starts in a row, giving up 14 goals in that span while trending in the wrong direction after a positive start to the campaign. He's now 4-4-1 with a 3.01 GAA and a .906 save percentage. Lukas Dostal is slated to start Thursday versus the Maple Leafs and could be due for a larger role between the pipes -- Gibson has been starting two out of three games lately, but a 50-50 split may better suit both goalies.

Ullmark stopped 31 of 32 shots in Wednesday's 5-1 win over the Ducks.

Ullmark has allowed exactly one goal in each of his last three games, winning all of them. The 31-year-old limited the Ducks to a Cutter Gauthier tally in the third period in Wednesday's contest. Ullmark improved to 8-7-2 with a 2.70 GAA and a .903 save percentage through 18 appearances. It's taken some time for him to get on track, but the Swede is looking like the goalie the Senators expected him to be when they traded from him over the summer. The Senators have a back-to-back up next, with a tough road game against the Hurricanes on Friday followed by a more favorable home matchup against the Penguins on Saturday.

Luukkonen allowed two goals on 27 shots in Wednesday's 3-2 loss to the Rangers. The third goal was an empty-netter.

Luukkonen didn't get any goal support for over 55 minutes, and it was an empty-netter that set the Rangers apart. The Sabres scored once after that Adam Fox tally to make it the decisive goal. Luukkonen is 0-4-2 during his six-game losing streak, but this was one of his better performances during the skid. Overall, the 25-year-old netminder is 8-8-3 with a 2.79 GAA and a .903 save percentage over 20 starts this season. The Sabres have a brutal back-to-back ahead with road games Saturday against the Capitals and Sunday versus the Maple Leafs.

Shesterkin stopped 29 of 31 shots in Wednesday's 3-2 win over the Sabres.

Shesterkin was working with thin margins for most of the game, but he was able to get the job done. The Sabres' two goals came over the last five minutes. Shesterkin has just two wins over his last eight outings, but he's allowed exactly two goals in four of his last five starts. He's now at a 10-10-1 record with a 2.90 GAA and a .911 save percentage through 21 starts. The Rangers are back in action at home Saturday against the Kings before heading to St. Louis on Sunday for the second half of a back-to-back set.

Dostal is expected to start Thursday's road game in Toronto, Derek Lee of The Hockey News reports.

John Gibson is starting Wednesday in Ottawa, while Dostal will take the second half of the back-to-back. Dostal's playing time has dropped lately -- he's played four of 10 games from Nov. 18 to Dec. 9, going 2-1-1 with a 2.43 GAA and a .914 save percentage in that span. Gibson's been in a bit of a rut, so Dostal may have a chance to get more playing time soon.

Gibson will guard the road goal in Wednesday's game versus the Senators, per TSN 1200 Ottawa.

Gibson has allowed nine goals on 82 shots during his three-game losing streak. The Senators have gone five games without scoring more than three goals, though they are 2-2-1 in that span.

Luukkonen will protect the home goal versus the Rangers on Wednesday, Heather Engel of NHL.com reports.

Luukkonen has lost his last five outings, and he's allowed at least four goals in three of those games. The 25-year-old may catch a bit of a reprieve in this contest, as the Rangers are also struggling, having scored just 16 goals over their last six contests.