NHL Player News

Gustavsson (illness) is expected to back up Jesper Wallstedt for Friday's road game versus the Mammoth, Joe Smith of The Athletic reports.

Gustavsson was ill Thursday but still put in a good performance to earn the win. He has a 21-9-6 record with a 2.60 GAA and a .909 save percentage over 37 outings this season. While he's on the bench Friday, Gustavsson is the Wild's more experienced goalie and may take a slight majority of the playing time moving forward.

Wallstedt will guard the road goal versus the Mammoth on Friday, Joe Smith of The Athletic reports.

Wallstedt will get the second half of a back-to-back. He was pressed into duty late in Thursday's win over the Avalanche after Filip Gustavsson (illness) was unable to finish the contest. Gustavsson is feeling well enough to back up, so the Wild should be able to establish some kind of rotation to keep Wallstedt playing regularly moving forward.

DiVincentiis was reassigned to AHL Manitoba on Friday.

DiVincentiis was with the Jets for their first game coming out of the Olympic break, affording Connor Hellebuyck to get extra rest. With Hellebuyck returning to the crease Friday in Anaheim, DiVincentiis will head back to Manitoba, where he'll compete for steady playing time in the AHL.

Hellebuyck (not injury related) is expected to guard the cage on the road against the Ducks on Friday, Mitchell Clinton of the Jets' official site reports.

Hellebuyck was added back to the Jets' roster ahead of Friday's contest. Before the Olympic break, the 32-year-old netminder was struggling in the crease, going 1-4-3 with a 3.01 GAA in his last eight outings. The backstop is coming off a phenomenal Olympics that saw him secure the gold medal for Team USA. Hellebuyck will look to carry that momentum into the rest of the 2025-26 campaign.

Tarasov is slated to be between the home pipes versus Buffalo on Friday.

Tarasov suffered a lower-body injury in his last start, prior to the Olympic break Feb. 5, but was deemed healthy enough to return a week ago. He backed up Sergei Bobrovsky on Thursday. Tarasov enters the Buffalo game with an 8-8-2 record, a 2.83 GAA and an .899 save percentage in 19 appearances this season. The Sabres are ninth in scoring, averaging 3.34 goals per contest.

Lyon will guard the visiting cage in Florida on Friday, Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News reports.

Lyon is having a stellar year between the pipes, his best to date in the NHL. He is 14-8-3 with a pair of shutouts, a 2.72 GAA and a .913 save percentage over 27 contests this season. The 33-year-old netminder will face a tired Florida team, who beat the Maple Leafs 5-1 on Thursday.

Vejmelka was the first goaltender off the ice at morning skate, Brogan Houston of the Deseret News reports, and is expected to patrol the home crease versus Minnesota on Friday.

Vejmelka is 27-15-2 with a 2.61 GAA and a .901 save percentage across 45 contests this season. He will face the Wild, who are 10th in NHL scoring, generating 3.34 goals per game.

Hofer stopped 23 of 24 shots in Thursday's 5-1 win over the Kraken.

Hofer didn't have a lot of work against an anemic Seattle offense that has scored just two goals in two games since the league resumed. It also allowed Hofer to get back to winning ways, as he had allowed six goals on 28 shots in a loss to Nashville before the break in his previous outing. Hofer is alternating with Jordan Binnington, and the latter is likely to get the start against the Devils on Saturday. Hofer has gone 13-11-3 with a 2.87 GAA and an .897 save percentage this season.

Grubauer stopped 27 of 31 shots in Thursday's loss to the Blues. The fifth goal was an empty-netter with 3:01 left in the game.

Grubauer made his first start since returning from Olympic duty but wasn't at his best. The struggles have been real of late for Grubauer, who has given up at least three goals in three of his last four starts dating back to Jan. 23. He owns a 2.56 GAA and a .911 save percentage since the beginning of January, however, so he's been much better than those recent numbers indicate.

Shesterkin allowed three goals on 24 shots in Thursday's 3-2 overtime loss to the Flyers.

The 30-year-old goaltender was making his return to the lineup after missing the Rangers' last 13 games due to a lower-body injury. Shesterkin has made 35 starts this season, and while his 17-12-5 record is far from ideal, he's been one of the few bright spots for a struggling Rangers team in 2025-26 with a 2.47 GAA and a .912 save percentage.