NHL Player News

Schmid is expected to start for Switzerland against Canada on Friday at the 2026 Winter Olympics, Jesse Granger of The Athletic reports.

Schmid is getting his first start of the tournament after Leonardo Genoni earned a 4-0 shutout victory over France on Thursday. Schmid is drawing the far tougher assignment. Canada has a stacked roster that includes Connor McDavid, Macklin Celebrini, Nathan MacKinnon and Sidney Crosby. Schmid will also be up against some of his Vegas teammates in Mark Stone, Mitch Marner and Shea Theodore. The 25-year-old Schmid has a 16-6-6 record, 2.53 GAA and .895 save percentage in 29 outings with the Golden Knights this campaign.

Thompson will patrol the Canadian crease versus Switzerland on Friday at the 2026 Winter Olympics, per Mark Masters of TSN.

Jordan Binnington, who stymied the Czechs on Thursday with a 26-save shutout, is getting the night off, and Darcy Kuemper will back up Thompson. Thompson is 19-16-4 with a 2.45 GAA and a .912 save percentage across 39 starts for Washington this season. Switzerland opened its Olympic Games with a 4-0 win over France on Thursday.

Saros made 34 saves in Finland's 4-1 win over Sweden in Olympic round-robin action Friday.

A Rasmus Dahlin power-play tally was the only puck to get past Saros in an impressive performance. The Predators netminder has allowed four goals on 59 shots through two Olympic outings, but he could get a breather Saturday against Italy, with Joonas Korpisalo or Kevin Lankinen getting the nod for Finland instead.

Gustavsson stopped 20 of 23 shots in Sweden's 4-1 loss to Finland on Friday in Olympic round-robin action, with Finland's final goal getting scored into an empty net.

The 27-year-old netminder got outplayed by Juuse Saros in the other crease, but Gustavsson also didn't get a lot of support, as Sweden's only goal was scored by Rasmus Dahlin on a second-period power play. After allowing five goals on 45 shots in his first two Olympic outings, Gustavsson will get a breather Saturday against Slovakia, with Jacob Markstrom or Jesper Wallstedt expected to be between the pipes.

Vladar will defend the Czech goal versus France on Friday at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Vladar backed up Lukas Dostal on Thursday as Canada defeated the Czechs 5-0. Vladar is having an outstanding season with the Flyers, going 17-8-6 with a gaudy 2.47 GAA and a .905 save percentage. France looks to be the weakest team in the tournament, and that will benefit Vladar.

Andersen stopped 23 of 26 shots in Denmark's 3-1 loss to Germany in the 2026 Olympics on Thursday.

Andersen was beaten once in the first period and twice more in the second. Things won't get easier for the Hurricanes' netminder since Denmark's next game is scheduled for Saturday against Team USA.

Grubauer stopped 37 of 38 shots in Germany's 3-1 win over Denmark in the 2026 Olympics on Thursday.

Grubauer was busy throughout the game, but he managed to secure the victory while receiving decent support from the offense in a low-scoring affair. Grubauer has an 11-6-3 record, 2.43 GAA and .916 save percentage in 22 outings with Seattle in 2025-26.

Gustavsson will draw the starting assignment for Sweden against Finland on Friday at the 2026 Winter Olympics, per Ethan Sears of the New York Post.

Gustavsson will make his second straight start for Sweden -- he allowed two goals on 22 shots in a 5-2 victory over Italy on Wednesday. The 27-year-old netminder is 20-9-6 with a 2.64 GAA and a .906 save percentage over 36 games this season for the Wild. The Finns have their backs against the wall after dropping a 4-1 decision to Slovakia on Wednesday.

Saros will be between the pipes versus Sweden on Friday at the 2026 Winter Olympics, according to Finnish reporter Ville Touro.

Saros will make his second start for Finland after allowing three goals on 24 shots in a 4-1 loss to Slovakia on Wednesday. Saros is 21-17-5 with a 3.20 GAA and an .892 save percentage across 44 appearances for Nashville this season. It's a must-win game for the Finns against their archrivals from Sweden, as another loss will severely hurt their chances of qualifying for the quarterfinals.

Merzlikins stopped 33 of 38 shots on goal in Latvia's 5-1 loss to the United States in Olympic round-robin play Thursday.

Merzlikins had the odds stacked against him in Thursday's contest and played well to not allow the game-winning goal before the 30-minute mark. His early effort Thursday reflected where he left off with Columbus before the Olympic break, as he had a 3-0-0 record, a 1.67 GAA, a .933 save percentage and a shutout across his last three starts. He'll likely receive one more start during Olympic round-robin play and should get a game of rest if Latvia turns to Penguins netminder Arturs Silovs to change things up.