NHL Player News

Grubauer (lower body) is not expected to be available Thursday versus the Avalanche.

Grubauer wasn't named by head coach Lane Lambert in pregame, but the fact that Victor Ostman was indicated to be the starter suggests Grubauer remains out. The 34-year-old Grubauer will finish with a 13-12-4 record, a 2.65 GAA and a .909 save percentage in 32 appearances, his best ratios in five years for the Kraken. He'll be in a contract year in 2026-27. If Grubauer's injury isn't too serious, he could also be a contender to be invited in May to the IIHF World Championship for Germany.

Daccord (lower body) is not expected to play Thursday versus the Avalanche.

Head coach Lane Lambert hinted that Victor Ostman would start, and that makes it likely Daccord will not be in uniform since Ostman is up with the big club under emergency conditions. Daccord will end the season at 20-20-6 with a 3.03 GAA and an .896 save percentage, his worst numbers in three years as a starter for the Kraken.

Ostman will guard the road goal versus the Avalanche on Thursday.

Head coach Lane Lambert didn't specifically name Ostman, but referenced the goalie for the game is making his first appearance. That's true for Ostman, who has spent the bulk of the year in the AHL with Coachella Valley, going 17-14-3 with a 2.77 GAA and a .907 save percentage in 35 games. He came up from the AHL over the weekend to provide depth while Joey Daccord and Philipp Grubauer close out the season on the shelf due to their respective lower-body injuries.

Husso will guard the road goal versus the Predators on Thursday, Brooks Bratten of the Predators' official site reports.

Husso will get the start even though the Ducks still have positioning to play for. He has gone 2-1-1 over his last four games, but he's allowed 16 goals on just 102 shots (.843 save percentage) in that span. The Predators are without a few regulars for their season finale, but Husso will need to do better than he has lately to give the Ducks the best chance of finishing where they want to in the standings.

Saros will guard the home goal versus the Ducks on Thursday, Brooks Bratten of the Predators' official site reports.

Saros will get the nod in the season finale after taking a seat for the Predators' last two contests. He has had the worst year of his career with a 3.13 GAA and an .894 save percentage over 59 appearances. Saros will face a Ducks team that is still hungry to secure better positioning in the postseason, so this won't be an easy matchup.

Vejmelka will start Thursday's home game versus the Blues, per the NHL media site.

The Mammoth are not leaning into the rest concept heading into the postseason, as Vejmelka will make his 11th appearance in 12 contests. That's even with Utah locked into the first wild-card spot and a first-round series versus the Golden Knights. Vejmelka is on a roll, going 7-2-0 with a 3.08 GAA and an .888 save percentage over his last 10 games.

Hofer will guard the road goal versus the Mammoth on Thursday, Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic reports.

Hofer will look to end the season on a high note. He's won four of his last five games, allowing just 13 goals on 157 shots (.917 save percentage) in that span. The Mammoth's lineup hasn't been confirmed yet, but since they're locked into a first-round matchup versus the Golden Knights, they could rotate players out for rest. That would make things a little easier on Hofer if it ends up happening that way.

Nedeljkovic is set to start on the road against Winnipeg on Thursday, per Max Miller of NHL.com.

Nedeljkovic stopped 26 of 28 shots en route to a 3-2 win over Nashville in his last start Monday. He's 17-14-4 with a 2.92 GAA and an .894 save percentage in 39 appearances in 2025-26. Manning the net against the Jets will make this the second time he's reached 40 games played in a regular season. Thursday's action will also be an opportunity for him to complete his sweep of the Jets in 2025-26 after stopping 59 of 61 shots (.967 save percentage) en route to victories over Winnipeg on Nov. 7 and March 1.

Garand stopped 29 of 31 shots in Wednesday's 4-2 win over the Lightning.

Garand got the start between the posts since the Rangers had nothing to play for in this regular-season finale, and in his first appearance since March 27, he delivered a solid outing while posting a .935 save percentage. Garand only made three appearances in 2025-26, going 2-0-1 with a 1.62 GAA and a .948 save percentage. He passed the eye test, but three games isn't enough to project the kind of goaltender he'll be at the next level. He's expected to battle for the No. 2 role next season with the confirmed retirement of Jonathan Quick,

Hildeby stopped 35 of 37 shots in Wednesday's 3-1 loss to the Senators. The third goal was an empty-netter.

Hildeby had limited chances at the NHL level this season, going 5-7-4 with a 2.85 GAA and a .912 save percentage over 20 contests. The 24-year-old's path to the NHL isn't much clearer in the next two years since both Joseph Woll and Anthony Stolarz (groin) are under contract through at least 2027-28, though a trade could open a spot. Hildeby will likely head back to AHL Toronto for the Marlies' playoff run in the coming days.