NHL Player News
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Darcy Kuemper G | LA
Kings' Darcy Kuemper: Slated to start Thursday
Kuemper (illness) is expected to start at home against the Islanders on Thursday, per Zach Dooley of the Kings' official site.
Kuemper missed Monday's game against Colorado due to the illness. He has a 14-12-9 record, 2.68 GAA and .897 save percentage in 37 outings in 2025-26. The Islanders suffered a 5-1 loss to Anaheim on Wednesday, which snapped New York's five-game winning streak. The Islanders are 35-22-5 this season.
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Andrei Vasilevskiy G | TB
Lightning's Andrei Vasilevskiy: Set to face Winnipeg
Vasilevskiy is expected to start on the road against Winnipeg on Thursday.
Vasilevskiy has a 28-9-3 record, 2.26 GAA and .914 save percentage in 40 appearances in 2025-26. While he's having a great campaign, the netminder has struggled recently, losing his past two outings while allowing nine goals on 35 shots (.743 save percentage). Winnipeg is coming off a 3-2 overtime victory over Chicago on Tuesday, but the Jets are still an underwhelming 5-4-5 across their past 14 games.
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Juuse Saros G | NSH
Predators' Juuse Saros: In goal versus Bruins
Saros will protect the home goal versus the Bruins on Thursday, Brooks Bratten of the Predators' official site reports.
Saros is set to make his third start in five games since the Olympics. He has lost his last three results at the NHL level, giving up 12 goals on 98 shots in those contests. The Bruins have scored seven goals over their last three games, winning two of them.
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Joseph Woll G | TOR
Maple Leafs' Joseph Woll: Guarding goal versus Rangers
Woll will protect the road goal versus the Rangers on Thursday, David Alter of The Hockey News reports.
Woll is set to get a favorable matchup, though this is the second half of a back-to-back for the Maple Leafs. The Rangers are sitting Vincent Trocheck and Sam Carrick for roster-management reasons in this contest. Woll has lost his last two outings, allowing eight goals on 63 shots in those contests, so he's far from a lock for a good performance even against a depleted roster.
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Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen G | BUF
Sabres' Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen: In goal Thursday versus Pittsburgh
Luukkonen will guard the road goal versus the Penguins on Thursday, Heather Engel of NHL.com reports.
Luukkonen has won his last two outings, giving up just three goals on 66 shots in those games. The 26-year-old has been splitting time with Alex Lyon, who is also on a roll. Luukkonen will face a team that has 12 goals over four games since the Olympic break.
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Sam Montembeault G | MON
Canadiens' Sam Montembeault: Set to start Friday
Montembeault will serve as the starting netminder for Friday's road game against Anaheim, Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports reports.
Montembeault has largely struggled in limited action dating back to mid-January, going 2-2-2 with a 3.32 GAA and .886 save percentage over his last six starts. He'll attempt to bounce back against the Ducks, who rank 13th in the NHL with 3.25 goals per game this year.
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John Gibson G | DET
Red Wings' John Gibson: Available for Friday
Gibson (upper body) is available to play at home against Florida on Friday, per Ansar Khan of MLive.com.
It remains to be seen if Gibson will be the starter Friday, but he's an option. Detroit returned Sebastian Cossa to AHL Grand Rapids as a result of Gibson's availability. The 32-year-old Gibson has a 23-12-2 record, 2.57 GAA and .906 save percentage in 39 appearances in 2025-26.
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Sebastian Cossa G | DET
Red Wings' Sebastian Cossa: Sent to AHL Grand Rapids
Cossa was reassigned to AHL Grand Rapids on Thursday.
Cossa was recalled Wednesday when John Gibson (upper body) was unable to play or back up Cam Talbot. It appears that Gibson should be good to go Friday against Florida, eliminating the need for Cossa. Cossa is 24-4-3 with a 1.99 GAA and a .927 save percentage across 31 AHL games this season, and his wins and GAA trail only Michael DiPietro among AHL goaltenders in 2025-26.
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Darcy Kuemper G | LA
Kings' Darcy Kuemper: Game-time call Thursday
Kuemper (illness) is expected to be a game-time decision for Thursday's home matchup against the Islanders, Zach Dooley of the Kings' official site reports.
Kuemper wasn't available for Monday's 4-2 loss to Colorado due to his illness. He has a 14-12-9 record, 2.68 GAA and .897 save percentage across 37 outings in 2025-26. The Kings currently have two goaltenders on the roster between him and Anton Forsberg, so Los Angeles will probably recall a netminder from the minors if Kuemper isn't an option Thursday. It's also possible that Kuemper will end up dressing as the backup if he's feeling better but still isn't 100 percent.
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Linus Ullmark G | OTT
Senators' Linus Ullmark: Starting against Calgary
Ullmark will draw the road start against Calgary on Thursday, Julian McKenzie of The Athletic reports.
Ullmark has gone 1-0-2 with a 2.94 GAA and .887 save percentage over his last three starts, and he'll tend the twine for a fourth consecutive matchup following the Olympic break. During a home start against the Flames on Oct. 30, he turned aside 26 of 29 shots (.897 save percentage) in a 4-3 overtime victory.