NHL Player News

Binnington is slated to defend the road crease against Colorado on Saturday, Lou Korac of NHL.com reports.

Binnington's production declined during the 2025-26 campaign, as he went 13-20-7 with a 3.33 GAA and .873 save percentage across 41 regular-season appearances. He appears to be in line to serve as the backup netminder to begin the regular season, but he'll draw an early-season start in the second half of a back-to-back set since Joel Hofer is starting the Blues' Opening Night matchup on the road against Dallas on Friday.

Swayman will draw the start on the road against Winnipeg on Friday, Adam Pellerin of NESN reports.

Swayman posted a 24-save shutout to begin the regular season at home against the Rangers on Tuesday, so it isn't very surprising to see him tend the twine for a second consecutive matchup Friday. However, Friday's matchup is the first half of a back-to-back set, so Michael DiPietro will likely start Saturday's game in Minnesota. Swayman made 55 regular-season appearances last year, going 31-18-4 with a 2.71 GAA and .907 save percentage.

Hofer will start Friday's road game against Dallas, Lou Korac of NHL.com reports.

The Blues open the regular season with a back-to-back set that includes Friday's matchup followed by a game in Colorado on Saturday. Hofer will draw the Opening Night start against the Stars, while Jordan Binnington is slated to defend the road crease against the Avalanche a day later. Hofer had a career-best season during the 2025-26 campaign, going 24-13-5 with a 2.61 GAA and .909 save percentage across 46 regular-season appearances.

Oettinger was the first goalie off during Friday's morning skate, Stars radio analyst Bruce LeVine reports, indicating that he'll draw the home start during the Stars' regular-season opener against the Blues.

After dealing with a lower-body injury late in the preseason, Oettinger was recently deemed available for the start of the regular season, and he'll officially be in the net for the Stars' Opening Night matchup. The 27-year-old should reprise his role as the Stars' primary goaltender during the 2026-27 campaign after he went 35-12-6 with a 2.59 GAA and .899 save percentage across 54 regular-season appearances last year.

Sorokin is expected to start at home against the Devils on Saturday, Stefen Rosner of NHL.com reports.

Sorokin defended the road crease during Wednesday's Opening Night matchup against the Maple Leafs, and he turned aside 24 of 26 shots in the 2-1 loss. He was the first goalie off during Friday's practice session, signaling that he's slated to draw a second consecutive start to begin the regular season.

Bussi will start Friday's home game against the Capitals, Ryan Henkel of The Hockey News reports.

The 28-year-old was in the starter's crease during Friday's morning skate, and head coach Rod Brind'Amour confirmed that Bussi will draw a second consecutive start to begin the regular season. During Tuesday's Opening Night matchup at home against the Panthers, Bussi turned aside 19 of 20 shots in an overtime loss. The Hurricanes also play on the road against Philadelphia on Saturday, which will likely give Pyotr Kochetkov an opportunity to make his regular-season debut.

Saros made 27 saves in Thursday's 3-1 loss to the Wild.

The veteran netminder got little help from his offense or his defense, as the Predators got out-shot 30-20 on the night. Saros has seen his ratios decline the last few years along with his team's fortunes, but he still figures to get a big enough workload to win 20-plus games for a seventh straight season. Nashville doesn't play back-to-back games until Oct. 24-25, so Saros could get leaned on heavily over the first few weeks of the schedule.

Wallstedt turned aside 19 shots in Thursday's 3-1 win over the Predators.

Roman Josi spoiled his shutout bid with a one-timer midway through the second period, but otherwise Wallstedt had an answer for everything Nashville fired his way. The 23-year-old netminder figures to see a heavy workload over the first month of the season while Filip Gustavsson is recovering from hip surgery, but Wallstedt should be up to the task after a breakout 2025-26 that saw him deliver a 2.61 GAA and .915 save percentage over 35 regular-season games.

Wolf stopped 26 of 32 shots in Thursday's 6-1 loss to the Kraken.

Wolf endured a difficult season debut as Seattle scored three times on just six first-period shots. He settled down to stop all 12 shots he faced in the second, including an excellent recovery save that denied Jordan Eberle, but the Kraken broke through three more times in the third. Wolf ultimately surrendered six goals for just the third time in his NHL career and finished with an .813 save percentage in this woeful season opener.

Daccord stopped 24 of 25 shots in Thursday's 6-1 win over the Flames.

Daccord came within 3:25 of opening the season with a shutout before Ryan Strome beat him from the left circle. The 30-year-old had already received plenty of offensive support by then, with Seattle building a 3-0 first-period lead before adding two more goals early in the third. Daccord also contributed offensively, picking up the secondary assist on Chandler Stephenson's goal. This was a strong debut for Daccord, who posted an .896 save percentage across 47 regular-season appearances in 3025-26.