NHL Player News

Vejmelka posted a 15-save shutout in Thursday's 6-0 win over the Blackhawks.

Vejmelka had no trouble in this contest, which the Mammoth took control of quickly. The 30-year-old had just two shutouts in all of the 2025-26 regular season, when he went 38-20-3 with a 2.75 GAA and an .896 save percentage. Utah's roster beefed up in the offseason, though that mainly was due to additions up front. In any case, Vejmelka has proven he can handle a strong workload, and he's got plenty of upside on a team poised to take a step up in 2026-27. The Mammoth have a back-to-back on the road this weekend, visiting the Blue Jackets on Saturday and the Rangers on Sunday, so expect Vejmelka and Sebastian Cossa to split those contests.

Soderblom allowed six goals on 32 shots in Thursday's 6-0 loss to the Mammoth.

Soderblom didn't put in a great showing, but the Blackhawks' defense didn't do him in any favors. With a young blue line in front of him, it could be rough early in the season. Soderblom also hasn't logged a save percentage better than .898 in any of his NHL campaigns, so it's unlikely he'll be able to steal a game when his teammates are off their game. The Blackhawks wrap up their season-opening road trip in Buffalo on Saturday, which will likely be a start for Spencer Knight.

Vasilevskiy made 20 saves Thursday in a 5-1 loss to the Rangers. He allowed four goals.

This was not on Vasilevskiy. The Lightning offense was moribund, especially in the third frame when they managed just six shots despite being on the power play for close to seven minutes. Vasilevskiy is all-world, but he can't win without a little help from his team.

Shesterkin scored his first career goalie goal and made 24 saves in a 5-1 win over Tampa Bay on Thursday.

Shesterkin is the first goalie in Rangers' history to score a goal and the 18th in league history. There have been 21 goalie goals in NHL history, with 19 in the regular season and two in the playoffs. He grabbed a shoot-in that came off the back boards and whipped a long shot into the empty net at 17:26 of the third period to cap the scoring. It was also Shesterkin's 100th win at Madison Square Garden (177 games). He's the fourth-fastest goalie in team history to record that number after Mike Richter (172 games), Eddie Giacomin (173) and Henrik Lundqvist (176).

Allen made 23 saves Thursday in a 3-2 overtime win over the Flyers.

Allen had no chance on the first goal. The Flyers had the extra attacker out on a delayed penalty and put massive Rasmus Ristolainen on the top edge of his crease. Allen didn't even see the puck. The Devils net will be a bit of mess early this season with backups Nico Daws and Remi Poirier both needing to clear waivers to be sent down to the AHL. That will suppress Allen's starts, but that might be a good thing at age 36. Last season, he compiled a 17-17-2 record with a 2.74 GAA and a strong .904 save percentage in 37 starts. Unfortunately, that will also diminish Allen's fantasy value overall.

Woll made 41 saves in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Devils on Thursday.

Woll saw a lot of pucks in his Flyers debut and was strong all night, especially when fending off all four Devils power plays. He will play second fiddle to Dan Vladar in the Philly net, but Woll has the talent to turn this into a true tandem if he can stay healthy.

Soderblom is slated to start on the road against Utah on Thursday, per Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times.

Soderblom is drawing into Chicago's second game of the season after Spencer Knight stopped 32 of 36 shots en route to a 5-2 loss to Vegas on Tuesday. Knight's likely to get the majority of Chicago's workload this campaign, but Soderblom should end up accumulating over 25 starts in 2026-27. The 27-year-old Soderblom finished the 2025-26 regular season with an 8-13-3 record, 3.80 GAA and .880 save percentage in 26 outings.

D'Aigle was reassigned to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Thursday, per the AHL's official site.

D'Aigle battled an injury during training camp, but this move suggests he's now healthy. He'll be in contention for starts with the minor-league team, though he could also ultimately get loaned back to the QMJHL to get more reps.

Daccord will tend the road twine versus the Flames on Thursday, per Sound of Hockey.

Daccord will get the nod for the season opener as he tries to bounce back from a down year. He went 20-20-6 with a 3.03 GAA and an .896 save percentage over 47 appearances in 2025-26. Should Daccord struggle again in 2026-27, Philipp Grubauer could push to make Seattle's crease an even rotation of starts.

Wallstedt is expected to start on the road against Nashville on Thursday, per Dylan Loucks of The Hockey News.

Wallstedt has an 18-9-6 record, 2.61 GAA and .915 save percentage in 35 regular-season appearances with Minnesota in 2025-26. He's likely to be leaned on heavily at the start of the 2026-27 campaign because Filip Gustavsson (hip) is expected to be out until at least early November. Calvin Pickard will serve as the backup Thursday, and he might get the occasional start during Gustavsson's absence.