NHL Player News

Shesterkin will guard the visiting goal in Columbus on Saturday, Vince Z. Mercogliano of The Athletic reports.

Shesterkin is 6-6-2 with a 2.50 GAA and a .909 save percentage this season, but he has been outstanding on the road. Shesterkin is 5-1-1 with a 2.25 GAA and a .918 save percentage away from Madison Square Garden this season. The Blue Jackets are generating 3.12 goals per game, 16th in the NHL this season.

Gibson will patrol the home crease against Buffalo on Saturday, per Max Bultman of The Athletic.

Before leaving Thursday's 6-3 win over Anaheim due to an upper-body injury, Gibson allowed two goals on 17 shots. However, he won't miss any additional action. He has posted a 4-5-0 record with a 3.14 GAA and an .882 save percentage across 10 appearances this season. Buffalo is tied for 29th in the league with 2.65 goals per game this campaign.

Ullmark will defend the home goal versus Los Angeles on Saturday, per TSN 1200 Ottawa.

Ullmark has struggled to start the season, despite his 6-4-4 record. The 32-year-old netminder has a 3.21 GAA and a mediocre .870 save percentage over 14 starts. The Kings are generating 2.94 goals per game, 20th in the NHL this season.

Thompson will protect the home net against New Jersey on Saturday, Sammi Silber of The Hockey News reports.

Thompson has lost two of his last three outings while allowing nine goals on 78 shots. He has a 7-5-0 record with a 1.85 GAA and a .923 save percentage across 12 appearances this season. New Jersey ranks eighth in the league with 3.35 goals per game this campaign, but leading scorer Jack Hughes (hand) won't be in the lineup.

Blomqvist (lower body) was activated from non-roster injured reserve and reassigned to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Saturday.

Blomqvist will get plenty of playing time with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and could find himself back in the NHL if Tristan Jarry (lower body) remains out of the lineup for an extended period. Blomqvist posted a 4-9-1 record with a 3.81 GAA and an .885 save percentage in 15 NHL games during the 2024-25 regular season.

Greaves will be between the home pipes versus the Rangers on Saturday, Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports.

Greaves has taken over as the Blue Jackets' No. 1 goalie, as he will be making his fourth straight start. Greaves is 5-4-1 with a 3.00 GAA and an .897 save percentage across 10 starts this season. The Rangers are 28th in NHL scoring, generating 2.67 goals per game, but they're much better on the road, finding the back of the net 36 times over 10 games.

Vejmelka stopped 18 of 21 shots in Friday's 3-2 overtime loss to the Islanders.

Vejmelka couldn't make a 2-1 lead after one period stand. Jonathan Drouin got credit for the equalizer in the third period, and Matthew Schaefer's one-timer from the top of the right faceoff circle in overtime sent Vejmelka to his fourth defeat in his last six outings. He has not faced more than 25 shots in any of those games, which has led to a shaky save percentage despite the Mammoth's effective defense. The 29-year-old netminder slipped to 8-4-1 on the year with a 2.84 GAA and an .880 save percentage over 13 starts. Vejmelka will likely be called on for a challenging road start in Anaheim on Monday, which is the first half of a back-to-back set.

Rittich stopped 27 of 29 shots in Friday's 3-2 overtime win over the Mammoth.

Rittich had gone three games without a start, matching his longest stint on the bench this season. He had to play in the second half of a back-to-back, which saw the Islanders start a little sluggish and then find their way into the game later. Rittich is 4-2-0 on the year, and he's allowed exactly two goals in each of his victories while struggling more heavily in his losses. Ilya Sorokin will still get the bulk of the starts for the Islanders and will likely handle an immensely challenging start Sunday in Colorado.

Binnington stopped 26 of 31 shots in Friday's 6-5 shootout loss to the Flyers.

Binnington had three separate leads to protect in this game, but he squandered each of them. The Flyers' line of Trevor Zegras, Christian Dvorak and Owen Tippett did virtually all of the damage, and it was Zegras who had the lone tally in the shootout to finish off the game. In November, Binnington has gone 2-1-1 with 13 goals allowed over four games, and he's at a 4-5-3 record with a 3.34 GAA and an .869 save percentage over 13 appearances. The Blues play again Saturday versus the Golden Knights, and it'll likely be Joel Hofer in goal for that tough matchup.

Ersson stopped 12 of 17 shots in Friday's 6-5 shootout win over the Blues.

Ersson has faced fewer than 20 shots in three of his six outings on the year, but he's yet to take advantage of light workloads, allowing a total of 12 goals on 45 shots in those games. He's shined in the shootout, which is where he's collected all three of his wins this season. The 26-year-old is 3-1-2 with a 3.30 GAA and an .846 save percentage on the year. Ersson's performance hasn't been good enough on the whole, but it looks like he'll resume splitting time with Dan Vladar in the crease after recovering from a lower-body injury. If the split is even, Vladar can be projected for Saturday's road game in Dallas while Ersson would be lined up for a rematch with the Blues in Philadelphia on Thursday.