NHL Player News

Merilainen will start Thursday's home game against the Capitals, Graeme Nichols of The Hockey News reports.

Merilainen has seen limited playing time in recent weeks, but he'll draw a second consecutive start for the first time this season during Thursday's matchup. Over his last seven appearances, he's gone 1-6-0 with a 3.49 GAA and .870 save percentage.

Dobes will protect the visiting cage in Carolina on Thursday, Eric Engels of Sportsnet reports.

Dobes will make his first start in four games. He is 12-5-3 with a 2.90 GAA and an .894 save percentage across 20 appearances this season. The Hurricanes are generating 3.23 goals per game, ninth in the NHL.

Knight will defend the home goal versus Dallas on Thursday, Tracey Myers of NHL.com reports.

Knight snapped a five-game losing streak in regulation time Tuesday, with a 3-2 overtime loss to the Islanders. Knight has been terrific this season, posting a 10-11-2 record with a 2.62 GAA and a .910 save percentage across 27 starts. The Stars are second in NHL scoring, producing 3.43 goals per game.

Thompson will get the starting nod on the road against Ottawa on Thursday, Bailey Johnson of The Washington Post reports.

Thompson has been struggling of late, giving up four or more goals in three of his last four outings while posting a 1-3-0 record and a 4.25 GAA. Despite the recent slump, the 28-year-old backstop remains on pace to reach the 25-win mark for the third straight year.

Silovs was the first goaltender off the ice at morning practice, and is slated to defend the home net versus Detroit on Thursday, according to Penguins play-by-play announcer Josh Getzoff.

Silovs has won his last two starts, boosting his record to 6-5-6 with a 3.21 GAA and an .886 save percentage in 18 games. Silovs will face the red-hot Red Wings, who are tied with Carolina atop the Eastern Conference standings with 51 points.

Dostal turned aside 25 shots in Wednesday's 4-3 overtime loss to the Lightning.

The Ducks never held a lead in the game, but Dostal didn't let the deficit grow to more than one goal before Darren Raddysh finally ended things in OT. The 25-year-old had a bumpy end to 2025, giving up 14 goals on just 68 shots over his final three outings, and on the season, Dostal is 13-9-2 with a 3.15 GAA and .888 save percentage.

Vasilevskiy stopped 25 shots in Wednesday's 4-3 overtime win over the Ducks.

The Lightning kept taking one-goal leads only to see the home squad quickly tie things up, but the back-and-forth contest ended on Darren Raddysh's OT winner that Vasilevskiy picked up an assist on. The perennial Vezina contender has won four straight starts, and he heads into the new year with a 15-7-2 record, 2.33 GAA and .913 save percentage on the season.

Gibson turned aside 23 of 24 shots on net in Wednesday's 2-1 win over the Jets.

Gibson turned in a fantastic performance in Wednesday's contest, as he didn't allow a goal until the 47-minute mark while Detroit's offense had already scored two goals. With the win, he is up to a 13-8-1 record with a 2.97 GAA and an .893 save percentage through 23 outings this season. After losing his first game in nine tries in his last appearance, the win brings him up to a 9-1-0 record with a 2.21 GAA and a .925 save percentage over his last 10 starts. During that stretch, he allowed two goals or less exactly half of those starts, which includes two shutouts. The Red Wings currently hold a two-point lead over the rest of the Atlantic Division and have shown no signs of slowing down. With Gibson commanding the bulk of the team's starts, he could be in for one of the best seasons of his career, making him a top waiver-wire add in a solid chunk of fantasy formats.

Schmid made 15 saves in Wednesday's 4-2 loss to the Predators.

The Golden Knights grabbed a 2-0 lead before the midway point in the first period, but their offense went cold the rest of the way and Schmid couldn't make the early advantage hold up. The 25-year-old netminder has given up nine goals on just 44 shots over his last two starts, and on the season he's posted an 11-4-4 record with a 2.50 GAA and .895 save percentage. Adin Hill (lower body) still lacks a clear target date for his return, so Schmid will continue battling Carter Hart for playing time into 2026.

Annunen turned aside 29 shots in Wednesday's 4-2 win over the Golden Knights.

Vegas struck twice before the midway point in the first period to put the Predators on the ropes early, but Annunen kept his focus and slammed the door shut the rest of the way. The 25-year-old netminder has won back-to-back starts for the first time all season, giving Nashville's backup a bit of momentum heading into 2026, but through 12 outings he sports a 3-5-1 record with a 3.29 GAA and .875 save percentage.