NHL Player News

Ersson (lower body) was activated from injured reserve on Thursday.

While Ersson is back on the Flyers' roster, Dan Vladar is expected to start Thursday in Nashville. Ersson could be back between the pipes as soon as Saturday's home matinee game versus the Senators. With Ersson healthy, it's safe to assume Aleksei Kolosov's playing time will drop, or Kolosov could be sent to AHL Lehigh Valley in a later move.

Forsberg will start Thursday's home game against the Panthers, John Hoven of SiriusXM NHL Network Radio reports.

Forsberg has started in just one of the Kings' last eight games, but he'll get the start against a Florida squad that has struggled early in the season, scoring just 2.54 goals per game, which is the fourth-worst mark in the league. Over four appearances this year, Forsberg has gone 2-1-1 with a 3.18 GAA and .894 save percentage.

Andersen will defend the home crease against the Wild on Thursday, Walt Ruff of the Hurricanes' official site reports.

Andersen has largely struggled over his last four starts, going 1-3-0 with a 3.49 GAA and .891 save percentage during that time. He'll have a favorable matchup against the Wild, who are scoring 2.79 goals per game this season, which is tied for the 10th-worst mark in the league.

Lindbom was the first goalie to exit the ice Thursday, Jesse Granger of The Athletic reports, indicating he'll be between the pipes again home versus the Lightning.

Lindbom has lost his first two starts of the year, going 0-1-1 despite a decent 2.50 GAA. With Adin Hill (lower body) sidelined, the 22-year-old Lindbom figures to serve as the No. 2 option behind Akira Schmid, who will see the bulk of the starts for the time being.

Dostal will tend the twine on the road against Dallas on Thursday, Derek Lee of The Hockey News reports.

Dostal enters Thursday's matchup riding a four-game winning streak in which he's posted a 1.97 GAA and .932 save percentage. He'll attempt to continue his success against the Stars, who are putting up 2.67 goals per game to begin the year, which is tied for the seventh-worst mark in the NHL.

Sorokin is slated to start Saturday's road game against the Rangers, Stefen Rosner of NHL.com reports.

Sorokin has had some early-season struggles, going 3-4-2 with a 3.33 GAA and .879 save percentage over his first nine appearances of the season, but he's still started the majority of the games in the crease for the Islanders. He'll tend the twine in the second half of a back-to-back set Saturday and will have a favorable matchup against the Rangers, who are averaging a league-worst 2.21 goals this season.

Rittich will get the starting nod for Friday's home game against the Wild, Stefen Rosner of NHL.com reports.

Rittich will take the first game of the Isles' back-to-back before Ilya Sorokin tends the twine on the road versus the Rangers on Saturday. It will be the fifth appearance of the season for the 33-year-old Rittich, having gone 3-1-0 with a 3.01 GAA in his previous four outings. If Rittich can keep racking up wins, he could force head coach Patrick Roy to give him some more opportunities down the stretch.

Gustavsson will start Thursday's road game against Carolina, Joe Smith of The Athletic reports.

Gustavsson has picked up wins in each of his last two outings, and he'll draw a fifth consecutive start Thursday. He's had a shaky start to the season overall, going 4-6-1 with a 3.11 GAA and .900 save percentage over 11 appearances. The Hurricanes are generating 3.58 goals per game to begin the season, which ranks fourth in the league.

Vladar will defend the visiting crease in Nashville on Thursday.

Vladar has been strong this season and has snatched the No. 1 job with the Flyers away from Samuel Ersson (lower body). Vladar is 5-3-0 with a 2.33 GAA and a .912 save percentage this season, his first with the Flyers. Nashville is 30th in NHL scoring, averaging only 2.53 goals per game.

Hofer will defend the road crease against Buffalo on Thursday, Heather Engel of NHL.com reports.

Hofer hasn't been particularly sharp early in the season, going 1-3-0 with a 5.02 GAA and .836 save percentage over six appearances. However, he'll have a relatively favorable matchup against the Sabres, who are scoring 2.85 goals per game this year, which is tied for 19th in the NHL.