NHL Player News

Hofer will guard the road goal in Saturday's exhibition matchup against Chicago, per Lou Korac of The Hockey News.

Hofer made 17 saves on 18 shots in Monday's 2-1 preseason loss to Dallas. He will get one last start before the 2026-27 campaign begins. Hofer posted a 24-13-5 record with six shutouts, a 2.61 GAA and a .909 save percentage in 46 appearances during the 2025-26 regular season.

Gibson will guard the home crease in Saturday's preseason contest against the Blue Jackets, per Ansar Khan of MLive.com.

Gibson is expected to play the entirety of Detroit's preseason finale between the pipes. The 33-year-old netminder had a solid first preseason outing, where he allowed just two goals on the 24 shot attempts he saw in a 7-4 win over the Penguins. The veteran backstop is coming off his best year in recent memory and is set to anchor the Red Wings' defense as the clear No. 1 option in net ahead of the 2026-27 campaign.

Knight will start Saturday's preseason finale against the Blues, according to Mark Lazerus of The Athletic.

Knight is expected to play the full game. He posted a 19-25-11 record with three shutouts, a 2.82 GAA and a .902 save percentage in 55 appearances during the 2025-26 regular season. Knight should be a workhorse between the pipes for the Blackhawks again in the 2026-27 campaign.

Kolosov will protect the home net in Saturday's preseason finale against Washington, Jackie Spiegel of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Kolosov is poised to play the entire game. He went 0-2-0 while allowing eight goals on 47 shots in four appearances for Philadelphia during the 2025-26 regular season. If Dan Vladar (upper body) isn't ready for the start of the 2026-27 campaign, Kolosov could enter the year as Joseph Woll's backup.

Schmid will patrol the home crease in Saturday's preseason matchup against Tampa Bay, Jameson Olive of the Panthers' official site reports.

Schmid posted a 16-10-6 record with a 2.59 GAA and an .893 save percentage in 34 regular-season appearances for Vegas in 2025-26. As a member of Florida, he could push Jacob Markstrom for starts in the 2026-27 campaign, but Schmid will likely enter the year as Markstrom's backup.

Blackwood allowed two goals on 26 shots in Friday's 5-2 preseason win over the Jets.

Blackwood played the full game Friday after working half a game versus the Mammoth on Sunday. The 29-year-old netminder will likely get at least half of the starts in 2026-27, though a lot will depend on how Scott Wedgewood performs after his career year in 2025-26. Blackwood has the talent to be a No. 1 on his own, but the Avalanche have the luxury of not needing to push either goalie too hard.

Skinner stopped 28 of 32 shots in Friday's 5-2 preseason loss to the Avalanche. The fifth goal was an empty-netter.

Skinner allowed five goals on 64 shots over his two preseason starts. The 27-year-old faced the Avalanche both times, and while he struggled Friday, he looks prepared for the upcoming campaign. Expect Skinner to get as many starts as he can handle early in the season, as the Jets will likely want to ease Domenic DiVincentiis into the backup role.

Wallstedt stopped 16 of 18 shots in Friday's 2-1 preseason loss to the Stars.

Wallstedt lost both of his preseason outings, giving up three goals on 42 shots. He faced an NHL-caliber roster Friday, so the narrow loss is nothing to be concerned about. Expect to see a heavy amount of starts for Wallstedt while Filip Gustavsson (hip) finishes his recovery early in 2026-27.

DeSmith stopped 26 of 27 shots in Friday's 2-1 preseason win over the Wild.

DeSmith stopped 56 of 58 shots over his two preseason games, winning both of them. The Stars didn't get to see Jake Oettinger (lower body) during the preseason, but the injury is not considered too serious. Still, if Oettinger misses the start of the season or any time throughout the campaign, DeSmith is a capable backup. DeSmith enters 2026-27 as a spot-start streamer in fantasy whenever he's between the pipes.

Shesterkin stopped 15 of 16 shots in Friday's 6-1 preseason win over the Islanders.

Facing a largely AHL-level lineup, Shesterkin had little work to do. The 30-year-old netminder is ready to handle the bulk of the time in goal for the Rangers in 2026-27, though he'll have a capable backup on hand in Joonas Korpisalo. Shesterkin may struggle to get wins for a team in a retooling phase, but he should post decent ratios even with a heavy workload.