NHL Player News

Oettinger will defend the road crease during Thursday's Opening Night matchup against Winnipeg, Owen Newkirk of DLLS Sports reports.

Oettinger has been stellar for Dallas over the past few years and remains firmly entrenched as the team's No. 1 goaltender for the 2025-26 campaign. He made 58 regular-season appearances last year, going 36-18-4 with a 2.59 GAA and .909 save percentage.

Dostal (lower body) will defend the road net in Anaheim's season opener against Seattle on Thursday, per Zach Cavanagh of The Sporting Tribune.

Dostal had a 23-23-7 record, 3.10 GAA and .903 save percentage in 54 appearances in 2024-25. He should get the bulk of the starts this year, especially after the Ducks dealt John Gibson over the summer. However, Anaheim isn't entering the campaign as a favorite to earn a playoff berth, and the quality of the team in front of him might limit Dostal's fantasy value this campaign.

Vejmelka was the first goaltender off the ice at morning skate, Cole Bagley of KSL Sports reports, and will get the Opening Night assignment in Colorado on Thursday.

Vejmelka took a huge step forward last season, posting a 26-22-8 mark with a 2.58 GAA and a .904 save percentage, far superior to 2023-24 when he went 13-19-2 with a 3.35 GAA and an .895 save percentage. The Avalanche won their first game of the season Tuesday, finding the back of the net on four occasions in a road win over Los Angeles.

Nedeljkovic will get the Opening Night assignment at home versus Vegas on Thursday, per Curtis Pashelka of The San Jose Mercury News.

Nedeljkovic played the last two seasons with Pittsburgh, posting a 14-15-5 record with a 3.12 GAA and an .894 save percentage across 38 regular-season appearances in 2024-25. He was dealt to San Jose in the offseason and his role in San Jose is likely as the backup to Yaroslav Askarov this season. The Golden Knights lost their opener Wednesday, falling 6-5 in a shootout to the Kings.

Daccord was the first goalie off during Thursday's morning skate, Mike Benton of the Kraken Audio Network reports, indicating that he'll draw the Opening Night start at home against the Ducks.

Daccord has made at least 50 regular-season appearances for the Kraken in each of the last two years, and he's poised to serve as Seattle's primary netminder once again during the 2025-26 campaign. Over 57 regular-season outings last year, he went 27-23-5 with a 2.75 GAA and .906 save percentage. He should have a relatively favorable matchup to begin the year, as the Ducks averaged just 2.65 goals last season, which was the third-worst mark in the NHL.

Binnington will patrol the home crease Opening Night versus Minnesota on Thursday, per Matthew DeFranks of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Binnington was stellar in preseason action, allowing only two goals on 73 shots (.973 save percentage). The 32-year-old netminder was 28-22-5 with a 2.69 GAA and a .900 save percentage across 56 regular-season appearances in 2024-25.

Ullmark will draw the road Opening Night assignment in goal against Tampa Bay on Thursday, Julian McKenzie of The Athletic reports.

Ullmark solidified Ottawa's netminding in 2024-25 after an offseason trade from Boston. He was 25-14-3 with four shutouts, a 2.72 GAA and a .909 save percentage. He will likely play 45-50 games this season, as the Senators are quite high on young goaltender Leevi Merilainen.

Wedgewood will get the starting nod at home against Utah on Thursday, Jesse Montano of Guerilla Sports reports.

Wedgewood put up a fantastic performance in the season opener, stopping 24 of 25 shots in a road victory over the Kings. While Mackenzie Blackwood (lower body) has returned to practice, the crease will belong to Wedgewood for the time being. Eventually, the 33-year-old Wedgewood figures to be relegated to the backup role but could play himself into a more even split share if he continues to perform well.

Andersen will defend the home crease during Thursday's Opening Night matchup against the Devils, Walt Ruff of the Hurricanes' official site reports.

Andersen will draw the start in Thursday's regular-season opener, while Brandon Bussi will serve as the backup since Pyotr Kochetkov (undisclosed) is "nicked up." Andersen made 22 regular-season appearances for Carolina last year, going 13-8-1 with a 2.50 GAA and .899 save percentage. He's been effective over a limited sample across the past two seasons, and he'll likely split goaltending duties with Kochetkov this year.

Greaves will serve as the starting goaltender for Thursday's Opening Night matchup on the road against Nashville, Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports.

Although Greaves saw limited playing time for the Blue Jackets last year, he had a stellar late-season performance that nearly propelled the team to the playoffs. Overall, he went 7-2-2 with a 1.91 GAA and .938 save percentage over 11 regular-season appearances, and he'll be rewarded with the Opening Night start to begin the 2025-26 campaign. Elvis Merzlikins should still see his fair share of playing time this season, but it seems as though Greaves will have ample opportunities to make an impact.