NHL Player News

Askarov will patrol the home crease versus Vegas on Friday, Curtis Pashelka of The San Jose Mercury News reports.

Askarov is considered the Sharks' goaltender of the future, and that should begin this season, as he has been penciled in as the No. 1 starter. Askarov played in 13 NHL games in 2024-25, posting a 4-6-2 record to go with a 3.10 GAA and an .896 save percentage. Look for Askarov to play in 45-50 contests in 2025-26.

Lankinen is partaking in the starter's drills with the Vancouver goaltending coach, indicating he will patrol the home crease versus Seattle on Friday, Jeff Paterson of CanucksArmy.com reports.

Lankinen returned to practice Friday after spending a couple of days with his wife after she gave birth Wednesday. Lankinen was stellar in 2024-25, taking over the No. 1 job in Vancouver after Thatcher Demko missed most of the regular season with back woes. Lankinen was 25-15-10 with four shutouts, a 2.62 GAA and a .902 save percentage across 51 contests in 2024-25.

Gibson will defend the road crease during Friday's preseason game against the Penguins, Ansar Khan of MLive.com reports.

Gibson will make his first start of the preseason Friday, but Michal Postava will take over in the net during the second half of the matchup. Gibson made 29 appearances for the Ducks last year, going 11-11-2 with a 2.77 GAA and a .911 save percentage, and he's slated to share the net with Cam Talbot in Detroit once the 2025-26 regular season gets underway.

Allen will start Friday's preseason game on the road against the Islanders, Amanda Stein of the Devils' official site reports.

The Devils plan for Allen to play about half of Friday's matchup, while Jakub Malek will take over in the crease for the second half of the game. Once the regular season begins, Allen is slated to serve as the primary backup to Jacob Markstrom.

Pickard will get the starting nod at home for Friday's preseason clash against Winnipeg, Tony Brar of Oilers TV reports.

Pickard played in 36 regular-season games for the Oilers last year in which he posted a 22-10-1 record, 2.71 GAA and .900 save percentage. Looking ahead to 2025-26, the 33-year-old netminder is expected to maintain the backup role for Edmonton behind Stuart Skinner but could get some more opportunities down the stretch.

Lyon will be between the home pipes versus Detroit on Saturday, per Paul Hamilton of WGR Sports Radio 550.

Lyon will face some of his former teammates Saturday, as he played the last two seasons in Detroit. The netminder was 14-9-1 with a 2.81 GAA and an .896 save percentage over 30 games in 2024-25.

Blomqvist (lower body) will be on the shelf for at least four weeks, the team announced Friday.

Blomqvist played in just 15 NHL games last year in which he posted a 4-9-1 record, 3.81 GAA and .885 save percentage. The 23-year-old netminder was unlikely to edge out Arturs Silovs for the backup job Opening Night, but this could provide Sergei Murashov more chances to challenge for a bigger role this year.

Sorokin will defend the home goal versus New Jersey on Friday, Stefen Rosner of NHL.com reports.

Sorokin was outstanding last season, posting a 30-24-6 record with a 2.71 GAA and a .907 save percentage across 61 games. He could shoulder a similar workload in 2025-26 if Semyon Varlamov's knee injury lingers throughout the season.

Kochetkov (undisclosed) will not be in the crease versus the Lightning on Friday, Benjamin Pierce of the Lightning's official site reports.

Kochetkov may not have featured in Friday's game even if he was healthy, considering the Hurricanes are heading into a back-to-back versus Nashville and Florida on Sunday and Monday, respectively. The 26-year-old netminder will likely enter the 2025-26 season as the No. 2 behind Frederik Andersen, though it could work out to more of an even split share between the duo.

DeSmith will guard the road goal in Thursday's preseason game versus the Wild, per the NHL media site.

DeSmith will get a look in preseason action on the road. The 34-year-old went 14-8-2 with a 2.59 GAA and a .915 save percentage over 27 regular-season appearances in 2024-25. He is set to serve as backup to Jake Oettinger this year.