NHL Player News

Thompson is expected to start in goal at home versus the Hurricanes in Game 2 on Thursday.

Charlie Lindgren (personal) is away from the team for Thursday's contest, and Mitchell Gibson will serve as backup. That logically leaves Thompson as the starting goalie, which is expected since he's started all six games in the postseason so far. He played well with a 31-save effort in a 2-1 overtime loss to the Hurricanes in Game 1 on Tuesday, and he'll be looking to even the series in Game 2.

Hill is expected to start at home against Edmonton for Game 2 on Thursday, per Jesse Granger of The Athletic.

Hill stopped 24 of 28 shots en route to a 4-2 loss to the Oilers on Tuesday. He hasn't stood out in the postseason, posting a 4-3 record, 3.01 GAA and .876 save percentage across seven outings. Edmonton leads the league in playoff goals per game with 4.43.

Hlavaj will join Slovakia for the 2025 IIHF World Championship.

Hlavaj outplayed Jesper Wallstedt at the AHL level and is expected to battle Wallstedt for the backup role behind Filip Gustavsson with the Wild in 2025-26 as Marc-Andre Fleury has retired. Hlavaj went 14-14-3 with a 2.85 GAA and a .904 save percentage across 36 regular-season appearances at AHL Iowa in 2024-25 and will gain extra experience with Slovakia and is expected to be their No. 1 goaltender as he will vie with Adam Huska and Patrik Rybar for the top job.

Woll stopped 25 shots Wednesday in the Maple Leafs' 4-3 victory over the Panthers in Game 2 of their second-round series.

Making his first start of the playoffs in place of Anthony Stolarz (upper body), Woll didn't make any glaring errors and got enough offense from Toronto's skaters to get into the win column. The 26-year-old netminder has given up six goals on 48 shots since replacing Stolarz between the pipes midway through Game 1, and Woll might need to be a little bit sharper Friday when the series shifts to Florida for Game 3. The Leafs have yet to rule out Stolarz for Game 4 on Sunday, however.

Bobrovsky made 16 saves Wednesday in the Panthers' 4-3 loss to the Maple Leafs in Game 2 of their second-round series.

The veteran netminder would probably like another crack at the game-winner -- Bobrovsky dropped into his butterfly a little too soon on Mitch Marner's long-range shot early in the third period, and got beaten high to his blocker side just 17 seconds after Florida had tied the game at 3-3. Bobrovsky's given up at least three goals in four of his last five starts, posting a 3.67 GAA and .850 save percentage during that stretch, and with the Panthers staring at a 2-0 deficit in the series, the team's fortunes could rest on him shaking out of his slump in Game 3 on Friday.

Stolarz (upper body) is not expected to travel for Game 3 against the Panthers on Friday, Pierre LeBrun of TSN reports.

Head coach Craig Berube didn't rule out the possibility of Stolarz making the trip down to Florida for Game 4. Still, the absence of the 31-year-old netminder means that Joseph Woll figures to get the starting nod for Game 3, though that hasn't been officially confirmed yet.

Hellebuyck stopped 21 of 24 shots in Wednesday's 3-2 loss to the Stars in Game 1.

Despite an awful first round, Hellebuyck went undefeated on home ice versus the Blues. That won't be the case in the second round, as the Stars won in Winnipeg after Mikko Rantanen scored three times on Hellebuyck in a span of 7:55 during the second period. This wasn't a bad outing by any means, but Hellebuyck will need to tighten things up in Friday's Game 2.

Oettinger stopped 29 of 31 shots in Wednesday's 3-2 win over the Jets in Game 1.

Oettinger has notoriously had trouble with the opening game in past playoff series, but he was able to turn in a good performance this time. He has allowed two or fewer goals in four of his five wins this postseason. Oettinger is unlikely to lose his starting role during the playoffs, so expect him be between the pipes again for Game 2 on Friday in Winnipeg.

Oettinger is expected to tend the twine on the road versus Winnipeg in Game 1 on Wednesday, Sean Shapiro of DLLS Sports reports.

Oettinger will be making his 10th straight appearance in the crease for the Stars, having gone 4-5-0 in his last nine outings with a 3.46 GAA. After a third straight 35-win regular season with the Stars, the 26-year-old backstop was left off the list of Vezina Trophy nominees. Oettinger will be the starter for the Stars in the postseason, even if he drops a game or two.

Bobrovsky is expected to start on the road against Toronto for Game 2 on Wednesday, Colby Guy of The Palm Beach Post reports.

Bobrovsky stopped 25 of 30 shots en route to a 5-4 loss against the Maple Leafs in Game 1, so he'll be attempting to help even the series. He's 4-2 with a 2.69 GAA and an .887 save percentage across six playoff appearances this year. Toronto is tied for sixth with 3.43 goals per game in the 2025 postseason.