NHL Player News

Hill stopped 18 of 20 shots in Sunday's 4-2 win over the Wild in Game 1.

Hill allowed a pair of goals to Matt Boldy but was otherwise solid in the playoff opener. The 28-year-old Hill is a Stanley Cup-winning goalie from 2023, so he knows what it takes to win in the postseason. This was his fourth straight win and his ninth victory in his last 11 outings, so he's also in great form at the right time of the year. Akira Schmid and Ilya Samsonov are unlikely to see much, if any, playing time in the playoffs.

Ullmark stopped 18 of 24 shots in Sunday's 6-2 loss to the Maple Leafs in Game 1.

The Maple Leafs scored three of their six goals on the power play, and that was the difference. Toronto was opportunistic, while Ottawa was unable to convert despite creating plenty of chances. Ullmark is one of few players on the Senators' roster with any playoff experience, but this was just his 11th postseason appearance. He'll likely start again Tuesday in Game 2, but any continued struggles could allow Anton Forsberg to get some action.

Stolarz stopped 31 of 33 shots in Sunday's 6-2 win over the Senators in Game 1.

The Senators generated plenty of pressure, but they had trouble finding gaps in Stolarz's pads. The 31-year-old won his last eight regular-season starts, posting a 1.37 GAA and a .950 save percentage in that span. The playoffs are bound to be more of a challenge, but that level of play has Stolarz in the driver's seat to be Toronto's primary goalie this postseason. Look for Stolarz to start again Tuesday in Game 2.

Gustavsson will tend the road twine Sunday against the Golden Knights in Game 1, per Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

This will be Gustavsson's sixth career playoff start. The 26-year-old went 2-3-0 with a .921 save percentage and a 2.33 GAA over five postseason outings in 2022-23. He'll have a challenging assignment against a Vegas squad that generated 3.34 goals per game during the regular season, which ranked fifth in the NHL in 2024-25. Gustavsson has a subpar 1-3-1 record and has allowed at least three goals in four of five starts against the Golden Knights in his career.

Ullmark will be between the road pipes Sunday versus Toronto in Game 1, per TSN 1200 Ottawa.

Ullmark concluded the regular season with a 25-14-3 record, 2.72 GAA and .909 save percentage over 44 appearances. The Swedish netminder has won five straight games against the Leafs dating back to his time with the Bruins. However, Ullmark has been shaky in postseason play -- over 10 career playoff outings (all with Boston), the 31-year-old owns a 3-6-0 record, .887 save percentage and 3.59 GAA.

Hill will patrol the home crease against Minnesota on Sunday in Game 1, according to Jesse Granger of The Athletic.

Hill posted a 32-13-5 record with four shutouts, a 2.47 GAA and a .906 save percentage across 50 regular-season outings in 2024-25. He has gone 2-0-0 versus the Wild this campaign, stopping 38 of 40 shots faced. Minnesota finished 25th in the league with 2.74 goals per game in the regular season.

Markstrom will defend the road net against Carolina on Sunday in Game 1, Emily Kaplan of ESPN reports.

Markstrom posted a 26-16-6 record with four shutouts, a 2.50 GAA and a .900 save percentage across 49 regular-season appearances in 2024-25. During that span, he went 2-1-0 versus the Hurricanes, allowing only seven goals on 83 shots. Carolina ranked ninth in the league in the regular season with 3.24 goals per game.

Oettinger stopped 19 of 23 shots in Saturday's 5-1 loss to the Avalanche in Game 1. The Avalanche also scored an empty-netter.

Oettinger couldn't break with recent trends to open the postseason. His losing streak in Game 1s is eight games, dating back to the Stars' first-round series in 2022 versus the Flames. His recent play in 2024-25 is also discouraging -- Oettinger went 0-3-1 with 17 goals allowed over his final four regular-season contests. Combined with the absences of Jason Robertson (knee) and Miro Heiskanen (knee), the Stars have an uphill battle, especially after losing home-ice advantage early in the series. Still, Oettinger figures to tend the twine for Game 2 on Monday.

Blackwood stopped 23 of 24 shots in Saturday's 5-1 win over the Stars in Game 1.

Making his playoff debut, Blackwood was up for the challenge. This was a close game for the better part of two periods, though the Avalanche's rally in the third made it look less competitive than it was. Blackwood limited the damage to a Roope Hintz power-play goal in the final frame. This ended a three-game losing streak for Blackwood, who was 28-21-6 with a 2.55 GAA and a .912 save percentage over 56 regular-season outings. While he shared the crease with Scott Wedgewood on occasion, Blackwood figures to get the vast majority of the starts during the playoffs.

Binnington stopped 21 of 25 shots in Saturday's 5-3 loss to the Jets in Game 1. The fifth goal was an empty-netter.

Game 1 was tied at 3-3 late in the third period, but Kyle Connor's goal with 1:36 left was the difference. Binnington has had success under pressure before, winning eight of his last 10 regular-season starts to help the Blues get into the playoffs, and that run started just a month after the 4 Nations Face-Off, where he led Team Canada to a first-place finish. The 31-year-old will have his hands full with the Jets, especially after Winnipeg's top line was in form in Game 1. Expect Binnington to see the vast majority of starts initially -- Joel Hofer played well in 2024-25, but he's untested in the playoffs.