NHL Player News

Knight is expected to start on the road against Tampa Bay on Thursday.

Knight is 2-2-1 with a 1.96 GAA and a .937 save percentage across five appearances this year. The 24-year-old goaltender has a 3-1-0 record, 3.11 GAA and .901 save percentage in four career regular-season outings against Tampa Bay. While Tampa Bay is a talented squad, the Lightning haven't played like it so far this season -- they're 1-3-2 and rank 30th in goals per game with 2.67 -- so Knight might be facing them at an opportune time.

Shesterkin will protect the home goal versus the Sharks on Thursday, Mollie Walker of the New York Post reports.

Shesterkin will be hoping for any goal support from his teammates, who have scored just once in four home games so far. The 29-year-old has a 2-3-1 record, but his 1.17 GAA and .957 save percentage are more indicative of the quality of his play to begin 2025-26.

Mrazek will be between the road pipes versus the Bruins on Thursday, Scott McLaughlin of WEEI reports.

Mrazek is in line for his second start of the year. He allowed six goal on 23 shots in an overtime win over the Sharks in his only other appearance. The Bruins have lost five straight games, scoring 14 goals in that span.

Vasilevskiy will guard the home goal versus the Blackhawks on Thursday, Benjamin Pierce of the Lightning's official site reports.

Vasilevskiy is off to a 0-2-2 start this season, posting a 3.50 GAA and an .886 save percentage in four games. He's had nearly a week to regroup due to a gap in the Lightning's schedule. The Blackhawks have scored more than three goals just once in their first seven games.

Luukkonen (lower body) was taken off injured reserve Thursday, per the NHL media site.

Luukkonen hasn't played for Buffalo yet this year because of the injury, but he was sent to AHL Rochester for conditioning and stopped 21 of 23 shots for the Americans on Wednesday. Luukkonen has completed his conditioning stint in addition to being taken off injured reserve, so he should be an option for Friday's home game against Toronto. Colten Ellis might be sent to the minors to avoid having three healthy goaltenders on the NHL roster, and Luukkonen will likely compete with Alex Lyon for starts.

Luukkonen (lower body) was recalled from his conditioning assignment with AHL Rochester on Thursday.

Luukkonen started for the Americans in Wednesday's clash with AHL Syracuse, stopping 21 of 23 shots in a win over the Crunch. Barring any setbacks in his recovery, the 26-year-old backstop could make his 2025-26 season debut versus the Maple Leafs on either Friday or Saturday. Luukkonen has reached both the 50-game and 20-win thresholds in each of the last two seasons and should be capable of hitting those marks again this year.

Demko will guard the road crease against Nashville on Thursday, Jeff Paterson of CanucksArmy.com reports.

Demko and Kevin Lankinen have alternated starts for most of the first few weeks of the season, and that pattern will continue against the Predators. Over his first four starts, Demko has gone 3-1-0 with a 2.28 GAA and .922 save percentage. He'll have a favorable matchup against Nashville on Thursday, as the team has averaged just 2.43 goals to begin the year, which is the fourth-worst mark in the league.

Vejmelka will patrol the visiting crease in St. Louis on Thursday, per Brogan Houston of Deseret News Sports.

Vejmelka is off to the best start in his career, posting a 4-1-0 record with a 2.19 GAA and a .911 save percentage. The 29-year-old native of Czechia will face the Blues, who are averaging 2.67 goals, tied for 23rd in the NHL.

Wedgewood will defend the home goal versus Carolina on Thursday, per Jesse Montano of Guerilla Sports.

Wedgewood will make his eighth consecutive start as Mackenzie Blackwood (lower body) has yet to make an appearance this season. Wedgewood is 5-0-2 with a 1.84 GAA and a .927 save percentage and has been one of the NHL's best netminder's this season. The Hurricanes enter Thursday's game with a 5-1-0 record and are tied for second in NHL scoring, averaging 4.00 goals per game.

Vladar will get the starting nod on the road against the Senators on Thursday.

Vladar will be making his third consecutive start for the Flyers, having secured victories in each of his previous three outings while posting a 1.65 GAA. At this point, it seems clear that the 28-year-old backstop has replaced Samuel Ersson as the No. 1 option under head coach Rick Tocchet. With no back-to-backs on the short-term schedule, Vladar should see plenty of starts heading into November.