NHL Player News

Garand will start Thursday's road game against New Jersey, Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press reports.

Garand has picked up wins in each of his last two starts, posting a 1.50 GAA and .936 save percentage during that time. He'll be rewarded with a third consecutive start Thursday and should continue to see plenty of time in the crease since Igor Shesterkin (knee) is out for the season, while Joonas Korpisalo (lower body) is slated to miss approximately four more weeks.

Wallstedt will defend the home crease in Thursday's clash against the Blues, per Dylan Loucks of The Hockey News.

Wallstedt continued his dominant start to the 2026-27 campaign Monday, where he posted a 21-save win over the Golden Knights. The 23-year-old netminder has a 4-1-1 record, a 1.82 GAA and a .933 save percentage across six appearances in the new season. For as long as Filip Gustavsson (hip) is sidelined, Wallstedt projects to be an elite fantasy option that sees multiple starts per week. Thursday's matchup won't be a cake walk, however, as the Blues put up seven goals against the Senators during Frozen Frenzy. Regardless, start Wallstedt with confidence Thursday.

Ullmark is expected to guard the home crease in Thursday's clash against the Islanders, per Andrew Gross of Newsday.

Ullmark has truly been elite to begin the 2026-27 season. He's won each of his five starts thus far, with his most recent win being a convincing 29-save effort in a 4-1 win over New Jersey. Alongside his 5-0-0 record, the 33-year-old netminder has a 1.27 GAA and a .948 save percentage across 116 shots on net over five appearances. He'll face a tough test Thursday, as the Islanders have won two of their last three games. Regardless, Ullmark is a high-level fantasy option moving forward and a priority waiver-wire add in leagues where he isn't rostered.

Markstrom (undisclosed) won't be available for Thursday's home game against the Canucks, Jameson Olive of the Panthers' official site reports.

Akira Schmid was already slated to start Thursday's matchup, but Markstrom won't be able to dress as the backup after also missing Tuesday's game against the Blue Jackets. Head coach Paul Maurice said Thursday that Markstrom will likely return against Ottawa on Wednesday, so it appears as though the netminder will also be unavailable Saturday against Seattle. Schmid will presumably continue to operate as the top goaltender in Markstrom's absence, while Cooper Black will be available as the No. 2 option.

Daws will patrol the home crease in Thursday's matchup against the Rangers, per Mike Morreale of NHL.com.

Daws will get his second opportunity between the pipes over New Jersey's last three contests after he displayed vast improvement in his most recent outing. Despite being kept out of the win column for the second straight game, he cut the number of goals he allowed in half from six to three. Overall, the 25-year-old netminder has an 0-2-0 record, a 4.58 GAA and an .824 save percentage across two appearances. He'll look to get back on track in a moderately-tough matchup with the Rangers, who rank 12th in the NHL at 3.38 goals per game. Daws is best left on waivers in fantasy until he can secure his first win of the 2026-27 season.

Vasilevskiy will guard the home net in Thursday's clash against the Kraken, per Benjamin Pierce of the Lightning's official site.

Vasilevskiy will look to bounce back falling to the Rangers on Tuesday for his first loss since Opening Night. Overall, the reigning Vezina Trophy winner has a 3-2-0 record, a 2.46 GAA and an .886 save percentage across five appearances. While his save percentage leaves some room for improvement, the number doesn't tell some aspects of the story, as he's already logged two performances where he's allowed one goal or less. Despite the Kraken being red-hot offensively with 4.00 goals per game to open the new season, Vasilevskiy remains an elite fantasy option for Thursday's matchup.

Schmid is slated to start Thursday's home game against the Canucks, George Richards of Florida Hockey Now reports.

Schmid picked up his first win of the season on the road against the Blue Jackets on Tuesday, turning aside 24 of 27 shots during the 7-3 victory. He'll draw a second consecutive start Thursday, while it isn't yet clear whether Jacob Markstrom (undisclosed) will be available as the backup. If Markstrom doesn't dress, Cooper Black will presumably serve as the No. 2 option.

Wedgewood allowed two goals on 22 shots in Wednesday's 3-2 shootout loss to the Stars.

Wedgewood kept the game close, but he was unable to snag the win. He's allowed five goals on 51 shots while going 1-0-1 over two starts to begin the season. Mackenzie Blackwood has operated as the Avalanche's starter in goal this season, and while Wedgewood could likely handle a larger workload, it's unclear if he'll get that opportunity. The Avalanche are set to host the Penguins on Friday, though Wedgewood's next start will likely be during a road back-to-back next week with games in Philadelphia on Monday and in New Jersey on Tuesday.

DeSmith stopped 25 of 27 shots in Wednesday's 3-2 shootout win over the Avalanche.

DeSmith got a little help from video reviews, which overturned two potential Colorado goals in the first period. This was the 100th win of DeSmith's NHL career, coming in his 222nd game. He's gone 1-1-0 this year while allowing four goals on 53 shots over two outings. Jake Oettinger will still get most of the starts, but DeSmith is among the best backups in the leagues and can be streamed when he's starting. Expect Oettinger between the pipes against the Blackhawks on Saturday.

Dobes stopped 18 of 23 shots in Wednesday's 5-4 loss to the Capitals.

Dobes' playing time is already trending down with Jacob Fowler looking good after a call-up to replace Sam Montembeault (lower body). This was Dobes' third consecutive defeat, and he's 1-2-1 on the year with at least five goals allowed in all three of his losses. The 25-year-old netminder entered the campaign as the Canadiens' No. 1, but he's quickly losing his grip on that job. The Canadiens are set to host the Sabres on Saturday, a team Fowler defeated in a shootout on Tuesday.