NHL Player News

Hofer will tend the twine on the road versus Washington on Thursday, Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press reports.

Hofer has failed to secure a victory in his last five appearances, going 0-3-1 with a 3.35 GAA. Despite the 24-year-old netminder's struggles, he has played in five of the Blues' last 13 outings, taking some extra starts away from Jordan Binnington. Unless Hofer can start racking up wins, he could find himself relegated to just back-to-backs moving forward.

Montembeault will patrol the home crease versus San Jose on Thursday, according to Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports.

Montembeault has won two straight games, shutting out Carolina 4-0 in his last start Tuesday. He is 20-21-3 with four shutouts, a 2.90 GAA and an .899 save percentage over 44 starts this season. The Sharks are generating only 2.56 goals per game, 31st in the NHL this season.

Talbot was the first goalie off during Thursday's morning skate, Mark Scheig of The Hockey Writers reports, indicating that he'll start at home against the Blue Jackets.

Talbot has made two starts since the Red Wings resumed play, and he's gone 1-0-1 with a 2.91 GAA and .905 save percentage. He's coming off a win over the Wild on Tuesday but will likely have his hands full against the Blue Jackets, who rank fifth in the league with 3.29 goals per game.

Lindgren was the first goalie to exit the ice Thursday, Bailey Johnson of The Washington Post reports, indicating he'll be between the pipes at home versus the Blues.

Lindgren is undefeated in regulation over his last three outings, posting a 2-0-1 record to go with a 3.64 GAA. Despite his strong run, the 31-year-old netminder has found himself playing second fiddle behind Logan Thompson, who has been seeing the bulk of the starts recently. Still, Lindgren should see more opportunities than most No. 2 goalies in the league.

Vasilevskiy was the first goalie off during Thursday's morning skate, Benjamin Pierce of the Lightning's official site reports, indicating that he'll draw the start at home against the Flames.

Vasilevskiy has picked up wins in each of his last six starts, posting a 2.00 GAA and .937 save percentage across that span. He made a road start against the Flames on Dec. 12 and turned aside 19 of 22 shots en route to an 8-3 victory. Calgary is averaging just 2.65 goals this season -- the fifth-lowest mark in the NHL -- so it wouldn't be surprising to see Vasilevskiy's hot streak continue Thursday.

Nedeljkovic will be between the home pipes versus Philadelphia on Thursday, per Seth Rorabaugh of Tribune-Review Sports.

Nedeljkovic will get the start in a rematch of Tuesday's game in Philadelphia where he allowed six goals on 38 shots in a 6-1 loss. Nedeljkovic is 12-11-5 with a 3.16 GAA and an .893 save percentage over 29 appearances this season. The Flyers are scoring 2.90 goals per game, 16th in the NHL in 2024-25.

Bobrovsky was the first goalie to leave the ice Thursday, George Richards of Florida Hockey Now reports, indicating he'll get the starting nod at home versus the Oilers.

Bobrovsky has conceded more than two goals in just one of his last seven outings, posting a 5-2-0 record and 1.74 GAA along the way. Since Spencer Knight has secured wins in three straight games, the veteran Bobrovsky could get some extra time off down the stretch to keep him ready for another deep postseason run.

Sorokin will get the starting nod on the road against Boston on Thursday, Stefen Rosner of NHL.com reports.

Sorokin is mired in a four-game losing streak during which he has conceded 18 goals on 99 shots (.818 save percentage). Since Semyon Varlamov (lower body) is still on the shelf, the Isles don't have a ton of alternatives in the net behind Sorokin -- unless they want to throw youngster Jakub Skarek to the wolves.

Rittich stopped 14 of 17 shots in Wednesday's 3-2 overtime loss to the Canucks.

It wasn't a good performance for Rittich, who gave up a goal in each of the first two periods and one more in overtime. He's now lost his last two outings past regulation time and has just one win in his last six games. Rittich is 12-11-2 with a 2.60 GAA and an .888 save percentage through 26 games. Until he can get more positive results, he won't pose much of a threat to Darcy Kuemper's role as the Kings' top goalie. Rittich likely won't have to wait long for his next start -- the Kings have a road back-to-back up next with games in Dallas and St. Louis on Friday and Saturday, respectively.

Lankinen stopped 24 of 26 shots in Wednesday's 3-2 overtime win over the Kings.

Lankinen couldn't protect a 2-0 lead in the third period, but Conor Garland saved the day with his second tally of the game coming in overtime. This was Lankinen's fourth win in his last six outings, and he's allowed two or fewer goals in five of those games. The 29-year-old netminder has earned his first 20-win NHL season at 20-9-7, and he's added a 2.50 GAA and a .907 save percentage across 36 outings, one shy of his career high. Lankinen will operate as the Canucks' top goalie as long as Thatcher Demko (lower body) remains out, though it'll likely be Arturs Silovs getting the nod for the second half of the back-to-back Thursday in Anaheim.