NHL Player News

Kuemper won't start in Thursday's home game against Calgary despite an earlier report to the contrary.

The Kings didn't specify why Kuemper isn't getting the start, but with the playoffs around the corner, they might just be resting him. He'll instead be the backup netminder Thursday, while David Rittich will get the nod. Kuemper has a 31-11-7 record, 2.02 GAA and .921 save percentage in 50 appearances this season.

Rittich will get the start at home Thursday versus the Flames.

Previous reports indicated Darcy Kuemper was expected, but the Kings will instead go with Rittich against one of his former teams to close out the regular season. Rittich is unlikely to see much playing time in the playoffs, so this could be his last action for a while. He's gone 16-13-2 with a 2.77 GAA and an .888 save percentage over 33 appearances in the backup role this season.

Woll will play in goal at home versus the Red Wings on Thursday, Terry Koshan of The Toronto Sun reports.

Woll will get the nod in the regular-season finale. He's gone just 2-2-1 with a 2.82 GAA and a .912 save percentage over his last five games. That run of play suggests Anthony Stolarz may get the first crack at the starting job during the playoffs.

Reimer will guard the home goal Thursday versus the Flyers, Heather Engel of NHL.com reports.

Reimer took over the No. 1 job for the Sabres late in the season, but he has lost his previous two outings, allowing 10 goals on 61 shots in that span. The 37-year-old goalie had previously won seven games in a row. He'll have a favorable matchup Thursday for fantasy managers looking to make a final push in the goaltending categories.

Talbot will start on the road versus the Maple Leafs on Thursday, Dave McCarthy of NHL.com reports.

Talbot has gone 3-2-1 with a 2.67 GAA and a .912 save percentage over six games in April. The 37-year-old will face a nearly full-strength Toronto lineup, as the Maple Leafs have had too many injuries and not enough cap space to rest players.

Thompson (upper body) skated Thursday but isn't expected to dress versus the Penguins.

Head coach Spencer Carbery doesn't plan to give much in the way of injury updates during the playoffs, but he did say that Thompson will continue to practice and progress toward returning. In the meantime, Clay Stevenson is set to make his first NHL start in Pittsburgh. If Thompson isn't an option for Game 1 of Washington's first-round series against Montreal on Monday, then Charlie Lindgren will likely start in that clash.

Andersen is expected to start Thursday's regular-season finale on the road against Ottawa, Walt Ruff of the Hurricanes' official site reports.

Andersen has alternated starts over the second half of the season, and he'll tend the twine Thursday after Pyotr Kochetkov started Wednesday. Andersen hasn't been particularly sharp in recent outings, going 0-2-1 with a 4.23 GAA and .827 save percentage over his last three starts, although he had a seven-game winning streak prior to his recent skid. He'll have an opportunity for a final regular-season tune-up Thursday, and it seems possible that Andersen and Kochetkov will continue to share playing time in the playoffs.

Daws stopped 22 of 26 shots in Wednesday's 5-2 loss to the Red Wings. The fifth goal was an empty-netter with 10 seconds left in the third period.

This was Daws' first regular-season loss, and it was a subpar showing for the 24-year-old. Daws ends the campaign with a 3-1-0 across his six appearances, posting a 1.60 GAA and a .939 save percentage, albeit in a limited sample size.

Lyon stopped 28 of 30 shots in Wednesday's 5-2 win over the Devils.

Lyon has operated as the Red Wings' No. 3 goalie down the stretch this year, but he still managed to appear in 30 regular-season contests. This was a solid end to his season, and he won three of his last four starts. Lyon went 14-9-1 with a 2.81 GAA and an .896 save percentage in his 30 appearances this season.

Kuemper is expected to serve as the starting goalie for Thursday's home game against the Flames, John Hoven of SiriusXM NHL Network Radio reports.

Kuemper has picked up wins in six of his last seven appearances, going 6-1-0 with a 1.48 GAA and .942 save percentage. He got the night off Tuesday against the Kraken but will have a chance for a final tune-up before the playoffs Thursday. Kuemper started in Calgary on Nov. 11 and turned aside 25 of 27 shots (.926 save percentage) en route to a loss.