NHL Player News

Skinner will start Thursday's road game against Tampa Bay, Mike McIntyre of the Winnipeg Free Press reports.

After picking up wins in three of his first four starts of the regular season, Skinner has gone 0-2-2 with a 2.73 GAA and .904 save percentage across his last four appearances. He didn't start Tuesday's game against the Panthers but will be between the pipes Thursday for the fourth time in Florida's last five games.

Kindel is expected to play in Thursday's home clash against the Mammoth following his vasovagal episode on Oct. 20, per Michelle Crechiolo of the Penguins' official site.

Following his loss of consciousness on the team's flight on Oct. 20, Kindel is feeling like himself and is trending towards making his return in Thursday's clash. The 19-year-old center will provide a boost for the Penguins' center depth upon his return Thursday, as he's posted two goals, four points and 23 shots on net across nine appearances this season. He's expected to center a line with two other players making their return to the lineup, Egor Chinakhov and Evgeni Malkin, which puts Kindel at the heart of a strong trio, raising his fantasy stock moving forward. In order to play Thursday, however, Kindel will have to be activated from injured reserve prior to the contest.

Chinakhov (lower body) is expected to play in Thursday's home clash against the Mammoth, per Michelle Crechiolo of the Penguins' official site.

Chinakhov has missed four of the Penguins' last five games with a lower-body injury. When he was active on Oct. 19, however, he found the back of the net. He's a strong secondary scorer for Pittsburgh's lineup when healthy, but he's been held to just two goals across eight games this season. If the 25-year-old winger is ultimately given the green light to play, he'll likely suit up on the team's second line, where he can be an impact play in deep fantasy leagues.

Lambos was Michael Russo of The Athletic from AHL Iowa on Thursday, per Michael Russo.

Lambos will head up to the big club Thursday after Jared Spurgeon (undisclosed) suffered an injury in Tuesday's win over the Mammoth. The 23-year-old Lambos has been solid for AHL Iowa across his eight appearances this season, where he's posted two points and a minus-2 rating. He'll likely serve as the team's seventh defenseman in practice ahead of Thursday's clash against the Islanders, but he might have a chance to make his season debut if Spurgeon's injury persists.

Tarasov (undisclosed) has been cleared to play in Thursday's home clash against the Blackhawks, per Ansar Khan of MLive.com.

Tarasov is set to back up John Gibson on Thursday, meaning Michal Postava will return to AHL Grand Rapids. The 27-year-old Tarasov has missed each of the last three games with an undisclosed injury, which he sustained in an overtime loss to Seattle on Oct. 20. Overall, he's been a great option between the pipes when healthy, as he's posted a 1-0-2 record, a 1.40 GAA and a .940 save percentage across four appearances. While he'll likely just watch Thursday's contest, he'll have a solid chance to appear in Saturday's clash against the Blues.

Postava was sent to AHL Grand Rapids on Thursday, Ansar Khan of MLive.com reports.

Postava spent the past week with the Red Wings on an emergency basis, and he went 1-0-0 with a 2.89 GAA and .889 save percentage across his two appearances with the NHL club. He'll head back to the minors since Daniil Tarasov (undisclosed) has been cleared to dress as the backup for Thursday's game against Chicago.

Gibson is slated to start Thursday's home game against Chicago, Ansar Khan of MLive.com reports.

Although Daniil Tarasov (undisclosed) is healthy enough to dress for Thursday's matchup, he's set to operate as the backup, so Gibson should draw his third start in the Red Wings' last four games. Across eight appearances to begin the regular season, Gibson has gone 3-4-1 with a 3.44 GAA and .867 save percentage.

Larkin (undisclosed) will not play in Thursday's home clash against the Blackhawks, per Max Bultman of The Athletic.

Head coach Todd McLellan stated that interim general manager Shawn Horcroff will address the reason regarding Larkin's absence. It appears that more news is to come regarding the 30-year-old center, as he's been vocal about wanting to be traded. Larkin recently expanded his 10-team trade list to 12, and with many contenders on that list wanting to lock down their center depth ahead of making a postseason run, the 12-year NHL veteran is a clear fit at the position. However, his absence isn't confirmed to be related to a potential trade, so expectations should be tempered for the time being. For now, he will miss Thursday's game against Chicago, and if he's still with the Red Wings on Saturday, he'll have a chance to play against the Blues.

Hedman (lower body) will play in Thursday's game against the Jets, Benjamin Pierce of the Lightning's official site reports.

Hedman sustained a lower-body injury during Friday's game against the Avalanche, and he was unavailable against Utah on Saturday. However, he'll return to game action after having several days to recover. Across his six appearances prior to his one-game absence, Hedman had logged two goals, two assists, four blocked shots, two PIM and a hit while averaging 12:44 of ice time.

Vasilevskiy will defend the home crease in Thursday's clash against the Jets, per Benjamin Pierce of the Lightning's official site.

Vasilevskiy will look to bounce back Thursday after his worst outing of the 2026-27 campaign, which was a 6-3 loss to the Avalanche on Friday. Outside the big loss, the 32-year-old netminder has been decent between the pipes with a 5-3-0 record, a 2.78 GAA and an .884 save percentage over eight outings. While he'll need to make up some ground to win his second consecutive Vezina Trophy, Vasilevskiy has plenty of time to turn his season around. He'll get a solid matchup against the Jets on Thursday, who are currently tied for 29th in the NHL with 2.33 goals per game. Vasilevskiy remains a high-level fantasy option moving forward.