NHL Player News

Vejmelka posted a 15-save shutout in Thursday's 6-0 win over the Blackhawks.

Vejmelka had no trouble in this contest, which the Mammoth took control of quickly. The 30-year-old had just two shutouts in all of the 2025-26 regular season, when he went 38-20-3 with a 2.75 GAA and an .896 save percentage. Utah's roster beefed up in the offseason, though that mainly was due to additions up front. In any case, Vejmelka has proven he can handle a strong workload, and he's got plenty of upside on a team poised to take a step up in 2026-27. The Mammoth have a back-to-back on the road this weekend, visiting the Blue Jackets on Saturday and the Rangers on Sunday, so expect Vejmelka and Sebastian Cossa to split those contests.

Soderblom allowed six goals on 32 shots in Thursday's 6-0 loss to the Mammoth.

Soderblom didn't put in a great showing, but the Blackhawks' defense didn't do him in any favors. With a young blue line in front of him, it could be rough early in the season. Soderblom also hasn't logged a save percentage better than .898 in any of his NHL campaigns, so it's unlikely he'll be able to steal a game when his teammates are off their game. The Blackhawks wrap up their season-opening road trip in Buffalo on Saturday, which will likely be a start for Spencer Knight.

Perreault scored a goal Thursday in a 5-1 win over the Lightning.

He tipped in an Adam Fox shot late in the second frame to push the Rangers up 4-1. Perreault delivered an impressive 27 points (12 goals, 15 assists) in 49 games last season, including 19 in his last 23 contests, and he's poised to take the next step in a role alongside Mika Zibanejad and Alexis Lafreniere. With his gig on the second power-play unit, Perreault could flirt with the 60-point plateau in 2026-27.

Tolvanen scored a goal in Thursday's 5-1 win over Tampa Bay.

It was his first goal with the Rangers. Tolvanen fired a pass into the slot that went in off a Bolts' defender. He is skating with Noah Laba and Will Cuylle on the Rangers' third line, and he will get a shot on the team's second power-play unit, too. Tolvanen has delivered at least 35 points in each of his last three seasons, averaging 37 points, and he's also averaged 211 hits in the same span. His line could deliver a whopping 600 hits this season.

Fox had two assists in a 5-1 win over Tampa Bay on Thursday.

Fox may be poised for a big season in 2026-27. He missed considerable time last year but still delivered at close to a point-per-game pace (53 points in 55 games). His power-play production (24 points) was six points better than what he delivered in 74 games in 2024-25 (18). Fox won the Norris trophy in his second season (2020-21), becoming just the second defender in NHL history to win the award in his first two seasons. He was a finalist in 2022-23 and finished top-five in votes in 2021-22 and 2023-24.

Zibanejad had a goal and an assist in Thursday's 5-1 win over the Lightning.

Zibanejad opened the scoring in the first on the power play. It was a huge confidence boost for the team at home, as they didn't score at Madison Square Garden last season until 57 seconds into their fourth game. Zibanejad is fresh off a 34-goal, 78-point season, the third-highest point total of his career. This is his 16th season. His 35 power-play points last season was the second-highest total of his career.

Dorofeyev a goal and an assist in Thursday's 5-1 win over the Lightning.

It was his first goal with his new team. It stood as the winner. Dorofeyev led Vegas with 37 goals last season. The Rangers acquired the sniper for three draft picks on June 26 before signing him to a seven-year, $77 million contract ($11 million average annual value) a few days later. Dorofeyev is slotted beside J.T. Miller on the second line and hops the boards on the top power-play unit. The Rangers finished 30th overall and last in the Eastern Conference last season. Dorfeyev will help them put up more goals, but his overall output may be dulled by the cast supporting him. There are no knights in shining armor to help him in Madison Square.

Kucherov scored a goal in a 5-1 loss to the Rangers on Thursday.

Kucherov scored on a backhanded pass that went in off Noah Laba in the second frame. It made the score 3-1. Kuch is coming off a Hart trophy season with 44 goals and 86 assists in 2025-26, and he has averaged 127 points, including 39 goals, in each of his last four seasons. He is closing in on Steven Stamkos' team record of 1,137 points (1,082 games). Kucherov now has 1,125 (402 goals, 723 assists; 880 games). He could eclipse that record in the next couple weeks.

Vasilevskiy made 20 saves Thursday in a 5-1 loss to the Rangers. He allowed four goals.

This was not on Vasilevskiy. The Lightning offense was moribund, especially in the third frame when they managed just six shots despite being on the power play for close to seven minutes. Vasilevskiy is all-world, but he can't win without a little help from his team.

Shesterkin scored his first career goalie goal and made 24 saves in a 5-1 win over Tampa Bay on Thursday.

Shesterkin is the first goalie in Rangers' history to score a goal and the 18th in league history. There have been 21 goalie goals in NHL history, with 19 in the regular season and two in the playoffs. He grabbed a shoot-in that came off the back boards and whipped a long shot into the empty net at 17:26 of the third period to cap the scoring. It was also Shesterkin's 100th win at Madison Square Garden (177 games). He's the fourth-fastest goalie in team history to record that number after Mike Richter (172 games), Eddie Giacomin (173) and Henrik Lundqvist (176).