NHL Player News

Merzlikins (illness) is well enough Thursday to back up Jet Greaves versus Dallas, according to Columbus sports reporter Dave Maetzold.

Merzlikins was forced to leave Tuesday's tilt versus Ottawa after the first stanza due to his illness. Merzlikins was saddled with the loss, giving up two goals on seven shots in a 4-1 defeat. He is 8-8-1 with a 3.81 GAA and an .882 save percentage across 18 games this season.

Korpisalo will patrol the home crease versus Vegas on Thursday, Scott McLaughlin of WEEI reports.

Korpisalo has won his last three starts, giving up three goals on 80 shots in victories over Calgary, Pittsburgh and Chicago. He is 9-8-0 with a 3.09 GAA and an .896 save percentage across 19 outings this season. The Golden Knights are sixth in NHL scoring this season, tallying 3.33 goals per game.

Montembeault will defend the home crease versus Buffalo on Thursday, per Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports.

Montembeault is 4-0-1 in his last five starts, allowing 15 goals on 160 shots (.906 save percentage). Montembeault is 9-6-2 with the Canadiens this season and while his record is good, his peripherals of a 3.44 GAA and an .873 save percentage are not. The Sabres are scoring 3.27 goals per game, tied for 10th with Ottawa this season.

Texier (lower body) has been ruled out for Thursday's game against the Sabres, JF Chaumont of LNH.com reports.

Texier remains day-to-day due to a lower-body injury, and he'll be unavailable for a second consecutive game Thursday. It's not yet clear when he'll be able to return, but his next opportunity to do so will be Saturday against the Bruins.

Greaves is slated to guard the home cage versus Dallas on Thursday, Mark Scheig of The Hockey Writers reports.

Greaves has won his last two starts and came on in relief Tuesday versus the Senators, turning aside 12 of 13 shots. Overall, the 24-year-old netminder is 14-12-6 with a 2.70 GAA and a .908 save percentage across 33 appearances this season. The Stars are tied for seventh in NHL scoring, generating 3.32 goals per game in 2025-26.

Mateychuk (upper body) was placed on injured reserve Thursday.

Mateychuk has already been out of action for the Blue Jackets' last four contests and will now be on the sidelines for a fifth when the team faces the Stars on Thursday. With the blueliner going on IR, the team used the available roster spot to activate Mason Marchment (upper body). Still, once Mateychuk gets the green light, he should slot back into a top-four pairing.

The Blue Jackets activated Marchment (upper body) off injured reserve Thursday.

Marchment spent just over two weeks on injured reserve due to his upper-body injury, but he skated on the top line during Wednesday's practice session and should be able to suit up in Thursday's game against Dallas. Over 36 appearances between Seattle and Columbus this year, Marchment has recorded nine goals, 11 assists, 43 hits and 36 PIM while averaging 17:13 of ice time.

Halliday was recalled from AHL Belleville on Thursday.

Halliday has played 18 games with the Senators this season, his first in the NHL. Halliday has yet to find the back of the net, but he has chipped in with six assists and 22 hits while averaging 8:12 of ice time. Halliday had two goals and 24 assists in 22 AHL games before his recall.

Harris (ankle) was reassigned to AHL Providence on a conditioning loan Thursday, Mark Divver of the New England Hockey Journal reports.

Harris has been out of action since Oct. 21 versus the Panthers, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that the organization wants to get him some minutes in the minors before activating him off long-term injured reserve. Even once given the all-clear, the Massachusetts native is far from a lock to make the lineup on a nightly basis and could find himself serving as a healthy scratch periodically.

Keller scored two goals, including the game-winning goal in overtime, in Wednesday's 5-4 overtime win over the Flyers.

Keller finally snapped his eight-game goal drought Wednesday, and he came through at a time when the Mammoth needed him the most. His third-period goal tied the game with only 35 seconds left in the contest, and he later added the game-winning goal at the 2:01 mark in overtime. Keller has 15 goals on the season, and he has been productive even when he wasn't finding the back of the net. He has posted 16 points (three goals, 13 assists) in 10 games since the beginning of January.