NHL Player News

Shesterkin (lower body) was the first goalie off during Thursday's morning skate, Vince Z. Mercogliano of The Athletic reports, indicating that he'll return to action to start at home against the Flyers.

Shesterkin missed the final month before the Olympic break due to his lower-body injury, but he's been cleared to return in the Rangers' first game following the layoff. He made a home start against the Flyers on Dec. 20 and turned aside 28 of 32 shots (.875 save percentage) in a 5-4 overtime victory.

McAvoy will be a game-time decision versus Columbus on Thursday, Scott McLaughlin of WEEI reports.

According to head coach Marco Sturm, the expectation is that McAvoy will suit up Thursday, but there hasn't been a final decision yet. As such, fantasy managers will need to take a wait-and-see approach to utilizing the defenseman against the Blue Jackets. If McAvoy does sit, it would likely open up power-play minutes for Mason Lohrei.

Montembeault will start Thursday's home game against the Islanders, Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports reports.

Montembeault was inconsistent ahead of the Olympic break, going 2-2-1 with a 3.20 GAA and .893 save percentage over his last five outings. The Islanders are tied for 23rd in the NHL with 2.84 goals per game this season.

Silovs was the first goalie off during Thursday's morning skate, Michelle Crechiolo of the Penguins' official site reports, indicating that he'll draw the home start against the Devils.

Silovs suited up for Latvia during the 2026 Winter Olympics, but he'll still draw the Penguins' first start following the three-week layoff. Across his six starts leading up to the Olympic break, he went 3-1-2 with a 2.14 GAA and .922 save percentage.

Korpisalo will start Thursday's home game against the Blue Jackets, Conor Ryan of The Boston Globe reports.

The Bruins want to give Jeremy Swayman a few more days to rest after participating in the 2026 Winter Olympics, so Korpisalo will draw the start Thursday while Michael DiPietro dresses as the backup. Across his seven appearances leading up to the Olympic break, Korpisalo went 4-0-2 with a 2.20 GAA and .918 save percentage.

Ullmark was the first goalie off the ice during Thursday's morning skate, TSN 1200 Ottawa reports, indicating that he'll start at home against the Red Wings.

Ullmark sat out Ottawa's final game before the Olympic break due to flu-like symptoms, but he's back to full health following the three-week layoff. Over his last two appearances, he's gone 2-0-0 with a 1.50 GAA and .930 save percentage.

Bobrovsky will get the starting nod at home against the Maple Leafs on Thursday, George Richards of FloridaHockeyNow.com reports.

Bobrovsky has managed just one win in his last five outings, going 1-3-0 with a 3.54 GAA. The Russian backstop comes into this contest with plenty of rest and should still be capable of reaching the 30-win mark for the third straight year. With the Cats heading into a back-to-back, fantasy managers can expect to see Daniil Tarasov in the home crease versus the Sabres on Friday.

Chinakhov (personal) is expected to be in the lineup versus New Jersey on Thursday, Josh Yohe of The Athletic reports.

Since joining the Penguins, Chinakhov has been rolling offensively, racking up eight goals and four helpers in 18 contests. If there is a knock on the 25-year-old winger's game right now, it's the lack of production with the man advantage. Despite logging 1:14 of power-play ice time per game, Chinakhov has yet to produce a point with the extra attacker.

Protas scored a shorthanded goal and added an even-strength assist in Wednesday's 3-1 win over the Flyers.

Both points came in the third period, as Protas helped set up Trevor van Riemsdyk for what proved to be the game-winner before firing home an empty-netter inside the final minute. Protas has two short-handed goals on the season, and they've both come in the last three games. Over his last nine contests, the 25-year-old has caught fire with four goals and eight points, and on the season he's up to 20 goals and 40 points in 57 games.

MacKinnon (not injury related) is expected to be in the lineup against the Wild on Thursday, Corey Masisak of The Denver Post reports.

MacKinnon sat out Wednesday's road clash with Utah but appears to be ready to go when his teammates return home to face Minnesota. In his last 20 outings, the world-class center posted 10 multi-point games, racking up a combined 32 points along the way.