NHL Player News

Ristolainen (undisclosed) won't play Thursday versus the Senators, Gabriela Carroll of The Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

Ristolainen is slated to miss his second straight game. He has one goal, four hits and seven blocked shots over three outings this season. With Ristolainen out, David Jiricek is in a top-four role and Simon Benoit is getting playing time on the third pairing. Ristolainen's next chance to play is Saturday in Boston, which is the first half of a back-to-back set.

Kapanen (lower body) won't play Thursday versus the Predators, J-F Chaumont of LNH.com reports.

Kapanen is absent from the lineup for a fourth straight game. The center's next chance to play is Saturday versus the Red Wings. Kapanen's ongoing absence has given Florian Xhekaj a chance to play on the fourth line.

Doan (lower body) will suit up Thursday versus the Stars, Matthew Fairburn of The Athletic reports.

Doan is playing through a lower-body issue, and his move from the top line to the fourth line may be a way to manage his minutes. He's also started slow this season, failing to log a point over three contests. Fantasy managers may want to be patient with Doan while he's in the bottom six.

Maatta (lower body) won't play Thursday versus the Lightning.

David Spacek will enter the lineup. Maatta can be considered day-to-day for now. His next chance to play is Saturday versus the Panthers. Maatta has one assist, three blocked shots and a minus-1 rating over three appearances this season.

Kochetkov will tend the twine at home versus the Canucks on Thursday, Ryan Henkel of The Hockey News reports.

Kochetkov allowed two goals on 18 shots against the Flyers in his season debut on Saturday. Brandon Bussi struggled against the Canadiens in his last start, so Kochetkov will get a chance to bring some stability to the crease. While Kochetkov is nominally in the backup role to begin the year, this could become a timeshare if he continues to play well.

Lavoie (undisclosed) will play Thursday versus the Maple Leafs, per Ryan Wallis of Fox Sports Las Vegas.

Lavoie missed the first four games of the campaign due to the undisclosed injury. His return coincides with Victor Olofsson's exit from the lineup due to an undisclosed injury that has left him labeled week-to-week. Lavoie will fill a bottom-six role to start his season.

Crotty (illness) won't play Thursday versus the Flyers, per TSN 1200 Ottawa.

Crotty's absence, along with the ongoing injury concerns for Jake Sanderson (lower body) and Artem Zub (knee), will give Hoyt Stanley a chance to make his NHL debut. Crotty can be considered day-to-day beyond Thursday. The Senators' next game is Saturday at home versus the Predators.

Head coach Ryan Craig said Thursday that Olofsson (undisclosed) is considered week-to-week, Jesse Granger of The Athletic reports.

Olofsson was having a great start to the year, racking up four goals and one assist, including two power-play points, in four games. Now, the 31-year-old winger will likely be sidelined for at least a week, if not longer. Trevor Connelly could see the biggest uptick in minutes with Olofsson on the shelf, including linking up with the No. 1 power-play unit.

Bobrovsky will tend the twine on the road versus Vegas on Thursday, Mark Masters of TSN reports.

Bobrovsky has lost his first two appearances for the Maple Leafs, going 0-2-0 with a 3.06 GAA and .887 save percentage. So far, Toronto has been splitting the workload between Bobrovsky and Anthony Stolarz, a trend that could continue if the veteran Bobrovsky doesn't start picking up wins.

Hill was the first goalie off during Thursday's morning skate, SinBin.vegas reports, indicating that he'll defend the home crease against the Maple Leafs.

Carter Hart has started three of the first four games of the season for the Golden Knights, but Hill will defend the crease for the second time this year Thursday. During Hill's start in Vancouver on Sunday, he turned aside 18 of 20 shots en route to a 3-2 victory.