NHL Player News

Hlavaj recorded a 30-save shutout in AHL Iowa's 4-0 win over Texas on Wednesday.

Hlavaj made his 20th AHL appearance of the season and picked up his second shutout. He's had some moments, but his 6-10-4 record, 3.30 GAA and .885 save percentage show he still has some things to work on at Iowa. Hlavaj also had a 3.56 GAA and .908 save percentage across five games for Slovakia at the Olympics, helping his country to a fourth-place finish.

Murray posted a 16-save shutout in AHL Milwaukee's 7-0 win over Manitoba on Wednesday.

Murray ended a three-game skid with this shutout, which was his fourth of the season. He's managed a 20-20-2 record with a 2.81 GAA and a .904 save percentage over 43 appearances, a far cry from his 2.07 GAA and .932 save percentage in the 2024-25 regular season. Murray will likely remain in the AHL unless the Predators are without one of their regular goalies.

Joshua (upper body) won't be in the lineup Thursday versus the Islanders, Terry Koshan of The Toronto Sun reports.

Joshua sustained the injury Wednesday against the Capitals, and it will keep him out of the lineup. The Maple Leafs will make a couple of changes at forward, as Luke Haymes and Michael Pezzetta will draw into the lineup for Joshua and Benoit-Olivier Groulx. It's unclear if Joshua will be able to play Saturday versus the Panthers -- at this stage of the campaign, he may simply be shut down if the injury is bad enough.

Carlo (lower body) won't be in the lineup Thursday versus the Islanders, Terry Koshan of The Toronto Sun reports.

Carlo was hurt Wednesday against the Capitals. The Maple Leafs will call up William Villeneuve to play Thursday in Carlo's absence. Carlo has just seven assists over 55 outings this season.

Stolarz needs imaging done to assess the severity of the lower-body injury he sustained Wednesday versus the Capitals, Luke Fox of Sportsnet reports.

Stolarz could be done for the season, considering the Maple Leafs have just four games left. Artur Akhtyamov will be recalled to start Thursday's road game against the Islanders and could fill the backup role behind Joseph Woll for the remainder of the campaign. If the injury ends Stolarz's season, he will finish with a 10-10-3 record, a 3.28 GAA and an .893 save percentage over 26 appearances.

Groulx will be reassigned to AHL Toronto ahead of Thursday's game versus the Islanders, David Alter of The Hockey News reports.

Groulx's reassignment comes for waivers-related purposes, as he had been called up under emergency conditions. The Maple Leafs will give Luke Haymes his NHL debut in Thursday's contest. Considering Toronto seems concerned with losing Groulx on waivers, it's unlikely he'll get another call-up in 2025-26.

Villeneuve will be recalled from AHL Toronto prior to Thursday's game versus the Islanders, David Alter of The Hockey News reports.

It's expected Villeneuve will make his NHL debut Thursday. He'll be on the NHL roster again just a day after his most recent demotion because Brandon Carlo (lower body) sustained an injury versus the Capitals on Wednesday.

Haymes will be recalled from AHL Toronto ahead of Thursday's game versus the Islanders, David Alter of The Hockey News reports.

Haymes will draw into the lineup and make his NHL debut Thursday. Benoit-Olivier Groulx will be sent down to avoid a waivers issue. Haymes could stick with the big club if Dakota Joshua (upper body) misses time after getting hurt Wednesday.

Akhtyamov will be recalled from AHL Toronto and start Thursday's road game versus the Islanders, David Alter of The Hockey News reports.

Akhtyamov may stick with the Maple Leafs for the rest of the regular season after Anthony Stolarz (lower body) sustained an injury Wednesday versus the Capitals. Thursday's game will be Akhtyamov's first NHL start after his debut came in a relief appearance against the Oilers on Dec. 13, when he stopped all five shots he faced. He has a 20-12-6 record with a 2.90 GAA and a .903 save percentage over 36 AHL appearances this season.

Jiricek scored a goal and added three assists in OHL Brantford's 8-1 win over North Bay in Game 1 on Wednesday.

Jiricek has had two big games in the OHL postseason -- a five-point contest and Wednesday's four-point performance. He's gone scoreless in the Bulldogs' other three playoff games. Jiricek will need to improve his consistency, but he should have plenty of time to keep helping Brantford get offense from the blue line.