NHL Player News

Zibanejad (illness) is slated to play against Philadelphia on Thursday, according to Vince Z. Mercogliano of The Athletic.

Zibanejad was questionable for the match after missing Wednesday's practice because of the illness. He has 23 goals and 52 points in 56 outings with the Rangers in 2026-27. Zibanejad is set to play on the top line alongside J.T. Miller and Gabe Perreault on Thursday.

Haula (not injury related) is expected to be in the lineup Thursday versus the Blackhawks, Brooks Bratten of the Predators' official site reports.

Haula is slated to be in action after dealing with travel issues returning from the Olympics. The 34-year-old should be good to play in a middle-six role, and he should also be a candidate for power-play time.

Romanov was called up by AHL Springfield on Thursday, per Matthew DeFranks of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Romanov will serve as Joel Hofer's understudy for Thursday's home game against Seattle. Jordan Binnington is getting the game completely off after playing between the pipes in Canada's 2-1 overtime loss to Team USA on Sunday at the 2026 Winter Games. Romanov has a 3.37 GAA and an .893 save percentage in 24 outings with Springfield in 2025-26.

Saros (not injury related) will back up Justus Annunen for Thursday's game versus the Blackhawks, Brooks Bratten of the Predators' official site reports.

Saros was considered questionable to suit up, but it doesn't appear that he'll be hampered coming out of his time with Finland at the Olympics. The 30-year-old seems likely to start Saturday in Dallas.

Annunen will protect the home goal versus the Blackhawks on Thursday.

Annunen will be backed up by Juuse Saros, who was deemed a game-time decision after participating in Finland's bronze-medal run at the Olympics. Annunen went 1-2-1 over his last five outings before the break, allowing 14 goals on 127 shots in that span.

Grubauer will protect the road net versus the Blues on Thursday, Matthew DeFranks of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

Grubauer will handle the second half of a back-to-back set. The 34-year-old went 2-2 over four appearances for Germany during the Olympics. The Kraken had an unpredictable distribution of work between the pipes prior to the break, so it's not clear how Grubauer and Joey Daccord will share the crease moving forward just yet.

Kaliyev was recalled from AHL Belleville on Thursday, Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia reports.

Kaliyev appears to be insurance at forward for the Senators. He's been excellent in the AHL this season, so it wouldn't be surprising if he gets a look in the lineup at some point.

Stutzle (illness) is expected to play Thursday against Detroit.

Stutzle represented Germany during the 2026 Winter Games, but he was a game-time decision for Ottawa's first game after the NHL pause because of an illness. He has 28 goals and 61 points in 57 appearances with the Senators in 2025-26. Stutzle is projected to play on a line with Drake Batherson and Claude Giroux on Thursday.

McAvoy (not injury related) is expected to play Thursday versus the Blue Jackets, Scott McLaughlin of WEEI reports.

McAvoy was probable to play after returning from the Olympics, and his presence on the ice for warmups essentially confirms that. The 28-year-old should see top-pairing minutes and power-play time.

Gibson is slated to start on the road against Ottawa on Thursday.

Gibson has a 22-12-2 record, 2.62 GAA and .904 save percentage in 37 outings with Detroit this season. He had a rough start to the campaign that's dragged down his overall numbers -- Gibson's 16-5-1 with a 1.98 GAA and a .927 save percentage across his past 22 appearances. Ottawa is playing in its first game since the Olympic break, but the Senators were red hot with a 5-1-0 record across their last six games before the pause.