NHL Player News

Hlavaj will protect the Slovakian cage versus Sweden on Saturday at the 2026 Winter Olympics, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports.

Hlavaj was outstanding in Wednesday's 4-1 upset win over Finland while stopping 39 shots. He has spent most of the 2025-26 campaign with AHL Iowa, going 5-9-4 with a 3.24 GAA and an .884 save percentage over 18 starts. Sweden has its back against the wall in Saturday's contest, as goal differential is poised to play a significant role in deciding which team wins Group B.

Grubauer is set to defend the German net versus Latvia on Saturday at the 2026 Winter Olympics, per Dan Rosen of NHL.com.

Grubauer will make his second straight start between the pipes for Germany after turning aside 37 shots in a 3-1 victory over Denmark on Thursday. Grubauer is 11-6-3 with a 2.43 GAA and a .916 save percentage across 22 appearances with Seattle this season.

Silovs is set to start for Team Latvia against Germany on Saturday a the 2026 Winter Olympics, according to Dan Rosen of NHL.com.

Silovs has been solid for the Penguins this season, posting an 11-7-8 record, with a 2.93 GAA and an .894 save percentage over 26 outings. He will have all he can handle against Germany, which boasts NHL stars Leon Draisaitl, Tim Stutzle and Moritz Seider, among others.

Markstrom will patrol the Swedish crease versus Slovakia on Saturday at the 2025 Winter Olympics, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports.

Markstrom will make his first start of the tournament for Sweden after Filip Gustavsson, who will be a healthy scratch, started the first two games. Markstrom is 15-13-1 with a 3.20 GAA and an .882 save percentage across 30 contests with New Jersey this season. Slovakia has won its first two games of the preliminary round, pulling off a 4-1 upset of Finland and knocking off Italy 3-2.

Schmidt scored twice in WHL Seattle's 4-1 win over Tri-City on Friday.

With the two-goal game, Schmidt reached the 80-point mark for the season. That puts him second in the WHL, and he leads the league with 38 goals as well. The winger has put up those numbers between Seattle and Vancouver after a midseason trade, and his scoring numbers are all the more impressive considering both of those teams are near the bottom of the league.

Blais scored a goal and added two assists in AHL Laval's 6-1 win over Hershey on Friday.

Blais has earned six points over three games since returning to Laval after being waived Feb. 3. The forward has collected 15 points in 12 outings for Laval this season as well as a total of eight points in 21 appearances between the Canadiens and the Maple Leafs at the NHL level.

Shine scored twice in AHL Grand Rapids' 4-2 win over Texas on Friday.

Shine earned a two-year contract extension in January, though his play has recently tailed off. He's gotten on the scoresheet in just two of the last 10 contests for Grand Rapids, earning three goals and an assist in that span. Still, the winger is at 17 goals, 14 helpers and a plus-19 rating over 33 appearances, the fourth time in five years he's topped the 30-point mark in the AHL.

Chovan scored two goals in OHL Sudbury's 4-1 win over Brampton on Friday.

Chovan had gone four games without a multi-point effort, his longest such stretch since December. He's up to 17 goals and 37 points through 46 appearances. The Kings prospect remains a positive part of Sudbury's offense, though the team's struggles have shown up in his minus-28 rating this season.

Brzustewicz scored a goal on nine shots and added two assists in OHL London's 4-3 shootout win over Sault Ste. Marie on Friday.

Brzustewicz showed off some offense in this contest, which was just his second three-point outing of the season. Both have come over the last 12 games, a span in which he has four goals and 13 helpers. For the season, the Kings prospect is at 16 goals, 40 points and a minus-19 rating over 45 appearances, showing mixed results as his offense has grown but his defense has suffered.

Smith scored twice in Penn State's 5-4 shootout loss to the University of Michigan on Friday.

Smith has been an excellent goal-scorer from the blue line with 10 goals and 19 points over 25 appearances this season. That's impressive work, though he had just 11 goals with 43 assists in 68 regular-season games for WHL Tri-City last year, which suggests a bit of good luck in 2025-26. Smith, a Blue Jackets prospect, is likely to need more years in the NCAA to round out his development.