NHL Player News

Merzlikins stopped 33 of 38 shots on goal in Latvia's 5-1 loss to the United States in Olympic round-robin play Thursday.

Merzlikins had the odds stacked against him in Thursday's contest and played well to not allow the game-winning goal before the 30-minute mark. His early effort Thursday reflected where he left off with Columbus before the Olympic break, as he had a 3-0-0 record, a 1.67 GAA, a .933 save percentage and a shutout across his last three starts. He'll likely receive one more start during Olympic round-robin play and should get a game of rest if Latvia turns to Penguins netminder Arturs Silovs to change things up.

Hellebuyck turned aside 17 of 18 shots on net in the United States' 5-1 win over Latvia in Olympic round-robin play Thursday.

After a busy first period where Renars Krastenbergs scored Latvia's lone goal of the contest, Hellebuyck shut down Latvia for the remainder of the game while the United States' offense tallied four goals through the first two periods. His solid overall showing should lead him to more starts for Team USA later in the Olympic tournament. While the 32-year-old netminder hasn't replicated the numbers from his Hart Trophy campaign through 36 games with Winnipeg this season, he picked up where he left off on the world stage after posting a 2-1-0 record, a 1.59 GAA and a .932 save percentage across three starts at the 4 Nations Face-Off last year.

Grubauer is set to start for Team Germany against Denmark on Thursday at the 2026 Winter Games.

Grubauer has an 11-6-3 record, 2.43 GAA and .916 save percentage in 22 outings with Seattle in 2025-26. This is the first game of the tournament for both Denmark and Germany. Grubauer won't be facing many NHL players in this match, but Denmark does include forwards Oliver Bjorkstrand, Nikolaj Ehlers and Lars Eller.

Andersen will start for Denmark during Thursday's game against Germany at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Andersen is in the midst of one of the worst seasons of his career in the NHL, as he's gone 7-10-5 with a 3.26 GAA and .871 save percentage over 22 appearances with the Hurricanes. He made three appearances for Denmark to help the team qualify for the Olympics, and he went 3-0-0 with a 1.31 GAA and .938 save percentage in those outings.

Dostal made 31 saves in Czechia's 5-0 loss to Canada in Olympic round-robin play Thursday.

Czechia's offense, led by NHL stars such as David Pastrnak and Martin Necas, couldn't solve Jordan Binnington in the other crease, but it was Dostal's defense that really let him down in the rout. Czechia should have a much easier time in their next game Friday against France, but it's not clear yet whether Dostal will get the start in that contest over Karel Vejmelka or Dan Vladar.

Harley notched two assists in Canada's 5-0 win over Czechia in Olympic round-robin play Thursday.

The Stars blueliner had a hand in tallies by Bo Horvat in the second period and Nick Suzuki in the third. Harley isn't the top defenseman for Canada in the tournament and may not see much power-play time as a result -- that honor belongs to Cale Makar -- but the 24-year-old should still have a key role for one of the tournament favorites.

Crosby picked up two assists, including one on the power play, in Canada's 5-0 win over Czechia in Olympic round-robin play Thursday.

The future Hall of Famer helped set up tallies by Mark Stone in the second period and Nathan MacKinnon in the third. Canada's offense is led by a new generation of stars in MacKinnon and Connor McDavid, but the 38-year-old Crosby still has plenty left in the tank, and he already has one gold medal-winning goal on his resume from the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.

McDavid collected three assists, including one on the power play, in Canada's 5-0 win over Czechia in Olympic round-robin play Thursday.

The Oilers superstar helped set up Macklin Celebrini for the game's opening goal late in the first period before adding two more assists in the third on tallies by Nathan MacKinnon and Nick Suzuki. McDavid also fired a team-high six shots on net, and he'll be one of the keys to Canada's offense as they look to live up to their billing as one of the tournament favorites.

Binnington made 26 saves in Canada's 5-0 win over Czechia in Olympic round-robin play Thursday.

Macklin Celebrini gave Canada a 1-0 lead just before the first intermission, and it would prove to be all the offense Binnington would need. The 32-year-old netminder has been having an awful regular season for the Blues in the NHL, but Binnington has a history of coming up big when the spotlight is brightest, from carrying St. Louis to a Stanley Cup as a rookie in 2018-19 to his play in the finals of the 4 Nations Face-Off last February. It's not yet clear whether he'll be in the crease again Friday against Switzerland, or whether Logan Thompson will get a chance to state his case for the top job.

Gustavsson made 20 saves in Sweden's 5-2 win over Italy in Olympic round-robin play Wednesday.

The game was surprisingly close through two periods despite an overwhelming shot advantage for Sweden, but the favorites pulled away in the third and wound up out-shooting Italy 59-22. Gustavsson appears set as the No. 1 netminder for Sweden, and head coach Sam Hallam indicated he would be between the pipes again Friday against Finland, with either Jacob Markstrom or Gustavsson's teammate with the Wild, Jesper Wallstedt, getting the nod Saturday versus Slovakia.