NHL Player News

Saros will get the starting nod at home against the Wild on Thursday, Max Herz of 102.5 The Game Nashville reports.

Saros will get the Opening Night start, which shouldn't come as a surprise considering he featured 59 times during the regular season last year. In those outings, the 31-year-old backstop went 28-22-8 with a career-worst 3.16 GAA. Despite the underwhelming numbers, Saros remains the unquestioned No. 1 option in Music City and could top the 60-game mark for the first time since 2023-24.

Vladar allowed seven goals on 38 shots on net in Wednesday's Opening Night loss to the Penguins.

While Vladar struggled against the high volume of shot attempts that Pittsburgh generated, the 29-year-old backstop was dealing with an upper-body injury during his ramp-up to Opening Night. Regardless, his performance Wednesday was in stark contrast to what he accomplished in 2025-26, where he posted a 29-14-7 record, a 2.42 GAA and a .906 save percentage across 52 regular-season appearances. Between last year's numbers all being career highs and the Flyers bringing in Joseph Woll to take on some of the workload between the pipes, Vladar could be due for slight regression in 2026-27. However, his expected share of opportunities keeps him as a low-end No. 2 goalie option in fantasy for the time being.

Silovs stopped all 19 shots on net he saw in Wednesday's 7-0 Opening Night win over the Flyers.

Silovs started the year on the right foot, posting the third shutout of his NHL career in Wednesday's big win. The 25-year-old goalie had an up-and-down year in 2025-26, where he posted a 19-12-8 record, a 3.07 GAA, an .887 save percentage and two shutouts across 39 regular-season outings. With rookie netminder Sergei Murashov expected to challenge Silovs for opportunities between the pipes, the latter's statement win Wednesday should keep him as the top option for now. Silovs currently holds solid streaming value in fantasy.

Kuemper stopped 21 of 29 shots in Wednesday's 8-4 loss to the Avalanche.

Kuemper had no answer for the Avalanche's power play, which accounted for four of the goals. The 36-year-old netminder didn't get a lot of help from his teammates, though this was always going to be a tough season opener given the relative quality of each lineup. Kuemper struggled to a 19-14-15 record with a 2.78 GAA and an .891 save percentage in 50 regular-season games last year, and he lost the starting job to Anton Forsberg prior to the postseason. Forsberg could see a larger role if Kuemper doesn't bounce back quickly. The Kings are set to visit the Sharks on Saturday.

Blackwood stopped 27 of 31 shots in Wednesday's 8-4 win over the Kings.

The Avalanche had some rust to shake off in front of Blackwood, leading to a bit of a messy game. Two of the Kings' goals came shorthanded, but the Avalanche also went 4-for-5 on the power play. Blackwood is better than this game's stat line would suggest, and he should settle into a nice groove as the team in front of him gets up to speed. The Avalanche's next game is Saturday versus the Blues, and it's not yet clear if the team will lean on a starter or have Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood rotate in the net early in the year.

Nedeljkovic is battling an illness, but he's expected to be available for Thursday's home game against Florida, per Curtis Pashelka of The San Jose Mercury News.

Nedeljkovic had an 18-14-4 record, 2.87 GAA and .896 save percentage in 40 regular-season appearances with the Sharks in 2025-26. San Jose hasn't named a starter for Thursday, but Nedeljkovic will likely serve as Yaroslav Askarov's understudy in that contest.

Kuemper was the first goalie to leave the ice Wednesday, Zach Dooley of the Kings' official site reports, indicating he'll be in goal on the road versus the Avalanche.

Last season, Kuemper failed to reach the 20-win mark for the second time in the last three years, posting a 19-14-15 record in 50 regular-season tilts. It's unlikely the Kings will rack up nearly that many overtime defeats in 2026-27, which should help Kuemper get back to his winning way.

Primeau was put on waivers by Carolina on Wednesday, per Walt Ruff of the Hurricanes' official site.

The Hurricanes plan to reassign Primeau to AHL Chicago if he clears waivers. The 27-year-old netminder had a 2-1-0 record, 4.31 GAA and .838 save percentage in three regular-season appearances with the Maple Leafs in 2025-26. While those numbers are obviously rough, he did post an 8-9-4 record, 2.99 GAA and .910 save percentage in 23 regular-season appearances with Montreal in 2023-24, so at least in that one instance, he was able to hold his own at the top level. Nevertheless, Carolina's top-two goaltenders are clearly Pyotr Kochetkov and Brandon Bussi, and Primeau doesn't fit into the NHL picture when those two are available.

Wolf is set to start at home against Seattle on Thursday, per Pat Steinberg of QR Calgary 770 AM.

Wolf had a 23-29-3 record, 3.01 GAA and .899 save percentage in 57 regular-season appearances with the Flames in 2025-26. He's set to once again be Calgary's No. 1 netminder this campaign. Devin Cooley will serve as the backup and is likely to get his first start of the campaign either Saturday in Vancouver or Sunday in Seattle.

Oettinger (lower body) is available for Friday's season opener at home against St. Louis, per Owen Newkirk of DLLS Sports.

Oettinger hasn't been named the starter for the upcoming game versus the Blues, but the chances of him getting the assignment are high. He had a 35-12-6 record, 2.59 GAA and .899 save percentage in 54 regular-season appearances with Dallas in 2025-26. Oettinger is Dallas' clear No. 1 netminder, while Casey DeSmith is set to continue to serve as his understudy.