NHL Hockey Player News

Hellebuyck was excellent in his most recent outing, saving 26 of 27 shots (.963 SV%) in a 4-1 win over the Vegas Golden Knights. That said, reliable efforts from the three-time Vezina-winning goalie have not been a regularity this season. The 32-year-old Hellebuyck has allowed three or more goals in seven of 13 games since returning from the Olympic break (5-4-4), posting a pedestrian 2.98 GAA and .890 SV%. The Jets enter Thursday's contest as +157 home underdogs against the league-leading Colorado Avalanche, who have outscored their opposition 13-5 in their last three games (3-0-0).

Hellebuyck was excellent in his most recent outing, saving 26 of 27 shots (.963 SV%) in a 4-1 win over the Vegas Golden Knights. That said, reliable efforts from the three-time Vezina-winning goalie have not been a regularity this season. The 32-year-old Hellebuyck has allowed three or more goals in seven of 13 games since returning from the Olympic break (5-4-4), posting a pedestrian 2.98 GAA and .890 SV%. The Jets enter Thursday's contest as +157 home underdogs against the league-leading Colorado Avalanche, who have outscored their opposition 13-5 in their last three games (3-0-0).

Knight was solid in his previous outing, saving 30 of 33 shots (.909 SV%), but came up short in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Nashville Predators. That said, the 24-year-old Knight, who has been serviceable all season in Chicago, has been reliable since returning from the Olympic break, posting a 2.71 GAA and .913 SV%, but unfortunately, it has not translated into a winning record: 2-3-3 in eight games. The Blackhawks enter Thursday's contest as +145 road underdogs against a Philadelphia Flyers team that has points in six of its last seven games (5-1-1).

Pulock has not played the past two games for the Islanders due to a lower-body injury, but he could be ready to return on Thursday against the Dallas Stars. The 31-year-old defenseman is averaging 20:59 time-on-ice and has 25 points (3G / 22A) in 67 games this season.

DeAngelo exited Tuesday's 4-3 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks after only six shifts due to a lower-body injury, and will not play on Thursday against the Dallas Stars. Adam Boqvist stepped up during DeAngelo's absence and filled in on the Islanders' second powerplay unit. The 30-year-old DeAngelo has 33 points (5G / 28A) in 72 games this season.

Samoskevich has not played Florida's previous two games and will miss at least one more, out on Thursday against the Minnesota Wild. The 23-year-old Samoskevich is averaging 14:15 time-on-ice, recording 23 points (6G / 17A), 123 hits, and 139 shots in 66 games this season. His next chance to return will be on Saturday against the New York Islanders.

The Islanders are just outside of a Wild Card spot in an ultra-tight race in the Eastern Conference, and will turn to Sorokin on Thursday against the Dallas Stars. The 30-year-old Sorokin was excellent in his last start, saving all 26 shots he faced for his league-leading seventh shutout of the season in a 1-0 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. That said, he has an under .500 record this month (4-5-0), with a 2.74 GAA and .904 SV%. The Islanders enter Thursday's contest as +113 home underdogs against a Dallas Stars team that has followed up a franchise-best 15-game point streak (14-0-1) by losing four of five games (1-3-1).

Vasilevskiy did not need to be spectacular in Tampa Bay's previous outing, saving 21 of 24 shots (.875 SV%) in a 6-3 win over the Minnesota Wild. The 31-year-old goalie has not been his dominant self lately, going 6-5-0 with a pedestrian 3.02 GAA and .886 SV% in 11 games (6-5-0) since the end of February. Tampa Bay, in a race for the top seed in the Atlantic Division, enters Thursday's contest as significant -296 home favourites against an offensively challenged Seattle Kraken team that has scored two or fewer goals in five of its last eight games (2-5-1).

Hayton was limited to only 17 seconds of time-on-ice in Tuesday's 5-2 loss to the Edmonton Oilers, exiting the game with an upper-body injury. Utah recalled Daniil But from Tucson (AHL), indicating that Hayton could miss some time. The 25-year-old Hayton has 25 points (10G / 15A) in 67 games this season.

Since returning from the Olympic break, the Panthers have been much more liberal with their goalie rotation, and will turn to Tarasov on Thursday against the Minnesota Wild for the sixth time in their last 13 games. That said, the 26-year-old Tarasov hasn't benefited from the extra playing time. In his last four games (1-3-0), he boasts an ugly 4.03 GAA and .862 SV%. Florida enters Thursday's contest as +134 home underdogs against a Minnesota team that has lost five of their last seven (2-4-1).

Koppanen had a 10-game stint with Pittsburgh earlier this season, scoring one assist, but has spent most of the 2025-26 campaign in the AHL. The 2016 fifth-round pick has 19 points (7G / 12A) in 37 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL) this season.

Hayes made his NHL debut earlier this season, scoring two goals in 11 games, but has spent most of the 2025-26 campaign in the AHL. The undrafted 23-year-old forward has 32 points (20G / 12A) in 38 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL) this season.

George scored one assist in two games with New York earlier this season, but has spent most of the 2025-26 season in the AHL. The 22-year-old defenseman has 17 points (2G / 15A) in 45 games with Bridgeport (AHL) this season.

The Islanders are just outside of a Wild Card spot in an ultra-tight race in the Eastern Conference, and will turn to Sorokin on Thursday against the Dallas Stars. The 30-year-old Sorokin was excellent in his last start, saving all 26 shots he faced for his league-leading seventh shutout of the season in a 1-0 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. That said, he has an under .500 record this month (4-5-0), with a 2.74 GAA and .904 SV%. The Islanders enter Thursday's contest as +113 home underdogs against a Dallas Stars team that has followed up a franchise-best 15-game point streak (14-0-1) by losing four of five games (1-3-1).

Pezzetta will immediately exit the lineup after making just his third appearance of the season in Tuesday's win over the Bruins. Calle Jarnkrok will dress in his place.

Samuelsson was absent from practice on Tuesday and was a game-time decision heading into Wednesday's game against the Boston Bruins. The 26-year-old Samuelsson is having a terrific season, playing primarily alongside Rasmus Dahlin, tallying 39 points (12G / 27A) through 68 games.

Joseph Woll will be between the pipes for the Maple Leafs tonight after Anthony Stolarz got the call in the front-end of their back-to-back on Tuesday. Woll was peppered with 44 shots on goal in his last start, allowing five goals in a 5-2 loss in Ottawa on Saturday. The 27-year-old netminder owns an underwhelming 14-3-6 record on the season despite posting a respectable .904 SV%. Woll and the Maple Leafs enter action on Wednesday at +105 on the money line.

Shesterkin was excellent in New York's previous outing, saving 31 of 33 shots (.939 SV%), but received very little goal support in a game where his team only managed 10 shots on goal in a 2-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators. The 30-year-old Shesterkin has a serviceable 2.88 GAA and .912 SV% in nine games since returning from the Olympic break. The Rangers enter Wednesday's contest as -119 road favourites against a Toronto Maple Leafs team that played last night and won 4-2 over the Boston Bruins.

Luukkonen was tremendous in his previous outing, saving 26 of 27 shots (.963 SV%) in a 4-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings, and has been consistently reliable for weeks. The 27-year-old Finnish goalie has allowed two or fewer goals in nine of his last 10 appearances (7-2-0), posting a solid 2.19 GAA and .925 SV%. The only game he allowed more than two was a forgettable outing in which he allowed seven goals on 28 shots (.750 SV%), but he still salvaged an 8-7 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Sabres enter Wednesday's contest as -193 home favourites against a Boston Bruins team that played last night and lost 4-2 to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Jokiharju will take a seat on Wednesday as the Bruins look to get some fresh legs in the lineup for the tail-end of their back-to-back. Andrew Peeke will dress in his place.