NHL Hockey Player News

Bobrovsky is coming off his best performance of the young season, saving 31 of 34 shots to shut down the New Jersey Devils and their offensive gauntlet for a 4-3 victory. Tonight, the Panthers will have a Stanley Cup Semi-Finals rematch against the Toronto Maple Leafs. In that series, Bobrovsky was otherworldly, posting a .943 SV% en route to defeating the Maple Leafs in five games. As has been the case with Bobrovsky for years now, it's hard to anticipate which version will appear in the net for the Panthers, who are +119 home underdogs tonight.

Levi's mixed results to start the season haven't deterred Don Granato and the Sabres coaching brass from their early-season commitment, as Levi is likely to start for the fourth consecutive game. In three games this season, Levi has a 3.00 GAA and .890 SV% as the rookie continues to accustom himself to the NHL level. Levi is coming off arguably his best performance of the season, in which he saved 21 of 23 shots for his first. The Sabres face off tonight as +114 home underdogs against the Calgary Flames, who have had mixed results themselves, being outscored 10-9 in their first three contests (1-1-1).

Andrea was a healthy scratch for the Flyers' previous game but will draw back into the lineup Thursday vs. Edmonton. The 21-year-old defensemen has only played in one game so far in 2023-24, playing 23 shifts for 16:27 TOI and a -1 plus/minus. He replaces Egor Zamula in the Flyers' third defensive unit.

Zamula scored the Flyers' game-winning goal in Tuesday's victory over Vancouver but will be the odd man out as he is a healthy scratch Thursday vs. Edmonton. The 23-year-old had a goal, an assist, four SOG, and a +3 plus/minus through two games so far in 2023-24. He will be replaced by Emil Andrea on the Flyers' third defensive pair.

Hart is coming off his best performance of the young season in which he recorded a 25-save shutout to lead his Flyers to a 2-0 victory over the Vancouver Canucks. In three games this year, Hart has 2.35 GAA and .921 SV% but will be hard-pressed to continue his early-season success tonight as the Flyers are +177 home underdogs against Connor McDavid and the high-scoring Edmonton Oilers. Working in his favour, Hart performed admirably in his two games against the Oilers last season (1-1-0), recording a 1.96 GAA and .934 SV%.

After an excellent performance in his first game of the season on Tuesday, in which he saved 27 of 29 shots in a 5-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens, Fleury will find himself in the starter's crease for the second consecutive game. Dean Evanson and the Wild coaching staff clearly have faith in Fleury and, as such, the veteran netminder might see more action this season than initially anticipated. Filip Gustavsson will probably still see the heavier workload in net for Minnesota but it could be closer to a timeshare if Fleury continues to give his team a chance to win. Minnesota enters action on Thursday night as a slight -108 favourite against a Los Angeles Kings team that is coming off a dominant 5-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets.

Shesterkin is coming off a season-high 26-save, 2-1 victory over the Arizona Coyotes and will look to record consecutive victories for the first time this season. Shesterkin has started all three contests for the Rangers thus far and should continue to see the lion's share of action going forward. Shesterkin looks poised for a strong performance tonight as the Rangers are -182 home favourites against a Nashville Predators team that has struggled out of the gate, being outscored 14-9 in their first four games of the season (1-3-0).

No further details have been given in terms of the nature or the expected timeline of the injury, but the Capitals will miss the depth scoring and adept penalty-killing Dowd provides. The 33-year-old centreman tallied 13 goals and 12 assists in 65 games for the Capitals last season, and has managed to score double-digit goals in three straight seasons despite being limited to a fourth-line role. Anthony Mantha will draw back into the lineup in place of Dowd.

Kuemper made his season debut in Monday’s game against the Flames after missing the Capitals’ season opener due to the birth of his son. The 33-year-old netminder kicked off his season with an impressive 3-2 shootout victory over Calgary, stopping 38 of the 40 shots he faced in the process. Kuemper will be hoping to build off that momentum heading into Wednesday night’s clash with the Senators in Ottawa, where he and the Capitals are sizable underdogs at +150. Kuemper recorded a 22-26-7 record in 57 appearances with the Capitals last season to go along with a .908 SV% and a 2.87 GAA.

The Senators have an early-season goalie rotation in effect as Forsberg will get the start for the second time in four games. In his first start of the season, Forsberg wasn't heavily tested but managed to save 19 of 21 shots, aiding the Senators to a 5-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers. If the Senators can continue getting strong performances from both netminders, they will likely continue to rotate starts to keep them both fresh. The Senators are -170 home favourites tonight against a Washington Capitals team that has only scored twice in their first two games (1-1-0). A season ago, Forsberg shut the door in his only matchup against the Capitals, saving 22 of 24 shots in a 5-2 victory.

Karlsson had been forced to miss Anaheim's first two games of the season due to a lower-body injury but will make his debut Thursday vs. Dallas. The 18-year-old forward was the second overall pick in the 2023 draft after watching his stock skyrocket throughout the season. He had 10 goals, 15 assists, six PIMs and a -5 plus/minus in 44 games with Orebro HK (SHL) in 2022-23.

Kotchetkov was 1-0-0 with a .912 SV% and a 2.79 GAA with Syracuse (AHL) but has been recalled Wednesday to Carolina. The 24-year-old's promotion comes the night after Frederik Andersen left Carolina's game in the first period due to an injury. Kotchetkov returns to the big leagues, where he has a 15-7-5 record, a .908 SV% and a 2.43 GAA in 27 career NHL games played.

Goligoski left the Wilds' game against Toronto after 16:04 TOI due to a lower-body injury and is expected out 6-10 weeks after being placed on the long-term injured reserve Wednesday. The 38-year-old veteran is in his 17th NHL season and had yet to pick up a point but had one SOG, four PIMs and was a -3 plus/minus through two games so far in 2023-24. Sammy Walker was recalled to Minnesota as a roster replacement for Goligoski.

Walker has yet to pick up a point in two games with Iowa (AHL) and is a -4 plus/minus but has been recalled to Minnesota Wednesday with the news that Alex Goligoski will be heading to the LTIR. Walker returns to the Wild, where he had a goal, an assist, eight SOG and a -1 plus/minus in nine games played in his rookie season in 2022-23.

Labanc had 15 goals, 18 assists, 129 SOG, 36 PIMs and a -17 plus/minus through 72 games in 2022-23 but has yet to see NHL action this season through San Jose's first three games. He will make his season debut Thursday as the Sharks take on Boston and is expected to play on San Jose's second line alongside Thomas Bordeleau and Filip Zadina.

After taking a backseat to Mackenzie Blackwood for the last two games and, despite him saving saving 87 of 94 shots, watching his Sharks go winless (0-1-1), Kahkonen will get the start on Thursday night against the Boston Bruins. In his only game this season, Kahkonen allowed four goals on 32 shots in a 4-1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights. The Sharks are +236 home underdogs against a Boston Bruins team that has yet to lose a game (2-0-0).