NHL Hockey Player News

Georgiev has quality starts in three of his last four outings and will look to continue his strong play on Thursday when the Avalanche welcome the Winnipeg Jets. In his past four games (2-1-1), Georgiev has a stellar .929 SV%, allowing only 10 total goals in that stretch. The Avalanche are -130 home favourites in their first game this season against the Jets, who are averaging only 2.0 goals per game over their last seven contests (4-3-0).

Dermott has not played since November 7th, when he recorded one assist and fired three shots on goal in a 4-3 victory over the Seattle Kraken. He has no goals and one assist in ten games this season.

Durzi exited Monday's game against the Washington Capitals with a lower-body injury in the first period. Despite playing only 4:02 time-on-ice, Durzi recorded a point (0G / 1A), snapping a seven-game pointless skid.

Dostal will get the start for the first time since November 26th, breaking a run of four consecutive starts for John Gibson. After a strong start to the season, Dostal has struggled of late, registering an ugly .787 SV% across his last three starts, losing all three decisions. He owns an .878 SV% and a 4.30 GAA on the season. Dostal couldn't ask for a better matchup to get back in the win column on Thursday as the Ducks are set to take on the lowly Blackhawks.

Saros will search for his third straight victory as the starter for the third consecutive game on Thursday against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Saros has been excellent lately, winning six of his last seven contests (6-1-0), posting a .914 SV% in the process. The Predators' resurgent play lately has them listed as -129 home favourites on Thursday against a Lightning team that has won two straight, outscoring their opposition 7-1, but played last night and will presumably turn to Jonas Johansson between the pipes.

Johansson will start the tail-end of Tampa Bay's back-to-back after Andrei Vasilevskiy picked up the 3-1 win over the Penguins on Wednesday. It's Johansson's first start since November 28th, when he surrendered three goals on 27 shots enroute to a 3-1 defeat at the hands of the Coyotes. The 28-year-old netminder owns a .892 SV% and a 8-5-5 record on the season. He'll have his hands full on Thursday facing a Predators team fresh off back-to-back victories.

Kochetkov will get an immediate chance to redeem himself after last night's disappointing start in Edmonton. Kochetkov allowed three goals on the first six shots he faced before being lifted in favour of Antti Raanta, who hardly fared any better in the 6-1 defeat. Kochetkov owns an unflattering .871 SV% to go along with a 4-5-1 record on the season. He'll be hoping to get back in the win column on Thursday with the Hurricanes being -125 favourites over the Flames.

Seguin did not play in the third period for the Stars after suffering an undisclosed injury in the third period. Sam Steel replaced Seguin on the second line with Matt Duchene and Mason Marchment. Seguin's status for Thursday's game was up in the air, but thankfully he will be available for the Stars. Seguin has had a resurgent season, scoring 17 points (8G / 9A) through 24 games.

Wedgewood will get the nod on Thursday after Jake Oettinger started the front half of the Stars' back-to-back on Wednesday. It will be Wedgewood's first appearance since allowing four goals on 36 shots in a 4-3 overtime defeat at the hands of the Flames on November 30th. Dallas' backup owns a 4-1-1 record and a .911 SV% on the season. He draws a favourable matchup on Thursday with the Stars being -140 road favourites in Washington.

Johnson will re-enter the Sabres' lineup on Thursday in place of the injured Rasmus Dahlin. Johnson has no goals and one assist in 13 games this season.

Talbot has been used between the pipes much more sparingly lately but will return to the crease for the fourth time in the last seven games when the Kings visit the Montreal Canadiens. The Kings have won eight of their last nine (8-1-0) and are significant -208 road favourites against a Canadiens team they defeated 4-0 two weeks ago with Phoenix Copley as their goaltender. Talbot has been a steadying presence for the Kings all season and has an outstanding .945 SV% over his past 10 games (8-2-0).

Dahlin missed the Sabres morning skate Wednesday and was announced a game-time decision Thursday vs. Boston. The 23-year-old superstar has been enjoying yet another strong start to his 2023-24 season, with six goals, 21 points, 66 SOG, 20 PIMs and a -10 plus/minus over 26 games prior to his recent injury.