NHL Hockey Player News

Makar missed the Avalanche's last seven games due to a lower-body injury but will return for game 1 of the Stanley Cup playoffs against Seattle. The 24-year-old had yet another fantastic season, collecting 17 goals, 49 assists, 176 SOG, and a +16 plus/minus through 60 injury-filled games this season.

Stone has been out since January 12th due to a back injury and has been activated off the long-term injured reserve and is expected to play Tuesday vs. Winnipeg. The 30-year-old finished his 2022-23 regular season with 17 goals, 38 points, 113 SOG, 10 PIMs and a +11 plus/minus through 43 games prior to the injury.

Korpisalo closed out his impressive 2022-23 season with an 18-14-4 record, .915 SV% and 2.87 GAA through 39 games with both Los Angeles and Columbus and is the expected starter for game 1 Monday after being the first goalie off the ice at the morning skate. The 28-year-old brings nine games of NHL playoff experience to the Kings, with his 3-5-0 record, .941 SV% and 1.90 GAA from his 2019-20 playoff run with Columbus. He takes on the Edmonton Oilers Monday, who had won nine-straight games before the end of the regular season and ended up first in goals per game (3.96).

Ehlers' missed the Jets' final game of the season due to an upper-body injury but will be good to go for Game 1 Tuesday vs. Vegas. The 27-year-old ended his 2022-23 regular season with 12 goals, 38 points, 132 SOG, 11 PIMs and a -2 plus/minus through 45 games prior to his injury.

Korpisalo closed out his impressive 2022-23 season with an 18-14-4 record, .915 SV% and 2.87 GAA through 39 games with both Los Angeles and Columbus and is the expected starter for game 1 Monday after being the first goalie off the ice at the morning skate. The 28-year-old brings nine games of NHL playoff experience to the Kings, with his 3-5-0 record, .941 SV% and 1.90 GAA from his 2019-20 playoff run with Columbus. He takes on the Edmonton Oilers Monday, who had won nine-straight games before the end of the regular season and ended up first in goals per game (3.96).

Vilardi has been out since March 26th due to an undisclosed injury and is not expected to suit up for Game 1 vs. Edmonton even though he skated in practice Monday. The 23-year-old enjoyed a breakout campaign in 2022-23, with his 23 goals, 41 points, 122 SOG, 18 PIMs and +10 plus/minus through 63 games prior to the injury.

Fiala has missed the Kings' previous six games due to a lower-body injury and will be out Monday as they take on the Edmonton Oilers. The 26-year-old is not expected back for the first few games of the series, which is a huge loss as he had 23 goals, 72 points, 208 SOG, 52 PIMs and a +2 plus/minus through 69 games before his injury.

Klingberg suffered a lower-body injury during Saturday's practice and was not on the ice for Monday's morning skate. Head coach Dean Evason would not disclose his lineup for Game 1, so consider Klingberg a game-time decision.

Eriksson Ek was considered week-to-week after suffering a lower-body injury just over one week ago, but his presence at Monday's morning skate suggests that he's not far from returning to the Wild lineup. Head coach Dean Evason would not disclose any lineup information, so it's unclear if Eriksson Ek will play in Game 1. Consider him a game-time decision.

Kochetkov had a 12-7-5 record, 2.44 GAA and .909 SV% with the Hurricanes' during the regular season and has been recalled from Charlotte (AHL) Monday to be Carolina's third goaltender. The 23-year-old saw four games worth of action with the Hurricanes' in last year's playoffs, with a 1-2-0 record, 3.89 GAA and .869 SV%.

McLeod missed the Devils' last two games of the season due to an undisclosed injury but is available and expected to return for Game 1 vs. the New York Rangers Tuesday. The 25-year-old closed out his 2022-23 regular season with four goals, 22 assists, 90 SOG and 43 PIMs and a +6 plus/minus through 80 games.

Jones finished his 2022-23 regular season with an 11-17-9 record, 3.07 GAA and .905 SV% with the Iowa Heatlanders (ECHL) before seeing one game of action with the Iowa Wild (AHL) and has now been called up to Minnesota for the first time this season. The 22-year-old has likely been brought up as a third emergency option as there is no news of goaltender injuries at the moment in Minnesota's camp.

Lyon was a revelation for the Panthers in the season's final months, picking up points in seven of his last eight starts while posting a 9-4-2 record, with a 2.89 GAA and .914 SV%. The 30-year-old has yet to experience playoff hockey throughout his six-year NHL career and will make his playoff debut Monday as he takes on the Boston Bruins. He draws the incredibly difficult task of taking on the Bruins, who set NHL records in both wins (65) and points (135) on way to a historic regular season finish.

Sorokin had an outstanding season, going 31-22-7 while ranking first in shutouts (6), third in SV% (.924 SV%) and sixth in GAA (2.34). In seven career playoff appearances (five starts), Sorokin has gone 4-1-0 with a 2.79 GAA and .922 SV%. He went 1-3-0 with a. 2.79 GAA and .911 SV% in four games against the Hurricanes during the regular season.