NHL Hockey Player News

The Kings have outscored their competition 8-1 during a two-game winning streak and will likely turn to Kuemper between the pipes on Thursday against the Vancouver Canucks. Kuemper is coming off his shutout in a Kings uniform and has been impressive in the crease this season. Taking out a disastrous 8-7 loss to the Ottawa Senators in the third game of the season when Kuemper was peppered for eight goals on 41 shots (.805 SV%), Kuemper has allowed three or fewer goals in each of his six other contests, posting an excellent .926 SV%. The Kings enter the action on Thursday as slight +105 home underdogs against the Vancouver Canucks, winners of two straight.

The Sharks have won three of their last four games, two with Vanecek between the pipes, and will turn to him for a second consecutive start for the first time this season. The 28-year-old Vanecek has been serviceable between the pipes for a Sharks club with a -17 goal differential, second-worst in the league, posting a 3.21 GAA and .902 SV% in seven outings (2-4-0). That said, the Sharks enter the action on Thursday as significant +225 home underdogs against a Minnesota Wild club with only two regulation losses (8-2-2).

Makar went down awkwardly in the 2nd period of Tuesday's win over Seattle and attempted to return for the 3rd period before leaving for the rest of the game with 15:07 TOI. The 26-year-old is an early leader for Norris Trophy votes with 23 points (5G/18A) in his first 13 games played.

Carcone has been limited to only three games this season after a career-high 21 goal 2023-24 season. He has zero points, a -2 plus/minus, and is averaging 11:19 time-on-ice through three games this season. He will draw in for Robert Bortuzzo on Thursday as Utah HC will revert back to the traditional 12-forward, six-defensemen formation.

Utah HC will revert from the seven-defenseman formation their used in their previous outing, sending Bortuzzo to the press box as a healthy scratch, with Michael Carcone drawing back into the lineup. The 35-year-old Bortuzzo has a -4 plus/minus, zero points, and 11:11 ATOI through six games.

Mantha suffered the injury late in the first period of Monday's game against the Montreal Canadiens and was unable to return. Kevin Rooney will draw into the lineup as Mantha's replacement. The 30-year-old Mantha has seven points (4G / 3A) in 13 games this season.

Anthony Mantha is battling a lower-body injury and will not play on Thursday, allowing Rooney to re-enter the lineup for the Flames. The 31-year-old Rooney is without a point in five games while averaging 8:13 time-on-ice this season.

Ivan Fedotov will likely draw in as the netminder for the Flyers on Thursday, with the possibility of an EBUG serving as his backup. That said, fantasy owners will likely need to wait until warmups for a Flyers' goalie confirmation given the unusual circumstances. The 22-year-old Kolosov has a 3.92 GAA and .863 SV% through three games (0-3-0) and his potential absence from the team makes the crease murky for a Flyers squad that is already without Samuel Ersson (lower body).

Despite playing 22:12 time-on-ice in Sunday's 2-1 overtime loss to the Minnesota Wild, Matthews is battling through an upper-body injury that will prevent him from in a second consecutive game. Matthews has completed each of the previous seven seasons as a point-per-game player but is off to a slow start this season by his elite standards, with 11 points (5G / 6A) in 13 games. That said, the 27-year-old Matthews has six points (2G / 4A) in his last five games.

Seguin did not play in the second game of the NHL Global Series in Finland due to an undisclosed injury but will return to the lineup on Thursday against the Chicago Blackhawks. The 32-year-old Seguin is off to a tremendous start to the 2024-25 campaign, with nine points (5G / 4A) in seven games. That said, Seguin is currently scoring at an unsustainable 45.5 percent rate.

Condotta is an undrafted 27-year-old that made his professional debut in the 2021-22 season with the Laval Rocket (AHL). He has four games of NHL experience and has four points (0G / 4A) in nine games in the AHL this season.

A scary incident in Tuesday's game against the Tampa Bay Lightning resulted in Holloway being wheeled off in a stretcher after taking a puck to the throat area. All tests proved negative and thankfully, for Holloway and the Blues, he could return to the lineup on Thursday against the Utah Hockey Club.

The Sabres will roll with Luukkonen in the crease for a third straight game on Thursday when they visit the New York Rangers. Luukkonen was tremendous in his previous outing, saving 37 of 38 shots (.974 SV%) in a 5-1 win over the Ottawa Senators. The 25-year-old Luukkonen has taken the reins of the Sabres' crease despite a modest 2.92 GAA and .904 SV% through nine games (4-4-1). The Sabres enter the action on Thursday as +175 road underdogs against a Ranger club riding a two-game winning streak.

After serving as the backup to Ilya Sorokin for three straight games (2-1-0), Varlamov will return to the crease for the Islanders on Thursday. The 36-year-old Varlamov, a 17-year veteran, has an excellent 2.65 GAA and .916 SV% over his career but has a far less impressive 3.21 GAA and .876 SV% through five games this season (1-3-1). The Islanders enter the action on Thursday as +120 road underdogs against an Ottawa Senators club that has only scored five combined goals in their previous three games (1-2-0).

The Blues, riding a two-game winning streak, will turn to Hofer between the pipes on Thursday for only his second start since October 19th. The 24-year-old Hofer has been inconsistent in his limited action this season, recording an impressive 34-save shutout but only managing a 3.39 GAA and .903 SV% through four games (3-1-0). The Blues enter the action on Thursday as slight +102 home underdogs against Utah HC, fresh off a 3-0 loss to the Winnipeg Jets.

The Bruins, fresh off a disappointing 4-0 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs, will switch to Korpisalo between the pipes on Thursday. Korpisalo was excellent in his last outing, his first shutout of the season, saving all 20 shots he faced in a 3-0 win over the Philadelphia Flyers. That said, Korpisalo has been inconsistent this season, posting a 2.70 GAA and .894 SV% in five outings (2-2-0). The Bruins enter the action on Thursday as -156 home favorites against the Calgary Flames.

Point played just 3:47 before leaving Sunday's loss in Winnipeg with a lower-body injury, and will miss a second straight game on Thursday against the Philadelphia Flyers. Before his injury, Point was enjoying another productive campaign, scoring 13 points (8G / 5A) through 12 games. Mitchell Chaffee has been the main beneficiary, jumping into Point's usual spot on the top powerplay unit.

Brendan Smith will head to the sidelines as a healthy scratch on Thursday, allowing Lundkvist to re-enter the lineup after a one-game absence. The 24-year-old Lundkvist is averaging 14:19 time-on-ice and has zero points in 10 games this season.

Nils Lundkvist will draw back into the Stars' lineup on Thursday, resulting in Smith being a healthy scratch. The 35-year-old Smith has played five games for the Stars this season, scoring zero points and averaging 12:42 time-on-ice.

After participating in two games in Finland as part of the NHL Global Series, Marchment has returned home with an undisclosed injury. The 29-year-old Marchment has had a strong start to the 2024-25 season, playing predominantly alongside Matt Duchene and Tyler Seguin, scoring eight points (2G / 6A) in 11 games.