NHL Hockey Player News

Elvis Merzlikins started the Blue Jackets' season opener but Tarasov will start Saturday in Colorado. The Blue Jackets are massive underdogs (+275) tonight and Tarasov was a 4-5-2 with a 3.13 GAA and .902 SV% on the road last year. However, he was unbelievable in his only start against the Avalanche last year, stopping 45 of 46 shots in a win.

Georgiev was yanked after allowing five goals on 16 shots in Colorado's loss in Vegas in their season opener. It was an ugly start to the season but the Avalanche will not hesitate to go right back to him on Saturday. Colorado are massive favourites (-321) and Georgiev was 24-6-1 with a 2.75 GAA and .902 SV% on home ice last year.

Thompson will take Macklin Celebrini's spot on the Sharks roster after he was moved to IR. The 22-year-old defenseman appeared in two NHL games with the Sharks last year, but spent most of the season in the AHL, where he had nine points (1G / 8A) in 16 games.

Pickard allowed one goal on seven shots after replacing Stuart Skinner in the Oilers' 6-0 loss to the Jets on opening night. With a back-to-back this weekend, Pickard will start the easier of the two matchups vs. the Blackhawks on Saturday. The Oilers are the biggest favourites (-348) on Saturday's slate and Pickard had a 27-save shutout in his only game against them last season.

The Sharks have placed Celebrini on IR and will be without this summer's No.1 overall pick for at least a couple of weeks. This is a terrible break for Celebrini, who had one goal, one assist and two SOG in his NHL debut on Thursday. Mikael Granlund will move up and centre the top line and Klim Kostin will draw into the lineup to replace Celebrini.

Boqvist took a puck to the face in the Panthers' season opener and had to leave after just 4:38 TOI. He missed Thursday's game in Ottawa but will be back in the lineup in Buffalo. Boqvist will be one of the Panthers' seven defensemen in the lineup but will serve as the quarterback on their top power-play unit.

Pickard allowed one goal on seven shots after replacing Stuart Skinner in the Oilers' 6-0 loss to the Jets on opening night. With a back-to-back this weekend, Pickard will start the easier of the two matchups vs. the Blackhawks on Saturday. The Oilers are the biggest favourites (-348) on Saturday's slate and Pickard had a 27-save shutout in his only game against them last season.

Daccord served as the backup in the Kraken's season opener but will start Saturday in Minnesota. Fresh off of a five-year contract extension, Daccord will look to build off of a career-year in 2024. He was 19-18-11 with a 2.46 GAA and .916 SV% in 50 games with the Kraken. Seattle are +116 road underdogs.

Georgiev was yanked after allowing five goals on 16 shots in Colorado's loss in Vegas in their season opener. It was an ugly start to the season but the Avalanche will not hesitate to go right back to him on Saturday. Colorado are massive favourites (-321) and Georgiev was 24-6-1 with a 2.75 GAA and .902 SV% on home ice last year.

Tkachuk's illness comes at a tough time, as the Panthers will also be without Aleksander Barkov (lower-body) on Saturday. With Tkachuk out, Eetu Luostarinen will move up into the top-6 on Saturday. Consider Tkachuk day-to-day and questionable to play Monday in Boston.

Barkov had to be helped off the ice at the end of Thursday's loss in Ottawa after crashing leg-first into the end boards. All things considered, this is good news for the Panthers but they'll be extremely shorthanded on Saturday with Matthew Tkachuk (illness) also sidelined. Anton Lundell should take on a much larger role while Barkov is out. Expect Barkov to miss roughly 10 games.

Knight spent the entire 2023-24 season in the AHL, where he was 25-14-5 with a 2.41 GAA and .905 SV%. The 2019 No.13 overall pick has appeared in 57 career NHL games, going 32-17-6 with a 2.91 GAA and .906 SV%. Tonight he faces the Sabres as -110 road favourites.

Kuemper had a tremendous performance on opening night, stopping 32 of 33 shots he faced in a win over the Sabres. This afternoon he's expected to face the Bruins, who have scored 10 goals in their first two games (5.0 GF/gm). The Kings are +140 road underdogs.

Rust missed the first two games of the season but will be a game-time decision in Toronto. He took part in the morning skate and skated on the top line and top power-play unit, suggesting that he'll play Saturday. Rust had 56 points (28G / 28A) in 62 games last year.

Markstrom allowed four goals on 22 shots in the Devils' loss to the Maple Leafs on Thursday. It was a tough outing compared to his Devils debut, where he stopped 30 of 31 shots in a win over the Sabres. Tonight, he will start in Washington, and the Devils enter play as -141 road favourites.

Blomqvist stopped 29 of 32 shots in the Penguins' win in Detroit on Saturday. It was an impressive NHL debut for the 22-year-old netminder, so much so that the Penguins will go back to him tonight in Toronto. The Penguins are +174 road underdogs against the Maple Leafs.

Dan Vladar started the Flames season opener but Wolf will get the home opener vs. Philadelphia. The highly regarded goalie prospect struggled with the Flames last year but once again posted outstanding numbers in the AHL. In 18 career NHL games, Wolf is 8-7-1 with a 3.03 GAA and .896 SV%. The Flames are -127 favourites against a Flyers team that played last night.

Ullmark stopped 31 of 32 shots in the Senators win over the Panthers on Thursday. He is expected to make a second straight start Saturday in Montreal, who are 1-1-0 in their first two games. The Senators are -155 road favourites.