Jacob Melanson will re-enter Seattle's lineup on Thursday, sending Tolvanen to the press box as a healthy scratch. The 26-year-old Tolvanen was demoted to the fourth line for most of Seattle's previous game, playing only 10:43 time-on-ice and recording a -2 plus/minus. He has 36 points (12G / 24A) in 74 games this season, but only has one assist in his last eight games.
Eeli Tolvanen will be a healthy scratch on Thursday, allowing Melanson to re-enter the lineup. The 22-year-old Melanson has been sidelined for the past week and has five points (2G / 3A) in 34 games this season.
A brutal 1-7-2 stretch has all but ended Seattle's playoff hopes, as they turn to Daccord to tend the twine against the Vegas Golden Knights. The 29-year-old Daccord allowed four goals on 28 shots (.857 SV%) in his most recent outing, a 5-2 loss to the Minnesota Wild. Daccord has lost six straight games (0-5-1), posting an ugly 4.04 GAA and .852 SV%. The Kraken enter Thursday's contest as +161 home underdogs against a Golden Knights team on a four-game winning streak.
With Kevin Lankinen (upper body) sidelined, the Canucks' crease likely belongs to Tolopilo until he returns. Tolopilo was excellent in Vancouver's previous game, saving 27 of 29 shots (.931 SV%), but did not receive enough goal support in a 2-1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights. The 26-year-old goalie has lost five straight games (0-5-0). The Canucks enter Thursday's contest as sizeable +235 road underdogs against a Los Angeles Kings team that desperately needs a win to stay in contention of a Wild Card spot in the Western Conference.
With their playoff hopes on the line, the Kings will turn to Forsberg, who has been far more reliable than Darcy Kuemper lately. The 33-year-old Forsberg was outstanding in his most recent outing, saving 29 of 31 shots (.935 SV%) in a 3-2 shootout win over the Nashville Predators. He has a 1.75 GAA and .939 SV% in his last four appearances (2-1-0). The Kings enter Thursday's contest as significant -270 home favourites against a Vancouver Canucks team on a three-game losing streak (0-3-0).
Otto Stenberg will re-enter the Blues lineup on Thursday, sending Suter to the sidelines as a healthy scratch. In his first season with the Blues, Suter is averaging 15:58 time-on-ice and has 27 points (13G / 14A) in 60 games.
Nathan Walker will draw into the Blues' lineup on Thursday, sending Drouin to the press box as a healthy scratch. The 31-year-old Drouin has been in and out of the lineup to start his tenure with the Blues, scoring one goal through seven games.
Pius Suter will be a healthy scratch on Thursday, allowing Stenberg to re-enter the lineup against the Winnipeg Jets. The 20-year-old Stenberg, in his first NHL season, is averaging 13:37 time-on-ice and has nine points (2G / 7A) in 29 games.
Jonathan Drouin will be a healthy scratch on Thursday, allowing Walker to re-enter the lineup against the Winnipeg Jets. The 32-year-old Walker is averaging 11:58 time-on-ice and has 11 points (4G / 7A) in 43 games this season.
The Blues are coming off a 3-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche that all-but-ended their hopes for making the playoffs. The team's late-season push was spearheaded by strong goaltending, primarily from Joel Hofer, but the veteran Jordan Binnington was also impressive in less frequent action. The 32-year-old Binnington has only played seven of 20 games since returning from the Olympic break, but has won four of those outings (4-2-1) while posting an excellent 1.74 GAA and .925 SV%. The Blues enter Thursday's contest as slight -107 home favourites against a Winnipeg Jets team that is two points ahead of them in the standings and hope to keep their slim playoff hopes alive.
The Predators got an outstanding 43-save performance from Justus Annunen in their previous game, a 5-0 win over the Anaheim Ducks, but they will return to Saros tending the twine on Thursday against the Utah Mammoth. The 30-year-old Saros was solid in his most recent outing, saving 26 of 28 shots (.929 SV%), but did not receive enough goal support in a 3-2 shootout loss to the Los Angeles Kings. Saros has not needed to be spectacular in recent games, posting a pedestrian 2.89 GAA and .904 SV%, but still has a solid 5-1-1 record to show for it. The Predators enter Thursday's contest as +145 road underdogs against a Mammoth team that has scored six or more goals in four straight games (4-0-0).
The Flames have received more reliable netminding from Devin Cooley in recent weeks, but they will continue their rotation and turn to Wolf on Thursday against the Colorado Avalanche. The 24-year-old Wolf only lasted half of a period, allowing four goals on 16 shots (.750 SV%), before being replaced by Cooley in an eventual 9-2 loss to the Avalanche last week. The 24-year-old Wolf has allowed 10 goals on the last 50 shots he has faced (.800 SV%). The Flames enter Thursday's contest as enormous +273 road underdogs against the league-leading Avalanche.
Kadri was limited to only 6:09 time-on-ice before exiting Tuesday's 3-1 win over the St. Louis Blues due to an upper-body injury. The severity of Kadri's injury is unclear, but with the playoffs fast approaching, Colorado has erred on the side of caution with several minor injuries over the past weeks. The 35-year-old Kadri has nine points (4G / 5A) in 16 game with Colorado since being acquired at the trade deadline.
Murray has seen limited action this season, playing only five games with Seattle, and will now be out indefinitely as he tends to a personal matter. Seattle has recalled Niklas Kokko from Coachella Valley (AHL) in a corresponding move.
Matt Murray has stepped away from the team due to a personal matter, resulting in Kokko being recalled from Coachella Valley (AHL). The 22-year-old Kokko was a second-round pick of Seattle in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft. He has a 3.10 GAA and .903 SV% this season in 34 games (18-10-2) with Coachella Valley.
Vejmelka struggled in Utah's previous game, allowing five goals on 26 shots (.808 SV%), but his team battled to salvage him a 6-5 overtime victory over the Edmonton Oilers. The 29-year-old Czech goalie has been wildly inconsistent since the beginning of March, despite a solid 8-4-1 record, posting a less-than-stellar 3.26 GAA and .879 SV%. The Mammoth enter Thursday's contest as -161 home favourites against a desperate Nashville Predators team that likely needs a win to stay in the second Wild Card spot in the Western Conference.
Bobby Brink will be a healthy scratch on Thursday, allowing Foligno to re-enter the lineup against the Dallas Stars. The 38-year-old Foligno has been used sparingly, in and out of the lineup in recent games. He has one assist in 13 games since being acquired by Minnesota at the trade deadline.
Nick Foligno will re-enter Minnesota's lineup on Thursday, sending Brink to the sidelines against the Dallas Stars. Brink led the way in a 2-1 overtime win over the Dallas Stars three weeks ago, recording two points (1G / 1A), but he has cooled off since, with only one assist in five games.
The Jets have a game in hand and are four points back of the Nashville Predators for the second Wild Card spot in the Western Conference, and have no margin for error with only five games remaining in their regular season. Hellebuyck has struggled for most of the 2025-26 season, but has given his team a chance on most nights in recent outings. The 32-year-old goalie has won five of his last seven games (5-2-0) while posting a solid 2.16 GAA and .910 SV%. The Jets enter Thursday's contest as slight -103 road underdogs against the St. Louis Blues, whom they defeated 3-2 last month.
Thursday's game against the Dallas Stars, a preview of their upcoming first-round playoff matchup, is essentially a must-win game for Minnesota if they have their sights set on home-ice advantage in the first round. Gustavsson was far from stellar in his most recent outing, allowing four goals on 24 shots (.833 SV%), including three in the third period, of a 5-4 win over the Detroit Red Wings. The 27-year-old Swedish goalie has allowed four or more goals in three of his last four games (2-2-0), posting a 3.84 GAA and .865 SV%. That said, he has an outstanding 1.99 GAA and .915 SV% in three games against the Stars this season (2-1-0). The Wild enter the action as +111 road underdogs.
