Joel Hofer will start Thursday in Florida. Hofer will start for the first time since December 8th, a five-game stretch, on Thursday after Jordan Binnington allowed five goals in an eventual 6-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Blue's last game. Hofer saved nine of 10 shots (.900 SV%) entering the game in relief on Thursday and has failed to record a save percentage above .900 in each of his last four outings (0-3-0). The Blues are +187 road underdogs against the Florida Panthers, who have been held to one or fewer goals in three of their last four outings (1-3-0).Source: The Hockey News
Sergei Bobrovsky will start Thursday vs. St. Louis. Bobrovsky had the night off in the Panthers' last contest but will return to the crease on Thursday evening. In his last game, Bobrovsky had a heroic 38-save performance (.974 SV%), allowing only one goal in a 5-1 victory over the Edmonton Oilers. Through 23 games this season (14-8-1), Bobrovsky has a 2.49 GAA and .911 SV%. The Panthers are sizeable -200 home favourites against the St. Louis Blues, who were embarrassed by the Tampa Bay Lighting on Wednesday, being severely outplayed and losing 6-1.Source: George Richards
Schmid will start against the Oilers on Thursday. Schmid has started three of the last five games for the Devils and will start again on Thursday after spending the first portion of the season as the clear backup to Vitek Vanecek. Since taking on a larger role in late November, Schmid has a 4-4-0 record while posting a .905 SV%, a vast improvement over the .885 SV% he sported in the six games leading up to it (1-3-1). The Devils have a challenging matchup on Thursday against the Edmonton Oilers but are still -111 home favourites despite losing to them 4-1 less than two weeks ago.Source: Amanda Stein
Vasilevskiy will start against the Golden Knights on Thursday. Vasilevskiy had his shutout bid spoiled with just over four minutes remaining in Tuesday's 6-1 victory of the St. Louis Blues and will return to the crease for his sixth straight start on Thursday. The 29-year-old netminder has been slightly inconsistent since returning for off-season back surgery but has shown more good than bad lately, posting an impressive .925 SV% across his last seven games (5-2-0). Tampa Bay is a -113 home favourite on Thursday against a Vegas Golden Knights team that has lost two of three (1-2-0), allowing 4.7 goals per game.Source: Erik Erlendsson
Kochetkov will start in Pittsburgh on Tuesday. Kochetkov has almost exclusively been the starter for the Hurricanes the last several weeks and will start for the fifth time in the last six games on Thursday. His competition between the pipes has been underwhelming but Kochetkov has earned the increased workload under his merit, allowing only six combined goals over his last four games (3-0-1), posting a dazzling .946 SV%. The Hurricanes, coming off a convincing 6-3 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights, are -140 road favourites against a Pittsburgh Penguins team that has won three of their last four (3-1-0).Source: Josh Getzoff
Alex Nedeljokovic will start Thursday vs. Carolina. Tristan Jarry has been solid most of the season but has taken a back seat lately to Nedeljkovic, who will start for the third time in the last four games. Nedeljkovic has won each of his last two starts, saving 63 of 69 shots (.913 SV%). In his first season with the Penguins, Nedeljkovic is sporting an impressive 2.58 GAA and .925 SV% through eight games (4-2-1). The Penguins are +119 home underdogs on Thursday against a Carolina Hurricanes team that is coming off a convincing 6-3 win against the Vegas Golden Knights.Source: Matt Vensel
Saros will start in Philadelphia on Thursday. Saros will get an immediate chance at redemption after a disappointing outing on Tuesday as he is set to make his league-leading 26th start of the season. Saros saw his personal six-game winning streak come to a crashing halt against the Canucks last time out, allowing five goals on just 24 shots. The uncharacteristic outing resulted in Saros' SV% dropping to .908 on the season to go along with his 14-11-0 record. He draws a decent matchup tonight on the road against the Flyers. Source: @PredsNHL
Samuel Ersson will start Thursday vs. Nashville. Ersson has won three consecutive games and will start for a fifth straight time on Thursday night against the Nashville Predators. Ersson has been tremendous lately, helping his team collect at least a point in eight consecutive outings (7-0-1), allowing three or fewer goals in each, and posting a tremendous .930 SV%. The surprising Flyers, 7-0-2 in their last nine, are -119 home favourites against the Predators, who have scored only three combined goals in their last two games (1-1-0).Source: Jordan Hall
Charlie Lindgren will start Thursday in Columbus. Lindgren will take over the Capitals’ crease for the first time in three games Thursday and look to extend Washington’s winning streak to three as they head to Columbus. The 30-year-old veteran has surprisingly been the better of the Capitals’ two goaltenders with his 6-3-2 record, 2.45 GAA and .925 SV%. He will head to Columbus to take on the Blue Jackets, who are fresh off their highest scoring game of the season as they beat Buffalo 9-4 their last time out.Source: Tarik El-Bashir
Elvis Merzlikins will start Thursday vs. Washington. After not playing the last two games for the Blue Jackets, Merzlikins will return to the crease on Thursday. Merzlikins has only played three games in December but has collected a point in each, posting a 2-0-1 record and .915 SV%. The Blue Jackets are coming off a commanding 9-4 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday but are slight -101 home underdogs against a Washington Capitals team that has won two straight but played last night, a 3-2 overtime win over the New York Islanders. Source: Mark Scheig
Devon Levi will start Thursday vs. Toronto. The Sabres will hope Levi can erase a forgettable Tuesday night performance from his memory as the rookie goaltender was amid a terrific stretch leading up to it. On Tuesday, Levi was pulled after allowing four goals on 18 shots (.778 SV%) in an eventual 9-4 loss at the hands of the Columbus Blue Jackets. He had won three of four (3-0-1) leading up to that contest, allowing two or fewer goals in each, posting a sparkling .942 SV%. The Sabres are +127 road underdogs against a Toronto Maple Leafs team that is 6-1-3 in their last 10.Source: Audacy.com
Calvin Pickard will start Thursday in New Jersey. After winning eight straight, the Oilers have suddenly lost three in a row, being outscored 15-6, and will turn to Pickard on the front end of a back-to-back on Thursday to try and stop the bleeding. Pickard has four appearances with the Oilers this season, most recently allowing five goals on 39 shots (.872 SV%) in a 5-1 loss to the Florida Panthers on December 16th. The Oilers will face off against a New Jersey Devils team also in a skid, being outscored 8-3 over their last two contests (0-1-1).Source: Tony Brar
Markstrom will start Thursday's game in Anaheim. Markstrom was excellent in his return from a fractured finger on Monday, surrendering just a single goal on 34 shots enroute to a 3-1 victory over the Panthers. It was one of the finest starts of the season for Markstrom, who now owns a .901 SV% and a 7-8-2 record on the year. He's in a great spot to keep things rolling on Thursday with the Flames being sizable favourites at -190 in Anaheim. Source: Phil Hulett
Samuel Montembeault will start Thursday in Minnesota. Montembeault will start for the third time in the last four games for the Canadiens on Thursday when they face off against the Minnesota Wild. Over his last nine appearances, Montembeault has recorded a save percentage of .900 or better in each contest, posting a combined .921 SV% and 5-2-1 record. The Canadiens, looking for their first three-game winning streak of the season, will be hard-pressed for a victory against a Minnesota team that defeated them 5-2 on October 17th when Montembeault allowed five goals on 35 shots (.857 SV%).Source: Eric Engels
Filip Gustavsson will start Thursday vs. Montreal. Gustavsson has started four of the last five games for the Wild and will return to the crease again on Thursday against the Montreal Canadiens. In his last contest, Gustavsson allowed four goals on 30 shots (.867 SV%) in a 4-3 loss to the Penguins but has allowed two or fewer goals in each of the seven games prior (6-1-0), posting a stellar .954 SV%. Minnesota has been rolling since introducing John Hynes as their new head coach, posting an 8-3-0 record, and are -178 home favourites against a Canadiens team that has collected a point in three straight outs (2-0-1).Source: Jessi Pierce
Patera will start in Tampa Bay on Thursday. With both Logan Thompson and Adin Hill unavailable due to injury, it will be Jiri Patera who gets the call for the Golden Knights on Thursday. Patera made his second appearance of the season in Tuesday's 6-3 loss to the Hurricanes, stopping all ten shots he faced after Thompson left early in the third period with an upper-body injury. Patera picked up the win in his lone start of the season, allowing four goals on 39 shots enroute to a 5-4 shootout victory over the Sharks on December 10th. The second-year netminder owns a .924 SV% across four career appearances. Source: @SinBinVegas
Georgiev will start against the Senators on Thursday. Georgiev allowed three goals on 22 shots (.864 SV%) in a 3-2 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday but will return to the crease for his third straight start on Thursday. Georgiev has a below-.500 rating over his last seven outings (2-3-1), posting an unimpressive .889 SV%. The 27-year-old netminder's quality of play has significantly worsened from his stellar 2022-23 campaign when he finished the season with a 2.53 GAA and .918 SV% in 62 games (40-16-6). That said, the Avalanche are sizeable -160 home favourites against the Ottawa Senators, who are losers of five straight.Source: TSN 1200
Lukas Dostal will start Thursday vs. Calgary. Dostal will start for the third time in the last four games for the Ducks and look for his second consecutive victory. After a midseason stretch with limited action, posting a .787 SV% in three games (0-3-0), Dostal has played significantly better lately, posting a .915 SV% across his last four appearances (1-2-0). The Ducks are sizeable +176 home underdogs on Thursday against the Calgary Flames, who have collected at least a point in four straight games (2-0-2). Source: Alyson Lozoff
Mackenzie Blackwood will start Thursday vs. Arizona. Blackwood was the undisputed starter for the Sharks earlier this season but as the quality of his play has tapered off, he has found himself in an equal timeshare with Kaapo Kahkonen. Blackwood has allowed four or more goals in three of his last four games (1-2-0), posting an uncharacteristically low .868 SV%, considering he was sporting a .903 SV% in the 17 games leading up to that. The Sharks are +135 home underdogs on Thursday against an Arizona Coyotes team riding a three-game winning streak, outscoring their opposition 7-3.Source: Max Miller