The Canucks will roll with Demko in their crease in Thursday's season-opening game against the Calgary Flames and hope he can return to the form that made him a Vezina runner-up in 2023-24. The 29-year-old Demko missed most of the 2024-25 season due to injury and battled adversity when called upon, posting a 2.90 GAA and .889 SV% in 23 games (10-8-3). The Canucks enter Thursday's contest as sizable -205 home favorites against a Flames team coming off a 4-3 shootout win over the Edmonton Oilers last night.

Wolf will somewhat surprisingly get the nod on Thursday as the Flames opt to start him for the second time in as many nights to open their 2025-26 season. Wolf was excellent in Wednesday's season opener in Edmonton, stopping 32 of the 35 shots he faced enroute to a 4-3 shootout victory. Wolf and the Flames enter action on Thursday at +175 on the money line.

Trocheck exited Thursday's game in the second period and was unable to return. We should get an update on his status ahead of the Rangers' game in Pittsburgh on Saturday.

With the offseason departure of Connor Ingram, Vejmelka will likely see a heavy workload in the 2025-26 season, starting with Utah's season opener against the Colorado Avalanche. The 29-year-old Vejmelka played a career-high 58 games last season (26-22-8), and posted career-highs in GAA (2.58) and SV% (.904). With an improved roster up front, a strong season from Vejmelka should allow Utah to flirt with playoff contention. Still, Utah enters Thursday's matchup as +165 road underdogs against Colorado's high-octane offence.

Lindholm left the game in the first period and was unable to return. We should get an update on his status ahead of Boston's game against the Sabres on Saturday.

Wiesblatt made his NHL debut with Nashville last season, recording one assist in five games, and hopes to be a more regular NHLer in the 2025-26 season. He took warmups with the team on Thursday but will not be on the opening night roster. The 23-year-old forward was San Jose's 31st-overall pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft.

Coming off another stellar season, winning his third Vezina trophy in the last six seasons, posting an outstanding 2.00 GAA, .925SV%, and eight shutouts in 63 outings (47-12-3), Hellebuyck will tend the twine in Winnipeg's season opener against the Dallas Stars. Hellebuyck and the Jets were eliminated by the Stars in the second round of the playoffs and will hope to enact some revenge with a victory on Thursday. Winnipeg enters the contest as slight -101 home underdogs against Dallas.

The Predators will of course turn to their franchise netminder between the pipes when they host the Blue Jackets in their season opener on Thursday. Saros will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing 2024-25 season. The 30-year-old finished the campaign with a 20-31-6 record to go along with an .895 SV% and 2.98 GAA. Luckily for Saros, he draws a favourable matchup on opening night, as the Predators enter action at -120 on the money line.

Gustavsson will unsurprisingly get the nod between the pipes when the Wild open up their season in St. Louis on Thursday. The 27-year-old netminder was a stabilizing force for the Wild last season, compiling a 31-19-6 record to go along with an impressive .914 SV% and 2.56 GAA. Gustavsson and the Wild open up the season at near even odds at +105 against the Blues.

Filip Hallander will make his season debut on Thursday, sending Tomasino to the press box as a healthy scratch. The 24-year-old Tomasino made his season debut in Tuesday's 3-0 win over the New York Rangers, playing 13:37 time on ice.

Power has been absent from most of Buffalo's training camp due to an undisclosed injury, but was expected to be ready for their season opener on Thursday against the New York Rangers. The 22-year-old Power is coming off a career-best season in 2024-25, scoring 40 points (7G / 33A) in 79 games. With Rasmus Dahlin locked into Buffalo's top powerplay unit, Power will likely spend most of the season quarterbacking the second unit upon his return.

With Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (lower body) out week-to-week, the Sabres will turn to Lyon between the pipes in their season-opening matchup on Thursday against the New York Rangers. The 32-year-old Lyon played 30 games last season with the Detroit Red Wings (14-9-1), posting a 2.81 GAA and .896 SV%. Unless Lyon can establish himself early, expect him to rotate starts with Alexander Georgiev during Luukkonen's absence. The Sabres enter Thursday's contest as +101 home underdogs against a Rangers team that was defeated 3-0 by the Pittsburgh Penguins in their opening-night matchup on Tuesday.

Despite a strong 34-save performance in a 3-2 losing effort on Tuesday to the Florida Panthers, Spencer Knight will likely serve as Chicago's backup netminder on Thursday in Boston. Soderblom, entering his age-26 season, played a career-high 36 games (10-18-7) in 2024-25 and played reasonably well, given he played on a Blackhawks team that finished as the NHL's second-worst defensive team (3.61 GA/GP), posting a 3.18 GAA and .898 SV%. The Blackhawks enter Thursday's contest as +144 road underdogs against a Boston Bruins team that opened their season last night with an impressive 3-1 win over the Washington Capitals.

With the Bruins on the second half of a back-to-back, they will turn to backup netminder Joonas Korpisalo as they look to stay in the Win column at their home. opener vs. Chicago on Thursday. Korpisalo is coming off a tough first season in Boston in 2024-25, where he posted an 11-10-3 record with an ugly .893 SV% and 2.90 GAA. He plays host to the Chicago Blackhawks, who lost their opening game on Tuesday to Florida, 3-2.

Days after signing a seven-year, $49 million contract extension, Jake Walman has been placed on IR retroactive to the start of the season with an undisclosed injury. The 29-year-old will have to miss the Oilers' next game on Saturday vs. Vancouver, but his window to return will begin after that. He had a goal, eight points and a +5 plus/minus in 15 games with the Oilers last season after being acquired at the Trade Deadline from San Jose.

Motivated to make a case for Team USA's starting goalie at the Olympics, Oettinger will be hard-pressed to showcase his talents this season, beginning with a season-opening matchup against the current favourite for Team USA, Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets. The 26-year-old Oettinger posted a 2.59 GAA and .909 SV% in 58 games last season (36-18-4) but will need to elevate his game to materialize his goals. Dallas enters the matchup as slight -109 road favorites against Winnipeg.

With the offseason trade of John Gibson to the Detroit Red Wings, the Ducks effectively made Dostal their undisputed starting goalie, starting with Thursday's season-opening matchup against the Seattle Kraken. The 25-year-old Czech netminder had spells of brilliance for a defensively troubled Ducks team last season, posting a 3.10 GAA and .903 SV% in 54 games (23-23-7). The Ducks will need Dostal to pave the way in order for their playoff hopes to be realized. The Ducks enter Thursday's contest as +115 road underdogs against the Kraken.

O'Brien has been sidelined for most of training camp due to a lower-body injury and appears to be nearing a return to the lineup, but will not be ready for the season opener on Thursday. The 31-year-old grinder nicknamed "Spicy Tuna" appeared in 28 games for Utah in 2024-25, picking up two assists and 50 PIMs alongside 34 SOG.

Hayton battled an undisclosed injury through the latter half of the preseason and will not play in Utah's season opener on Thursday against the Colorado Avalanche. The 25-year-old Hayton has shown glimpses of strong productivity but has lacked consistency. He scored 46 points (20G / 26A) in 82 games last season.