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.

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.

To some surprise, the Sharks are turning to Alex Nedeljkovic on Thursday against the Vegas Golden Knights instead of Yaroslav Askarov, their 23-year-old goalie of the future. The 29-year-old Nedeljkovic signed with San Jose in the offseason after spending his previous two seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Nedeljkovic posted a 3.12 GAA and .894 SV% in 38 appearances last season (14-15-5). The Sharks have some exciting young talent on their roster, but still enter Thursday's contest as +180 home underdogs against a Golden Knights team coming off a 6-5 shootout loss to the Los Angeles Kings last night.

Daccord has played his way into being Seattle's starting netminder the previous two seasons and will tend the twine in their season-opening matchup on Thursday against the Anaheim Ducks. The 29-year-old Daccord posted a solid 2.75 GAA and .906 SV% in a career-high 57 games last season (27-23-5). With Philipp Grubauer's porous play the previous few seasons with Seattle, expect Daccord to get the vast majority of starts again in 2025-26. Seattle enters Thursday's matchup as -126 home favorites against an improved Ducks team that is expected to battle for a playoff spot this season.

The Blues started the 2024-25 season as one of the NHL’s worst teams, prompting a coaching change, with Jim Montgomery taking over in late November. After the coaching switch, Binnington posted a 22-13-4 record with three shutouts and had a top-10 GAA (2.53) and SV% (.905) among goalies that played 30 games. Jim Montgomery will turn to Binnington on Thursday and hope he can build off the momentum he garnered in the second half of last season. The Blues enter their season-opening matchup against the Minnesota Wild on Thursday as -124 home favourites.

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.

The Senators will start their season on Thursday with Ullmark tending the twine against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The 32-year-old Ullmark battled some injuries in his first season with the Senators but was solid when called upon, posting a 2.72 GAA, .909 SV%, and four shutouts in 44 outings (25-14-3). Still, the Senators enter Thursday's contest as +154 road underdogs against a Lightning team that led the league offensively last season (3.59 GF/GP).

The start to Sturm's tenure in Minnesota has been delayed due to injury, and now with surgery is expected to miss at least six weeks. After winning a cup with Florida in 2024-25, Sturm signed a two-year, $4 million contract with Minnesota in the offseason. He is coming off a seven-goal, 14-point campaign across 62 games with both San Jose and Florida in 2024-25.

Brodin, who had offseason surgery on an upper-body injury, will not play in the Wild's season opener on Thursday. There was hope that he'd be ready, but he's "stagnated a little bit," according to head coach John Hynes. With Brodin unavailable, David Jiriceck is expected to be in the opening night lineup.

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. The 23-year-old forward was San Jose's 31st-overall pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft.

Colorado has not released a concrete update on Mackenzie Blackwood's lower-body injury, but is comfortable rolling with Wedgewood between the pipes after a strong performance in their season-opening win over the Los Angeles Kings. The 33-year-old Wedgewood saved 24 of 25 shots (.960 SV%) in Tuesday's 4-1 win over the Kings and will hope to replicate that performance on Thursday against the Utah Mammoth. Colorado enters Thursday's contest as -185 home favorites against a Utah team with some dangerous offensive pieces.

Toews "tweaked something" in a preseason contest against the Minnesota Wild last Tuesday, but will be ready to suit up for Thursday's contest against the Dallas Stars. After missing the entirety of the previous two seasons, recovering from injuries, Toews signed in the offseason with his hometown team. The veteran forward scored 31 points (15G / 16A) in 53 games in his most recent season in 2022-23.

The Senators will start their season on Thursday with Ullmark tending the twine against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The 32-year-old Ullmark battled some injuries in his first season with the Senators but was solid when called upon, posting a 2.72 GAA, .909 SV%, and four shutouts in 44 outings (25-14-3). Still, the Senators enter Thursday's contest as +154 road underdogs against a Lightning team that led the league offensively last season (3.59 GF/GP).

After several poor seasons by Elvis Merzlikins, the Blue Jackets will turn to Greaves in their season-opening matchup on Thursday against the Nashville Predators. Greaves joined the Blue Jackets late in the 2024-25 season and was nearly unbeatable, posting a 1.91 GAA and .938 SV% in 11 games (7-2-2), ultimately falling just short of a playoff berth. If Greaves can establish himself early, he could quickly become the undisputed starting goalie in Columbus. The Blue Jackets enter Thursday's action as +102 road underdogs against the Predators.

The Blues started the 2024-25 season as one of the NHL’s worst teams, prompting a coaching change, with Jim Montgomery taking over in late November. After the coaching switch, Binnington posted a 22-13-4 record with three shutouts and had a top-10 GAA (2.53) and SV% (.905) among goalies that played 30 games. Jim Montgomery will turn to Binnington on Thursday and hope he can build off the momentum he garnered in the second half of last season. The Blues enter their season-opening matchup against the Minnesota Wild on Thursday as -124 home favourites.

The Devils will likely turn to Markstrom between the pipes on Thursday in their season-opening matchup against the Carolina Hurricanes. The 35-year-old Markstrom had a solid, albeit unspectacular, first season with the Devils in 2024-25, posting a 2.50 GAA, .900 SV%, and four shutouts in 49 games (26-16-6). The Devils enter Thursday's contest as +150 road underdogs against a Hurricanes team that is widely believed to be a top Stanley Cup contender.