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‹WED OCT 7›
3 games tonight
WEDOCT 7
7:30 PM
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WSH59%
7:30 PM
COL62%
WPG38%
10:00 PM
EDM54%
ANA46%
Goalies · Wednesday 7 October

Expected starting goalies

Who we expect in goal for every NHL game tonight, from each team's recent starts, rest, back-to-backs and form. An estimate until the teams confirm.

Tonight · Wednesday 7 October

3 games

10:00 PM ETEdmonton at AnaheimGame preview →
Edmonton
Expected starter#27 Devon Levi
  • Started 2 of 3 this season

2026-27: 2 GP · .810 SV% · GSAx −4

Also possible: Jarry 43%

Injured: Andersen (injured reserve)

Anaheim
Expected starter#1 Lukas Dostal
  • Started 2 of 2 this season
  • 56 of the team's last 82 starts

2026-27: 2 GP · .918 SV% · GSAx +2

Also possible: Husso 13%

Tomorrow · Thursday 8 October

10 games

7:00 PM ETUtah at BostonGame preview →
Utah
Expected starter#70 Karel Vejmelka
  • Started 3 of 4 this season
  • 63 of the team's last 82 starts

2026-27: 3 GP · .913 SV% · GSAx +2

Also possible: Cossa 35%

Boston
Expected starter#1 Jeremy Swayman
  • Started 3 of 4 this season
  • 55 of the team's last 82 starts

2026-27: 3 GP · .914 SV% · GSAx +1

Also possible: DiPietro 42%

7:00 PM ETDallas at BuffaloGame preview →
Dallas
Expected starter#29 Jake Oettinger
  • Started 2 of 3 this season
  • 53 of the team's last 82 starts

2026-27: 2 GP · .943 SV% · GSAx +2

Also possible: DeSmith 45%

Buffalo
Expected starter#1 Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
  • Started 2 of 3 this season
  • 36 of the team's last 82 starts

2026-27: 2 GP · .784 SV% · GSAx −4

Also possible: Ellis 34%

Injured: Lyon (injured reserve)

7:00 PM ETNashville at MontréalGame preview →
Nashville
Expected starter#74 Juuse Saros
  • Started 3 of 3 this season
  • 59 of the team's last 82 starts

2026-27: 3 GP · .907 SV% · GSAx +0

Injured: Annunen (injured reserve)

Montréal
Expected starter#75 Jakub Dobes
  • Started 3 of 3 this season
  • 44 of the team's last 82 starts

2026-27: 3 GP · .857 SV% · GSAx −3

Also possible: Montembeault 23%

9:00 PM ETColorado at CalgaryGame preview →
Colorado

Expected starter after their game on 7 Oct: a back-to-back depends on who plays that night.

Calgary
Expected starter#1 Devin Cooley

2026-27: 1 GP · .880 SV% · GSAx −0

Also possible: Wolf 42%

About this page

How we estimate NHL starting goalies

When are starters confirmed?
Teams name their starter at or after the morning skate. This page is our estimate before that, from history; it never claims a confirmation, and a late change will not show here until the box score.
What the estimate uses
Each goalie's share of the team's last 82 starts and of its starts this season, whether he started the previous game, back-to-backs (the second night usually goes to the other goalie), how many in a row he has started, days since his last start, his save percentage over his last three starts, how his last game went (a loss, or four goals or more against), and the injury list.
The percentage
The chance each healthy goalie on the roster starts. Likely is 75% or more, Leaning 55 to 74%, Toss-up below that. Goalies new to a team start from how often they started last season, and in a team's first 10 games the percentages are softened, because teams often give the backup one of the opening starts.
How often it is right
Tested on the second half of 2025-26 (1,362 team-games, fitted on the first half only): the goalie we expected started 70% of the time, against 58% for simply taking the goalie with the most starts. On back-to-backs it was right 82% of the time.
Before puck drop
Expectations update after every final and every injury report. Tomorrow's back-to-back games fill in once tonight's starters are known.

How the numbers are made: methodology.