Sorokin Reaches 30 Shutouts Faster Than Any Active Goalie, Kochetkov Back in Carolina’s Net

NHLDiPietro back in the NHL, and his coach calls him outstanding

With Jeremy Swayman coming off a 30-save overtime win against Winnipeg on Friday, Michael DiPietro started for Boston in Minnesota on Saturday. It was his third NHL start and his first NHL appearance since January 23, 2022, with Vancouver. He made 26 saves in a 4-1 loss, and coach Marco Sturm was clear about his goalie: “He was great. I wish we could have given him at least a point, but he was outstanding.” Jesper Wallstedt made 26 saves for the Wild. (NHL.com)

On InGoal: DiPietro on InGoal Radio Episode 298, and the messages he writes inside his blocker.

NHLKochetkov back in Carolina's net for the first time since December

Pyotr Kochetkov made 16 saves in a 3-2 overtime win in Philadelphia on Saturday, his first NHL game since December 20 after surgery for a lower-body injury. “It’s a long road back, but we all know how important that position is,” coach Rod Brind’Amour said Saturday. “So we need him to be what we think he can be, which is a really good goalie.” Joseph Woll made 37 saves for the Flyers. (NHL.com, NHL.com)

NHLCossa wins his first NHL start, for Utah in Ohio

Sebastian Cossa made 17 saves as the Utah Mammoth beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-1 in his first NHL start. His only earlier NHL game was a shootout win in relief for Detroit against Buffalo on December 9, 2024. “It was great, honestly. First game here and I wanted to get off to a good start. The team played really well in front of me, so it was pretty easy for me tonight,” Cossa said. “Pretty cool for me. I played my first year here in Toledo (of the ECHL) then and I came here and got my first start in Columbus. So, you know, Ohio is calling my name, but I was happy with it.” (NHL.com)

NHLAround the league

• Leevi Meriläinen made 23 saves in his first start for Vancouver since the Canucks claimed him off waivers from Ottawa, a 4-1 win against Calgary. (NHL.com)
• Devon Levi stopped 19 of 20 shots in Edmonton’s 3-1 win against Seattle, and NHL.com looks at the chance in front of him: the Oilers acquired him from Buffalo on July 1, and with Frederik Andersen working back from a knee injury, the next few months are his. “Just in the past few years, there’s definitely been some adversity that’s really taught me that it’s one day, it’s one game, the ups and downs they come, they go,” Levi said. Coach Mike Babcock: “He seems like a confident kid.” (NHL.com)
• Andrei Vasilevskiy played his 600th NHL game and made 19 saves in Tampa Bay’s 3-1 home-opening win against Washington. Charlie Lindgren made 27 saves for the Capitals. (NHL.com)
• Linus Ullmark made 27 saves in Ottawa’s 3-2 season-opening win in Toronto. (NHL.com)
• Yaroslav Askarov made 31 saves in San Jose’s 5-4 overtime win against Los Angeles. (NHL.com)
• Juuse Saros made 29 saves in Nashville’s 2-1 win against Dallas, the Predators’ first of the season. (NHL.com)
• Mackenzie Blackwood made 25 saves in Colorado’s 6-1 win against St. Louis. (NHL.com)
• The Bruins introduced Kyle Chauvette, 24, their full-time emergency backup goalie. His college career at New Hampshire ended on March 11, and a day later he was the San Jose Sharks’ emergency backup at TD Garden, where he ran into Bruins goaltending coach Bob Essensa, who knew him from youth hockey. “He’s the type of kid that’s perfect for the job,” Essensa said. (Bruins.com)

On InGoal: Devon Levi ProRead 13, ProTips with Devon Levi, The Backup Mindset: Mackenzie Blackwood Learned From Cory Schneider, and Juuse Saros explains his three “batting gloves”.

AHLNabokov posts a shutout in his AHL debut

Colorado Avalanche prospect Ilya Nabokov stopped all 32 shots he faced in his AHL debut as the Colorado Eagles opened their season with a 2-0 win in Tucson. (Colorado Eagles, Tucson Roadrunners)

Nabokov, 23, is from Kasli, Russia. Colorado took him in the second round (38th overall) in 2024, the first goalie selected in that draft. That spring he helped Metallurg Magnitogorsk win the KHL’s Gagarin Cup with a 1.82 goals-against average, .942 save percentage and four shutouts in 23 playoff games, and became the youngest goalie to be named playoff MVP. The Avalanche signed him in May 2025. (Avalanche)

In Winnipeg, Domenic DiVincentiis shut out the Chicago Wolves in the Manitoba Moose’s 3-0 home opener, including 21 shots in the second period. “It looked like how we left off in playoffs,” he said. “We were rolling there in playoffs, and it looked like it just transitioned into the first game.” (Manitoba Moose)

DiVincentiis, 22, is from Toronto and was Winnipeg’s seventh-round pick (207th overall) in 2022. A year later he was the OHL’s Goaltender of the Year with the North Bay Battalion, going 36-9-2 with a 2.33 goals-against average, .919 save percentage and five shutouts. (Jets)

CollegeAround the NCAA

• Jackson Unger made 22 saves as Colorado College beat No. 10 UMass 6-1 on Saturday to complete a season-opening sweep, a night after his first career shutout. (Colorado Springs Gazette)
• Daniel Hauser made 18 saves in No. 6 Wisconsin’s 1-0 win against Robert Morris, his first shutout of the season. “I see how hard the guys work in practice, you know, it all starts in practice, and we’ve been detailed in practice,” he said. “It shows up in games and they helped me out a lot tonight, and I tried my best to help them too.” (Wisconsin Athletics)
• Owen Bartoszkiewicz made 29 saves as No. 19 Michigan Tech won at No. 14 Minnesota. (USCHO)
• Carl Axelsson made 17 saves in No. 5 Minnesota Duluth’s 4-0 win against Long Island. (USCHO)

InternationalSHL shutouts for Langhamer and Lassinantti

Marek Langhamer stopped all 30 shots for his first shutout of the SHL season as the Malmö Redhawks beat Brynäs IF 1-0 on Saturday. (Skåne Plus) Luleå’s Joel Lassinantti also stopped all 31 shots he faced in a 2-0 win at Linköping. (Norrbottens-Kuriren, Corren)

JuniorMedvedev, 19, back from Canucks camp with 38 saves for unbeaten London

Aleksei Medvedev made 38 saves in his first game back from Vancouver Canucks camp as the London Knights beat North Bay 4-1 on Friday to go 4-0. The 19-year-old Canucks second-round pick had backed up a preseason game for Vancouver. “I feel like there is so much support from the fans and everyone in the organization,” he said. “I was really excited to play and at that final buzzer getting those goosebumps. It’s such a great feeling to win in this rink.” On the calm in his game: “I feel like it’s (from) my third year in this league. The calmness comes from the mental side and having my players believing in me.” (London Free Press)

Birthdays

Happy birthday to former Mighty Ducks of Anaheim goalie Tom Askey (52) and Vancouver Goldeneyes goalie Kimberly Newell (31).

On InGoal: InGoal Radio Episode 330 with Kimberly Newell.

Have goalie news, a big save, a signing, or a coaching hire? Send it to info@ingoalmag.com.