NHL Player News

Nazar scored an empty-net goal on three shots and added a power-play assist in Tuesday's 4-2 win over the Blues.

While he's worked in a top-line role for much of the early part of the season, this was the first time Nazar got on the scoresheet. He's added eight shots on net and a minus-4 rating across four contests. The 22-year-old will continue to get significant usage as the Blackhawks await the season debut of Connor Bedard (shoulder), which is still likely a few weeks away. Nazar has the talent to handle a larger role than he has in past years, so his fantasy managers should be patient with the hope that Tuesday's outing will be the spark he needed to get going.

Knight allowed two goals on 28 shots in Tuesday's 4-2 win over the Blues.

Knight put together a positive outing and got enough goal support to earn his first win in three starts. The 25-year-old netminder is seeing plenty of playing time early in the season, as expected. He's allowed 10 goals on 92 shots over his three games, but this was the first time this season he's faced a team that wasn't in the playoffs last year. The Blackhawks have a quick one-game road trip to face the Islanders on Thursday.

Teravainen (undisclosed) won't play Thursday versus the Islanders, Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

It's a one-game road trip, so it's not all that surprising Teravainen will sit out after getting injured Tuesday. The Blackhawks have just 11 healthy forwards on the roster after Teravainen joined Andrew Mangiapane (lower body) and Connor Bedard (shoulder) among the injured. Chicago could opt to dress seven defensemen or call up a forward to fill out the lineup.

Shesterkin stopped 17 of 19 shots in Tuesday's 5-2 win over the Islanders.

Shesterkin was perfect in the first period before the Islanders struck twice in a span of 1:56 early in the second, with Bo Horvat scoring on the power play and Calum Ritchie tying the contest at 2-2. Shesterkin shut the door from there, stopping all seven shots he faced in the third while the Rangers pulled away. He finished with 17 saves to earn his third consecutive win, and the Rangers have won their last four contests since dropping the season opener against Boston on Sept. 29. In his four appearances, Shesterkin has stopped 89 of the 96 shots he's faced, good for a 92.7 save percentage.

Varlamov stopped 19 of 22 shots in Tuesday's 5-2 loss to the Rangers. The Rangers' final two goals were empty-netters.

Varlamov surrendered goals to Oliver Bjorkstrand (twice) and Alexis Lafreniere. He stopped all six shots he faced in the third before heading to the bench as the Islanders pushed for a late equalizer, but the Rangers took advantage of that scenario to score two empty-netters. This was Varlamov's first NHL regular-season appearance since November 2024, and he should remain the No. 2 option between the posts behind Ilya Sorokin, meaning his opportunities to contribute from a fantasy perspective will be limited and matchup-based.

Horvat scored a power-play goal on two shots in Tuesday's 5-2 loss to the Rangers.

Horvat cut the Islanders' deficit to 2-1 early in the second period, converting on the power play before Calum Ritchie tied the game less than two minutes later. The Islanders couldn't build on the momentum, but at least Horvat found the back of the net for a second straight game. He has tallied at least one point in his three appearances in the 2026-27 campaign, with two goals, one assist and 10 shots over that span. As the first-line center in both even-strength and power-play situations, Horvat should remain a go-to scoring option for the Islanders until further notice.

Bjorkstrand scored two goals on three shots in Tuesday's 5-2 win over the Islanders.

Bjorkstrand opened the scoring at 6:40 of the first period before striking again on the power play late in the second. His second tally broke a 2-2 tie after the Islanders had erased a two-goal deficit and ultimately stood as the game-winner. These were Bjorkstrand's first two goals of the season, but as a bottom-six forward who rarely sees more than 13 minutes of ice time, he isn't expected to be a regular fantasy contributor going forward. This two-goal performance is likely to be an outlier rather than a sign of things to come in the future.

Lafreniere scored three goals on three shots and added an assist in Tuesday's 5-2 win over the Islanders.

Lafreniere assisted on Oliver Bjorkstrand's opening goal, then scored 25 seconds into the second period to make it 2-0. The 24-year-old winger saved his last two goals for the final stretch, scoring two empty-netters as the Islanders pushed for an equalizer late in the third period. Lafreniere hadn't scored in his previous four appearances this season, but with eight shots in that span, and three goals in this contest, he figures to remain a valuable fantasy contributor as a top-six forward for the Rangers.

Ellis stopped 18 of 20 shots in Tuesday's 3-2 overtime win over the Wild.

Ellis allowed goals to Danila Yurov and Maxim Shabanov during a 1:45 span in the second period but was perfect the rest of the way, giving Buffalo's offense an opportunity to rally. The Sabres erased the two-goal deficit in the third before Noah Power delivered the winner in overtime. This was Ellis' first appearance of the season, and he should remain as the Sabres' No. 2 option between the posts behind Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, although he could lose some opportunities once Alex Lyon (upper body) returns to the roster, which could happen sooner rather than later. For now, though, Ellis should continue as the backup behind Luukkonen, meaning his opportunities to see action will remain limited, and his fantasy upside will remain matchup-based.

Wallstedt stopped 25 of 28 shots in Tuesday's 3-2 overtime loss to the Sabres.

Wallstedt carried a shutout and a 2-0 advantage into the third period before Buffalo rallied. Noah Ostlund and Tage Thompson scored 5:43 apart to force overtime, and Owen Power beat him with 37.4 seconds remaining in the extra frame to complete Buffalo's comeback. This was the first time Wallstedt allowed more than one goal in any of his three starts this season, and the 23-year-old should remain the undisputed No. 1 option between the posts for the Wild as long as Filip Gustavsson (hip) remains on injured reserve. In three starts, Wallstedt has stopped 70 of 75 shots faced.