NHL Player News

DeBrusk (illness) returned to practice Tuesday, per Jeff Paterson of CanucksArmy.com.

DeBrusk was sidelined for Vancouver's past two contests due to an illness. Prior to missing the weekend slate, the 29-year-old winger was off to a solid start in 2026-27, where he has an assist and four shots on net across two appearances. Expect the veteran left winger to return to a top-six role for the Canucks ahead of their next outing against the Hurricanes on Thursday.

Saros is slated to start Tuesday's road game against Toronto, Max Herz of 102.5 The Game Nashville reports.

Saros started the Predators' first two games of the season, and he's coming off a home win over the Stars on Saturday in which he turned aside 29 of 30 shots. He made one start against the Maple Leafs last year, allowing three goals on 22 shots during a Dec. 20 victory at home.

Compher (undisclosed) has been ruled out ahead of Tuesday's home contest against the Senators.

Compher was absent from Tuesday's morning skate and will be considered day-to-day. For an encouraging sign regarding the 31-year-old's undisclosed injury, his injury timeline was listed to be shorter than those of Marco Kasper (upper body) and Mason Appleton (undisclosed), meaning that Compher is likely expected to be back within the next handful of games. For as long as Compher is sidelined, Nate Danielson is expected to have a role as the team's fourth line center.

Wallstedt will patrol the road crease in Tuesday's clash against the Sabres, per Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News.

Wallstedt will look to keep the ball rolling in his third outing of the 2026-27 regular season. He's been excellent thus far with a 2-0-0 record, a 1.01 GAA and a .957 save percentage across 47 shots on net in two starts. For as long as Filip Gustavsson (hip) is on injured reserve, Wallstedt will likely command a heavy workload between the pipes, making him an excellent fantasy option in all formats. However, he'll have a tough test in Tuesday's matchup against a Sabres offense that's averaging 3.5 goals per game across their first pair of outings in the new season.

Ellis will start Tuesday's home game against the Wild, Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News reports.

Ellis didn't start in either of the Sabres' first two games of the season, but he'll make his regular-season debut Tuesday. Across 16 regular-season appearances with Buffalo last year, he went 8-4-2 with a 2.90 GAA and .903 save percentage. Although Ellis will draw the start against Minnesota, Alex Lyon (upper body) participated in Tuesday's morning skate, and Ellis could lose out on some opportunities once Lyon is cleared to return to game action.

Kasper (upper body) has been given a week-to-week timetable for return.

Head coach Todd McLellan confirmed that Kasper will miss at least a week after being placed on injured reserve. The 22-year-old center played in Detroit's Opening Night matchup against the Rangers, but wasn't able to suit up against Winnipeg on Sunday. He's coming off a sophomore slump offensively, where he posted nine goals and 19 points across 81 regular-season games in 2025-26. However, Kasper does a lot of work without the puck for the Red Wings, who will hope to have him back on the earlier side of his week-to-week timeline for return. In his absence, Nate Danielson will likely be a regular contributor up the center of the ice.

Appleton has been ruled out for Tuesday's game against the Senators and is considered week-to-week due to an undisclosed injury.

Appleton missed the end of the 2025-26 campaign due to an upper-body injury, and he's now facing a multi-game absence early in the 2026-27 regular season due to an unspecified issue. Across his first two appearances of the regular season, Appleton had been held without a point with six hits while averaging 9:51 of ice time.

Varlamov will start Tuesday's road game against the Rangers, Stefen Rosner of NHL.com reports.

Varlamov underwent knee surgery in December of 2024 and will make his first start since his procedure during Tuesday's road matchup. The 38-year-old is serving as Ilya Sorokin's backup to begin the 2026-27 campaign, but it's encouraging to see Varlamov cleared to return to action following his lengthy recovery process.

Dobes will defend the home crease in Tuesday's clash with the Hurricanes, per Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports.

Dobes will get his shot to bounce back against Carolina in Tuesday's Eastern Conference Finals rematch. In the five-game series late in the 2025-26 postseason, the 25-year-old backstop fought hard, but was ultimately bested, posting a 1-4-0 record, a 3.05 GAA and a .903 save percentage. He'll also be looking to get on the right track in 2026-27, as he's posted a 1-0-1 record, a 4.03 GAA and an .863 save percentage across two outings. Tuesday's matchup projects to be a tough one for Dobes, but he's still worth starting in fantasy due to his revenge-game appeal.

Allen will start Tuesday's home game against the Mammoth, Amanda Stein of the Devils' official site reports.

Allen drew the Opening Night start at home against the Flyers on Thursday and allowed two goals on 25 shots during the 3-2 overtime victory. He'll start for the second time in the Devils' first three games of the year Tuesday.