NHL Player News

Luukkonen will patrol the home crease against Chicago on Saturday, per Paul Hamilton of WGR Sports Radio 550.

Luukkonen surrendered five goals on 22 shots, with the sixth tally being an empty-netter, in Thursday's 6-3 loss to Columbus. He has posted a 6-0-0 record with a 1.67 GAA and a .928 save percentage in six career regular-season outings against Chicago. The Blackhawks (0-2-0) have scored two goals in two games this campaign.

Blackwood is expected to protect the home net against St. Louis on Saturday, according to Aarif Deen of Colorado Hockey Now.

Blackwood is poised to make his second start of the season after being the first goalie off the ice at the morning skate. In his previous appearance, he made 27 saves in Wednesday's 8-4 win over the Kings. The Blues earned a 4-0 victory over Dallas on Friday.

Kapanen (lower body) won't play against Pittsburgh on Saturday, according to Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports.

Kapanen remains day-to-day and will miss his second straight outing. Once healthy, Kapanen could replace Alexandre Texier, Kirby Dach or Zachary Bolduc in the lineup.

Byram is attending to a family matter and won't play against Buffalo on Saturday, Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Byram has gone without a point in two games this season, but he has contributed three blocked shots and a minus-4 rating. With Byram out for at least one game and Sam Rinzel a healthy scratch, Kevin Korchinski and Ethan Del Mastro will play against the Sabres on Saturday.

Melanson (upper body) was placed on injured reserve Saturday.

Seattle activated Mackie Samoskevich (upper body) from the IR list in a corresponding move. Melanson is week-to-week after logging 9:31 of ice time in Thursday's 6-1 win over Calgary.

Ullmark is expected to guard the road goal against Toronto on Saturday, according to Julian McKenzie of The Athletic.

Ullmark is poised to get Ottawa's season opener after being the first goalie off the ice at the morning skate. He has gone 8-5-1 with a 2.93 GAA and an .898 save percentage in 16 career regular-season outings against the Maple Leafs. Toronto (1-1-0) has scored four goals in two games this campaign.

Kasper (upper body) won't play Sunday against Winnipeg, Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press reports.

Kasper didn't participate in Saturday's practice and is still being evaluated. He had four shots on goal and five PIM over 10:50 of ice time against the Rangers on Friday. However, he wasn't injured in his second-period fight with Rangers defenseman Sean Durzi. Carter Mazur will probably play against the Jets on Sunday because of Kasper's absence.

Sanderson (undisclosed) will play against Toronto on Saturday, per Jackson Starr of the Senators' official site.

Sanderson had been dealing with an undisclosed injury, but he will be in the lineup for the start of the 2026-27 campaign. He registered 14 goals, 54 points, 147 shots on net and 128 blocked shots over 67 appearances for Ottawa during the 2025-26 regular season. Sanderson is expected to skate on the top pairing and work on the first power-play unit in Saturday's contest.

Dobes will defend the road net against the Penguins on Saturday.

Dobes made 26 saves in a 3-2 win over Toronto on Tuesday. Saturday's matchup will be Pittsburgh's home opener after the team earned a convincing 7-0 road win over Philadelphia on Wednesday.

Samoskevich (upper body) was activated from injured reserve Saturday.

Seattle placed Jacob Melanson (upper body) on the IR list in a corresponding move. After missing Thursday's 6-1 win over Calgary, Samoskevich appears poised to return to the lineup against Edmonton on Saturday. He had a top-six role and a spot on the second power-play unit during training camp.