NHL Player News

Wallstedt turned aside 19 shots in Thursday's 3-1 win over the Predators.

Roman Josi spoiled his shutout bid with a one-timer midway through the second period, but otherwise Wallstedt had an answer for everything Nashville fired his way. The 23-year-old netminder figures to see a heavy workload over the first month of the season while Filip Gustavsson is recovering from hip surgery, but Wallstedt should be up to the task after a breakout 2025-26 that saw him deliver a 2.61 GAA and .915 save percentage over 35 regular-season games.

Wolf stopped 26 of 32 shots in Thursday's 6-1 loss to the Kraken.

Wolf endured a difficult season debut as Seattle scored three times on just six first-period shots. He settled down to stop all 12 shots he faced in the second, including an excellent recovery save that denied Jordan Eberle, but the Kraken broke through three more times in the third. Wolf ultimately surrendered six goals for just the third time in his NHL career and finished with an .813 save percentage in this woeful season opener.

Strome scored a goal in Thursday's 6-1 loss to the Kraken.

Strome provided Calgary's only offense on an otherwise miserable season-opening performance, beating Joey Daccord with a wrist shot from the top of the left circle at 16:35 of the third period. Strome is a middle-six forward and isn't likely to play a big role in the 2026-27 season, posting 21 points, 57 shots on net and a minus-8 rating over 52 appearances between Calgary and Anaheim in the 2025-26 season. His role isn't expected to change in the 2026-27 campaign.

Daccord stopped 24 of 25 shots in Thursday's 6-1 win over the Flames.

Daccord came within 3:25 of opening the season with a shutout before Ryan Strome beat him from the left circle. The 30-year-old had already received plenty of offensive support by then, with Seattle building a 3-0 first-period lead before adding two more goals early in the third. Daccord also contributed offensively, picking up the secondary assist on Chandler Stephenson's goal. This was a strong debut for Daccord, who posted an .896 save percentage across 47 regular-season appearances in 3025-26.

Werenski picked up two assists, one on the power play, while adding three shots on net, one blocked shot and a plus-2 rating in Thursday's 6-3 win over the Sabres.

The reigning Norris Trophy winner began the new season in style, having a hand in first-period tallies by Matthew Knies and Adam Fantilli as the Blue Jackets grabbed an early 3-1 lead they wouldn't relinquish. Werenski is coming off back-to-back 20-goal, 80-point campaigns that also featured more than 20 power-play points, and as long as he stays healthy there's no reason to expect any regression from the veteran backbone of a roster looking to take a step forward in 2026-27.

McCann recorded three assists, including one on the power play, and four shots in Thursday's 6-1 win over the Flames.

McCann didn't find the back of the net, but he played a major role in Seattle's offensive outburst. His shot led directly to Jordan Eberle's power-play opener, and he later set up Matty Beniers for Seattle's fifth goal early in the third period. McCann completed his three-assist night by earning the primary helper on Kaapo Kakko's goal at 17:01, which came just 26 seconds after Calgary finally got on the board. McCann had a down season in 2025-26, with just 40 points in 52 regular-season contests, but he recorded at least 60 points in each of his previous three campaigns.

Coyle racked up three assists, one on the power play, with two hits, a blocked shot and a plus-2 rating in Thursday's 6-3 win over the Sabres.

The 34-year-old wasn't expected to repeat his surprising 20-goal, 58-point campaign from 2025-26, but Coyle came out of the gates flying on the new season, setting up Cole Sillinger and Matthew Knies for first-period tallies before getting the puck to Mathieu Olivier for an empty-netter late in the third. Coyle will center the third line for Columbus as long as Sean Monahan stays healthy, not an ideal spot for offensive production, but he still featured on the top power-play unit Thursday.

Dunn scored a goal on two shots and added two assists, including one on the power play, in Thursday's 6-1 win over the Flames.

Dunn factored into three of Seattle's first four goals during an excellent season debut. He assisted on Jordan Eberle's power-play opener before blasting a point shot through traffic just 32 seconds later to give the Kraken a 2-0 lead. Dunn added his second helper on Chandler Stephenson's goal early in the third period, finishing the night with a plus-1 rating across 20:37 of ice time. The blueliner has had at least 40 points in three of his last four seasons and figures to be a top blueline option on both even-strength and power-play situations.

Eberle scored a power-play goal on four shots in Thursday's 6-1 win over the Flames.

Eberle opened Seattle's season with the first goal of the game at 9:10 of the opening period, tapping home a shot from Jared McCann that reached him around the crease. Vince Dunn doubled the advantage only 32 seconds later, and the Kraken never looked back. Eberle nearly added another goal in the second period, but Dustin Wolf recovered to make an impressive glove save. The Seattle captain ultimately finished with four shots across 17:52 of ice time. The winger should be a steady scoring option for Seattle after posting 55 points (26 goals, 29 assists) in 80 regular-season appearances in 2025-26.

Knies scored two goals, one on the power play and the other the game-winner, and added an even-strength assist in Thursday's 6-3 win over the Sabres.

Acquired from Toronto just before the start of the season in the Kirill Marchenko trade, Knies couldn't have asked for a better debut in his new home rink, and he became the first Blue Jacket in history to find the back of the net twice in his first game for the team. The 23-year-old winger also tied Artemi Panarin for the most points in a Columbus debut. Knies topped 20 goals each of the last two seasons and delivered a career-high 66 points in 79 regular-season games for the Leafs in 2025-26, and he should be able to match that level of production while skating on the top line for the Jackets with Adam Fantilli and working a power play with reigning Norris Trophy winner Zach Werenski.