NHL Player News

Lundestrom (Achilles) was labeled month-to-month by general manager Rick Bowness, Mark Scheig of The Hockey Writers reports Thursday.

Lundestrom's recovery timeline shouldn't come as a surprise considering he underwent offseason Achilles surgery. Even once given the all-clear, the 26-year-old forward may need a conditioning stint in the minors before he is fully ready to get into an NHL game. As such, fantasy managers probably don't need to worry about stashing him this season.

Head coach Rick Bowness said Thursday that Severson (shoulder) is considered week-to-week, Mark Scheig of The Hockey Writers reports.

Severson had already been ruled out for the Blue Jackets' first two regular-season games, and he was placed on non-roster injured reserve Thursday. Given his initial return timetable, the earliest the 32-year-old would be able to return would be Oct. 9 against Pittsburgh, but Thursday's update suggests that the Blue Jackets aren't yet certain about when Severson could be back in action. Severson recorded eight goals, 24 assists, 86 blocked shots, 45 PIM and 39 hits while averaging 21:04 of ice time across 71 regular-season appearances last year.

Vasilevskiy will defend the road crease in Thursday's Opening Night matchup against the Rangers, per Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press.

To no surprise, the reigning Vezina Trophy winner will lead the Lightning onto the ice in Thursday's opener. Vasilevskiy was truly elite in 2025-26, where he compiled a 39-15-4 record, a 2.31 GAA and a .911 save percentage across 58 regular-season outings. While asking him to repeat his numbers from a season ago would be a tall task, the team's defensive unit stayed strong with the addition of John Carlson. Vasilevskiy is the top goaltender to have rostered in fantasy hockey to open the 2026-27 season, and he'll have a favorable matchup Thursday against the Rangers, who were shut out by Boston on Tuesday.

Provorov (lower body) was placed on injured reserve by the Blue Jackets on Thursday, per the NHL media site.

Head coach Rick Bowness said Thursday that Provorov is considered week-to-week, and the 29-year-old will officially be sidelined for at least the first week of the regular season. Provorov had appeared in all 82 regular-season games in each of the last four years, most recently generating nine goals, 22 assists, 134 blocked shots, 34 PIM and 28 hits while averaging 24:49 of ice time last season.

The Stars placed Duchene (lower body) on long-term injured reserve Thursday, retroactive to Sept. 29.

Duchene landed on injured reserve Wednesday and is now facing a lengthier absence to begin the regular season. The 35-year-old has been dealing with a lower-body injury since the start of training camp, and he recently experienced a setback in his recovery process that is set to sideline him until at least late October. Colin Blackwell and Arttu Hyry were recalled from AHL Texas to provide additional depth in Duchene's absence.

Hyry was recalled from AHL Texas on Thursday.

Hyry was sent to the minors Monday, but he'll rejoin the NHL club a few days later. He made 20 regular-season appearances for Dallas last year, recording three goals, two assists, 32 hits, six blocked shots and two PIM while averaging 11:47 of ice time.

Allen will be between the home pipes against the Flyers on Thursday, Amanda Stein of the Devils' official site reports.

Allen will have the benefit of facing a Philadelphia squad that is on the second night of a back-to-back, though it will be motivated to bounce back from a 7-0 rout at the hands of the Penguins. For his part, Allen went 17-17-2 with a 2.74 GAA and one shutout in 37 regular-season games last year. If he can stay healthy, the veteran backstop should be capable of reaching the 20-win mark for the first time since 2017-18 when he was with St. Louis.

Shesterkin will start Thursday's home game against the Lightning, Colin Stephenson of Newsday reports.

Shesterkin drew the Opening Night start on the road against the Bruins on Tuesday and allowed two goals on 22 shots during the loss. He'll attempt to bounce back during the Rangers' home opener Thursday, while it wouldn't be surprising to see Joonas Korpisalo get a chance to make his season debut during the second half of the back-to-back set Friday in Detroit.

Korczak recorded two assists, posted a plus-three rating, placed three shots on net and had two blocked shots in Wednesday's 7-0 Opening Night victory over Philadelphia.

Korczak's debut with Pittsburgh exceeded expectations, as he had an all-around showing highlighted by a pair of helpers. He dished out the secondary assist on Ville Koivunen's goal in the first period before recording his second helper of the game on Filip Hallander's tally in the second. The 25-year-old Korczak was a solid defenseman with Vegas in 2025-26, where he posted three goals, 16 points, 60 shots on net, 102 hits and 95 blocked shots across 78 regular-season outings. If he can post a higher level of offensive production with Pittsburgh, as well as maintain his stats without the puck, Korczak could work his way into fantasy relevance in the 2026-27 campaign.

Koivunen tallied a goal, posted a plus-three rating and put two shots on net in Wednesday's 7-0 Opening Night win over the Flyers.

Koivunen found the scoresheet early in 2026-27, scoring the Penguins' second goal of the night in the team's big win. Wednesday's tally was the third goal of his NHL career after he posted two goals and seven points across 39 regular-season outings in his rookie campaign. Koivunen drew his Opening Night appearance on Pittsburgh's third line. While he might be worked around the lineup once Bryan Rust (upper body) and Justin Brazeau (lower body) return from injured reserve, Koivunen is expected to have a role at the NHL level this season, even if he has a stint in the minors.