NHL Player News

Howard scored a goal on seven shots, dished an assist and went plus-2 in Thursday's 2-1 preseason win over the Canucks.

Howard played well as arguably the best skater on the Oilers' roster in this road preseason contest. The 22-year-old's performance should improve his chances of breaking camp in Edmonton rather than Bakersfield. What kind of role awaits him with the Oilers is to be determined, but he would be best suited by playing at least in a middle-six capacity to begin 2026-27.

Jarry stopped 25 of 26 shots in Thursday's 2-1 preseason win over the Canucks.

Jarry had an AHL-level lineup in front of him against most of the Canucks' NHL roster, so give him some bonus points for the performance. The 31-year-old has stopped 40 of 42 shots across his two preseason outings. That may be enough to give him the No. 1 job over Devon Levi to start the campaign, though Levi figures to get a chance to reply in Saturday's preseason finale versus the Flames.

Binnington logged a 17-save shutout in Thursday's 1-0 preseason win over the Blackhawks.

Binnington has allowed just two goals on 35 shots over his two preseason games. The 33-year-old netminder has starting experience, but he lost time to Joel Hofer last year, and it's possible the Blues opt for a timeshare rather than a clear starter. A lot will depend on performance once the regular season gets underway, as Binnington had a career-worst 3.33 GAA and .873 save percentage in 41 appearances in 2025-26.

Soderblom stopped 35 of 36 shots in Thursday's 1-0 preseason loss to the Blues.

Soderblom has given up just four goals on 62 shots over two preseason starts. The 27-year-old Swede is in good form heading into the regular season, but he won't steal many starts from Spencer Knight. Expect Soderblom to handle backup usage as he looks to bounce back from his 3.80 GAA and .880 save percentage from 26 outings last year.

Harkins scored two goals on four shots and added six hits in Thursday's 5-3 preseason loss to the Panthers.

Harkins was signed to fill a bottom-six spot for the Lightning. Any offense is a bonus, but he showed some spark plug capabilities in this preseason contest. Don't expect a lot of offense from the 29-year-old -- he's never had more than 13 points in a single NHL campaign, and that came over 77 games with the Jets in 2021-22.

Vasilevskiy stopped 20 of 24 shots in Thursday's 5-3 preseason loss to the Panthers. The fifth goal was an empty-netter.

This was more about routine than results, but it's not great the Vasilevskiy struggled against what was essentially the AHL Charlotte roster. Vasilevskiy allowed five goals on 37 shots over his two preseason outings. We'll next see him between the pipes when the Lightning open their regular season next Thursday at Madison Square Garden against the Rangers.

Chytil's injury sustained Thursday versus the Oilers is to his shoulder, and he'll be examined further Friday, Thomas Drance of The Athletic reports.

While a head injury was initially a concern when he went hard into the boards in a collision with a referee, this is a slightly less concerning situation. Chytil's injury history remains troublesome and could lead to a cautious recovery, which makes him questionable for Opening Night against the Oilers on Tuesday.

Black stopped 14 of 16 shots in Thursday's 5-3 preseason win over the Lightning.

This was essentially a dress rehearsal for the AHL Charlotte roster, and Black did his part well against a veteran-laden Tampa Bay lineup. Black is projected to be the organizational No. 3 in goal for the Panthers this year. He'll be in line for a call-up if Jacob Markstrom or Akira Schmid misses any time.

Annunen allowed six goals on 31 shots in Thursday's 6-5 preseason loss to the Hurricanes.

Annunen wasn't good, particularly when factoring in that the Predators led 5-1 midway through the second period. He has given up eight goals on 58 shots this preseason. Annunen is firmly in the backup role behind Juuse Saros, and he's done little to inspire much confidence for fantasy managers who might consider him a streaming option.

Hall had three assists in Thursday's 6-5 preseason win over the Predators.

Hall, Logan Stankoven and Jackson Blake again led the way on offense. The 34-year-old Hall looks to have a steady home on the second line for the Hurricanes. He produced 48 points over 80 regular-season contests from the middle six last year, and he followed it up with a point-per-game postseason (seven goals, 12 assists in 19 games), including the Stanley Cup-clinching goal. He'll have appeal as a depth scorer in fantasy.