NHL Player News

Sandin-Pellikka scored a power-play goal and blocked two shots in Thursday's 3-2 preseason overtime win over the Sabres.

The fact that Sandin-Pellikka is getting power-play reps with a decent number of NHL players in the lineup is a good sign. He appears to have the edge to open the season with the Red Wings. The defenseman spent most of 2025-26 in the NHL as well, earning 21 points over 68 appearances, including seven power-play points. He'll have deep-league appeal in fantasy if he retains his role with the man advantage into the regular season.

Tarasov stopped 17 of 19 shots in a 3-2 overtime win over the Sabres on Thursday.

Tarasov played the full contest. He looks ready for the regular season after allowing just two goals on 34 shots over his two preseason appearances so far. The 27-year-old is projected to serve as John Gibson's backup in 2026-27.

Ellis stopped 16 of 18 shots in Thursday's 3-2 preseason overtime loss to the Red Wings.

It's not clear if it was planned for Ellis to play in this game, but he ended up checking in when Alex Lyon (upper body) got hurt in the first period. Ellis put in a decent performance despite the overtime loss. The 25-year-old netminder would handle a traditional backup role if Lyon is out for any length of time, though both goalies may still end up on the roster after head coach Lindy Ruff indicated before camp that the Sabres are ready to roster three netminders again in 2026-27. Ellis made 16 appearances in the 2025-26 regular season under similar circumstances, posting a 2.90 GAA and a .903 save percentage.

Kulich (undisclosed) left Thursday's preseason game versus the Red Wings for precautionary reasons, Rachel Lenzi of The Buffalo News reports.

Kulich left about halfway through the contest. The 22-year-old forward was believed to have a chance at a middle-six role in place of Jason Zucker (abdomen). Kulich's own injury concerns casts a little doubt on that now, but the precautionary nature of his removal Thursday suggests he isn't dealing with a major issue. The Sabres play the Penguins in their last preseason game Saturday before opening the season in Columbus next Thursday.

Lyon sustained an upper-body injury in the first period of Thursday's preseason game against the Red Wings, Rachel Lenzi of The Buffalo News reports.

Lyon was injured diving for a puck late in the first frame. He stopped seven of eight shots prior to his early exit. The Sabres were already planning on carrying three goalies to start 2026-27, but if Lyon misses time, expect Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to be the starter with Colten Ellis featuring as the backup.

Chytil sustained an apparent upper-body injury and won't return to Thursday's game versus the Oilers.

Chytil went head first into the boards after a collision with a referee in the first period. The center's lengthy history of head injuries raises the level of concern in this situation. It wouldn't be surprising if this ends up being more than a day-to-day absence, though Chytil will need to be evaluated to determine the course of his recovery.

Casey sustained an apparent knee injury Thursday versus the Rangers, and he will miss some time pending further evaluation, Amanda Stein of the Devils' official site reports.

Casey battled injuries in the AHL last year, and he didn't play after January, ending 2025-26 with 19 points in 29 appearances for Utica. He was going to have a tough time making the NHL roster to begin with, and this injury won't help. If it lingers into the regular season, Casey will likely start the year on non-roster injured reserve.

Lavoie (undisclosed) isn't in the lineup for Thursday's preseason game against Utah, per Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Lavoie suffered the injury during last Saturday's 4-2 preseason victory over Los Angeles. He's regarded as day-to-day, so there's a chance he'll draw into the lineup for Saturday's exhibition tilt against San Jose.

Cossa is slated to start in Thursday's preseason road game against Vegas, per Jesse Granger of The Athletic.

Cossa had a 2.33 GAA and a .915 save percentage in 39 regular-season appearances in 2025-26. This will be his second game of the 2026 preseason after he turned aside 11 of 12 shots across 40 minutes manning the net during Sunday's 4-1 loss to Colorado.

Cooley will tend the twine on the road in Thursday's preseason game versus the Kraken, per the NHL media site.

Cooley stopped 19 of 22 shots in a 4-2 loss versus the Kraken in Calgary on Sunday. He'll get another shot in Seattle as he makes his second preseason appearance. Cooley was effective in the backup role in 2025-26, and he'll likely see similar usage behind Dustin Wolf in 2026-27, though the weakness of the Flames' roster could make it difficult to replicate last year's numbers.