NHL Player News

Ullmark stopped 20 of 23 shots in Wednesday's 4-2 preseason loss to the Maple Leafs. The fourth goal was an empty-netter.

Ullmark got the whole game, but the Senators as a whole struggled. The 33-year-old netminder is eligible for one more preseason game, though it's not yet clear if he'll make a start when the Senators have another split-squad set against the Canadiens on Saturday. In any case, expect Ullmark to handle the bulk of the workload in goal in 2026-27.

Stolarz stopped 19 of 21 shots in Wednesday's 4-2 preseason win over the Senators.

Stolarz was backstopping a younger group of Maple Leafs, but he did his job well. With the preseason slate now done, Stolarz is poised to handle backup duties behind Sergei Bobrovsky. Stolarz battled upper-body and groin injuries in 2025-26 while also playing behind an underwhelming team, but his numbers should bounce back with a lighter workload expected in 2026-27.

Roslovic scored a goal on four shots and added two assists in Wednesday's 6-1 preseason win over the Senators.

Roslovic struggled a bit with the Oilers last year, earning 36 points over 69 contests. The 29-year-old looks to have a real chance to stick in the top six, either alongside Auston Matthews or John Tavares. Roslovic should also be a factor on the power play, which has historically not been a major part of his production. If he can produce more with the man advantage, he could have a career year.

Tavares scored a goal on five shots, added two assists, logged two hits and went plus-2 in Wednesday's 6-1 preseason win over the Senators.

Tavares was one of three Maple Leafs to record three points in the game. The 36-year-old center looks ready to roll after this performance. He's topped the 70-point mark in four of the last five years, and he'll be in position to keep producing on offense while occupying a second-line role and a spot on the first power-play unit to begin 2026-27.

Matthews scored a goal on four shots and added two assists in Wednesday's 6-1 preseason win over the Senators.

Matthews looked good in the Maple Leafs' last tune-up before the regular season. The 29-year-old is coming off a down year of 27 goals and 53 points over 60 regular-season games, his first time under a point-per-game mark since his rookie year. Matthews is showing no lingering effects from the MCL injury that ended his 2025-26 campaign prematurely, and he should be a reliable source of offense in a top-line role this season.

Bobrovsky stopped 13 of 14 shots in a 6-1 preseason win over the Senators on Wednesday.

Bobrovsky was facing a largely minor-league squad from Ottawa, so it's no surprise he didn't have much work to do. The 38-year-old has given up just two goals on 25 shots over his two preseason starts. He should be between the pipes Tuesday when the Maple Leafs open their regular-season slate.

Merilainen allowed six goals on 27 shots in a 6-1 loss to the Maple Leafs on Wednesday.

Merilainen played into the third period, but he was pulled after giving up a sixth goal. He may get one more chance to audition during preseason action, but this wasn't a particularly encouraging effort put forth for a goalie who needed to impress to win a roster spot. Expect Merilainen to start 2026-27 with AHL Belleville.

Oettinger is dealing with lower-body tightness and is questionable to play Friday in a preseason road game versus the Wild, Lia Assimakopoulos of The Dallas Morning News reports.

Oettinger was scratched from his expected start Wednesday because of the issue. With the 27-year-old goalie being questionable for Friday, it's possible he ends up seeing no game action during the preseason. That said, the issue doesn't appear to be something that will linger into the regular season, which begins when the Stars host the Blues on Oct. 2.

Paul (undisclosed) left Wednesday's preseason game versus the Senators early, but head coach Jim Hiller didn't think the issue was significant, David Alter of The Hockey News reports.

Paul's removal from the game appears to be more on the precautionary side. The forward will have nearly a week to rest up before Opening Night versus the Canadiens on Tuesday. Assuming he's healthy, Paul should feature in a middle-six role to begin 2026-27.

Poirier will guard the home goal in Wednesday's preseason game versus the Wild, Robert Tiffin of NHL.com reports.

Poirier will get his second start of the preseason after having stopped 11 of 12 shots Saturday versus the Blues. The 24-year-old netminder is starting again after Jake Oettinger (undisclosed) was scratched Wednesday.