NHL Player News

Akhtyamov will start on the road versus the Canadiens in a split-squad preseason game Saturday.

Akhtyamov will be backstopping a more defensive lineup on the road. The 24-year-old made his first three NHL appearances in 2025-26, but he will likely spend most of 2026-27 with AHL Toronto.

Montembeault is set to start on the road against Toronto for Saturday's preseason game.

Montembeault had a 10-8-4 record, 3.43 GAA and .872 save percentage in 25 regular-season appearances with the Canadiens in 2025-26. While he's playing in Toronto, Jakub Dobes will man the home net against the Maple Leafs in Montreal. Once the campaign starts, Dobes is set to serve as the No. 1 netminder. There's a strong chance Montembeault will open the season as Montreal's backup, but Jacob Fowler also has a reasonable shot at getting that job.

Dobes will tend the twine at home in Saturday's split-squad preseason game versus the Maple Leafs.

Dobes will get his first action of the preseason on home ice, while Sam Montembeault is handling the net for the Canadiens' road squad in Toronto. The 25-year-old Dobes went 29-10-4 with a 2.78 GAA and a .901 save percentage over 43 regular-season contests in 2025-26 as well as leading Montreal to the Eastern Conference Finals. Dobes is likely the early favorite for the No. 1 job for the Canadiens, but it's not yet clear if the team will carry three goalies heading into the campaign.

Poirier is set to start on the road against St. Louis in Saturday's preseason game, per Lou Korac of NHL.com.

Poirier had a 2.61 GAA and a .912 save percentage in 52 regular-season appearances with AHL Texas in 2025-26. Although he's getting a chance to show what he can do during the preseason, the 24-year-old is expected to start the upcoming campaign in the minors.

Jarry is projected to start Saturday's home preseason game versus the Jets.

Jarry is in competition for the No. 1 job in goal during camp, battling with Devon Levi for the spot. Jarry will get the first chance to showcase himself. The 31-year-old went 18-9-3 in 33 regular-season games last year, but he struggled to a 3.32 GAA and .882 save percentage.

Washe signed a four-year, $9 million contract extension with Anaheim on Saturday, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports.

Washe will play the final season of his two-year, $1.63 million contract in the 2026-27 campaign. He contributed two goals, five points, 33 shots on net, 25 blocked shots and 91 hits in 39 appearances with the Ducks during the 2025-26 regular season. Washe will likely be a regular in the lineup this year as part of the team's bottom-six forward group.

Gaudette (upper body) is day-to-day, per Max Miller of NHL.com on Saturday.

Gaudette didn't participate in Saturday's practice and probably won't play in Sunday's preseason matchup against Anaheim. He collected 17 goals, 25 points, 96 shots on net and 53 hits in 66 regular-season contests for the Sharks in 2025-26.

Brossoit is expected to protect the home net in Sunday's preseason matchup against San Jose, Zach Cavanagh of The Sporting Tribune reports.

Brossoit is expected to play the full game. He posted a 15-11-1 record with a 3.06 GAA and a .901 save percentage in 28 AHL regular-season appearances between Rockford and San Jose in 2025-26. After signing a one-year, $1.1 million contract with the Ducks in the summer, Brossoit is competing for the backup role behind Lukas Dostal during training camp.

Blackwell (undisclosed) needed to be helped off the ice during Saturday's practice, per Robert Tiffin of NHL.com.

Blackwell had four goals, 15 points, 40 PIM and 112 hits in 70 regular-season appearances in 2025-26. He will likely serve in a bottom-six role when he's healthy this campaign. Joel Kiviranta's chances of dressing for the season opener would increase if Blackwell needs some time to recover.

Forsberg is expected to start Saturday's preseason contest against the Golden Knights.

Forsberg is expected to see a larger workload for the Kings after appearing in all four of the team's 2026 postseason games. The 33-year-old backstop was efficient in 2025-26 with a 16-12-5 record, a 2.57 GAA, a .909 save percentage and three shutouts across 36 regular-season outings. He's set to serve in tandem with Darcy Kuemper for the second straight campaign, but the workload could vary month-by-month if either netminder runs into trouble. However, Forsberg's anticipated start Saturday will give him the advantage to showcase his skills first this preseason against the runners-up for the 2025-26 Stanley Cup.