NHL Player News

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.

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.

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.

Oettinger (undisclosed) won't play Wednesday at home versus the Wild, Lia Assimakopoulos of The Dallas Morning News reports.

Oettinger was expected to get the start, but he did not take the ice for warmups. No reason was immediately available. Oettinger will have one more chance to get into preseason game action Friday in Minnesota if he's fit to do so.

Merilainen will draw the start on the road in Wednesday's split-squad preseason game, per the NHL media site.

Merilainen will be backstopping what is largely a minor-league group on the road. Merilainen may start the 2026-27 campaign with AHL Belleville if he goes on waivers, as Linus Ullmark and Samuel Ersson are expected to be the NHL goaltending duo.

Stolarz will protect the road net in Wednesday's split-squad game versus the Senators.

Stolarz will get a tune-up as the Maple Leafs wrap up their preseason slate Wednesday. The 32-year-old is the expected backup to Sergei Bobrovsky for 2026-27, a position that should afford Stolarz the chance to play 25-30 games to keep Bobrovsky relatively fresh throughout the year.

Bobrovsky will guard the home goal in Wednesday's split-squad preseason game versus the Senators, David Alter of The Hockey News reports.

Bobrovsky will handle the goaltending duties in Toronto for the second straight preseason contest. The split-squad set is the end of the Maple Leafs' preseason slate, so Bobrovsky will get about a week of rest and practice time before likely patrolling the crease Opening Night at home versus the Canadiens.

Ullmark will protect the home goal versus the Maple Leafs in Wednesday's split-squad preseason game, Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia reports.

Ullmark is set to be the No. 1 netminder in Ottawa this campaign. He went 28-12-8 with a 2.73 GAA and an .891 save percentage over 49 regular-season outings in 2025-26.