NHL Player News

Appleton has been ruled out for Tuesday's game against the Senators and is considered week-to-week due to an undisclosed injury.

Appleton missed the end of the 2025-26 campaign due to an upper-body injury, and he's now facing a multi-game absence early in the 2026-27 regular season due to an unspecified issue. Across his first two appearances of the regular season, Appleton had been held without a point with six hits while averaging 9:51 of ice time.

Varlamov will start Tuesday's road game against the Rangers, Stefen Rosner of NHL.com reports.

Varlamov underwent knee surgery in December of 2024 and will make his first start since his procedure during Tuesday's road matchup. The 38-year-old is serving as Ilya Sorokin's backup to begin the 2026-27 campaign, but it's encouraging to see Varlamov cleared to return to action following his lengthy recovery process.

Dobes will defend the home crease in Tuesday's clash with the Hurricanes, per Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports.

Dobes will get his shot to bounce back against Carolina in Tuesday's Eastern Conference Finals rematch. In the five-game series late in the 2025-26 postseason, the 25-year-old backstop fought hard, but was ultimately bested, posting a 1-4-0 record, a 3.05 GAA and a .903 save percentage. He'll also be looking to get on the right track in 2026-27, as he's posted a 1-0-1 record, a 4.03 GAA and an .863 save percentage across two outings. Tuesday's matchup projects to be a tough one for Dobes, but he's still worth starting in fantasy due to his revenge-game appeal.

Allen will start Tuesday's home game against the Mammoth, Amanda Stein of the Devils' official site reports.

Allen drew the Opening Night start at home against the Flyers on Thursday and allowed two goals on 25 shots during the 3-2 overtime victory. He'll start for the second time in the Devils' first three games of the year Tuesday.

Stolarz will start Tuesday's home game against the Predators, David Alter of The Hockey News reports.

Stolarz earned the win during his regular-season debut at home against the Islanders on Wednesday, turning aside 26 of 27 shots during the 2-1 victory. He'll start for the second time over the Maple Leafs' first four regular-season matchups as he's split time with Sergei Bobrovsky in the net early in the year.

Murray was recalled from AHL Milwaukee on Tuesday.

Murray's move back to the majors Tuesday was in correspondence to Justus Annunen (undisclosed) being placed on injured reserve. The 28-year-old netminder served as the backup for Juuse Saros in Nashville's 2-1 win over the Stars on Saturday before being sent back to Milwaukee. Murray posted solid numbers in the 2025-26 regular season with the Admirals, compiling a 22-22-2 record, four shutouts, a 2.83 GAA and a .904 save percentage. During his stint in the majors, he'll likely appear in his first NHL game since the 2023-24 season.

Zucker (abdomen) participated in Tuesday's morning skate but is still a few weeks away from returning to game action, Matthew Fairburn of The Athletic reports.

Zucker has spent the start of the regular season recovering from offseason sports hernia surgery, and while he appears to be trending in the right direction in his rehab process, head coach Lindy Ruff said Tuesday that the 34-year-old will still require "a couple of weeks" before he's cleared for game action. Zucker made 62 regular-season appearances for Buffalo last year and recorded 24 goals, 21 assists, 57 hits, 23 PIM and 21 blocked shots while averaging 15:37 of ice time.

Lyon (upper body) was spotted practicing at Tuesday's optional morning skate, per Matthew Fairburn of The Athletic.

According to head coach Lindy Ruff, Lyon is still without a timetable for return from the injury he suffered late in the preseason. However, his presence at Tuesday's optional morning skate is a sign that he could be somewhat near returning. The 33-year-old netminder had a strong 2025-26 regular season, where he posted a 20-10-4 record, a 2.77 GAA and a .906 save percentage across 36 appearances. In his absence, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen should continue to serve as the lead option between the pipes and Colten Ellis should see an increased role as well.

The Predators placed Annunen (undisclosed) on injured reserve Tuesday.

Annunen missed Saturday's game against Dallas due to an undisclosed injury, and while he was initially considered day-to-day, he'll be required to miss at least a week after landing on injured reserve. Matt Murray was recalled from AHL Milwaukee on Tuesday to provide additional depth behind Juuse Saros while Annunen is sidelined.

Kasper (upper body) has been designated for injured reserve Tuesday, per the NHL media site.

Kasper was sidelined against the Jets on Sunday and will now miss additional games due to his upper-body problem. Fortunately for the Wings, their center depth will still get a boost with the return of Dylan Larkin (upper body). In 81 regular-season games last year, Kasper managed just 19 points, well below the 37 points he put up as a rookie the year before.