NHL Player News

Forsberg will defend the road crease in Saturday's clash against the Sharks, per Zach Dooley of the Kings' official site.

Forsberg is set to make his first start of the 2026-27 campaign after Darcy Kuemper was given the starting nod in the Kings' opener. The 33-year-old Forsberg posted solid numbers in 2025-26, where he compiled a 16-12-5 record, a 2.57 GAA and a .909 save percentage across 36 regular-season outings. If he continues to be one of the league's most effective backups to begin the new season, he could push Kuemper for playing time as the campaign progresses. He'll face off against a young Sharks offense Saturday, making him a solid streaming option in fantasy.

Trouba (illness) will be a game-time decision against the Kings on Saturday, per Max Miller of NHL.com.

Trouba sat out Friday's practice and didn't participate in Saturday's morning skate. He had five PIM, two shots on goal, three hits and one blocked shot in Thursday's 4-3 overtime win over Florida. If Trouba can't play, Sam Dickinson will likely make his 2026-27 debut.

DeBrusk will miss Saturday's game against Calgary because of an illness, per Canucks play-by-play announcer Brendan Batchelor.

DeBrusk has an assist and two PIM in two appearances in 2026-27. His absence might result in Aatu Raty drawing into the lineup for the first time this campaign.

Askarov will protect the home net against the Kings on Saturday, according to Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now.

Askarov made 23 saves in a 4-3 overtime win over Florida on Thursday. He has gone 3-1-0 with a 2.94 GAA and an .878 save percentage in four previous regular-season outings against the Kings. Los Angeles is coming off an 8-4 loss to Colorado on Wednesday.

DeSmith will defend the road net against Nashville on Saturday, per Mike Heika of the Stars' official site.

DeSmith will get the second half of Dallas' back-to-back after Jake Oettinger played in Friday's 4-0 loss to St. Louis. The 35-year-old DeSmith posted a 15-8-6 record with a 2.43 GAA and a .907 save percentage in 30 regular-season appearances for the Stars in 2025-26. Nashville is coming off a 3-1 loss to Minnesota on Thursday.

Merilainen was the first goalie off the ice at Saturday's morning skate, indicating that he'll start the team's home matchup against the Flames, per Thomas Drance of The Athletic.

Merilainen is in line to make his first start for the Canucks after he was claimed off waivers from Ottawa in late September. The 24-year-old backstop made his Vancouver debut in Thursday's 9-7 loss, where he stopped 10 out of the 11 shots he saw in relief. He's looking to bounce back after a tough 2025-26 campaign, where he posted an 8-10-1 record, a 3.51 GAA and an .860 save percentage across 20 regular-season outings. He'll face off against a Calgary offense that was kept to just one score in their Opening Night matchup.

Wallstedt will patrol the home crease in Saturday's matchup against the Bruins, per Joe O'Donnell.

Wallstedt will return to action for Minnesota's second game of the season after he turned aside 19 shots in the team's Opening Night win. His starting nod for Saturday comes to no surprise, as the 23-year-old backstop is expected to handle a large workload in the absence of Filip Gustavsson (hip). Across 35 regular-season outings in 2025-26, he posted strong numbers with an 18-9-6 record, a 2.61 GAA, a .915 save percentage and four shutouts. However, he'll face a tough test Saturday against a Bruins team that has won each of their first two games to open the regular season.

Gustafsson was placed on waivers by the Penguins on Saturday.

The Penguins designated Gustafsson on the non-roster list ahead of his move to waivers. The 26-year-old center hasn't played in the NHL since the 2024-25 campaign, but he signed a one-year deal in the offseason for the first change of scenery in his hockey career. Across 48 regular-season games with AHL Manitoba, he posted 10 goals and 32 points. If he clears waivers over the next 24 hours, he will likely report to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

Kindel (lower body) was activated from injured reserve Saturday.

Pittsburgh cleared a spot by designating David Gustafsson as a non-roster player before placing him on waivers. Kindel will be available to return to the lineup against Montreal on Saturday after missing Wednesday's season-opening 7-0 win over Philadelphia.

Dubois logged a pair of assists, four PIM and a plus-2 rating in Friday's 5-2 win over the Hurricanes.

Dubois saw just 12:08 of ice time, in part due to his time in the sin bin. The 28-year-old center should maintain a top-six role for the bulk of 2026-27, and he'll be looking to bounce back from his injury-plagued campaign last year. In 2025-26, he was limited to 19 points in 29 appearances. Dubois doesn't hit as much as he used to, but he can still be a solid source of PIM with 60-point potential if everything goes right.