NHL Player News

Head coach Todd McLellan said Thursday that Larkin (upper body) will be out for Friday's game against the Rangers and Sunday's game against the Jets, Max Bultman of The Athletic reports.

Larkin was sidelined during training camp due to an upper-body injury but has been practicing recently. He's considered day-to-day, but he'll be held out for the Red Wings' first two games of the regular season. Across 74 regular-season appearances with Detroit last year, the 30-year-old logged 34 goals, 33 assists, 48 PIM, 46 hits and 33 blocked shots while averaging 20:11 of ice time. Larkin requested a trade during the offseason but appears to be set to suit up for the Red Wings once he's healthy.

Lindgren will guard the road crease in Saturday's contest against the Lightning, per Sammi Silber of The Hockey News.

Lindgren will make his season debut in the second half of the Capitals' upcoming back-to-back. The 32-year-old netminder's 2025-26 campaign was riddled with injuries, but he also took a step back in production when healthy, posting a 9-8-3 record, a 3.52 GAA and an .879 save percentage across 21 regular-season outings. He's currently off the fantasy radar to open the season, but if he can post solid numbers against the Lightning on Thursday, who made the postseason in 2025-26, Lindgren could trend back towards fantasy relevance.

Thompson will tend the twine on the road against the Hurricanes on Friday, Sammi Silber of The Hockey News reports.

Thompson set new personal bests in games played (58), GAA (2.44) and shutouts (four) last season. Looking ahead to 2026-27, the 29-year-old backstop should continue to see significant opportunities in the crease, with the potential of hitting a new career high in wins.

Lizotte suffered a lower-body injury and will not practice Thursday.

Lizotte was able to shake off an upper-body injury in time to play against the Flyers on Wednesday, but it seems he has now picked up a secondary injury. In that contest, the 28-year-old winger failed to produce a point while generating four shots and one block while averaging 13:13 of ice time. If Lizotte does miss any time, it could open up a spot in the lineup for David Gustafsson.

Greaves was the first goalie off during Thursday's morning skate, Mark Scheig of The Hockey Writers reports, indicating that he'll draw the Opening Night start at home against the Sabres.

Greaves saw a career-high workload during the 2025-26 campaign, making 55 regular-season appearances and going 26-19-9 with a 2.60 GAA and .908 save percentage. New backup goaltender Cam Talbot has also proven to be capable of handling a hefty workload, but Greaves should begin the regular season as the Blue Jackets' No. 1 netminder.

Crevier signed a four-year, $16 million contract extension with the Sabres on Thursday.

After being shipped to Buffalo as a part of the deal that sent Bowen Byram to Chicago, Crevier secured his future by signing an extension with the Sabres before suiting up for a regular-season game. The 25-year-old blueliner had a breakout campaign in 2025-26, where he compiled seven goals, 25 points, 114 shots on net, 124 hits and 95 blocked shots across 78 regular-season outings. The young blueliner is projected to open the year on the team's second defensive pairing. If he can stay healthy after undergoing a shoulder procedure in the offseason, Crevier could be the next blueliner in Buffalo to benefit from the team's high-powered offense, making him worthy of being a fantasy stash in deep leagues.

Lundestrom (Achilles) was labeled month-to-month by general manager Rick Bowness, Mark Scheig of The Hockey Writers reports Thursday.

Lundestrom's recovery timeline shouldn't come as a surprise considering he underwent offseason Achilles surgery. Even once given the all-clear, the 26-year-old forward may need a conditioning stint in the minors before he is fully ready to get into an NHL game. As such, fantasy managers probably don't need to worry about stashing him this season.

Head coach Rick Bowness said Thursday that Severson (shoulder) is considered week-to-week, Mark Scheig of The Hockey Writers reports.

Severson had already been ruled out for the Blue Jackets' first two regular-season games, and he was placed on non-roster injured reserve Thursday. Given his initial return timetable, the earliest the 32-year-old would be able to return would be Oct. 9 against Pittsburgh, but Thursday's update suggests that the Blue Jackets aren't yet certain about when Severson could be back in action. Severson recorded eight goals, 24 assists, 86 blocked shots, 45 PIM and 39 hits while averaging 21:04 of ice time across 71 regular-season appearances last year.

Vasilevskiy will defend the road crease in Thursday's Opening Night matchup against the Rangers, per Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press.

To no surprise, the reigning Vezina Trophy winner will lead the Lightning onto the ice in Thursday's opener. Vasilevskiy was truly elite in 2025-26, where he compiled a 39-15-4 record, a 2.31 GAA and a .911 save percentage across 58 regular-season outings. While asking him to repeat his numbers from a season ago would be a tall task, the team's defensive unit stayed strong with the addition of John Carlson. Vasilevskiy is the top goaltender to have rostered in fantasy hockey to open the 2026-27 season, and he'll have a favorable matchup Thursday against the Rangers, who were shut out by Boston on Tuesday.

Provorov (lower body) was placed on injured reserve by the Blue Jackets on Thursday, per the NHL media site.

Head coach Rick Bowness said Thursday that Provorov is considered week-to-week, and the 29-year-old will officially be sidelined for at least the first week of the regular season. Provorov had appeared in all 82 regular-season games in each of the last four years, most recently generating nine goals, 22 assists, 134 blocked shots, 34 PIM and 28 hits while averaging 24:49 of ice time last season.