NHL Player News

Lankinen is expected to start at home against Seattle in Saturday's preseason game, per Canucks play-by-play announcer Brendan Batchelor.

Lankinen turned aside 27 of 30 shots in a 3-1 preseason loss to Calgary on Tuesday. Thatcher Demko (hip) isn't likely to be ready for Opening Night, so Lankinen and Leevi Merilainen will probably be competing for starts at the beginning of the campaign.

Luukkonen left Saturday's 3-1 preseason loss against Pittsburgh because of an undisclosed injury, per Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News.

Luukkonen's issue was described as a "tweak" and the decision to pull him precautionary, so it's still possible that he'll be available for Buffalo's season opener in Columbus on Thursday. However, the timing is especially bad for the Sabres, who were already missing Alex Lyon (upper body). If Lyon and Luukkonen are both unavailable for the start of 2026-27, then Colten Ellis would likely be leaned on heavily at the beginning of the campaign.

Hildeby will defend the road net in Saturday's preseason finale against the Panthers, Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Hildeby made 23 saves in Tuesday's 3-2 overtime exhibition loss to Nashville. He is slated to serve as Andrei Vasilevskiy's backup in the 2026-27 campaign, which could make Hildeby a decent spot-starter option.

Rust sustained an undisclosed injury during Saturday's preseason game and won't return to the tilt.

Rust had 29 goals and 65 points in 72 regular-season appearances in 2025-26. If he's not healthy for the start of the 2026-27 campaign, then that would increase the chances of Rutger McGroarty being part of the Opening Night roster.

Ullmark will patrol the home crease in Saturday's preseason game against Montreal, per Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia.

Ullmark posted a 28-12-8 record with three shutouts, a 2.73 GAA and an .891 save percentage in 49 regular-season appearances for Ottawa in 2025-26. He will likely receive the bulk of the starts for the Senators again during the 2026-27 campaign.

Sanderson (undisclosed) will be in the lineup for Saturday's home preseason game against the Canadiens, Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia reports.

Sanderson has recovered from his minor issue and will get a final tune-up before the 2026-27 campaign begins. The 24-year-old blueliner generated 14 goals, 54 points, 147 shots on net and 128 blocked shots across 67 appearances during the 2025-26 regular season.

Wedgewood will defend the road net in Saturday's preseason finale against Utah, Evan Rawal of the Denver Gazette reports.

Wedgewood went 31-6-6 with four shutouts, a 2.02 GAA and a .921 save percentage in 45 outings during the 2025-26 regular season. He will compete for starts with Mackenzie Blackwood in the 2026-27 campaign.

Carcone (undisclosed) is expected to play against Colorado on Saturday.

Carcone is poised to play on the fourth line in Saturday's preseason finale. He accounted for 16 goals, 31 points, 147 shots on net and 147 hits over 79 appearances during the 2025-26 regular season.

Vejmelka is expected to protect the home net in Saturday's preseason game against Colorado.

Vejmelka made 19 saves in Tuesday's 6-3 exhibition win over the Kings. He posted a 38-20-3 record with two shutouts, a 2.75 GAA and an .896 save percentage over 64 regular-season appearances in 2025-26.

Levi is expected to patrol the home crease in Saturday's exhibition finale against Calgary.

Levi allowed one goal on 13 shots in Tuesday's 2-1 overtime win over Winnipeg in two periods of work. He posted a 23-20-9 record with a 2.83 GAA and a .904 save percentage in 52 regular-season appearances for AHL Rochester in 2025-26. As a member of the Oilers in 2026-27, he is expected to compete for starts with Tristan Jarry until Frederik Anderson (undisclosed) recovers.