NHL Player News

Garland scored the game-winning goal in Monday's 1-0 exhibition shootout win over the Red Wings.

Garland received 20:27 of ice time Monday, which was the most among Blue Jackets forwards. That's a relatively encouraging sign for the 30-year-old winger, who averaged just 13:01 of ice time over 21 games with Columbus last season, compared to the 18:57 he averaged across 50 games with Vancouver in 2025-26. Garland registered at least 46 points between 2021-22 and 2024-25, so he could end up having appeal as a depth option for fantasy managers if he earns the trust of head coach Rick Bowness when the regular season commences.

Montembeault turned away seven of eight shots on net he saw in Monday's 3-2 overtime preseason win over the Senators.

While Montembeault started the preseason off on the wrong foot by allowing a goal to William Eklund just under 90 seconds into regulation, he recovered decently and kept the Senators off the scoresheet for the remaining 30 minutes he played. The 29-year-old netminder has played solid this preseason, now totaling 20 saves on 21 total attempts across two preseason outings. He'll continue to face the tough task of winning back one of the team's top two goalie spots, as Jakub Dobes and Jacob Fowler currently appear to be the favorites for Montreal's goalie tandem in the 2026-27 campaign.

Ersson stopped 32 of 35 shots on net in Monday's 3-2 overtime preseason loss to the Canadiens.

Ersson's first official game with Ottawa ended up being a mixed bag, where he allowed just one goal across the first 51 minutes before surrendering two tallies to Cole Caufield down the stretch. While the late collapse was slightly discouraging, the blame isn't all on Ersson, who looked a step above his output from 2025-26. In 33 regular-season games a year ago, the 26-year-old backstop struggled with a 3.12 GAA and an .870 save percentage. With a performance that contained highs and lows, we'll likely see Ersson suit up one more time this preseason before an official decision is made regarding Ottawa's backup netminder.

Tarasov stopped all 15 shots he faced during Monday's 1-0 preseason shootout loss to the Blue Jackets.

Even though it was an exhibition game, it was a good start to Tarasov's Red Wings tenure. The 27-year-old netminder signed a one-year, $2 million contract with Detroit on the opening day of free agency in July, but he will need to fend off the up-and-coming Trey Augustine for the backup gig to John Gibson throughout the remainder of training camp.

Greaves turned aside all 16 shots he faced in Monday's 1-0 preseason shootout win over the Red Wings.

Greaves played the first 40 minutes of this game, while Pheonix Copley replaced him to start the third period. Elvis Merzlikins (shoulder) has no timeline for a return, so Greaves is poised to handle the majority of starts for Columbus in the early going, even with the addition of veteran Cam Talbot to the goaltending room.

Iorio sustained a lower-body injury during Monday's 3-2 preseason loss to New Jersey, per Colin Stephenson of Newsday.

Iorio logged just 11:52 of ice time Monday, and following the contest, he was mentioned to have been dealing with a lower-body issue. The 23-year-old blueliner spent a solid chunk of time in the majors during 2025-26, where he posted three assists, 15 shots on goal, 15 hits and 29 blocked shots across 27 regular-season outings between the Sharks and Rangers. If Iorio's injury isn't serious, he'll likely have just under a week to earn an NHL roster spot in the Rangers' defensive core before the start of the season. He'll continue to battle against the team's other right-handed defensemen, such as Braden Schneider, Scott Morrow and Dennis Cholowski.

Hughes potted an even-strength goal on four shots and went plus-1 in 18:20 of ice time in Monday's 3-2 preseason win over the Rangers.

Hughes has played in no more than 62 regular-season games in each of the last three years, though he finished with exactly 27 goals and at least 70 points during those campaigns. The 25-year-old has the talent to be a 100-point player -- he had 99 points across 78 regular-season games in 2022-23 -- but staying healthy has been a problem for Hughes so far in his career. While that's always a concern for fantasy managers, there's no denying the 2019 No. 1 overall pick is a high-end fantasy asset when he's in the lineup.

Meier scored an even-strength goal on four shots, added an assist and went plus-1 in Monday's 3-2 exhibition win over the Rangers.

Meier set up Nico Hischier in the second period before scoring an unassisted goal in the final minute of the same frame. The 29-year-old Meier is coming off a relatively disappointing season -- he accounted for 24 goals, 44 points and a minus-16 rating over 77 games in 2025-26. If the Devils want to get back to the postseason, they will certainly need more production from Meier, who should receive top-six minutes while working with one of the power-play units this year.

Garand made 28 saves on 31 shots during Monday's 3-2 preseason loss to the Devils.

Garand played the entirety of Monday's game. A fourth-round pick by the Rangers in 2020, Garand is looking to earn the No. 2 gig behind Igor Shesterkin in 2026-27. Joonas Korpisalo, who has much more NHL experience than Garand, is also competing for that role, but Garand impressed in three games with the Rangers last season, going 2-0-1 with a .948 save percentage and 1.62 GAA. Head coach Mike Sullivan also mentioned Garand's overall development at the start of training camp, per Mollie Walker of the New York Post, so the Rangers' goaltending depth chart is far from certain at this point.

Allen stopped all three shots he faced in Monday's 3-2 preseason win over the Rangers.

Allen played the first period of Monday's contest before giving way to Nico Daws for the rest of the game. Unless the Devils bring in another netminder at some point during the 2026-27 season, Allen should receive the bulk of the starts for a team that is expected to return to the postseason after missing out in 2025-26.