NHL Player News

Annunen (undisclosed) will be a game-time decision versus the Knights on Tuesday, Brooks Bratten of the Predators' official site reports.

Even if Annunen is cleared and activated off injured reserve, he is likely to serve as the backup to Juuse Saros. With no back-to-backs on the short-term schedule, it's not clear when Annunen might make his season debut for the Predators, though he's unlikely to see a significant number of starts regardless.

Schmid will defend the road crease in Tuesday's clash against the Blue Jackets, per George Richards of Florida Hockey Now.

Schmid was called upon in relief during Monday's contest after Jacob Markstrom exited the contest due to tightness. Overall, the 26-year-old Schmid has an 0-1-1 record, a 4.16 GAA and an .868 save percentage across two appearances. While Markstrom avoided an injury, Cooper Black was recalled from AHL Charlotte on Tuesday in case the former can't back up Schmid. The Blue Jackets offense has been steady to open the 2026-27 season with 3.00 goals per game, making Schmid a risky fantasy option, especially after playing in Monday's contest.

Hildeby is questionable to serve as the backup against the Rangers on Tuesday for an undisclosed reason, Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

While it's not clear why Hildeby may not be available, the Bolts did call up Mads Sogaard from the minors just in case. Regardless of Hildeby's status, the Bolts are expected to utilize Andrei Vasilevskiy in the crease versus the Rangers.

Vasilevskiy is slated to be in goal for Tuesday's road matchup with the Rangers, Eduardo A. Encina of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Vasilevskiy will make his fifth start in the Bolts' first six games of the year, having gone 3-1-0 with a 2.29 GAA to open the season. With no back-to-backs on the short-term schedule, the 32-year-old netminder could see a run of starts here, especially if Dennis Hildeby (undisclosed) is unavailable to serve in relief.

Vladar will draw the home start in Tuesday's clash against the Kraken, per Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia.

Vladar is looking to get back on track after a shaky start to the 2026-27 season, where he has an 0-3-0 record, a 5.08 GAA and an .857 save percentage across three appearances. While he was lights out in the 2025-26 season, a different story seems to be starting in the early stages of the new season if he can't quickly turn things around. Joseph Woll has already taken a chunk of the opportunities between the pipes for Philadelphia during Vladar's struggles, but he still holds a relatively high ceiling if he can quickly shake off the slow start. However, he'll have his work cut out for him Tuesday, as Seattle ranks third in the NHL with 4.33 goals per game to open the new season, making Vladar an untrustworthy option in fantasy Tuesday.

Staal will be out for 1-2 months after sustaining a torn calf muscle, Ryan Henkel of The Hockey News reports Tuesday.

Staal went pointless through the first six games of the season before missing Sunday's matchup with the Flyers. Even with his offense drying up, the 38-year-old center remains a key piece of the Canes' roster and figures to retake his third-line role once he is cleared to play. In the meantime, Mark Jankowski should be expected to take on a bigger role, including with the No. 2 power-play unit.

Sogaard was recalled from AHL Syracuse on Tuesday.

Sogaard is set to provide goaltender depth behind Andrei Vasilevskiy and Dennis Hildeby at the NHL level following his call-up. The 25-year-old Sogaard is off to a strong start to the 2026-27 AHL regular season, where he has a 1-1-0 record, a shutout, a 1.73 GAA and a .937 save percentage across three appearances. It's unclear how long he will be with the Lightning before returning to the AHL, but if he does hit the ice at some point during his stint back in the NHL, he'll be doing so in his debut for Tampa Bay.

Lilleberg (undisclosed) is available if needed but will serve as a healthy scratch against the Rangers on Tuesday, Lightning reporter Gabby Shirley reports.

Lilleberg last featured for the Lightning on Oct. 3 versus Washington, recording one shot, three hits and five PIM. Even with Tampa continuing to utilize seven blueliners, the 25-year-old Lilleberg will face an uphill battle to secure minutes. As such, Lilleberg won't offer much in terms of fantasy value.

Grzelcyk (undisclosed) was placed on injured reserve by the Sabres on Tuesday, per Paul Hamilton of WGR Sports Radio 550.

Grzelcyk's placement on IR was done in a corresponding move to Dennis Gilbert being called up from AHL Rochester. The 32-year-old Grzelcyk appeared in just one game in the new season prior to going down, where he posted a minus-1 rating and a blocked shot across 14:27 of ice time. Further information will need to be provided regarding the specifics of his injury before a timetable for his return is available, but he'll miss at least the next seven days given his movement to injured reserve.

Gilbert was promoted from the minors ahead of Tuesday's clash with Montreal, Paul Hamilton of WGR Sports Radio 550 reports.

Gilbert should be expected to immediately jump into the lineup Tuesday thanks to injuries to Rasmus Dahlin (upper body) and Matt Grzelcyk (undisclosed). In eight regular-season games for the Senators last year, the 29-year-old Gilbert notched one assist, two shots and 10 hits while averaging 12:41 of ice time.