L'Heureux is considered day-to-day with a lower-body injury that he suffered late in the preseason. L'Heureux missed the final two preseason games on Friday and Saturday, and then also missed Sunday's practice session. He's considered day-to-day and will miss Colorado's opener vs. Los Angeles on Wednesday.
O'Connor is considered day-to-day with a lower-body injury that he suffered late in the preseason. O'Connor missed the final two preseason games on Friday and Saturday, and then also missed Sunday's practice session. He's considered day-to-day and will now miss Colorado's season opener. T.J. Hughes skated in O'Connor's spot at Sunday's practice and is expected to play on Wednesday.
After a fairytale rookie season which saw him post a 31-6-2 record on way to winning a Stanley Cup, Brandon Bussi will start Carolina's season opener vs. Florida on Tuesday.
Despite being completely healthy, Teuvo Teravainen finds himself the odd man out of Chicago's roster for opening night in Vegas and is expected to be a healthy scratch. The 32-year-old is entering his 14th NHL season and has not appeared in fewer than 68 games in any of his last five NHL seasons. He is coming off a 14-goal, 35-point campaign across 75 games played in 2025-26 and will hope to find himself back in Chicago's lineup soon.
After starting 55 games in 2025-26, Spencer Knight is unsurprisingly expected to take the crease for Chicago's season opener in Vegas after occupying the starter's crease at morning skate. The 25-year-old American netminder enjoyed an up-and-down season in his first campaign as Chicago's starter last year, posting a 19-25-11 record, 2.82 GAA and .902 SV%. He will head to Vegas to take on the Golden Knights, who are coming off a Game 6 loss to Carolina in the Stanley Cup Final last season.
After leading Vegas to the Stanley Cup Finals last season, Carter Hart will draw Vegas' opening night start on Tuesday vs. Chicago. The 28-year-old took over the Golden Knights' crease in the 2nd half of last season and posted an impressive 11-3-3 record despite having an ugly .891 SV% and 2.71 GAA. He will host the Connor Bedard-less Chicago Blackhawks in Vegas on Tuesday, who are hoping to improve on their abysmal 72 points from 2025-26, which ranked them second-to-last in the NHL.
Head Coach Mike Babcock announced Tuesday that Savoie started the week eight weeks away from returning from the undisclosed injury that caused him to miss the preseason. The 22-year-old is coming off a strong rookie season in 2025-26 where he had 18-goals, 37 points and 25 PIMs in 82 games played.
Janmark missed the entirety of Edmonton's preseason action with an undisclosed injury and will remain out indefinitely after the team announced there was no timetable to return for the 33-year-old's return. Janmark is entering his 11th NHL season and was expected to play a complementary role in Edmonton's bottom-six after putting up a goal, eight points and 22 PIMs in 43 games last season.
After starting 51 games in 2025-26, Igor Shesterkin is unsurprisingly expected to start New York's season opener in Boston on Tuesday. The 30-year-old is entering his eighth NHL season after posting a 25-19-6 record last season with a 2.50 GAA and a .912 SV%. He will head to TD Garden for a tough road matchup in Boston, which went 29-11-1 at home during the 2025-26 regular season.
For the first time in his young career, Jakub Dobes will be Montreal's opening night starter as they take on the Maple Leafs in Toronto on Tuesday. Dobes is coming off an impressive second season in which he won 69% of his starts, posting a 29-10-4 record, 2.78 GAA and .901 SV% in 42 starts. He will take on the Maple Leafs on the road Tuesday, who have a whole new-looking roster entering the 2026-27 season, including Darren Raddysh, Gavin McKenna and potentially Kirill Marchenko.
Islanders' head coach Pete DeBoer said that Barzal is attending all of the meetings, but not on the ice yet. He said Barzal will be on the ice "around the corner," essentially ruling him out for Wednesday's season opener.
After signing a three-year, $21 million contract with Toronto in the offseason, Sergei Bobrovsky is expected to make his Maple Leafs debut on Tuesday vs. Montreal. The 38-year-old is entering his 17th NHL season after eight successful years in Florida and will hope to bounce back to his Vezina-worthy ways after posting an ugly 27-23-1 record with a .877 SV% and 3.07 GAA in 52 appearances last season. Bobrovsky will host Toronto's Original Six rival in Montreal, which finished third in the Atlantic Division in 2025-26, posting a strong 48-24-10 record.
Minnesota's top-pair defensemen suffered a scary skull fracture in the Wilds' final preseason game and is expected to be out indefinitely after undergoing surgery on Tuesday. The 24-year-old's absence will be felt massively in Minnesota at the start of the season after he put up 15 goals, 51 points, and a +18 plus/minus in 80 games last season while averaging 24:41 TOI.
Nugent-Hopkins went down in practice on Monday with a lower-body injury according to Jason Gregor and will be out for Edmonton's season opener on Tuesday vs. Vancouver. The 33-year-old is entering his 16th NHL season and is expected to approximately miss the first two weeks of the regular season. He will be replaced by Vasily Podkolzin on Edmonton's top power-play unit.
To no one's surprise, Ilya Sorokin was the first goalie off the ice at New York's final preseason practice, suggesting the 31-year-old will be the Islanders' opening-night starter when they take on the Maple Leafs in Toronto on Wednesday. Sorokin is entering his seventh NHL season and sixth as New York's starting netminder after posting a 29-24-2 record last season, along with a 2.68 GAA, .906 SV%, and league-leading seven shutouts.
Luukkonen left the Sabres' final preseason game with a lower-body injury but was back on the ice for Tuesday's practice. He told reporters that his departure from Saturday's game was precautionary, and he felt fine in practice. That should put Luukkonen in line to start Thursday's season opener.
Swayman is entering his seventh season in the Bruins' crease and will unsurprisingly start Boston's season opener on Tuesday when they host New York at TD Garden. The 27-year-old is coming off an impressive bounce-back campaign in 2025-26 that saw him finish fourth in the NHL in wins (31) alongside a 2.71 GAA and .908 SV%. He will host the Rangers on Tuesday, who are coming off a forgettable 2025-26 campaign which saw them finish eighth in the Metropolitan Division with a record of 34-39-9.
Merzlikins was acquired from the Blue Jackets as a part of the Kirill Marchenko trade, and is reportedly not a part of the Maple Leafs' goaltending plans. They won't have to make a decision on him for roughly three months, as GM John Chayka said he'll need at least that much time as he continues to rehab from offseason shoulder surgery.
