Coming off a disappointing 2024-25 season in which they missed the playoffs, the Rangers will hope to start the 2025-26 campaign on a positive note, likely turning to Shesterkin in their season opener against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Despite serviceable totals, the 29-year-old Shesterkin had the worst season of his career statistically in 2024-25, posting an average .905 SV% and 2.86 GAA and 61 outings (27-29-5). The talented netminder will aim for his seventh NHL season to be more aligned with the first five of his career, where he boasted a .921 SV% and 2.43 GAA in 213 games (135-59-17). The Rangers enter Tuesday's contest as sizable -219 home favorites against the Penguins.

Fresh off consecutive Stanley Cup championships, the Panthers will turn to Bobrovsky in their season opener on Tuesday against the Chicago Blackhawks. The 37-year-old Bobrovsky played well last season, posting a 2.44 GAA and .905 SV% in 54 appearances (33-19-2). With the Panthers facing several key long-term injuries in their forward group, they will need to rely on Bobrovsky to shut down the opposition's offense this season. The Panthers enter Tuesday's matchup as -266 home favorites against the Blackhawks.

Lowry underwent hip surgery earlier in the offseason with a five-to-six month recovery timeline. The 32-year-old Lowry is likely still several weeks away from his 2025-26 season debut after putting up 16 goals, 34 points and a +18 plus/minus in 73 games played in 2024-25.

Early in the offseason, Pietrangelo and the Golden Knights released a statement that Pietrangelo is dealing with a hip injury that would require bilateral femur reconstruction, with no guarantee of success. This week, the Golden Knights officially announced that he will be unavailable for the duration of the 2025-26 season and the playoffs. The 35-year-old Pietrangelo has 637 points (148G / 489A) in 1087 career games, leaving a notable void on the Golden Knights' blueline.

Perfetti suffered the ankle injury during the Jets' preseason finale after delivering a hit on Kevin Bahl in the second period. With Perfetti out to open the season, that opens a door in the Jets' top-6 and on the top power-play unit. Alex Iafallo is currently set to line up on the Jets' top powerplay unit.

Toews "tweaked something" in a preseason contest against the Minnesota Wild last Tuesday and finally returned to practiced on Sunday. After missing the entirety of the previous two seasons, recovering from injuries, Toews signed in the offseason with his hometown team. The veteran forward scored 31 points (15G / 16A) in 53 games in his most recent season in 2022-23.

Gregor joined the Panthers during training camp on a PTO that has materialized into a one-year, two-way contract. The 27-year-old Gregor split time last season between the Ottawa Senators and San Jose Sharks, playing a total of 52 games and scoring seven points (4G / 3A).

Lundell suffered an upper-body injury in the Panthers' preseason game last Thursday, but will be in the lineup for the opener vs. Chicago. Lundell is poised for a breakout season as he tries to help fill the shoes of Aleksander Barkov, who is expected to miss the entire season. Lundell will open the season on a line with Eetu Luostarinen and Sam Reinhart and PP2.

Ekblad was hurt in Saturday's preseason finale, but head coach Paul Maurice said that he'll be in the lineup on opening night vs. Chicago. Ekblad will open the season on the top pair with Gustav Forsling and the top power-play unit in a two-defensemen look alongside Seth Jones.

Lafferiere was banged up in the Kings' preseason game last Thursday and missed the preseason finale on Saturday, but was a full participant in Monday's practice. The Kings are "optimistic" but said that is's "not a guarantee" that Lafferiere will be in the lineup on opening night when the Kings host the Avalanche.

Rooney had been on a PTO with New Jersey but signed with Utah on Monday for a one-year, two-way contract. The 32-year-old appeared in a career high 70 games with Calgary in 2024-25, picking up five goals, 10 points and 14 PIMs. He should provide forward depth for the bottom six in Utah.

Blackwood was on the ice Monday but won’t travel with the team for their one-game trip to Los Angeles. With him unavailable, expect Scott Wedgewood to start and Trent Miner to serve as backup. Blackwood’s status for Thursday’s home opener vs. Utah is also in doubt, though his participation in Monday’s practice is an encouraging sign that the injury isn’t long-term.

Luukkonen missed the majority of training camp due to a lower-body injury and will be sidelined for at least the first week of the regular season. If the 26-year-old is forced to miss significant time, a combination of Alexandar Georgiev and Devon Levi will likely handle the crease in Buffalo.

Kesselring left the Sabres' preseason game on October 1st after aggravating an injury that he'd been dealing with throughout camp. Sabres' head coach Lindy Ruff said that Kesselring will be re-evaluated on a week-to-week basis, effectively ruling him out for the start of the regular season.

Power suffered an undisclosed injury early in training camp and was expected to be ready for Buffalo's season opener, but has been placed on Injured Reserve and will be sidelined for at least one week. The 22-year-old Power is coming off a career-best season in 2024-25, scoring 40 points (7G / 33A) in 79 games. With Rasmus Dahlin locked into Buffalo's top powerplay unit, Power will likely spend most of the season quarterbacking the second unit upon his return.

It was announced earlier that Greenway would miss Buffalo's season opener with a lower-body injury, but the forward was also placed on IR on Monday and will miss at least the next seven days. It appears the 28-year-old's run of bad injury luck in Buffalo will continue this season after missing 128 games combined in his first three seasons with the Sabres.

Calgary placed Jonathan Huberdeau and Martin Pospisil on IR ahead of their season opener and has recalled Samuel Honzek from the Calgary Wranglers (AHL) in a corresponding move. The 20-year-old left-winger was Calgary's 2023 1st round pick (16th overall) and will look to pick up his 1st career NHL point in 2025-26 after failing to do so in five appearances with the Flames last season.

With St. Louis off on Monday, they were unable to provide an update on Oskar Sundqvist after he left practice on Sunday with what appeared to be a lower-body injury. The 31-year-old is entering his third season in St. Louis and was batting for a bottom-six role before the injury. His status for St. Louis' opening night game vs. Minnesota remains uncertain.

After extending Connor McDavid with a two-year contract, the Oilers took care of additional business on Monday, signing Walman to a seven-year extension. The 29-year-old Walman is gearing up for his first full season as an Oiler. He had eight points (1G / 7A) in 15 games with the Oilers after being acquired from the San Jose Sharks before the trade deadline last season. He is currently battling an undisclosed injury and is questionable for Edmonton's season opener on Wednesday.