When the Islanders’ prospects reported to Northwell Health Ice Center two weeks ago Friday, Victor Eklund’s chances of making the NHL roster depended on doing everything right.

He checked every box. He stood out at every opportunity. And while Mathew Barzal’s injury didn’t hurt his chances, the Islanders would be hard-pressed to send him away now, no matter what.

While nothing is official yet, the 19-year-old Eklund’s presence in the lineup for Saturday’s preseason finale/dress rehearsal tells you all you need to know. Unless something changes in the final hours, he will be on this team. He deserves to be on this team.

“My expectation is that I work as hard as I can,” Eklund said after his first practice of rookie camp. “Give myself a shot at the team this year. Whatever happens, I want to make sure I’m giving 100 percent.”

Check, check and check.

Eklund hadn’t yet spoken to general manager Mathieu Darche before Saturday’s 4-1 preseason loss to the Devils at UBS Arena.

“I’m still trying to work as hard as I can,” he said. “Just do my thing out there in the game and hopefully it goes well.”

Bo Horvat, though, seemed to tip the Islanders’ hand.

“He’s been great. He’s getting better and better as the camp’s gone on,” Horvat said. “I think he’s gonna start getting more comfortable as the games go on too.”

The best news the Islanders have had over the past few weeks is that every single one of the prospects they view as integral to their future put forth terrific training camps.

Cal Ritchie put in a summer of hard work, and looked the part, making the Islanders believe he is ready to be the second-line center on Wednesday night in Toronto and for as long as it takes for Barzal to return.

Kashawn Aitcheson and Cole Eiserman both stuck with the NHL group through the last round of cuts, looking more like players who could be called up at some point soon than guys who need a year of AHL seasoning.

Eiserman looked highly engaged and showed huge improvement away from the puck. Aitcheson was noticeable in every game, a physical force in the making.

And Eklund, the one with the most pressure and the most to prove, looked in command with the puck on his stick, was in the right places when it wasn’t and was ready for the physicality of an NHL training camp.

He was undeniable. A spot on the third line with Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Emil Heineman appears to be his for now. And if he keeps it up, that may soon be a spot in the top six.

This Islanders roster will face an uphill climb to compete this season. The star power of Ilya Sorokin and Matthew Schaefer, plus Pete DeBoer’s system overhaul, will need to paper over a lot of flaws in a group that doesn’t have much offensive firepower.

This is the waiting game that Darche chose to play this summer, giving the kids a year to bake while being ready to pounce with a war chest of dollars in 2027.

Eklund won’t change that, but he can give credence to it. The Islanders are banking on him to be part of a core that includes Ritchie, Aitcheson, Eiserman and, of course, Matthew Schaefer — who at 19 has graduated from prospect to superstar.

They don’t know exactly what Eklund will be yet. But all signs look good.

“Obviously he’s not the biggest guy but he makes up for it in his compete,” Horvat said. “His ability to do whatever it takes to stay not only in the lineup but wherever it takes to win.

“He’s gonna be a really good player for a long time here. We’re excited to have him.”

The arrival of Pavel Dorofeyev already included plenty of expectations. There were the first- and third-round picks this year that the Rangers sent back to the Golden Knights; the top 10 protected first-rounder in 2026; and the seven-year deal with an average annual value of $11 million. 

But Dorofeyev, the left-handed forward who said he was comfortable skating on both wings and has featured on the right side of J.T. Miller in both of his preseason games, didn’t sound fazed about any of the stakes that’ll come into focus when the season begins Tuesday night in Boston. His potential was on display with a goal and three points in two preseason games. 

“It doesn’t matter if it’s big contract or small,” Dorofeyev told The Post following the Rangers’ morning skate Friday. “I’m not gonna change my game, or I’m not gonna change myself. All I’ll do is just gonna work hard and enjoy the game and not try and focus on points and other stuff.” 

Dorofeyev added a pair of assists in Friday’s exhibition — a 6-1 Rangers victory, after flashing his trademark shot release Tuesday when he scored against the Islanders. While stuck in a cluster of traffic around the crease in the first period, Dorofeyev took possession and tried to maneuver around Islanders goaltender Semyon Varlamov before the puck slid to Oliver Bjorkstrand for the Blueshirts’ first goal. In the third period, Dorofeyev kept the puck in at the blue line before the sequence eventually ended with Mika Zibanejad’s power-play goal. 

That, more than anything, was the space where the Rangers could potentially benefit most from the arrival of Dorofeyev. Their power play — already a strength — added Dorofeyev’s 20 goals with the man advantage from last season, which anchored his 37 total from 2025-26. Over the last two seasons, the 25-year-old collected 72 total goals. 

But everything will flip to the regular season for Dorofeyev, who has skated on a line with Miller and Bjorkstrand throughout training camp, and the Blueshirts on Tuesday. All the potential with his release — something that he said has been a strength since he started listening to everyone who told him he had a good shot — and his presence will fade, with the need for tangible results to emerge. 

His flashes from the preseason captured that it might be a seamless process for him. 

“Just trying to be consistent as much as I can and be good for the team,” Dorfeyev said. 

The Rangers didn’t make any of their final roster calls Saturday as the group of NHL players on waivers didn’t include any of the possible Blueshirts names, according to PuckPedia. Rookie Alberts Smits, Matthew Robertson and Scott Morrow are competing for spots as the final defensemen. Matt Rempe, Taylor Raddysh and Jaroslav Chmelar are all in contention for the final forward spots. And Joonas Korpisalo and Dylan Garand, who each logged a full preseason game, are battling for the role of backing up Igor Shesterkin. 

Robertson, Morrow, Rempe, Raddysh, Korpisalo and Garand would all need to clear waivers before joining AHL Harford.

The Predators claimed defenseman William Trudeau — acquired from the Canadiens in the Brett Berard trade — off waivers, according to Elliotte Friedman. Trudeau, a 6-foot-1 prospect, is 23 years old and a former fourth-round pick. … Forwards Glenn Gawdin and Anton Blidh, as well as defenseman Marc Del Gaizo, cleared waivers and were assigned to the Wolf Pack.

Earlier this week, the Philadelphia Flyers made headlines for perhaps the wrong reasons when, despite defeating the Boston Bruins 2-0 in the preseason, Trevor Zegras was whistled for a highly unusual penalty.

Halfway through the game, Zegras, 25, had his number called for a penalty immediately after a Flyers offensive zone faceoff, which was explained by the officials only as "improper wearing of equipment".

As we came to find shortly thereafter, the actual foul Zegras committed was having his jersey tucked in his pants, and a penalty was assessed following a prior warning from the officials earlier in the game.

Both Zegras and head coach Rick Tocchet were very matter-of-fact about the incident after the game, with Tocchet muting his displeasure and saying "we can't have a penalty like that" when the regular season starts.

But, that's all water under the bridge... for now, and the Flyers, as well as some Flyers fans, decided to have some fun with it ahead of Saturday's preseason finale against the Washington Capitals.

For pregame warmups, the Flyers emerged from their locker room with mostly everyone tucking their jersey in their pants, including Porter Martone, captain Sean Couturier, Tyson Foerster, Cam York, and Jamie Drysdale.

The Flyers tucked in their jerseys for warmups after Trevor Zegras was penalized for tucking his jersey last game 😂 pic.twitter.com/JOxPTLj9nd

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) September 26, 2026

A Flyers fan seated near the glass was also spotted with a plain sign that read, "I have my jersey tucked for you, Z!"

Tocchet admitted after Thursday night's game against Boston that the Flyers were warned weeks in advance of the NHL's stricter enforcement of the jersey tuck rule, and Zegras just so happened to end up as the first example tagged by the league's iron fist.

Players will invariably have their jerseys ride up their backs and behind their pants during game action, but the rule is that they cannot start their shifts that way, as good or bad a rule as it may be.

The rules are the rules and Zegras broke 'em, but the Flyers got their fun out of it in the end.

The Carolina Hurricanes announced on Friday that they had signed goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov to a two-year contract extensions, tying him to the organization through the 2028-29 season.

"I very happy," Kochetkov told The Hockey News. "It was long talks about contract and I'm very happy to be done. Now I can focus just only on hockey. I very happy."

According to Kochetkov, contract negotiations began soon after the end of the season and so it was a long process in terms of finding the right term and dollar amount.

"Lots of options," Kochetkov said.

However, he and the team found that sweet spot last week and after shaking hands on the deal, Kochetkov's representation ironed out the remainder of the details, eventually finalizing it all on Thursday.

"Agent call me after game against Nashville and say 'We good,'" Kochetkov recalled.

The Russian netminder is heading into his fifth season as a full-time NHLer, but the first one where he could potentially be the team's number one option.

With the departure of Frederik Andersen in the offseason, Carolina no longer has a proven veteran and so the crease is completely up for grabs between Kochetkov and second-year NHLer Brandon Bussi.

And given what we've seen from him throughout his career, allowing Kochetkov to not stress over playing for a contract may be the best thing for a goaltender that has routinely struggled with the mental side of the game.

However, Kochetkov has been vocal about how he's approaching this season with a different mindset than previous ones.

"After last season, I never think about 'I want this many games,' or stuff like that," Kochetkov said. "I just try and think about practice, recovery and next day. Nothing more because all my career, I looked too far every time. At first, I want to go to the NHL. After that it's I want to be first goalie, I want to play more, blah, blah. When you're older and you see a little bit of a different angle of your life and your game, now I just want to be excited for what I do and play games. That's what I think about."

Kochetkov has been away from NHL hockey for quite a while after undergoing hip surgery back in December, but now with two preseason games under his belt, he feels he's getting closer to his level.

In those two games, Kochetkov saw 61 shots, allowing 10 past him, five in each game.

In talking about his play, the Russian goalie was honest about where he feels his game is at.

"Tough to say," Kochetkov said when asked about how he felt about his game. "I don't want to talk about excuses or anything like that. First game, I feel like it was good. Second game, a little bit feels tough the first half of the game. Just need to find my game. Need a little bit of time to find what I do. I no want talking about [the fact that it's been a] long time no play. It's true. Just now, preseason done and I want play real game and see how is it. I think need a couple games and then all good."

To be fair to him, he hadn't played in an NHL game in over nine months before those showings and the most decorated defender in front of him in those games too had been Mike Reilly.

I thought he showed well the athleticism and anticipation that makes him such a high-ceiling netminder and he had really strong periods of play. 

But for him, it's about finding more consistency and not having those lapses in play.

"With PK, I do feel he has the ability to be an elite goalie in this league," said Canes goalie coach Paul Schonfelder to team reporter Walt Ruff. "I see the talent. But with that being said, it is his third or fourth full year here, and now it’s time to take the bull by the horns. He’s going to get his chance to come in, and we have an idea of what he can do, but he’s got to take advantage of the opportunity that he has with it being just him and Bus here and really grab hold of it.”

Kochetkov knows this too.

"I have motivation this season to show who I am."

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Pregame

The Penguins have an opening night looking lineup, sans Connor Dewar and Elmer Soderblom who have already played two preseason games.

The Sabres have a pretty fair roster themselves for this the last day of NHL preseason action.

First period

Egor Chinakhov takes the first penalty of the game, Pittsburgh kills it off and has a fun Novak-Crosby-Malkin line coming after the PK. It works out, Crosby gets into space and fires a slapshot right under the bar. 1-0.

Not long after that the Pens double their lead. Bryan Rust drives to the net and the puck goes to the mixer out front. Hendrix Lapierre chops at it, no dice. Ville Koivunen gets a hack from in front and it pops into the net. 2-0.

Shots in the first are 11-9 BUF.

Second period

The Penguins appeared to score twice in the second period but both goals got taken away after review from Buffalo challenges. Evgeni Malkin scored but there was goalie interference to wipe it away. Then the first line of Crosby, Robertson and Rakell made a nice play with Rakell scoring but Crosby was offside for the entry.

Bryan Rust pulls up 20 seconds into a shift and leaves the ice and game. The Pens quickly announce he will be out for the rest of the game.

Silovs looks a lot better than his first preseason game, and that combined with the Buffalo review team keeps the score the same in the middle frame. Shots are 20-16 BUF through 40 minutes.

Third period

Malkin takes a penalty, the Sabres get their first goal on the power play on a lateral pass that changes the angle on Silovs enough to beat him.

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The Sabres pull the goalie late and that makes it easy for Nick Robertson to knock in a pass from Rakell to set the final at 3-1.

Some thoughts

• Rust’s status matters more than anything seen this game. Gotta agree with Rod Brind’Amour that the preseason is meaningless and ought to be abolished. The Pens have lost all of Blake Lizotte, Ben Kindel, Justin Brazeau and now maybe Rust over items that didn’t count in front of stands that were 1/5 full at most. What are we even doing here?
• Crosby was perfectly pedestrian in his first preseason game but looked very much like Sidney Crosby today. Take that, father time!
• If I had to choose the players most likely to surprise the average Joe or wildly exceed expectations this season my choices would be Nick Robertson and Declan Carlile. Robertson is just a flat out good little player. Carlile looks like the best parts of Ryan Shea and Parker Wotherspoon with his size, skating and calmness handling the puck.
• Night and day performance for Silovs compared to his first exhibition outing where he gave up seven goals on not very many shots. The rebound issue was better, he looked more engaged and was plenty effective. He’s a goalie with some ups and downs, all signs pointing up going into the regular season after today’s impressive performance. Don’t blame anyone for wondering just exactly what will be next though, given his variability that has been on display in the past week.
• Really liked how Rutger McGroarty played today. Not sure that is going to tip the balance for him actually making the team out of camp, but he looks like he’s ready to play in the NHL when he needs to be called upon. Unfortunately for him, it doesn’t look like that is happening right away.
• Koivunen is a tough player to analyze. There’s something about either his stance or the way he’s hunched over and his skating that makes him look awkward. However, he was effective today. He’s not an aesthetically pleasing player to the eye, relative to the absolute smoothness and way most NHL players naturally carry themselves the way he operates with a hitch in his skating stands out. If he can hack it, he can hack it but there’s something odd in his game. Nice to see him get rewarded at the net with a goal, he did that a lot last year and the pucks weren’t going in. Hopefully that’s a boost to the confidence and can fuel him for this season.
• It almost defies reason but somehow Lapierre only won 2/18 faceoffs today. Crosby only took 17 himself. You won’t see those splits repeated in the next game when it counts.
• Similarly, Korczak and Girard skated over 20 minutes today. Karlsson played less than that. Makes it tough to assign too much value to what it means about the Girard-Korczak paired being labeled the second group. We’ll believe that when it’s seen that they play more than Kris Letang during the season.

And now, it’s time for the season. It was a quick preseason slate but it feels pretty long after seeing Rust join the other players in the injury bay. Hopefully it will be more precautionary than anything else, either way the Pens will have to open the regular season on Wednesday in Philadelphia.

Flyers finish preseason with ‘humbling' loss as opening night comes into focus originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The Flyers wrapped up the preseason Saturday night with a 5-1 loss to the Capitals at Xfinity Mobile Arena.

Jamie Drysdale scored the club’s lone goal. It gave the Flyers a 1-0 second-period lead, which lasted for only 4:01 minutes.

“Ugly, that’s the only way to talk about that game,” Drysdale said. “It was bad, but that’s not how we’re going to play hockey. That’s just not a winning brand, whichever way you chop it up. We’ll be better.”

Rick Tocchet’s club outshot Washington 37-24 on the night.

“We had a bunch of chances, we don’t score,” Tocchet said. “Then all of a sudden they get a couple. Every time they shot, they scored. And then guys get frustrated. I’m actually glad we lost 5-1. It’s a little humbling, which is good for us. … Sometimes you’re not as good as you think you are.”

The Flyers went 1-3-0 in the preseason. They open the regular season in four days.

“I don’t think that was a great effort by us tonight,” Owen Tippett said. “I think we let it get away from us. We could have definitely made it look a little less ugly. But we’re super confident, especially coming off the year we had last year. Morale is high, we’ve had a good camp and it’s great to be back with all the guys.”

• Aleksei Kolosov was not sharp in net. The 24-year-old prospect surrendered the five goals on 24 shots.

The fourth came early in the third period on a stoppable shot from Theodor Niederbach.

The Flyers gave up three goals in the second period.

At first intermission, Danny Briere said he thought David Jiricek “played OK” in training camp and the preseason.

“He didn’t get beat by anyone to lose his job,” the Flyers’ general manager said. … “He’s going to start on the roster and it’s going to be up to him to show us that he deserves the minutes and he deserves to stay in the lineup.”

The 22-year-old defenseman had a rough second period. He committed a turnover that led directly to the Capitals’ go-ahead 2-1 goal from Maxim Schafer. Under five minutes later, Washington scored on a power play after Jiricek was whistled for high-sticking. He finished as a minus-3.

“He had a tough night,” Tocchet said. “Three or four guys had a tough night, but being a pro, you’ve got to bounce back. We’ll get to him, get some video, make him understand some things. You’re going to have a tough night. You’ve just got to make sure you stay consistent.”

Jiricek, a product of last season’s Bobby Brink trade, is no longer exempt from waivers. That likely factored into the Flyers’ decision to keep him on the big club’s roster right now. He’ll have pressure to show he’s ready to help the Flyers on the power play and that he won’t be a liability defensively.

• The Flyers went 0 for 4 on the power play.

They had eight minutes of power play time in the first period, but couldn’t convert. They did have some good looks, though.

“We’ve got to bury,” Drysdale said. “Honestly, we had a lot of looks. It’s just putting the puck in the net. That’s kind of all we’ve got to focus on now.”

• Briere had good news on Dan Vladar’s upper-body injury. He said the goaltender’s status looks “very promising” and that Vladar “should be ready” for the regular-season opener.

The 29-year-old went through an hour-long skate Saturday morning.

“He probably could have played if we played the regular season tonight,” Briere said. “But we just wanted to play it safe and let him get as close to 100 percent for the start of the regular season.”

Denver Barkey, who is day to day with a lower-body injury, might be unavailable for the opener.

“He’s going to miss a little bit of time,” Briere said. “It shouldn’t be too, too long. I don’t know if he’s going to be ready for the first game. If not, it shouldn’t be very long after that.”

The Flyers’ season-opening roster is pretty much set. Cole Knuble and Jett Luchanko were among the team’s cuts Friday. Both prospects had strong performances and should have big roles with AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley.

“You’re in a situation where there are not many jobs open,” Tocchet said Saturday morning. “But that doesn’t mean they’re not pushing, that doesn’t mean something can’t happen in a week. You have to be ready. They obviously had a really good camp, I thought both had very good camps. I mean, Cole is pushing people.”

• The Flyers are scheduled to practice Sunday and Tuesday before hosting the Penguins in the opener Wednesday at Xfinity Mobile Arena (7:30 p.m. ET/TNT).

Flyers Pregame Live will be on NBC Sports Philadelphia at 6:30 p.m. ET.

Talk about the last preseason game with Pens fans here!

The game will be broadcast locally on Sportsnet Pittsburgh+ and MSG-B in the respective local areas for Pittsburgh and Buffalo. Nationally, it will be carried on NHL Network. It will be available via audio on the internet/radio from 105.9 The X.

ST. LOUIS --  The St. Louis Blues kept their depth forwards in tact on Saturday.

The team assigned Oskar Sundqvist, Nathan Walker and Jack Finley to Springfield of the American Hockey League after none of the three were claimed on waivers.

Each was exposed on Friday after not being on the ice, while Zach Dean and Dillon Dube were, indicating that those two won out the battle for the 13th and 14th forward slots, something that should become a formality when NHL rosters are due to be reported to the league by 4 p.m. (CT) on Monday.

The training camp is now down to 25 and the Blues have to make two more transactions, and those are expected to be goalie Georgii Romanov, who will back up Joel Hofer against the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday, will go on waivers Sunday for the purpose of getting him to the Thunderbirds, and with Calle Rosen still with the big club, it is expected that Tyler Tucker is likely headed to injured reserve with a tweaked right knee.

(9-26-26) Blues-Blackhawks Preseason Gameday LineupBlues to play near-full lineup in preseason finale to prepare for regular-season opener Oct. 2 in Dallas; Hofer to get full game; Dean to play in all four exhibitions

Zach Dean, Dillon Dube To Make St. Louis Blues Opening Night RosterForwards won out competition over Oskar Sundqvist, Nathan Walker, Jack Finley, who were put on waivers Friday

Blues Assign Four Players To Springfield, Including 2024 First-Round Pick Adam JiricekDefenseman, who was exceptional in 1-0 win over Blackhawks on Thursday, goes to Thunderbirds along with Aleksanteri Kaskimaki, Dylan Peterson, Otto Stenberg

For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.

A former Colorado Avalanche defenseman could be running out of chances to stick in the NHL.

Caleb Jones, the younger brother of Stanley Cup champion Seth Jones, was placed on waivers Saturday by the Pittsburgh Penguins with the intention of reassigning him to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

The 29-year-old has appeared in just 13 NHL games over the past two seasons, splitting that time between the Los Angeles Kings and Penguins. Jones played seven games for Pittsburgh last season, recording one assist.

Now, his NHL future is once again uncertain.

Jones began his professional career in the Edmonton Oilers organization after being selected in the fourth round of the 2015 NHL Draft. After several seasons developing between the Western Hockey League and AHL, he earned his first NHL opportunity in December 2018, making his debut with Edmonton against the Philadelphia Flyers.

He eventually moved on from Edmonton in 2021, when the Oilers traded him to the Chicago Blackhawks as part of the deal that brought veteran defenseman Duncan Keith to Edmonton.

After two seasons in Chicago, Jones signed with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2023. He never played a regular-season game for Carolina, though, as the Hurricanes traded him to Colorado on Oct. 10, 2023, in exchange for forward Callahan Burke.

Jones had already been assigned to the Colorado Eagles before the trade and eventually made his way into the Avalanche lineup. He appeared in 25 games for Colorado during the 2023-24 season, recording five assists.

That proved to be his only season in burgundy and blue.

Jones left Colorado as a free agent the following summer and signed with the Kings. He appeared in six NHL games with Los Angeles during the 2024-25 season but went scoreless and spent most of the campaign with the Ontario Reign.

Pittsburgh then gave Jones another opportunity, signing him to a two-year, $1.8 million contract in July 2025.

That deal has not gone as planned. Jones was suspended for 20 games without pay in February 2026 for violating the NHL and NHLPA Performance Enhancing Substances Program. He has since bounced between Pittsburgh and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

Now, the Penguins are looking to send him back to the AHL once again.

The Chicago Blackhawks lost Jordan Greenway to injury earlier in the week. He tweaked a lower-body injury and was considered day-to-day. 

On Saturday, ahead of their morning skate, Greenway was out there with a non-contact sweater. He hasn't played since last Monday's preseason game against the Minnesota Wild, but it was never considered a long-term thing. 

After practice, Jeff Blashill confirmed that he won't play against the St. Louis Blues in the preseason finale, but he should be good to go on Tuesday night against the Vegas Golden Knights in the regular-season opener. If that ends up being the case, he won't have missed more than a week with the injury. 

The Blackhawks took Greenway back in the deal to land Bowen Byram, but he will be useful to them this season if he is able to stay healthy for most of it. He brings a physical toughness that they don't have much of. 

More details about the final preseason game can be seen in the post below: 

Blackhawks Vs Blues: Projected Lineup, How To Watch, & More Ahead Of Preseason Game 4The Chicago Blackhawks will face the St. Louis Blues in the final preseason game at the United Center.

Visit The Hockey News Chicago Blackhawks team site to stay up to date on the latest news, game-day coverage, player features, and more.

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There we are, one night of hockey left before the Montreal Canadiens wrap up their preseason. Much like Saturday, they’ll split it in two: one group will host the Ottawa Senators in Montreal, while the other will head to Ottawa to take on the other half of the Sens. Perhaps wisely, considering what happened to Ivan Demidov last preseason against the Sens (that forearm slashing thanks to Nick Cousin) and the fact that he missed practice a couple of times this week, Martin St-Louis has decided that the young Russian won’t be playing tonight, just like Lane Hutson, who will also be a healthy scratch.

Meanwhile, it will be a special night for Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki as he faces his brother Ryan for the first time in an NHL game, even if it’s just an exhibition one. Suzuki and the top line will lead the group playing in Montreal tonight. The lines and pairings are expected to be as follows:

Cole Caufield – Nick Suzuki – Chris Kreider

Alex Newhook – Phillip Danault – Juraj Slafkovsky

Alexandre Texier – Jake Evans – Josh Anderson

Florian Xhekaj – Owen Beck – Tyler Thorpe

Mike Matheson – Noah Dobson

Luke Mittelstadt – Alex Carrier

Maksymilian Szuber – Etan Samson

Jacob Fowler

Samuel Montembeault

St-Louis said in his post-practice presser that Fowler and Montembeault would split the game in Montreal tonight, while Jakub Dobes will play the whole game in Ottawa. This will be the first time Montembeault steps between the posts at the Bell Centre and a great way to see if he can perform well in the pressure cooker that is the Habs’ home.

THN Poll Doesn’t Have Caufield As Rocket Richard Trophy Favourite
Canadiens Guhle Back At Practice, What Does That Mean?
Canadiens Working On Their Special Teams

As for the squad who'll play in Ottawa, its lineup will be as follows:

Zach Bolduc – Oliver Kapanen – Kirby Dach

Jared Davidson – Laurent Dauphin – Alex Belzile

Brett Berard – Hunter McKown – Sasha Pastujov

Samuel Poulin – Filip Mesar – Dillan Bentley

Jayden Struble – Arber Xhekaj

Adam Engstrom – David Reinbacher

Owen Protz – Reilly Walsh

Jakub Dobes

Kaapo Kahkonen

If you were hoping to see the big questions answered in tonight’s lineup, you’ll have to wait a bit longer. The first line seems set in stone; the second line probably is, too. As for the last two lines, it’s a bit more complicated. NHL contracts probably mean the youngest, Xhekaj, will head down to Laval, even if he’s unlikely to spend the whole year there, and Dach will be the 13th forward to start the season.

On the blueline, the Matheson-Dobson pairing seems to be there to stay, but it’s hard to predict what the rest of the defense corps will look like. David Reinbacher had a great camp, and he’ll have another opportunity to show what he can do in Ottawa tonight. Since he’ll be skating in the same game as the oldest Xhekaj and Struble, it may be a bit easier to compare the three and call the shots. With Kaiden Gule still sidelined, Reinbacher appears to be the front-runner to stick around to start the season. Will it be as the seventh defenseman or in the actual lineup? That is the question. And if it is in the lineup, whose spot is he taking?

Earlier today, the Habs announced that 12 players had been assigned to the Laval Rocket, including Vincent Arsenault, Alexander Legkov, and Xavier Simoneau, among others. Essentially, they were the guys in Group C at the start of camp and were always destined for the AHL at the end of camp. The rest of the answers will have to wait a bit longer. There might be cuts tonight after the two games, but teams have until Monday at 5:00 PM to submit their 23-man, cap-compliant roster, and the Habs have tomorrow off.

Les joueurs suivants ont été cédés au Rocket de Laval · The following players have been assigned to the Laval Rocket:

V. Arseneau, J. Dion, A. Dubinsky, B. Hache, H. Jones, F. Lapenna, A. Legkov, K. Mandolese, K. McCallum, I. Mianscum, J. Nadeau & X. Simoneau.

— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) September 26, 2026

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The Columbus Blue Jackets have 5 days until opening night at Nationwide Arena. Today, we look at everyone's favorite number - Jersey #5.

Let's take a look at who wore 5, and where they are now. 

Jamie Pushor - 2001-2006 - Drafted by Pittsburgh in 1989.

Heward played 97 games with Columbus and had 30 points. 69 of his games came during the inaugural season for Columbus.  

After several years in Europe, he returned to the NHL and retired with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2009. Pushor has been the AGM and Director of Player Personnel for the Tampa Bay Lightning since 2018. 

Darryl Sydor - 2004 - Drafted by LA in 1990. 

Sydor played a total of 49 games for Columbus during the 2003-04 season. He was traded to the Jackets in the Summer of 2003 and then traded to the Lightning during that season. He had 15 points for Columbus.

He went on to play another five NHL seasons before retiring on July 13, 2010. After retiring, he transitioned into coaching, serving as an assistant for the Blues and Wild. He also owns the Kamloops Blazers of the WHL. 

Christian Bäckman - 2009 - Drafted by St. Louis in 1998.

Bäckman played 56 games for the Jackets in 2008-09 after being acquired by Columbus in the trade that sent Nikolai Zherdev and Dan Fritsche to the Rangers. 

He left for Europe in 2009, where he signed with Frölunda HC in Sweden. He retired in 2015. 

Aaron Johnson - 2012 - Drafted by Columbus in the 3rd round of the 2001 NHL Entry Draft.

Johnson played 172 games for the Jackets over two stints. Scouts said of Johnson was "A puck-moving defenseman, Johnson is a very good skater. Has good offensive instincts and can quarterback the power play. Can play a tough and physical game. Needs to improve his play in his own end."

During his time with Columbus, he also spent three years with the AHL Syracuse Crunch, where he had 73 points in those three seasons. 

In 2016, he left North America and signed on with Adler Mannheim of the DEL in Germany. He then left for England, where he played for the Sheffield Steelers of the EIHL. In 2021, he became a player-assistant Coach for a season. He came back home to Columbus in 2021 and joined the Jackets as a Team Consultant. Last season, he was the Team Relations Specialist for the Jackets.

Jack Skille - 2014 - Drafted by Chicago in 2005.

Skille played 61 games for Columbus and had 12 points. On July 6, 2013, Skille was signed as a free agent by the CBJ, but the following summer, he left in free agency. On October 5, 2014, Skille was claimed off waivers by Columbus, where he would play in 45 games. He left Columbus again and would play a season in Colorado and a season in Vancouver. 

In 2017, he left for Europe, where he played in Russia, Switzerland, Germany, and Austria. He retired in 2021 and went into coaching. He was the skills coach and the Director of Skills Development for the ECHL's Utah Grizzlies franchise in 25-26, and is currently an asst. coach for the Schwenniger Wild Wings of the DEL in Germany. 

Gavin Bayreuther - 2022 - Undrafted out of Canaan, New Hampshire.

Bayreuther played 103 games for Columbus and totaled 23 points over three seasons. He also played for the Dallas Stars.

He was made famous in 2021 when he was selected by the Seattle Kraken in the NHL Expansion Draft. One week later, he signed a two-year deal with Columbus, marking the end of his long tenure with Seattle.

After playing a season in Switzerland for Lausanne HC, he came back to North America and played for the Chicago Wolves of the AHL last year. He is currently unsigned and is running the Bayreuther Hockey Club in Maine. BHC is a skills camp for young hockey players. 

Denton Mateychuk - 2025 - Drafted by Columbus in 2022. 

Mateychuk was called up midway through the 24-25 season and never looked back. He played in 45 games for the CBJ and scored 13 points. He was also a plus-4, which isn't bad for a young defenseman. 

Before being called up from the Cleveland Monsters, he was having a good season in the AHL. Playing in just 27 games, he scored 9 goals and totaled 25 points, so the Jackets had no choice but to call him up. 

Mateychuk earned a spot on the NHL's All-Rookie Team for his play in 24-25 and put up 31 points in his first full NHL season last year. 

This season, Mateychuk will be expected to take yet another step forward and help his club into the playoffs.  

The Vancouver Canucks are in a complicated situation with their goaltenders. As of writing, Vancouver has four goalies on the NHL roster in Thatcher Demko, Kevin Lankinen, Nikita Tolopilo and Leevi Meriläinen. With all needing waivers to be sent to the AHL, the Canucks could lose one or even two for free during the 2026-27 season. 

The first piece of the puzzle Vancouver needs to sort out is the Demko timeline. At this stage of the year, there is no clarity on when the 30-year-old will return. All that is known right now is that Demko will be placed on some form of IR to start the season, meaning he will not count toward the 23-man roster. 

Shifting to the other three goaltenders, it appears a decision will soon be made on whether someone will be exposed to waivers. Given that the Canucks just claimed Meriläinen, it appears that Tolopilo would be the odd-man out if Vancouver elects to keep just two goalies on the NHL roster. When asked about keeping three goaltenders on the NHL roster, GM Ryan Johnson had this to say. 

"It's not something that I've intended to do, kind of all summer," said Johnson. "Obviously, we'll get through tomorrow night. Three goaltender system, from my experience, at any level is is complicated for everybody and more so the the goalies themselves. But like I said, we've got to just take it a step at a time here. Get through tomorrow night's game and make some decisions on Sunday."

The big question Johnson and his staff have to ponder is whether they'll lose Tolopilo on waivers. The 26-year-old struggled in 2025-26, but has shown well in the AHL since arriving in North America three years ago. Like with every player, there is risk in placing Tolopilo on waivers, but it may be an unavoidable decision the Canucks have to make. 

How Vancouver manages its goaltenders this year will be worth watching. Whether it is this week or when Demko eventually returns, Johnson and his staff will have to make tough decisions that could result in a player being lost on waivers. While having multiple NHL-level goaltenders in the organization is a positive, it can create problems, especially when all need to pass through waivers. 

Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, don't forget to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum. This article originally appeared on The Hockey News.

Latest From THN’s Vancouver Canucks Site:

Canucks Place Filip Chytil On IR, Expected To Miss Start Of The 2026-27 Season

Canucks Re-Assign Forward Braeden Cootes To The AHL

Canucks Claim Leevi Meriläinen Off Waivers, Matt Stienburg Headed To Abbotsford

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The Chicago Blackhawks are going to close out the preseason with a match against the St. Louis Blues. The United Center will be the setting as the Blackhawks look to get certain players ready for the regular season one last time. 

Players who have more than 100 games of NHL experience are not allowed to play more than two of the four preseason games. For Chicago, this eliminates eligibility for Frank Nazar, Landon Slaggert, Kevin Korchinski, and Wyatt Kaiser. 

Chicago also made it clear that they are saving Patrick Kane's first appearance at home for the regular season, so he will sit this one out as well. 

Scouting St. Louis 

The St. Louis Blues are going to go with a mostly NHL lineup for this game against the Blackhawks. On the final night of the preseason, St. Louis is also looking to get their guys ready for the games to begin for real. 

The Blackhawks faced the Blues two nights ago in St. Louis, and they used a lineup that was about half of their opening night group. There was no captain Robert Thomas, Dylan Holloway, Philip Broberg, or Jimmy Snuggerud among others. Some of them may get action in this game. 

Jordan Binnington was the starter in the last game (and shut out the Blackhawks), so you can expect to see Joel Hofer in this one at the United Center. 

UPDATE: This is the lineup that the St. Louis Blues will be using:

#stlblues projected lineup vs. Chicago:

Holloway-Thomas-Snuggerud
Buchnevich-McTavish-McMichael
Neighbours-Dvorsky-Berggren
Toropchenko-Suter-Dean

Broberg-Mailloux
Lindstein-Parayko
Fowler-Carlo

Hofer
Romanov

— Jeremy Rutherford (@jprutherford) September 26, 2026

#stlblues projected lineup vs. Chicago:

Holloway-Thomas-Snuggerud
Buchnevich-McTavish-McMichael
Neighbours-Dvorsky-Berggren
Toropchenko-Suter-Dean

Broberg-Mailloux
Lindstein-Parayko
Fowler-Carlo

Hofer
Romanov

— Jeremy Rutherford (@jprutherford) September 26, 2026

(9-26-26) Blues-Blackhawks Preseason Gameday Lineup -- #stlblues to get good look at majority of their regular season lineup in preseason finale; Dean to play in all four preseason games: https://t.co/2r4c2PLt1i

— Lou Korac (@lkorac10) September 26, 2026

Projected Lines, Defense Pairs, & Goalie For Chicago

The Blackhawks, as mentioned before, have a few different reasons for this not being a true Opening Night group to close out the preseason. Instead, they will line up like this:

Bertuzzi-Frondell-Mangiapane

Donato-Moore-Greene

Teravainen-Kantserov-Lardis

Boucher-Toninato-Smith

Vlasic-Byram

Del Mastro-Levshunov

Cole-Rinzel

Knight

This is a chance for Andrew Mangiapane, Teuvo Teravainen, and Ethan Del Mastro to make a last chance effort to impress the coaching staff before some hard decisions are made. 

The Blackhawks are going to get a look at Roman Kantserov at center for the first time in a preseason game. Kantserov is seen in North America as a goal-scoring winger, but he actually played center for most of his KHL season last year, in which he led the league in goals. 

Anton Frondell and Oliver Moore will be the centers ahead of Kantserov in the lineup. Behind them is Dominic Toninato, who will be with the IceHogs this season as a great veteran. 

The last time Bowen Byram was on the ice for a preseason game, Monday at the United Center, he scored a hat trick capped off by an overtime winner. He will once again be paired with Alex Vlasic in this one. 

Spencer Knight is scheduled to play the entire game for the Blackhawks. Arvid Soderblom was excellent in St. Louis on Thursday, and Knight is going to go in this one. For now, this is your tandem headed into 2026-27. 

How To Watch

You can hear the game locally on AM 720 WGN in the Chicagoland area. You can watch the game locally on CHSN. The puck will drop shortly after 6:00 PM CT. National audiences can also watch the game on NHL Network.

Visit The Hockey News Chicago Blackhawks team site to stay up to date on the latest news, game-day coverage, player features, and more.

For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive, and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting on the article below on THN.com or by creating your own post in our community forum.

The end of the preseason concludes on Saturday for the St. Louis Blues (1-2-0), who will close things out with another game against the Chicago Blackhawks (1-1-1) at United Center at 6 p.m. (stlouisblues.com, Blues app, ESPN 101.1-FM).

The Blues and Hawks will play for the second time in three days after the Blues took a 1-0 win on Thursday at Enterprise Center, thanks to a third-period Calle Rosen goal, just one of 36 shots the Blues were able to get past Arvid Soderblom, who was really good for Chicago.

It was a game in which the Blues could have conceivably scored anywhere from 3-6 goals had it not been for the Chicago goalie, and even in preseason, it’s more of what Blues coach Jim Montgomery was looking for after a couple of less-than-stellar identical 2-1 losses to the Dallas Stars.

“Yes, and the physicality and winning battles was excellent,” Montgomery said of Thursday’s game. “We were really connected and we were really hard. Everybody was pulling on the rope.”

- - -

The Blues will play most of their opening night lineup in this one and left for Chicago on Friday to get acclimated with travel with the regular season slated for Oct. 2 against the Stars, and with the new CBA in place that limits those that have 100 or more games of NHL experience, there are a couple of players that cannot play in tonight’s game because they have already played in two preseason games, and they include Ross Johnston, Dillon Dube and Jordan Binnington.

So Zach Dean, who barring anything unforeseen by Monday’s 23-man NHL-mandated roster deadline of 4 p.m. (CT) will be on the opening night roster, will play on the fourth line in place of Johnston.

“Just continue to improve his game all around,” Montgomery said of Dean. “He’s shown really well. We’re excited about him. Show the speed, show the tenacity, get pucks to the net. Has had great chances, just hasn’t buried on them.”

Dean and Dube have won out the 13th and 14th forward slots with Oskar Sundqvist, Nathan Walker and Jack Finley all placed on waivers Friday and will know their fates by 1 p.m. (CT) Saturday whether any of them are claimed by someone or not, and if not, each will be assigned to Springfield of the American Hockey League.

- - -

Blues Projected Lineup:

Dylan Holloway-Robert Thomas-Jimmy Snuggerud

Pavel Buchnevich-Mason McTavish-Connor McMichael

Jake Neighbours-Dalibor Dvorsky-Jonatan Berggren

Alexey Toropchenko-Pius Suter-Zach Dean

Philip Broberg-Logan Mailloux

Theo Lindstein-Colton Parayko

Cam Fowler-Brandon Carlo

Joel Hofer will start in goal and play the full game; Georgii Romanov will be the backup.

- - -

Blackhawks Projected Lineup:

Tyler Bertuzzi-Anton Frondell-Andrew Mangiapane

Ryan Donato-Oliver Moore-Ryan Greene

Teuvo Teravainen-Roman Kantserov-Nick Lardis

Dillon Boucher-Dominic Toninato-Cole Smith

Alex Vlasic-Bowen Byram

Ethan Del Mastro-Artyom Levshunov

Ian Cole-Sam Rinzel

Spencer Knight will start in goal; Drew Commesso is projected to be the backup.

Zach Dean, Dillon Dube To Make St. Louis Blues Opening Night RosterForwards won out competition over Oskar Sundqvist, Nathan Walker, Jack Finley, who were put on waivers Friday

Blues Assign Four Players To Springfield, Including 2024 First-Round Pick Adam JiricekDefenseman, who was exceptional in 1-0 win over Blackhawks on Thursday, goes to Thunderbirds along with Aleksanteri Kaskimaki, Dylan Peterson, Otto Stenberg

For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.