NHL Player News

Sanderson (lower body) will not be available versus the Islanders on Thursday, TSN 1200 Ottawa reports.

Sanderson will be sidelined for his seventh consecutive game after being injured in the season opener versus the Leafs on Oct. 3. With the 24-year-old blueliner still shelved, Artem Zub (knee) and Cameron Crotty (illness) will suit up in Thursday's contest.

Zub (knee) will be in the lineup against the Islanders on Thursday, Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia reports.

Zub will make his season debut after having last played in an NHL game April 18 in a playoff clash with Toronto. In his 81 regular-season appearances last year, the Russian blueliner notched five goals and a career-high 25 assists, all scored without a power-play role.

Markstrom (undisclosed) won't be available for Thursday's home game against the Canucks, Jameson Olive of the Panthers' official site reports.

Akira Schmid was already slated to start Thursday's matchup, but Markstrom won't be able to dress as the backup after also missing Tuesday's game against the Blue Jackets. Head coach Paul Maurice said Thursday that Markstrom will likely return against Ottawa on Wednesday, so it appears as though the netminder will also be unavailable Saturday against Seattle. Schmid will presumably continue to operate as the top goaltender in Markstrom's absence, while Cooper Black will be available as the No. 2 option.

Gudas (undisclosed) won't be an option versus Vancouver on Thursday, instead looking to Saturday's matchup with Seattle, Jameson Olive of the Panthers' official site reports.

Gudas will miss his second straight game due to his undisclosed injury, but at least he has a target return date. With zero points through six games this year, the veteran defenseman is unlikely to be a waiver wire pickup in most leagues once given the all-clear.

Daws will patrol the home crease in Thursday's matchup against the Rangers, per Mike Morreale of NHL.com.

Daws will get his second opportunity between the pipes over New Jersey's last three contests after he displayed vast improvement in his most recent outing. Despite being kept out of the win column for the second straight game, he cut the number of goals he allowed in half from six to three. Overall, the 25-year-old netminder has an 0-2-0 record, a 4.58 GAA and an .824 save percentage across two appearances. He'll look to get back on track in a moderately-tough matchup with the Rangers, who rank 12th in the NHL at 3.38 goals per game. Daws is best left on waivers in fantasy until he can secure his first win of the 2026-27 season.

Vasilevskiy will guard the home net in Thursday's clash against the Kraken, per Benjamin Pierce of the Lightning's official site.

Vasilevskiy will look to bounce back falling to the Rangers on Tuesday for his first loss since Opening Night. Overall, the reigning Vezina Trophy winner has a 3-2-0 record, a 2.46 GAA and an .886 save percentage across five appearances. While his save percentage leaves some room for improvement, the number doesn't tell some aspects of the story, as he's already logged two performances where he's allowed one goal or less. Despite the Kraken being red-hot offensively with 4.00 goals per game to open the new season, Vasilevskiy remains an elite fantasy option for Thursday's matchup.

Schmid is slated to start Thursday's home game against the Canucks, George Richards of Florida Hockey Now reports.

Schmid picked up his first win of the season on the road against the Blue Jackets on Tuesday, turning aside 24 of 27 shots during the 7-3 victory. He'll draw a second consecutive start Thursday, while it isn't yet clear whether Jacob Markstrom (undisclosed) will be available as the backup. If Markstrom doesn't dress, Cooper Black will presumably serve as the No. 2 option.

The Maple Leafs announced Thursday that Tanev (lower body) is considered week-to-week, Mark Masters of TSN reports.

Tanev landed on injured reserve Sunday after he suffered an upper-body injury against Colorado on Saturday. Thursday's update indicates that he'll likely need to spend more than the minimum amount of time on injured reserve before he's in the mix to return to game action. Nick Blankenburg will likely continue to see time in Toronto's lineup while Tanev is sidelined.

Stanley was loaned to AHL Belleville on Thursday.

Stanley heading back to the minors is a sign that Artem Zub (knee) is ready to make his season debut. Across four appearances to begin the 2026-27 season, the 21-year-old Stanley posted a minus-1 rating, four PIM, a shot on goal, two hits and two blocks. He'll look to refine his game with AHL Belleville, where he played six regular-season games and scored a goal a season ago.

Donovan was loaned to AHL Belleville on Thursday.

Donovan was called up by the Senators on Sunday and appeared in one game during his time with Ottawa. However, he'll be sent down ahead of Thursday's matchup against the Islanders, signaling that some of the Senators' injured defensemen could return to action soon. Across three regular-season appearances with Belleville this year, Donovan has been held scoreless.