San Jose Sharks right wing Filip Zadina was hurt in Wednesday's preseason encounter with the Ducks and was forced to leave the game in the third period. This was a tough night all around for the Czech winger, as he finished the contest with a minus-two rating and had very little impact on the ice, producing only one shot on goal in 17:32 of action. According to reports, Zadina escaped serious injury, which is great news for the 23-year-old, who is looking to kickstart his career in San Jose after agreeing to terminate his contract with the Red Wings this offseason. San Jose also lost defenseman Radim Simek (lower body) to injury in Wednesday's game.

Montreal Canadiens defenseman Michael Matheson sat out Wednesday's preseason clash versus Ottawa with a lower-body injury. Matheson had a stop-start campaign in 2022-23 due to health issues, so it's definitely a worry that he's dealing with another issue, but according to head coach Martin St. Louis, Matheson would have played if it had been a regular-season game. This suggests that it's only a very minor problem. Matheson played some of the best hockey of his career when healthy last season, recording 34 points (six goals, 26 assists) across 48 outings. He is poised to continue to play a massive role on the Canadiens blue line after averaging a career-high 24:27 of ice time in 2022-23.

Dallas Stars center Roope Hintz missed Wednesday's practice with an upper-body problem. According to head coach Pete DeBoer, Hintz is "dealing with something" with his upper body. DeBoer added that he's not concerned about the ailment, so it's safe to assume Hintz will return to the ice soon. The Finnish forward came close to a 40-goal year in 2022-23 and had a career-high 75 points in 73 games. He's part of one of the best lines in hockey and should continue to crush it in 2023-24.

Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Zach Whitecloud is troubled by an undisclosed injury and isn't expected to see the ice for the rest of the week. The 26-year-old was injured in Monday's preseason game against Colorado. Whitecloud missed significant time last season and must be desperate to avoid another lengthy spell on the sidelines. He featured 59 times during the regular season in 2022-23, registering 12 points (five goals, seven assists) with 97 blocks and 90 hits. Whitecloud added two goals and six assists in 22 playoff outings during the Golden Knights' road to winning the Stanley Cup.