New York Rangers goaltender Joonas Korpisalo (lower-body) will be on the shelf to start the season. He was placed on Injured Reserve Thursday and is considered week-to-week. It's unclear when Korpisalo was hurt. The Finnish veteran dressed as Igor Shesterkin's backup on Tuesday as the Rangers opened the season with a 3-0 loss to the Boston Bruins. With the Rangers starting a back-to-back set on Thursday against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Korpisalo was expected to make his Rangers debut. Instead, Dylan Garand has been called up from the minors and could face the Detroit Red Wings on Friday, with Shesterkin confirmed as the starter for Thursday's matchup.

Detroit Red Wings center Dylan Larkin (upper body) will miss the first two games of the season, Nicholas J. Cotsonika of NHL.com reports. The former Red Wings captain has failed to shake off an upper-body injury. Detroit faces the New York Rangers on Friday, then takes on the Winnipeg Jets in a Sunday matinee. In Larkin's absence, Andrew Copp has worked as the first-line center in practice. He is also poised for increased power-play usage until Larkin returns. Copp had one of the best seasons of his career offensively in 2025-26 and is now in a great position to keep the momentum.

Edmonton Oilers goaltender Devon Levi has been named the starter for Thursday's rematch against the Vancouver Canucks. Edmonton also faced Vancouver in its season opener a couple of nights ago, with Tristan Jarry between the sticks. The former Penguin had a horrible outing, giving up six goals on 23 SOG in a 6-5 overtime loss. Jarry's early struggles gave Levi a chance to earn a bigger role. He already benefits from the absence of Frederik Andersen (knee), who isn't expected to be available until December. Levi has been a highly rated goaltender, but his 2025-26 campaign with the Buffalo Sabres wasn't good, as he finished with a 2-7-0 record, a 4.12 goals-against average, and a .872 save percentage.

Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Damon Severson (shoulder) is week-to-week. He's already been ruled out for the first two games of the season, but Severson could miss even more time as he continues to recover from shoulder surgery. Ivan Provorov (lower body) and Dante Fabbro (upper body) are also week-to-week, so Columbus will miss half of its regular defense in Thursday's season openers against Buffalo. Denton Mateychuk, Carson Soucy, and Emil Andrae all have added fantasy value due to the injuries.