Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman John Klingberg couldn't complete Wednesday's preseason contest versus Buffalo after "something tightened up" on him early in the game. According to head coach Sheldon Keefe, it was a precautionary move, but Klingberg will be evaluated further on Thursday. Klingberg is set to play a big role for the Maple Leafs in 2023-24, as he's been trusted with quarterbacking the first power-play unit. The Swedish blue-liner has been very impactful with the man advantage throughout his career, and he showed his quality in his Maple Leafs debut when Klingberg had a power-play assist and a game-high eight shots on goal in Monday's 4-3 overtime loss to Ottawa.

Winnipeg Jets center Cole Perfetti is getting evaluated for an upper-body injury after taking a hit to the head in Wednesday's preseason game against Calgary. Perfetti's night was cut short in the second period when Flames forward Martin Pospisil delivered him a late shoulder check. The 2022-23 campaign already ended prematurely for Perfetti due to injury, and he will likely be very frustrated if he misses time again. Before suffering a season-ending upper-body injury in February, Perfetti collected 30 points (eight goals, 22 assists) in 51 appearances.

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.