NHL Daily Update: Projected Lineups, Starting Goalies, and Injury News (October 7, 2025)

As the 2025-26 NHL season gets underway, here’s a comprehensive look at projected lineups, starting goalies, and the latest injury updates impacting teams across the league. This report provides insights to help fans stay informed.

Projected Lineups and Starting Goalies

Here's a look at some projected lineups and starting goalies for today's games:

Blackhawks vs. Panthers (5 p.m. ET)

• Blackhawks: Andre Burakovsky -- Connor Bedard -- Ryan Donato, Tyler Bertuzzi -- Frank Nazar -- Teuvo Teravainen, Ilya Mikheyev -- Jason Dickinson -- Colton Dach, Nick Foligno -- Ryan Greene -- Sam Lafferty. Defense: Matt Grzelcyk -- Sam Rinzel, Wyatt Kaiser -- Artyom Levshunov, Ethan Del Mastro -- Connor Murphy. Starting Goalies: Spencer Knight (Expected), Arvid Soderblom.
• Panthers: Eetu Luostarinen -- Anton Lundell -- Sam Reinhart, Carter Verhaeghe -- Sam Bennett -- Brad Marchand, Mackie Samoskevich -- Evan Rodrigues -- Jesper Boqvist, A.J. Greer -- Luke Kunin -- Jonah Gadjovich. Defense: Gustav Forsling -- Aaron Ekblad, Niko Mikkola -- Seth Jones, Dmitry Kulikov -- Jeff Petry. Starting Goalie: Sergei Bobrovsky (Confirmed), Daniil Tarasov.

Penguins vs. Rangers (8 p.m. ET)

• Penguins: Rickard Rakell -- Sidney Crosby -- Ville Koivunen, Anthony Mantha -- Evgeni Malkin -- Justin Brazeau, Tommy Novak -- Ben Kindel -- Philip Tomasino, Connor Dewar -- Blake Lizotte -- Noel Acciari. Defense: Parker Wotherspoon -- Erik Karlsson, Ryan Shea -- Kris Letang, John Ludvig - Jack St. Ivany. Starting Goalie: Tristan Jarry (Expected).
• Rangers: J.T. Miller -- Vincent Trocheck -- Artemi Panarin, Chris Kreider -- Mika Zibanejad -- Kaapo Kakko, Will Cuylle -- Dylan Holloway -- Jake Neighbours, Barclay Goodrow -- Adam Oates -- Julien Gauthier. Defense: Ryan Lindgren -- Adam Fox, K'Andre Miller -- Jacob Trouba, Erik Gustafsson -- Braden Schneider. Starting Goalie: Igor Shesterkin (Confirmed).

Avalanche vs. Kings (10:30 p.m. ET)

• Avalanche: Artturi Lehkonen -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Martin Necas, Jonathan Drouin -- Ross Colton -- Valeri Nichushkin, Andrew Cogliano -- Fredrik Olofsson -- Logan O'Connor, Joel Kiviranta -- Ben Meyers -- Peter Holland. Defense: Devon Toews -- Cale Makar, Bowen Byram -- Samuel Girard, Jack Johnson -- Josh Manson. Starting Goalie: Scott Wedgewood (Expected).
• Kings: Quinton Byfield - Anze Kopitar - Adrian Kempe, Kevin Fiala - Pierre-Luc Dubois - Trevor Moore, Alex Laferriere - Phillip Danault - Arthur Kaliyev, Jaret Anderson-Dolan - Blake Lizotte - Samuel Fagemo. Defense: Mikey Anderson - Drew Doughty, Vladislav Gavrikov - Matt Roy, Andreas Englund - Jordan Spence. Starting Goalie: Darcy Kuemper (Expected).

Injury Updates

Several key players are starting the season on the injured list:

• Anaheim Ducks: Harkins, Jansen is on injured reserve.
• Buffalo Sabres: Greenway is expected to miss most of training camp following core surgery. Luukkonen and Kesselring are week-to-week and will be re-evaluated next week. Power is injured. Samuelsson is also sidelined.
• Chicago Blackhawks: Brossoit is out long-term after undergoing hip surgery. Anderson, Joey and Slaggert, Landon are on injured reserve.
• Colorado Avalanche: O'Connor is dealing with a hip injury and is expected to return in November. Francouz is battling a groin injury. Blackwood and Girard are on injured reserve.
• Columbus Blue Jackets: Marrelli is dealing with a shoulder injury.
• Dallas Stars: Benn has a collapsed lung and is expected to miss the start of the season. Back, McDonald, Krys and Wheatcroft are all on injured reserve.
• Edmonton Oilers: Hyman is dealing with an upper body injury and will miss the start of the season, with a potential return in early November.
• Florida Panthers: Barkov is out indefinitely following knee surgery. Tkachuk is dealing with a lower-body injury and is expected to miss the start of the season. Nosek is also expected to miss significant time due to a knee injury. Ekblad and Lundell are on injured reserve.
• Los Angeles Kings: Lewis is uncertain to play due to an undisclosed injury, while Perry is out with a knee injury. Laferriere is day-to-day. Booth is dealing with a lower-body injury.
• Minnesota Wild: Zuccarello is dealing with a lower-body injury and will miss the start of the season. Maroon is uncertain to play. Sturm is also injured.
• New York Islanders: Varlamov is on injured reserve with a knee injury.
• Pittsburgh Penguins: Hayes, McGroarty and Rust are injured.
• San Jose Sharks: Afanasyev and Thompson are injured.
• St. Louis Blues: Sundqvist is injured.
• Vegas Golden Knights: Pietrangelo is injured.
• Washington Capitals: Roy is injured.
• Winnipeg Jets: Dube is on indefinite leave for personal reasons. Lowry, Perfetti, Toews, Samberg, and Walton are all on injured reserve.

Goaltending Notes

With the increased workload of an 82-game season, teams rarely use the same starting goalie in back-to-back games. The typical NHL starting goalies play around 50-60 games per year. Identifying each starting goalie's strengths and weaknesses is important because some perform better against certain teams or play styles. The confirmed and probable starting goalies significantly impact betting odds.