The Dallas Stars acquired Michael Bunting at last season's trade deadline, but he couldn't stay in the lineup and was often a healthy scratch in the postseason. He has since struggled to find a new NHL home, but he has agreed to a one-year deal with the Philadelphia Flyers. Bunting scored 33 points (14G / 19A) in 74 games between the Stars and the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Panthers have high expectations for Markstrom after acquiring him in an offseason trade, and they'll turn to him to tend the twine for the third time in four games. The 36-year-old Swedish goalie has been solid early in his return to Florida, the team that drafted him in 2008, posting a 1.40 GAA and .914 SV% in two games (1-0-1). The Panthers enter Tuesday as -114 road favourites against a Los Angeles Kings team that has been outscored 13-8 through two games (0-1-1).
Barkov missed the entire 2025-26 season after undergoing surgery to repair ACL and MCL injuries. After a strenuous recovery, the 31-year-old Barkov was ready to return as an elite offensive producer, but he returned to the sidelines after suffering a lower-body injury in the second game of the season. Fortunately for Barkov, the injuries are unrelated, but he is still expected to miss about two months of hockey.
O'Connor has missed Colorado's first two games of the season with a lower-body injury but returned to practice on Sunday in a regular practice jersey. The 30-year-old is entering his eighth season in Colorado after only managing to appear in 13 games last season due to a hip injury. He will be a key part of the Avalanche's bottom-six when he is fully able to return to the lineup.
L'Heureux's Avalanche debut has had to wait after the bruising forward missed the team's first two games due to a lower-body injury but was a full participant in practice on Sunday. The 23-year-old former 1st-round pick (2021 - 27th overall) appeared in 25 games with Nashville last season, picking up four goals, five points and 25 PIMs.
Robertson was solid last year in his rookie season, tallying 18 points (6G / 12A) in 72 games with thee Rangers. That said, the 25-year-old defenseman will head down to the AHL to spent some time with the Hartford Wolf Pack.
Beaudoin was drafted 24th overall by Utah in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft and is expected to make his NHL debut. The 20-year-old forward scored 88 points (33G / 55A) last season in 54 games with the Barrie Colts (OHL).
With Jake Sanderson (lower body) expected to miss at least two more games, Ottawa recalled Donovan from Belleville (AHL) earlier in the week, but he will return back to the AHLL. The 22-year-old defenseman has spent the past two seasons playing primarily in the AHL. He scored 21 points (4G / 17A) in 61 games last season with Belleville.
Linus Ullmark (undisclosed) exited Ottawa's previous game in the third period, resulting in Johansson being recalled from Belleville (AHL). The 31-year-old Johansson appeared in 25 games with the Tampa Bay Lightning last season (11-10-2), posting a 3.29 GAA and .884 SV%.
Kuemper had a disappointing 2025-26 season, posting a 2.78 GAA and an ugly .891 SV% in 50 games (19-14-15), and did very little to reassure Kings fans that he has returned to form in 2026-27. The veteran 36-year-old goalie had a terrible season-opener, allowing eight goals on 29 shots (.724 SV%) in an 8-4 loss to the Colorado Avalanche. Kuemper hopes for a better result on Tuesday, as the Kings enter action as +106 home underdogs against a Florida Panthers team that has struggled offensively to start the season, scoring just six goals through three games (1-0-2).
Rust suffered an injury late in the preseason and has been sidelined since. The 34-year-old Rust matched a career high with 65 points (29G / 36A) in 72 games last season. He has has success in the past playing on lines with Sidney Crosby and with Evgeni Malkin, so it is unclear where he will line up when he is cleared to play.
Del Mastro will be a healthy scratch on Tuesday to accommodate the return of Bowen Byram (personal). The 23-year-old Del Mastro made his season debut in Chicago's previous game, recording a -2 plus/minus in 15:01 time-on-ice.
Valimaki was the Calgary Flames' 16th overall pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft, but has struggled to become an NHL regular. The 28-year-old Finnish defenseman had a breakout 2022-23 season for the Arizona Coyotes, scoring 34 points (4G / 30A) in 78 games, but struggled to follow that up and has spent significant portions of the past two seasons in the AHL.
Daccord has been excellent to start the 2026-27 season, starting two of Seattle's first three games, and will likely return to the crease on Tuesday against the Vegas Golden Knights. The 30-year-old Daccord has opened the season by saving 56 of 58 shots (.966 SV%) in his first two games (2-0-0). Daccord had a down 2025-26 season, but he'll hope to return to the impressive form he showed in prior years. Seattle enters Tuesday's contest as +148 home underdogs.
Jordan Binnington led the Blues to their first Stanley Cup in the 2018-19 season, but he has struggled to perform at a consistently high level. Last season, the Blues gave an increased workload to Joel Hofer, who eventually outplayed Binnington in the latter half of the season and earned more playing time. Building on that trend, the Blues turned to Hofer in their season opener, and he stopped all 25 shots he faced in a 4-0 win over the Dallas Stars, adding to his case for the team's starting goalie. The Blues enter Tuesday as -140 road favourites against a Chicago Blackhawks team that has been outscored 15-5 in its first three games (0-3-0).
Vejmelka played a career-high 64 games last season and could be due for another busy season, with rookie Sebastian Cossa as his backup. The 30-year-old Vejmelka was perfect in his opening game, saving all 15 shots he faced in a 6-0 win over the Chicago Blackhawks, but struggled in his follow-up outing, allowing three goals on 18 shots (.857 SV%) in a 4-2 loss to the New York Rangers. The Mammoth enter Tuesday as slight +111 road underdogs against a New Jersey Devils team coming off an embarrassing 6-0 loss to the New York Islanders.
Shesterkin was named the NHL's opening-week first star and will hope to build on that momentum heading into week two. The 30-year-old Russian goalie posted a stellar 1.67 GAA and .934 SV% in three games (2-1-0), capping it by scoring his first career goal into an empty net in a 5-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Rangers enter Tuesday as -151 home favourites against a New York Islanders team coming off a dominant 6-0 win over the New Jersey Devils.
Veleno exited Sunday's game with a lower-body injury and will remain sidelined for at least a week, beginning with Tuesday's game against the New York Islanders. The 26-year-old forward is averaging 11:37 time-on-ice and has zero points through four games this season.
