NHL Friday Night Preview: Four Games, Goalie News, Player Props, DFS Targets and Injury Updates

The NHL gives us four games tonight. Three drop the puck at 7 p.m. ET, Rangers at Capitals, Kraken at Red Wings and Penguins at Blue Jackets, and Ducks at Jets closes the slate at 8 p.m. ET. For bettors, fantasy hockey players and DFS grinders, the key is the goaltending. Winnipeg is playing without its star goalie, the Rangers-Capitals matchup has both starters confirmed and three other starters were still unconfirmed when this went up.

With only four games, every roster decision carries weight. Start with the goalie news, then check the injuries, then build from the projected lines. Open the NHL hub, the NHL player news feed and the hot tonight board for live updates through puck drop.

Tonight's Slate

7:00 p.m. ET: Rangers (4-1-0) at Capitals (2-1-0), Capital One Arena, Washington.

7:00 p.m. ET: Kraken (2-2-0) at Red Wings (1-2-0), Little Caesars Arena, Detroit.

7:00 p.m. ET: Penguins (2-2-0) at Blue Jackets (1-1-0), Nationwide Arena, Columbus.

8:00 p.m. ET: Ducks (2-1-0) at Jets (3-0-1), Canada Life Centre, Winnipeg.

Goalie Watch: Who Is Actually Starting

Winnipeg: Connor Hellebuyck is not available. He is suspended indefinitely amid a contract dispute after a trade request and a training camp holdout, and the situation is not an injury. Clay Stevenson is projected to start against Anaheim after stopping 29 of 31 shots in his lone start this season, with Stuart Skinner backing him up. Winnipeg is 3-0-1 on the season.

Rangers at Capitals: Igor Shesterkin is confirmed for New York, per coach Mike Sullivan, and Logan Thompson is confirmed for Washington. Shesterkin is 3-1-0 with a 1.75 goals-against average.

Kraken at Red Wings: John Gibson starts for Detroit, per coach Todd McLellan. Seattle had not confirmed, with Joey Daccord the expected starter over Philipp Grubauer.

Penguins at Blue Jackets: Sergei Murashov is listed for Pittsburgh and Cam Talbot for Columbus.

Ducks at Jets: Lukas Dostal is the expected Anaheim starter but was unconfirmed. He has a 3.66 goals-against average and a .872 save percentage through three games. Track every change on the goaltending leaders page and the player news feed.

Rangers at Capitals

New York comes in on a four-game winning streak, with wins over Tampa Bay, Detroit, Utah and a 5-2 victory over the Islanders (box score). Alexis Lafreniere had a hat trick in that game. Washington beat Pittsburgh 5-3 on Wednesday (box score), with Tom Wilson putting up three points, after losing 3-1 at Tampa Bay.

The projected Rangers top line is Gabe Perreault, Mika Zibanejad and Lafreniere, with Adam Fox on the first power-play unit. Washington is expected to run Tuch, Dubois and Tom Wilson on the top line and Alex Ovechkin on the second line, with Jakob Chychrun on the first power play. Washington defenseman Matt Roy (lower body) is day-to-day and has missed two straight games, and Rasmus Sandin (knee) is out long term.

This is the slate's best goaltending matchup, with both starters confirmed. See the team defense and team offense pages, the power play leaders and the goals board.

Kraken at Red Wings

Seattle is 2-2-0 after a 6-2 home loss to Vegas (box score). Detroit is 1-2-0 and beat Ottawa 5-3 on Tuesday (box score), when Dylan Larkin returned with a goal and an assist and Carter Mazur recorded his first NHL point.

Seattle's projected top line is Jared McCann with Matty Beniers and Mackie Samoskevich. Detroit's projected lines have Viktor Arvidsson with Larkin and Lucas Raymond, and Alex DeBrincat on the second line. McCann, DeBrincat, Larkin and Raymond are the names to watch for goals, shots and points. See NHL props, the hit board and the shots leaders.

Injuries matter here. The Kraken lost defenseman Ryan Lindgren to injured reserve with an upper-body injury that is expected to cost him six to eight weeks. Detroit is without J.T. Compher, Marco Kasper and Mason Appleton, who are each expected to miss at least two games.

Penguins at Blue Jackets

Pittsburgh is 2-2-0 and fell 5-3 at Washington on Wednesday, when Bryan Rust made his season debut. Columbus is 1-1-0.

Pittsburgh's projected top line is Lapierre, Sidney Crosby and Rickard Rakell, with Evgeni Malkin centering the second, and Erik Karlsson paired with Carlile on defense. Columbus is projected to go with Knies, Adam Fantilli and Kent Johnson, and Zach Werenski on the top defensive pair. Defensemen with offensive roles like Karlsson and Werenski are worth a look for shots, assists and points.

Pittsburgh forward Justin Brazeau (lower body) is expected back Saturday, so he is out tonight. Columbus defenseman Damon Severson is back at full practice after shoulder surgery, while Ivan Provorov and Dante Fabbro remain on injured reserve. Check the start/sit board for confirmed lines.

Ducks at Jets

The late game. Anaheim lost 5-2 to Edmonton on Wednesday (box score), with Beckett Sennecke scoring both goals. Winnipeg beat Colorado 3-2 behind a late winner from Kyle Connor (box score), and is 3-0-1.

Mark Scheifele and Connor lead the projected top line for the Jets. Leo Carlsson centers the first line for Anaheim, which will play without Troy Terry, who is on long-term injured reserve. Jets defenseman Josh Morrissey left Wednesday's game with an upper-body injury, and his status for tonight was not confirmed.

Winnipeg is the home team and is 3-0-1, but the goalie situation makes this the game to monitor closest. The goaltending page will show how Stevenson and Skinner stack up.

Injury Report: Who Could Change the Slate

A late goalie change can matter more than any forward absence. These are the notable injuries reported for tonight's four games. Statuses can change, so check the final lineup before you submit a DFS entry or place a wager.

DFS Targets for a Four-Game Slate

These are role- and matchup-based targets, not verified salary rankings. Check the current salary list and the confirmed lines before calling any player a bargain.

Goalies first: verify each starter and his expected workload before anything else. Winnipeg's goalie news deserves special attention, and a late swap in the 8 p.m. Anaheim-Winnipeg game is worth leaving roster flexibility for if the contest allows it.

Value forward: Jared McCann on a top line against a Detroit team missing three forwards, if his salary stays below the slate's most expensive forwards. A goal gives a direct path to a productive night.

Defense differentiators: Erik Karlsson and Zach Werenski can deliver through assists, shots and blocks as well as goals, which makes them tournament options if salary and ownership cooperate.

Winnipeg exposure: Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor anchor a Winnipeg stack, and pairing them captures multiple points from the same scoring sequence. Alternative value: Leo Carlsson gives exposure to Anaheim scoring through assists without relying on him to finish every play.

How to build it: in cash games, prioritize top-line players with stable minutes and power-play roles and avoid unconfirmed goalies. In large-field tournaments, use a correlated line stack and add a defenseman who contributes on the power play. For a contrarian build, try a less popular team stack instead of combining the most expensive scorers. Use the NHL DFS edge tool, the lineup shuffler and NHL projections.

Betting Resources

Prices and totals move all day on hockey, especially when goalies are unconfirmed, so check the board right before puck drop. The NHL verdicts are the one place on this site that gives a call on a game. For research, use NHL props, the hit board, unders, team streaks and the points, assists and plus-minus leaders. To build a ticket, use the NHL parlay page, the AI parlay builder, parlay doctor, slip builder and odds converter.

With four games, check the final starting goalies, line combinations and injury statuses before you lock anything in.

What Comes Next

Pittsburgh forward Justin Brazeau is expected back Saturday. Browse the NHL schedule and the box scores for results.

NHL Tools and Pages

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Teams: Rangers | Capitals | Kraken | Red Wings | Penguins | Blue Jackets | Ducks | Jets | Stars | Hurricanes

Statuses and lineups are as reported on Friday afternoon, October 9, 2026, and can change before puck drop.