NHL Line Changes & Fantasy Alerts: Friday, Oct 2, 2026
5 games on Oct 2, 2026 produced 11 notable changes: 7 goalie flips and 4 injury notes. The biggest: Brandon Bussi is now listed as the Carolina Hurricanes starter (Confirmed), replacing Pyotr Kochetkov.
Biggest changes
Brandon Bussi is now listed as the Carolina Hurricanes starter (Confirmed), replacing Pyotr Kochetkov.
Goalie change · CARStarting goalies
Dylan Garand is now listed as the New York Rangers starter (Projected), replacing Igor Shesterkin.
Goalie change · NYRStarting goalies
Igor Shesterkin is now listed as the New York Rangers starter (Projected), replacing Joonas Korpisalo.
Goalie change · NYRStarting goalies
Joel Hofer is now listed as the St. Louis Blues starter (Confirmed), replacing Jordan Binnington.
Goalie change · STLStarting goalies
Joonas Korpisalo is now listed as the New York Rangers starter (Projected), replacing Igor Shesterkin.
Goalie change · NYRStarting goalies
Changes by team
Brandon Bussi is now listed as the Carolina Hurricanes starter (Confirmed), replacing Pyotr Kochetkov.
Goalie changeStarting goalies
Pyotr Kochetkov is now listed as the Carolina Hurricanes starter (Projected), replacing Brandon Bussi.
Goalie changeStarting goalies
Dylan Garand is now listed as the New York Rangers starter (Projected), replacing Igor Shesterkin.
Goalie changeStarting goalies
Igor Shesterkin is now listed as the New York Rangers starter (Projected), replacing Joonas Korpisalo.
Goalie changeStarting goalies
Joonas Korpisalo is now listed as the New York Rangers starter (Projected), replacing Igor Shesterkin.
Goalie changeStarting goalies
Joel Hofer is now listed as the St. Louis Blues starter (Confirmed), replacing Jordan Binnington.
Goalie changeStarting goalies
Jordan Binnington is now listed as the St. Louis Blues starter (Expected), replacing Joel Hofer.
Goalie changeStarting goalies
Dylan Larkin is on injured reserve: Upper Body: Larkin was injured during the preseason and didn't play in the Red Wings' first two regular-season contests, which makes him el…
InjuryWho benefits
Connor Hellebuyck is on injured reserve: Suspension: ir-nr.
InjuryWho benefits
Gustav Forsling is day-to-day: Upper Body: day-to-day.
InjuryWho benefits
Jake Sanderson is day-to-day: Undisclosed: Sanderson appears to be trending in the right direction after missing several days of practice. The fact that the Senators sen…
InjuryWho benefits
How Line Watch works
- •Deployment is rebuilt from the official shift charts: the forward trio and defense pair a player shared the most 5-on-5 time with, and the power-play unit he spent most of the man advantage on.
- •Each game is compared with the player's previous five games (at least three), so a change means a change from his own recent role.
- •Changes that last only one game, come out of blowouts or move by a few seconds are filtered out. What remains is ranked by fantasy impact: first-unit power play and top-line moves first.
FAQ
What is Line Watch?
Line Watch flags fantasy-relevant role changes from the NHL shift charts: players moving onto or off the first power-play unit, forwards and defensemen moving up or down the lineup, new defense partners, and big swings in ice time. Each night gets its own dated digest.
How is a line change detected?
After every game we rebuild each team's lines, pairs and power-play units from who was on the ice together, then compare every player with his own previous five games. A change only counts once the team has three games of history to compare against.
Why are some line changes left out?
Coaches shuffle lines constantly, so a one-game move is usually noise. Power-play and line moves must hold for at least two straight games (three after a blowout decided by 4+ goals). Ice-time swings must be at least three minutes, not come from a blowout, and either repeat or reach five minutes.
Where do goalie and injury alerts come from?
Goalie flips come from our starting-goalie snapshots, taken every 15 minutes: a different goalie listed, or a confirmed starter going back to expected. Injury notes come from the public injury report, matched to NHL players and limited to regular-lineup players.
Can I get these alerts by email?
Yes. Create a free account and follow as many players as you like from their player pages; you get one morning email with their changes. If you connect Yahoo, your roster's changes are included too. Every email links back to these free pages and has an unsubscribe link.