NHL Line Changes & Fantasy Alerts: Tuesday, Oct 20, 2026
11 games on Oct 20, 2026 produced 34 notable changes: 3 power-play changes (2 up, 1 down), 2 line moves (1 promotions, 1 demotions), 4 big ice-time swings, 7 goalie flips, 12 injury notes and 1 big game. The biggest: Alex Nedeljkovic is now listed as the San Jose Sharks starter (Projected), replacing Yaroslav Askarov.
Biggest changes
Alex Nedeljkovic is now listed as the San Jose Sharks starter (Projected), replacing Yaroslav Askarov.
Goalie change · SJSStarting goalies
Anthony Stolarz is now listed as the Toronto Maple Leafs starter (Projected), replacing Sergei Bobrovsky.
Goalie change · TORStarting goalies
Daniil Tarasov is now listed as the Detroit Red Wings starter (Confirmed), replacing John Gibson.
Goalie change · DETStarting goalies
Devon Levi is now listed as the Edmonton Oilers starter (Expected), replacing Tristan Jarry.
Goalie change · EDMStarting goalies
Leevi Merilainen is now listed as the Vancouver Canucks starter (Expected), replacing Kevin Lankinen.
Goalie change · VANStarting goalies
Changes by team
Pyotr Kochetkov is now listed as the Carolina Hurricanes starter (Expected), replacing Brandon Bussi.
Goalie changeStarting goalies
Daniil Tarasov is now listed as the Detroit Red Wings starter (Confirmed), replacing John Gibson.
Goalie changeStarting goalies
J.T. Compher is on injured reserve: Undisclosed: Compher (undisclosed) joined the Wings for their four-game road trip but won't play versus Seattle on Tuesday, Max Bultman of…
InjuryWho benefits
Devon Levi is now listed as the Edmonton Oilers starter (Expected), replacing Tristan Jarry.
Goalie changeStarting goalies
Philipp Grubauer is now listed as the Seattle Kraken starter (Confirmed), replacing Joey Daccord.
Goalie changeStarting goalies
Brandon Montour played 30:44 (+8:30 vs his recent average).
TOI spikeGame reportTeam lines
Alex Nedeljkovic is now listed as the San Jose Sharks starter (Projected), replacing Yaroslav Askarov.
Goalie changeStarting goalies
Anthony Stolarz is now listed as the Toronto Maple Leafs starter (Projected), replacing Sergei Bobrovsky.
Goalie changeStarting goalies
Jake McCabe is day-to-day: Face: day-to-day.
InjuryWho benefits
Leevi Merilainen is now listed as the Vancouver Canucks starter (Expected), replacing Kevin Lankinen.
Goalie changeStarting goalies
Simon Holmstrom moved onto the top power-play unit with Palmieri, Schenn and Horvat, +3:17 of PP time (2 straight games).
PP1 promotionPickup alertGame reportTeam lines
Matthew Schaefer dropped to D2 from D1 with Stanley.
Line demotionGame reportTeam lines
Philip Broberg moved onto the top power-play unit with Thomas, Holloway and Neighbours, +2:59 of PP time (2 straight games).
PP1 promotionGame reportTeam lines
Esa Lindell is out: Lower Body: out.
InjuryWho benefits
Mikko Rantanen scored a hat trick (3 G, 0 A, 6 SOG).
Hat trickGame report
Jacob Markstrom is on injured reserve: Upper Body: ir.
Injury
Quinton Byfield dropped off PP1.
Off PP1Game reportTeam lines
Joel Edmundson played 20:53 (+5:53 vs his recent average) (2 straight games).
TOI spikePickup alertGame reportTeam lines
Quinton Byfield is day-to-day: Upper Body: day-to-day.
InjuryWho benefits
Corey Perry projects onto PP1 if Quinton Byfield sits (day-to-day).
Projected fill-inPickup alertRisers
Tyson Hinds played 22:43 (+6:23 vs his recent average) (2 straight games).
TOI spikePickup alertGame reportTeam lines
Ben Kindel is out: Undisclosed: out.
InjuryWho benefits
Ilya Solovyov projects onto L4 with Ben Kindel out; he took that spot when Ben Kindel sat before.
Projected fill-inPickup alertRisers
Tommy Novak projects onto PP1 with Ben Kindel out.
Projected fill-inPickup alertRisers
Samuel Girard is day-to-day: Undisclosed: day-to-day.
InjuryWho benefits
Bryan Rust is day-to-day: Lower Body: day-to-day.
InjuryWho benefits
Elmer Soderblom projects onto L1 if Bryan Rust sits (day-to-day); he took that spot when Bryan Rust sat before.
Projected fill-inPickup alertRisers
Tommy Novak projects onto PP1 if Bryan Rust sits (day-to-day).
Projected fill-inPickup alertRisers
Jaden Schwartz played 18:17 (+4:41 vs his recent average) (2 straight games).
TOI spikePickup alertGame reportTeam lines
Jaden Schwartz moved up to L2 with Lehkonen and MacKinnon.
Line promotionPickup alertGame reportTeam lines
John Marino is day-to-day: Upper Body: day-to-day.
InjuryWho benefits
Michael Carcone is on injured reserve: Upper Body: Carcone (upper body) was placed on injured reserve by the Mammoth on Tuesday.
InjuryWho benefits
Mikael Backlund is day-to-day: Upper Body: Backlund (upper body) is day-to-day, according to Eric Francis of Sportsnet on Tuesday.
InjuryWho benefits
Tyson Foerster is day-to-day: Hand: day-to-day.
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.
133 raw deployment changes were checked for this date; 9 passed.
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. Connect your Fantrax, ESPN or Yahoo league and your whole roster is covered. Every email links back to these free pages and has an unsubscribe link.