Arvidsson has been officially ruled out for the Kings' season opener against the Avalanche on Wednesday night. Due to salary cap constrictions, the Kings are expected to skate with only 11 forwards. Arvidsson remains day-to-day as Trevor Lewis is projeted to jump into his third-line spot alongside Phillip Danault and Trevor Moore.
Demko struggled with a 14-14-4 record and a .901 SV% to go alongside a 3.16 GAA in an injury-plagued 2022-23 campaign but will start the Canucks' opener Wednesday vs. Edmonton. The 27-year-old is entering his seventh NHL season and has a career .910 SV% and 2.90 GAA. He hosts the Oilers who finished 2022-23 first in the NHL in goals (325), power play percentage (32.4%), and sixth in shots per game (33.6).
Hellebuyck is fresh off signing a huge seven-year contract extension worth a whopping $59.5 million and seems likely to get the start in the Jets' season-opener against the Flames. Hellebuyck has had one of the heaviest workloads amongst NHL goaltenders over the last half-decade and will likely continue with that trajectory this season. In 64 games last season (37-25-2), he posted a 2.49 GAA and a .920 SV% along with four shutouts. The Jets are +116 road underdogs against a Flames team that is looking to improve on their 19th-ranked offence from last season (3.15 goals/GM). Last season, Hellebuyck had a losing record against the Flames (1-2-0) despite posting an impressive 2.71 GAA and .924 SV% in those games.
Podkolzin recorded seven points (4G / 3A) in 39 games with Vancouver last season to go with 18 points (7G / 11A) in 28 games with Abbotsford (AHL). Vancouver's first-round pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft will likely see time between both squads again this season. Akito Hirose was recalled from Abbotsford but is unlikely to see much playing time with Vancouver's recent addition of Sam Lafferty.
Markstrom struggled in 2022-23 with a 23-21-12 record, a .892 SV%, and a 2.92 GAA and will take the crease for Calgary's season opener vs. Winnipeg on Wednesday. The 33-year-old veteran is entering his 14th NHL season and fourth with the Flames. He faces the Jets, who finished last season 21st in the NHL in both goals (246) and shots per game (30.3).
Lundell missed the Panthers' practice Wednesday for precautionary reasons and is expected to play in their opener vs. Minnesota on Thursday but is a game-time decision. The 22-year-old is entering his third full NHL season with Florida and had 12 goals, 21 assists, 152 SOG, 43 PIMs, and a +1 plus/minus in his sophomore campaign in 2022-23. The Panthers should provide an injury update closer to game-time Thursday.
Husso is entering his fourth NHL season after posting a 26-22-7 record, .896 SV%, and 3.11 GAA with Detroit in 2022-23 and will be the Red Wings' opening night starter vs. New Jersey. The 28-year-old is entering his second season in Detroit after signing a three-year, $14.5 million deal in the 2021-22 offseason. He draws the tough first task of New Jersey, who finished 2022-23 fifth in both goals for (289) and shots per game (34.4).
Cowan was selected by the Maple Leafs in the first round of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft (28th overall) and had an incredibly impressive training camp but has been reassigned to the London Knights (OHL) for the 2023-24 season. The 18-year-old forward returns to junior hockey where he had 20 goals, 33 assists, 47 PIMs and a +10 plus/minus in 68 games in 2022-23.
Norris' status isn't any more clear after suffering a setback in relation to his ongoing shoulder injury. He is not expected to play in the Senators' season opener, but outside of that his timeline remains completely up in the air. After only being able to play in eight games last season, Norris was hopeful to start the season in his familiar role as the second-line center on a much-improved Ottawa team. He has 93 points (54G / 39A) in 133 career games with the Senators.
The newly signed Korpisalo will likely make his Senators debut tonight against the Hurricanes. Korpisalo is coming off the busiest season of his career, which saw him appear in 39 games (18-14-4) where he posted a 2.87 GAA and .914 SV% between the Columbus Blue Jackets and Los Angeles Kings. Despite being outperformed by Anton Forsberg in the preseason, Korpisalo still performed extremely well in two games (1-1-0), recording a 2.02 GAA and .934 SV% along with a shutout. The two Ottawa goaltenders will likely both see their fair share of action this season but at least to start, Korpisalo gets the priority in the season-opener. The Hurricanes will be without star winger Andrei Svechnikov to start the season. Despite ending the season with the second-best record (52-21-9), the Hurricanes were only mid-pack in terms of goal scoring, ranking 15th with an average of 3.20 goals scored per game. Even so, the Senators are still +160 underdogs against the Hurricanes in their season-opener.
Ullmark is coming off a remarkable season that saw him win the Vezina Trophy and post an absurd 1.89 GAA and .938 SV% in 49 appearances (40-6-1). Like last season, the talented Swedish goaltender should see a near-split in the crease with counterpart Jeremy Swayman but at least for the Bruins' season opener, the nod goes to Ullmark. The Bruins, who allowed the fewest goals in the league last season, are facing a Blackhawks team that travelled from Pittsburgh last night after defeating the Penguins 4-2. Despite the Blackhawks having rookie phenom Connor Bedard in the lineup, the Bruins are still massive -310 home favourites.
Danforth suited up in six games for the Blue Jackets last season, recording three points (2G / 1A). He is projected to start the 2023-24 season on the third line, playing alongside Kirill Marchenko and Adam Fantilli. The undrafted 30-year-old winger has played 51 games in his NHL career, all with Columbus.
Andersen battled injuries last season, as he has for several seasons now, allowing him to suit up in only 34 games (21-11-1) where he posted a 2.48 GAA and .903 SV%. The Carolina Hurricanes opted to re-sign him and Antti Raanta in the offseason, indicating that there will probably be a similar goalie rotation in the Hurricane crease this season. In two appearances this preseason (1-0-0), Andersen posted a sparkling 1.30 GAA and .946 SV%. There are several high-caliber offensive threats on the Ottawa Senators roster but the defensive structure of Rod Brind'Amour and the Hurricanes should prove challenging for any team to penetrate. As a team last season, the Hurricanes allowed an average of only 2.56 goals per game, good for second in the NHL.
After a successful first season with the Toronto Maple Leafs, in which he competed for the starting role, Samsonov will begin the 2023-24 campaign as the undisputed starting goalie for the Maple Leafs. Samsonov posted a 2.33 GAA and .919 SV in 42 games (27-10-5) last season, awarding him a one-year, $3.55 million contract through arbitration. Samsonov faced some difficulties in the preseason but still managed a 2-0-1 record despite a pedestrian 2.96 GAA and .879 SV%. Even so, Samsonov should feel confident facing a Montreal Canadiens team that ranked seventh-worst offensively last season, averaging only 2.77 goals per game. Conversely, the Maple Leafs ranked seventh-best defensively, allowing an average of 2.68 goals per game. In two contests against the Canadiens last season, Samsonov posted a 1.99 GAA and .923 SV% along with a 1-0-1 record.
Arvidsson is considered day-to-day with a lower-body injury and is questionable to play on Wednesday. If he's unavailable, the Kings will likely have to play a man short due to cap constraints.
Grubauer was 17-14-4 with a 2.85 GAA and .895 SV% in 2022-23 with Seattle and is their likely starter for their opener Tuesday vs. Vegas after he was the first goalie off the ice at the team's morning skate. He will face the reigning Stanley Cup Champions in Vegas, who were 14th in the NHL in 2022-23 in goals for (267) and 15th in shots on goal per game (31.5).
Jarry picked up 24 wins for the Penguins in the 2022-23 season to go along with a 2.90 GAA and a .909 SV% across 47 appearances. He is expected to command a heavy workload for the Penguins this season and will get the nod in their season opener against Chicago. Jarry looks to be one of the safer starts on the slate as the Penguins are heavy favourites over Connor Bedard’s Blackhawks tonight.
Grubauer was 17-14-4 with a 2.85 GAA and .895 SV% in 2022-23 with Seattle and is their likely starter for their opener Tuesday vs. Vegas after he was the first goalie off the ice at the team's morning skate. He will face the reigning Stanley Cup Champions in Vegas, who were 14th in the NHL in 2022-23 in goals for (267) and 15th in shots on goal per game (31.5).
