Crouse missed Monday’s practice with an upper-body injury which makes him questionable heading into Thursday’s game vs. the Golden Knights. With Crouse hurt, Barrett Hayton will likely make his NHL debut this week.
Hellebuyck gave up five goals on 31 shots in the Jets loss in New York last Thursday. Laurent Brossoit started the last two games but the Jets will come back to Hellebuyck tonight in Pittsburgh. The Penguins have had one bad game and one good game but come into Tuesday without Evgeni Malkin and Nick Bjugstad, who are both out with lower-body injuries.
Cole is on injured reserve as he recovers from offseason hip surgery but he is nearing his season debut. Cole was on the ice for Monday’s practice and was cleared for contact. Look for Cole to potentially be inserted into the Avalanche lineup at some point this week.
Timmins, who did not record a point while averaging just 10:24 TOI/gm in his first two career NHL games, heads to the Eagles where he’ll play a much larger role. The 2017 second-round pick (No.32 overall) had 41 points (8G / 33A) in 36 OHL games last year and will be a quality offensive defensman for the Eagles.
Kadri took a shot off of his foot on Saturday and is sore, but head coach Jared Bednar expects him to play vs. the Bruins on Tuesday. Kadri is still searching for his first point with the Avalanche, but has four shots and has averaged 15:55 TOI/gm through two games.
Rittich stopped all 34 shots that he faced in the Flames shutout win over the Canucks on Saturday. It was a strong outing for Rittich, who will need to play well to fend off Cam Talbot for starts. He makes for a strong option vs. the Kings, who surprisingly scored five goals in their season debut—a 6-5 loss in Edmonton. Rittich was 2-0-0 with a 1.00 GAA, .957 SV% and one shutout vs. L.A. last year.
With Dmitry Kulikov away from the team due to a personal matter, Sami Niku comes up from the Moose, where he has two assists in two games this season. With very few quality NHL defensemen on the roster, Niku should play in Pittsburgh on Tuesday—he had four points (1G / 3A) in 30 NHL games last year.
Morrissey missed Sunday’s game against the Islanders but was back at practice this morning and could be back in the lineup on Tuesday. Morrissey skated on the top pair and top power-play unit, which is a good sign for him suiting up in Pittsburgh. Morrissey has averaged an absurd 26:01 TOI/gm through two games on the Jets' new-look blueline.
Kulikov has left the Winnipeg Jets to attend to a “personal family matter.” Josh Morrissey was back on the ice for Monday’s practice and took Kulikov’s spot. Sami Niku will also be recalled from Manitoba (AHL) to provide the Jets with blueline depth while Kulikov is away.
Comtois was sent down to start the season but was quickly recalled after just one game with San Diego. The 20-year-old had two goals and five assists (seven points) in 10 NHL games to start last season.
Both Bjugstad and Evgeni Malkin are expected to miss extended periods of time with lower-body injuries. The Penguins were deep down the middle heading into the season and now will have to rely on players like Jared McCann and Teddy Blueger to centre their middle-6. Bjugstad has missed at least 15 games in three of the last four years.
Durability has always been a concern for Malkin, who has missed 20 percent of the games over the last six years, and now he is expected to miss a large chunk of 2019-20. With Nick Bjugstad also out “longer-term," the Penguins are going to lean heavily on Jared McCann and Teddy Blueger to stabilize their second and third lines.
Bobrovsky allowed three goals on 35 shots in the Panthers win over the Lightning on Saturday. Bobrovsky has allowed seven goals on 64 shots (.890 SV%) in his first two starts with the Panthers, both of them coming against the high-powered Lightning. Tonight he faces a Hurricanes team that has started the season 3-0-0 while ranking second in Shots-per game (38.3) and averaging 3.33 goals per game.
Binnington allowed two goals on 29 shots in the Blues 3-2 win over the Stars on Saturday. Binnington has picked up right where he left off in 2018-19, starting the year 1-0-1 while stopping 58 of the 63 shots (.921 SV%) that he has faced. The Richmond Hill native will make his first start in his hometown on Monday—he stopped 31 of 33 shots in his only career start vs. Toronto.
Kempny was on the ice for Monday’s practice but is not ready to play vs. Dallas. Jonas Siegenthaler is expected to be recalled from Hershey (AHL) and will skate on the top-pair with John Carlson. Kempny remains day-to-day and Thursday is a possible return date for him.
Binnington allowed two goals on 29 shots in the Blues 3-2 win over the Stars on Saturday. Binnington has picked up right where he left off in 2018-19, starting the year 1-0-1 while stopping 58 of the 63 shots (.921 SV%) that he has faced. The Richmond Hill native will make his first start in his hometown on Monday—he stopped 31 of 33 shots in his only career start vs. Toronto.
Ullmark appeared in a career-high 37 games in 2019-20, going 15-14-5 with a 3.11 GAA and .905 SV%. Carter Hutton has had a strong start to the season, but the Sabres view this as a good time to get Ullmark into the crease. He’ll face a Blue Jackets team that has started the season at 0-2 while being outscored 11-3.
Marincin has not recorded a point while averaging 11:00 TOI/gm through two games. Justin Holl will draw in for Marincin on Monday.
Shore has not recorded a point while averaging 9:11 TOI/gm through his first two games of the season. With the fourth line rotation continuing, Shore will be replaced by Jason Spezza on Monday.
Timashov registered two shots in 9:40 TOI on Saturday and has one assist in two games thus far. The fourth-line rotation continues on Monday, which means Nic Petan will replace Timashov on the fourth-line.
