Thomas has been sidelined by an upper-body injury since the Blues’ season opener. After completing Wednesday’s practice session, head coach Craig Berube told reporters that Thomas could play Thursday. Thomas will likely replace Mackenzie MacEachern in the lineup if he’s available to play.
Bitetto was forced to leave Tuesday’s game vs. The Coyotes after logging 9:05 TOI. Luckily for the Jets, they had an impressive rookie in Ville Heinola sitting on the bench waiting to draw back into the lineup on Thursday.
The rookie defenseman has been a healthy scratch for the last three games but will be back in against the Islanders. Heinola is closing in on nine games played, which will force the Jets to keep him and burn the first year of his ELC or send him down and keep the ELC intact. So far, he has one goal on eight shots and two assists while playing 19:16 ATOI in five games.
Connauton did not appear in a game with the Avalanche during his call-up. With Ian Cole back from offseason hip surgery, Connauton was no longer needed as a reserve defenseman. He heads back to the Eagles, where he had no points, two PIMS and a minus-4 rating in two games.
Nilsson allowed five goals on 36 shots in the Senators' loss to the Blues last Thursday. It was not an ideal season debut and tonight he draws a terrible matchup in Vegas. Nilsson is a combined 14-20-2 on the road over the last two seasons and the Golden Knights have been one of the most dominant home teams in the league, so leave Nilsson on free agency or your bench if you’re crazy enough to roster him.
It looks like the Predators avoided disaster and Forsberg will not miss an extended period of time. Forsberg was forced to leave Tuesday’s game in the late stages and did not return. He was not on the ice for Wednesday’s optional practice and head coach Peter Laviolette said Forsberg will “probably” be a game-time decision on Thursday.
Gibson allowed four goals on 23 shots in the Ducks loss in Boston on Monday. After opening the season with three straight wins, Gibson has lost two in a row while giving up six goals on 51 shots (.882 SV%). Overall, he is 2-0-0 with a 1.00 GAA and .971 SV% on home-ice but could be in tough against a Sabres team that is averaging 4.00 goals per game through six games.
Hutton stopped all 25 shots that he faced in the Sabres shutout win over the Stars on Monday. After a disappointing 2018-19 campaign, Hutton is tied for the league-lead in wins (4), seventh in GAA (1.74) and tied for 10th in SV% (.931) through four starts this year. He’s playing well and the Ducks are 28th in the NHL in scoring (2.17 GF/pg) so Hutton is a solid option on Wednesday.
Gibson allowed four goals on 23 shots in the Ducks loss in Boston on Monday. After opening the season with three straight wins, Gibson has lost two in a row while giving up six goals on 51 shots (.882 SV%). Overall, he is 2-0-0 with a 1.00 GAA and .971 SV% on home-ice but could be in tough against a Sabres team that is averaging 4.00 goals per game through six games.
Reimer allowed three goals on 35 shots in the Hurricanes loss to Columbus lat Saturday. It was Reimer’s first loss of the season and moved him to 2-1-0 with a 2.65 GAA and .933 SV% through three games. The Sharks have struggled in their first six games, but winning a road game in San Jose on the tail-end of a back-to-back is a difficult task for Reimer.
Jones stopped 32 of 33 shots in the Sharks’ win over the Flames on Sunday. It was a huge outing for Jones, who earned his first win of the season and will get the call tonight vs. Carolina. Dating back to the start of last season, Jones is 23-9-4 with an .899 SV% in his last 37 starts at SAP Center.
Stalock stopped all 26 shots that he faced in the Wild’s shutout win in Ottawa on Monday. Devan Dubnyk continues to struggle, so Stalock will start for the second time in three games. He has allowed just one goal on 37 shots (.973 SV%) so far this season. His opponent’s offence has been impressive so far, ranking third in shots/gm (35.3) and 11th in goals/gm (3.50).
Koskinen gave up three goals on 31 shots in the Oilers win in New Jersey last Thursday. Mike Smith started the last two games but they will come back to Koskinen tonight vs. the Flyers. He has won his first two games while stopping 53 of 58 shots (.914 SV%) and catches Philadelphia on the tail-end of a back-to-back.
Russell was a healthy scratch in the last two games but will replace Joakim Nygaard on Wednesday. Nygard is expected to miss 2-to-4 weeks, so Russell could get an extended look in the Oilers’ bottom-6. He has no points, two shots and a minus-1 rating in three games this season.
Perry has missed the first seven games of the season with a fractured foot but will play Wednesday in Columbus. Perry is not the same player he once was, but he’ll get a chance in the top-6 right away, skating on the second line with Roope Hintz and Mattias Janmark.
Georgiev stopped 31 of 32 shots in the Rangers win in Ottawa on October 5th. The Rangers have had a bizarre early-season schedule but they get back in action with a back-to-back on Thursday/Friday. Georgiev’s first outing was impressive and tonight he faces a Devils team that is the only winless team left. They are averaging just 2.17 goals per game (t-28th) through six games.
Nygard has registered one goal on nine shots in his first six career NHL games. Nygard will miss at least two weeks and Patrick Russell will replace him in the lineup on Wednesday.
Koskinen gave up three goals on 31 shots in the Oilers win in New Jersey last Thursday. Mike Smith started the last two games but they will come back to Koskinen tonight vs. the Flyers. He has won his first two games while stopping 53 of 58 shots (.914 SV%) and catches Philadelphia on the tail-end of a back-to-back.
Grubauer gave up three goals on 32 shots in Colorado’s win in Washington on Monday. Grubauer owners could not have asked for a better start to the season. He is 4-0-0 with a 2.51 GAA and .925 SV% in his first four outings and will look to stay undefeated in Pittsburgh. The Penguins are extremely banged up but they still rank third in the league in scoring (4.17 GF/gm).
