Schneider finds himself in familiar territory; injured. Schneider allowed two goals on 21 shots before leaving the Devils season opener with an injury. Mackenzie Blackwood came in to replace Schneider in what turned out to be a shootout loss. Blackwood is set up to start Saturday but the Devils may have to recall a backup if Schneider can’t travel.
Halak had a great start to the 2018-19 season but faded a little bit down the stretch. Still, he put together a 22-11-4 season while posting a 2.34 GAA and .922 SV% (both ranked inside the top-10). With the Bruins looking to limit Tuukka Rask’s workload, Halak could conceivably start 35-plus games again in 2019-20, making him one of the best backups to own in fantasy. He’s a solid spot-start in Arizona, who got off to a slow start on Thursday.
Quick was limited to 46 starts last season and went 16-23-7 while posting career-worsts in GAA (3.38) and SV% (.888). You could blame it on playing behind a bad team but his backup, Jack Campbell, was third in the NHL in SV% and fifth in GAA. Entering his 13th season, Quick could bounce-back but don’t bank on it. He was 1-2-0 with a 3.45 GAA and .869 SV% vs. the Oilers last season.
With Frederik Andersen starting last night in Columbus, head coach Mike Babcock will turn to Hutchinson on the tail-end of this early-season back-to-back. Hutchinson played very few games for the Maple Leafs a season ago, going 2-3-0 with a 2.64 GAA and .914 SV% in five starts. His first of 2019-20 will come against a Montreal team that lost 4-3 in a shootout in Carolina in their first game.
Jones surrendered four goals on 35 shots in the Sharks loss in Vegas on opening night. With no Erik Karlsson or Evander Kane, the Sharks were outmanned in Vegas but will get Karlsson tonight on home-ice. Jones was 22-8-4 with a 2.78 GAA and .899 SV% on home-ice last season, so he’s an option tonight but the matchup has proven dicey in the past.
Varlamov went 20-19-9 with a 2.87 GAA and .909 SV% in 49 games with Colorado last season. This summer the Avalanche let him walk in free agency, where he signed to take over for Robin Lehner in their timeshare. He draws a tough assignment for his Islanders debut with the Capitals in town.
Gardner nearly made the Stars roster out of training camp but injuries to Jason Dickinson (upper-body) and Blake Comeau (lower-body) has re-opened the door for him. He turned pro last year after finishing his fourth season at the University of North Dakota and recorded five points (4G / 1A) in 11 AHL games.
Both Jason Dickinson (upper-body) and Blake Comeau (lower-body) were hurt in the Stars season opener and Caamano and Rhett Gardner were called-up to replace them. Caamano was a fifth-round pick in 2016 and is coming off of a season in which he posted 12 goals and 12 assists (24 points) in 73 AHL games last season.
Dickinson played just 6:14 TOI before leaving Thursday’s game with an upper-body injury. With Blake Comeau also suffering an injury last night, the Stars have recalled Nick Caamano and Rhett Gardner from Texas (AHL).
Comeau fell awkwardly after taking a puck to the face and suffered a lower-body injury that will cost him a couple of weeks. The Stars recalled Rhett Gardner and Nick Caamano from Texas (AHL) to fill-in for Comeau and Jason Dickinson (upper-body).
Polak had to be stretchered off of the ice after going head-first into the corner boards on Thursday and suffered a fractured sternum. Polak is expected to be sidelined long-term but the Stars will probably provide a more detailed timetable after he is re-evaluated next week.
Lagesson, 23, was a fourth-round pick of the Oilers in 2014 and this is his first taste of the NHL. The 6-foot-2, 207 lbs. defenseman had 27 points (8G / 19A) in 67 AHL games last season and he will likely serve as an extra defenseman while Adam Larsson is out.
Bear was sent to the AHL on Thursday but it was always believed to be a “paper move” while they moved Adam Larsson to LTIR. Bear is back with the big club and should be in the lineup on Saturday.
Schmidt was hurt in the first period of the season opener and is expected to miss at least a couple of weeks with a lower-body injury. With Schmidt sidelined, Nicolas Hague will draw into the Golden Knights lineup and make his NHL debut on Friday.
Hague was picked in the second-round (No.34 overall) in 2017 and is set to replace Nate Schmidt (lower-body) in San Jose on Friday. The 20-year-old defenseman had 32 points (13G / 19A) in 75 games with Chicago (AHL) last year. Hague will play on the third pair and second power-play unit in his NHL debut.
Jones surrendered four goals on 35 shots in the Sharks loss in Vegas on opening night. With no Erik Karlsson or Evander Kane, the Sharks were outmanned in Vegas but will get Karlsson tonight on home-ice. Jones was 22-8-4 with a 2.78 GAA and .899 SV% on home-ice last season, so he’s an option tonight but the matchup has proven dicey in the past.
Andersen allowed three goals on 26 shots in the Maple Leafs 5-3 win over the Senators on opening night. Getting the ‘W’ is all that matters, but Andersen will be hoping for better performances in the future. He is a great option against a Blue Jackets team that lost a few key pieces this offseason.
Fleury stopped 21 of 22 shots in the Golden Knights opening night win over the Sharks. Tonight they will face-off again, this time in San Jose and with Erik Karlsson in the lineup. Fleury was 17-10-1 with a 2.64 GAA and .908 SV% on the road last year and should be a fine option on Friday.
Karlsson missed the season opener in Vegas to be with his wife for the birth of their child but will play tonight vs. the Golden Knights. Karlsson will look to build off of a solid first season in San Jose—his 1.8 SH% is bound to bounce-back and a healthy season could result in 60-plus assists.
Georgiev had a solid rookie campaign, going 14-13-4 with a 2.91 GAA and .914 SV% in 33 games as Henrik Lundqvist’s backup. Depending on how King Henrik plays, Georgiev could be in-line for an even bigger workload in his second full-season. Overall, he has a .915 SV% in 39 career starts and is a solid spot-start option against a bad Senators team.
