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.
Athanasiou returned to practice on Friday but remains a game-time decision for the Red Wings season opener. Valtteri Filppula rotated with Athanasiou on the power-play in practice, which suggests that head coach Jeff Blashill is prepared to play without Athanasiou.
Point missed the season opener as he recovers from offseason hip surgery and head coach Jon Cooper ruled him out for both games this weekend. Point is expected to be back soon, so monitor his status as the Lightning head into their game in Toronto next Thursday.
Thomas missed Friday’s practice with what is being described as an upper-body injury, believed to be wrist related. Zach Sanford skated in his spot in practice and would likely take Thomas’ spot if he can’t play vs. The Stars on Saturday.
Middleton was set to start the season in the AHL but an injury to Dalton Prout has opened up a roster spot for Middleton to be recalled. He had one assist in three NHL games last season and added 19 points (5G / 14A) in 57 AHL contests.
Prout played 16:05 TOI in the Sharks season opener but has landed on IR with an undisclosed injury. In a corresponding move, the Sharks recalled Jacob Middleton from San Jose (AHL). Prout will miss at least there next three games.
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.
Anderson allowed five goals on 42 shots in the Senators 5-3 loss in Toronto on Wednesday. It was a tough matchup to start the season and things won’t get any easier on Saturday—the Rangers just hung six goals on the Jets on Thursday. Anderson was 13-12-12 with a 3.01 GAA and .917 SV% in 27 starts on home-ice last season.
Sabourin was a great story on opening night. After 308 career AHL games and three ECHL, Sabourin made it to the NHL and scored one goal on three shots in 8:27 TOI. Sabourin was missing from Friday’s practise because he was “sore” but head coach DJ Smith said it’s “likely” that he plays on Saturday.
Athanasiou has missed the last two practices but returned to the ice on Friday afternoon. Athanasiou’s availability for practice suggests that he will be in the lineup for the Red Wings’ season opener on Saturday.
Samsonov was a first-round pick (No.22 overall) in 2015 and is one of hockey’s top goaltending prospects. With Braden Holtby heading into the final year of his contract, the Capitals will want to get a look at exactly what they have in Samsonov. He had a 20-16-1 with a 2.70 GAA and .898 SV% in 37 games with the Hershey Bears (AHL) last year.
Comeau fell awkwardly after being hit in the face with the puck and suffered a lower-body injury in the Stars season opener. It was a tough night for the Stars, who lost Comeau, Roman Polak and Jason Dickinson in the game. They will need to call-up some reinforcements from Texas (AHL) prior to Saturday’s game.
Polak crashed head/shoulder first into the corner boards following a hit attempt and had to be stretchered off of the ice. Head coach Jim Montgomery told reporters post-game that Polak has full use of his extremities, which is great news but Polak will likely be sidelined long-term.
