Holtby surrendered seven goals on 41 shots in the Capitals 7-6 overtime loss in Pittsburgh last Thursday. Holtby started on back-to-back nights, posting a shutout in his first start and then Thursday’s debacle. Tonight he will face the Golden Knights, who have started the season 1-2-0 while averaging just 2.00 goals per game and 3.33 goals against.
Stastny got dumped late in the third period of Monday’s loss to the Sabres and appeared to come up lame. Stastny was cut-down low and didn’t practice on Tuesday, so his status for Wednesday’s game is up in the air. If Stastny is out, Erik Haula is expected to move to centre and Tomas Nosek will play on the second line.
Aberg played 13:47 TOI and was a minus-1 with two PIMS in his Ducks debut but was placed on waivers shortly after. The former second-round pick has had a hard time sticking around in the NHL, so he returns to the AHL where he has 35 goals and 23 assists (58 points) in his last 60 games.
Campbell allowed two goals on 38 shots in the Kings win over the Red Wings on Sunday. Campbell played very well in his first start of the season and will likely be leaned on heavily while Jonathan Quick (lower-body) is on IR. Campbell is 3-0-2 with a 2.25 GAA and .931 SV% in five starts and two relief appearances in his Kings career.
Elliott allowed four goals on 34 shots in the Flyers loss in Colorado on Saturday. The veteran has allowed six goals on 59 shots (.898 SV%) in his first two starts and will play his third straight game tonight vs. the Sharks. San Jose loaded up this offseason, but they’ve averaged just 1.67 goals per game in their first three games of the season.
DeSmith takes over as the Penguins starting goalie with Matt Murray sidelined with a concussion. The 27-year-old was in this position last year, going 6-4-1 with a 2.40 GAA and .921 SV%. DeSmith is a worthwhile pickup while Murray is out, but has a tough first matchup with the Golden Knights in town.
Pickard spent all of last season with the Maple Leafs organization. Pickard appeared in just one NHL game but started 33 with the Marlies (AHL) going 21-9-1 with a 2.31 GAA, .918 SV% and one shutout. The 26-year-old is expected to make his Flyers debut tonight and makes for a desperate spot-start option against a Senators team that has opened the season at 1-1-1.
Fleury allowed four goals on 17 shots in the Golden Knights loss in Buffalo on Monday afternoon. Fleury has one good start sandwiched between two brutal outings to start the 2018-19 season. So far he has allowed a combined 10 goals on 63 shots (.841 SV%) and draws a terrible matchup tonight in Washington.
Anderson-Dolan played 7:26 TOI in his NHL debut on Sunday but will come back out of the lineup tonight in Winnipeg. Kyle Clifford is expected to return to the lineup in his spot.
Gauthier has been a healthy scratch for the first three games of the season but will add some size to the Leafs lineup in Dallas tonight. Gauthier doesn’t bring a lot off offence to the lineup, but is a solid two-way, fourth line centre.
Johnsson has not picked up a point while averaging just 8:26 TOI/GM in the first three games of the season. Tonight he will be replaced by Frederik Gauthier as the Maple Leafs try to add some size to their lineup vs. the Stars.
Nichushkin took part in the Stars morning skate on Tuesday and is expected to make his season debut tonight vs. the Maple Leafs. The 23-year-old has not played in the NHL since the 2015-16 season, but scored 27 goals and 24 assists (51 points) in 86 KHL games since then.
The Kings have announced that goaltender Jonathan Quick is probably closer to week-to-week than day-to-day, which means they will turn to Jack Campbell and Peter Budaj as their goaltending tandem for at least the next couple of weeks. Campbell had a strong showing in his first start and makes for a solid replacement while Quick is sidelined.
Campbell allowed two goals on 38 shots in the Kings win over the Red Wings on Sunday. Campbell played very well in his first start of the season and will likely be leaned on heavily while Jonathan Quick (lower-body) is on IR. Campbell is 3-0-2 with a 2.25 GAA and .931 SV% in five starts and two relief appearances in his Kings career.
Andersen gave up four goals on 23 shots in the Maple Leafs loss to the Senators on Saturday. He was given Sunday night off, so will be back between the pipes tonight in Dallas. The Stars have had a great start to the season, so Andersen is a risky start on the road—he was 15-13-3 with a 3.00 GAA and .910 SV% in 31 starts on the road last year.
Smith allowed four goals on 20 shots in the Flames win over the Canucks on Saturday. Smith faced Vancouver in his first two starts of the season, allowing a combined eight goals on 42 shots (.810 SV%). It has been a rough start to the season for Smith, who is a risky start in Nashville—the Predators are 2-0-0 while scoring seven goals in their first two games.
Hellebuyck allowed five goals on 35 shots in the Jets 5-1 loss in Dallas on Saturday. It was a completely different result from his first start of the season, when he stopped 41 of 42 shots in a win in St. Louis. Tonight he will make his first start on home-ice, where he was 30-5-2 with a 2.31 GAA, .921 SV% and four shutouts last year.
