Lightining’s head coach Jon Cooper said he didn’t know why Point left practice but said he “will be fine” for Saturday’s game. Point scored the Lightning’s only goal vs. the Canucks on Thursday.
Donato was a healthy scratch on Thursday but will likely draw in for Danton Heinen vs. the Red Wings. Donato has one goal on four shots while averaging 13:26 TOI/GM through his first three games of the season.
Rask allowed three goals on 31 shots in the Bruins win over the Senators on Monday afternoon. It was a nice bounce-back effort from Rask, but he will need to play well to stay ahead of Jaroslav Halak on the depth chart. He is a must-start on Saturday vs. the Red Wings—he was 3-0-0 with a 1.67 GAA and .946 SV% vs. Detroit last year.
Dauphin has not appeared in an NHL games this season, but has one goal and an assist in his only AHL contest. He will likely spend most of the season in the AHL, but will be one of the first forwards to be called-up.
Ericsson was on the ice for Friday’s practice but his upper-body injury has not shown enough improvement so he is skating to keep his conditioning intact. Libor Sulak and Joe Hicketts will remain in the lineup while Ericsson is out.
Cholowski missed Thursday’s game vs. the Maple Leafs and will not play vs. the Bruins on Saturday. Cholowski was on the ice for Friday’s practice, but skated on the “fourth-pair.” Head coach Jeff Blashill suggests that Cholowski “might play Monday.”
Anderson allowed six goals on 44 shots in the Senators loss to the Flyers on Wednesday. The veteran netminder has struggled through three starts this season, allowing a combined 13 goals on 124 shots (.895 SV%). Anderson has been busy early this season, facing an average of 41.3 shots per game so far. The Senators are going to be near the basement this season, so he may face 40-plus shots every night.
Ladd has missed the first three games with the season, starting the season on IR. Ladd returned to practice on Thursday and is considered a game-time decision for Saturday’s meeting with the Predators. The 32-year-old had 12 goals and 17 assists (29 points) in 73 games with the Islanders last season.
Cizikas is day-to-day with a lower-body injury that he suffered during Monday’s game vs. the Sharks and missed Friday’s practice. If Cizikas can’t play, the Islanders may sign Stephen Gionta to a contract and have him draw into the lineup.
Paul, 23, had one goal in 11 games with the Senators last season. The former fourth round pick spent most of the season with Belleville, where he had 14 goals and 13 assists (27 points) in 54 games. Paul has been called-up to take up a roster spot with Ryan Dzingel (lower-body) and Alex Formenton (concussion) landing on IR.
Jaros has been recalled likely to serve as the Senators reserve defenseman while Cody Ceci (upper-body) is on IR. Jaros played in two NHL games with the Senators last season, spending most of the year in Belleville—tallying three goals and 13 assists (16 points) in 44 games.
Formenton left Wednesday’s loss to the Flyers with what was originally described as an upper-body injury. The Senators confirmed on Friday that Formenton sustained a concussion and will head to injured reserve. There is no timetable for his return, but he will miss at least one week.
Dzingel was a game-time decision for the last two games, but it looks like the lower-body injury has finally caught up to him. Dzingel lands on IR, so he will miss at least one week. Nick Paul was recalled from Belleville (AHL) to take Dzingel’s spot on the roster.
Ceci likely suffered the upper-body injury vs. the Flyers on Wednesday. Ceci played a season-low 19:33 TOI vs. the Flyers, suggesting he left the game in the third period. With Ceci out, Christian Jaros has been recalled from Belleville (AHL).
Konecny took an Ivan Provorov shot off of his foot in practice and hobbled off of the ice on Friday morning. This clouds Konecny’s status for Saturday’s game vs. the Golden Knights. If Konecny doesn’t play, the Flyers will be without two of their second line forwards with Nolan Patrick out for at least one week with an upper-body injury.
Patrick was hurt during the Flyers 7-4 in Ottawa on Wednesday. The second-year forward was hit in the face with a stick and later got crushed by Mark Stone and promptly left the ice and didn’t return. Patrick is expected to miss 2-to-4 games if the Flyers original timetable is accurate. Jordan Weal or Mikhail Vorobyev will move up into the second-line centre roll with Patrick out.
Subban stopped all nine shots that he faced after replacing Marc-Andre Fleury in the Golden Knights loss to the Flyers last Thursday. With Fleury facing the Capitals last night, Subban is expected to see the Penguins tonight. The 24-year-old was 5-3-2 with a 3.07 GAA and .905 SV% on the road last season.
Jokiharju missed Wednesday’s practice because of the flu, but traveled to Minnesota and is expected to play tonight. Jokiharju has five assists in his first three games of the season and was bumped to the top power-play unit recently—adding to his growing fantasy value.
Howard allowed two goals on 27 shots in the Red Wings 3-2 shootout loss in Anaheim on Monday. Howard has played well so far this season, stopping 61 of 66 shots (.924 SV%), but has a terrible matchup tonight with the high-powered Maple Leafs in town. Toronto is averaging 5.00 goals per game and their power-play is clicking at 50 percent.
