Cole skated on the third pair at Wednesday’s practice and has officially been cleared to play. However, head coach Jared Bednar said they haven’t made a decision on whether or not he will play vs. the Bruins.
Wilson didn’t make his preseason debut until September 28th so he sat out the first two games to get up to speed. With J.T. Compher out with a lower-body injury, Wilson will draw onto Colorado’s third line with Tyson Jost and Matt Nieto. The 29-year-old had 12 goals and 15 assists (27 points) in 65 games last year.
Compher missed Wednesday’s practice and head coach Jared Bednar told reporters that he hasn’t skated in four days. Compher will be replaced by Colin Wilson, who will make his season debut on the third line vs. the Bruins.
Galchenyuk was missing from Wednesday’s practice, putting his status for Thursday’s game in question. Head coach Mike Sullivan said that Galchenyuk aggravated a prior ailment. If he misses Thursday’s game, the Penguins will likely be without four of their top-9 forwards (Galchenyuk, Evgeni Malkin, Patric Hornqvist and Nick Bjugstad).
Markstrom allowed two goals on 29 shots in the Canucks loss in Calgary on Saturday. Markstrom has given up five goals on 51 shots (.902 SV%) through two starts and sits at 0-2-0 coming into Wednesday’s game. Tonight he faces a Kings team coming off of a win in Calgary last night—Markstrom was 2-0-1 with a 2.26 GAA and .918 SV% in three games vs. Los Angeles last year.
Hornqvist was drilled by a Kris Letang slap-shot on Tuesday night, left the game and did not return. Missing Wednesday’s practice is not a good sign for Hornqvist’s availability for Thursday’s game vs. the Ducks.
Nilsson came over from the Canucks last season, going 11-11-0 with a 2.90 GAA, .914 SV% and two shutouts in 22 starts with the Senators. Nilsson drastically outplayed Craig Anderson after the trade and should see a good portion of the starts this season. He isn’t a safe option on Thursday but he did have a 35-save shutout against the Blues last March.
After five years with the Devils, Kinkaid signed with the Canadiens this summer and will serve as Carey Price’s backup. The 30-year-old netminder has started 38 games in the last two seasons, going 41-28-9 with a 3.07 GAA and .902 SV% during that span. He’ll make his Montreal debut against a Sabres team that is 2-0-1 while averaging 4.33 goals for per game so far.
Nogier was recalled prior to Tuesday’s game as an extra defenseman. His return to Manitoba suggests that Josh Morrissey will be available for Thursday’s game.
Hutton allowed two goals on 20 shots in the Sabres win over the Devils on Saturday. Linus Ullmark started Monday’s overtime loss in Columbus, so Hutton comes into Wednesday’s game well-rested. Hutton has started the year 2-0 while stopping 46 of the 49 shots (.939 SV%) that he has faced thus far. The 33-year-old has gone 14-9-2 in his last 25 starts in Buffalo.
Schneider allowed two goals on 21 shots before leaving the Devils season opener with lower-body cramping. MacKenzie Blackwood ended up blowing the lead in that game and giving up seven goals in Buffalo, so they’ll come back to Schneider tonight in Philadelphia. Schneider was an ugly 2-10-1 with a 3.68 GAA and .889 SV% on the road last year.
Sheary will miss a couple of weeks with an upper-body injury that it is believed he suffered late in Monday’s overtime loss. Evan Rodrigues will make his season debut replacing Sheary on Wednesday and will likely be his permanent replacement for the next couple of weeks.
Jonathan Quick started the season-opener in Edmonton but Campbell will make his season debut tonight in Calgary. The 27-year-old had a fantastic 2018-19 campaign, ranking third in the NHL in SV% (.928) and fifth in GAA (2.30) in 25 starts and six relief appearances. The Kings are likely going with Campbell against the Flames because he was 1-1-0 with a 0.46 GAA, .988 SV% and one shutout against them last year.
Jones allowed four goals on 23 shots in the Sharks loss to the Golden Knights last Friday. Jones has had a difficult start to the season, giving up eight goals through two games, albeit in a back-to-back with a high-powered Vegas team. Tonight he will face a Predators team that he was 2-1-0 with a 3.68 GAA and .880 SV% against last season.
In his 21st NHL season, Marleau had 16 goals and 21 assists (37 points) in 82 games with the Maple Leafs. He ended up being traded to the Hurricanes and subsequently bought out this summer. He returns to San Jose, where he spent the first 19 years of his career and joins a team that is in need of wing depth.
Varlamov stopped 26 of 28 shots in the Islanders 2-1 loss to the Capitals on Friday. Thomas Greiss had an outstanding outing vs. the Jets on Sunday, but it looks like Varlamov will go tonight vs. the Oilers. Everything is pointing towards this being a 50/50 split all season long. He faces an Edmonton team that is 2-0-0 while averaging 4.50 goals for per game so far.
Holtby allowed three goals on 28 shots in the Capitals 3-2 overtime loss to the Hurricanes on Saturday. Through two starts, Holtby has gone 1-0-1 while stopping 45 of the 50 shots (.900 SV% that he has faced. Tonight he’ll face a Stars team that has gone 0-3-0 while averaging just 2.00 goals for per game so far.
Deslauriers made his season debut on Saturday, playing 11:06 TOI and getting into a fight with Brendan Dillon. He will be replaced on the Ducks fourth line by Nick Ritchie.
Ritchie was a healthy scratch vs. the Sharks on Saturday but is expected to replace Nicolas Deslauriers in the lineup in Detroit. Ritchie started the year on the top-line but is expected to skate on the fourth line tonight.
Hamhuis was a minus-3 with two shots while playing 14:21 ATOI in the first two games of the season. Tonight he will be replaced by Matt Irwin on the Predators third pair.
