Bitten was a third round pick of the Canadiens in 2016. The 20-year-old centre registered 64 points (20G / 44A) in 62 games with the Hamilton Bulldogs (OHL) last year and will likely report to Iowa (AHL).
Olofsson was originally a second-round pick in 2013, but never really found his footing in Minnesota, playing a career-high of just 41 games. He will likely serve a similar seventh defenseman role in Montreal.
Tuch left the Golden Knights’ preseason finale with an undisclosed injury, that the Golden Knights revealed was a lower-body injury on Wednesday. Tuch is expected to miss at least a couple of weeks, which opens the door for Oscar Lindberg to enter the lineup on Thursday.
During his first season with the Flames, Smith started 55 games for the second straight seasons and went 25-22-6 with a 2.65 GAA, .916 SV% and three shutouts. Smith will be playing behind one of the best bluelines in the NHL and a solid group of forwards, making him a candidate for 30-plus wins for the first time since 2012. Smith is a great option on opening night vs. a rebuilding Canucks team.
Virtanen left Tuesday’s practice early with back spasms but he was on the ice for Wednesday’s morning skate and is expected to play vs. the Flames. Tim Schaller is expected to be a healthy scratch.
Despite signing Robin Lehner this summer, it looks like the Islanders will go with Thomas Griess in the season opener. This would save Lehner for the home opener against the Predators on Saturday. Greiss is coming off of a tough season, playing in just 27 games with a 3.82 GAA, .892 SV% and one shutout. He draws a tough start to the season in Carolina, 2018’s best possession team.
Last year, Bobrovsky started 60-plus games for the just the second time in his eight-year career but saw his numbers from 2017 drop a bit. Bob is one of the best goalies in the NHL and has done a fantastic job during his six seasons in Columbus—posting a 2.37 GAA and .923 SV%. He got opening night off so he could start the home opener and draws a solid matchup vs. a Hurricanes team that also played last night.
The Blue Jackets open their season with a back-to-back in Detroit and Carolina, so they will save Sergei Bobrovsky for the home opener and the tougher matchup. Korpisalo didn’t see a lot of work in 2018 and his numbers didn’t warrant many more starts—he finished the year with a 3.32 GAA and .897 SV% in just 18 starts.
Plekanec, who signed back with the Canadiens this summer will sit in the season opener vs. the Maple Leafs. With Plekanec out, the Canadiens will go with Phillip Danault, Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Max Domi and Matthew Peca down the middle.
Alzner is in the second year of a large five-year contract that he signed prior to last season and his season will start in the press box. Being a healthy scratch will end a lengthy ironman streak for Alzner and opens the door for Xavier Ouellet to play with Jordie Benn.
Gibson has been the best goalie in the NHL over the last three years, posting the league’s best SV% (.924) and GAA (2.26) while ranking third for third in shutouts (14). The Ducks have a stout bluleine that makes things easy on Gibson and he could be the best goalie in fantasy this season if he is able to start 60-plus games again.
Daley battled a lower-body injury towards the end of training camp but was back on the ice for Wednesday’s practice, where he skated on the second pair and top power-play unit. With Mike Green out to start the season, Daley should see plenty of power-play time for the Red Wings.
Ericsson took part in Wednesday’s practice session but is not progressing fast enough to be in the lineup on Thursday. With Ericsson out, the Red Wings will recall with Filip Hronek or Joe Hicketts to fill the No.6 spot on their blueline tomorrow night.
Anderson had a superb 2017 season, but crashed back to earth in 2018. The Senators were riddled with dysfunction and it led to Anderson posting a 3.32 GAA, .898 SV% and 23 wins in 58 games. Things got even worse this summer when Ottawa completely committed to a rebuild, making Anderson a low-end fantasy goalie option.
Dumoulin shed his non-contact jersey during Wednesday’s practice session and skated on the top pair with Kris Letang, which is a good sign that he will be available for Thursday’s season opener vs. the Capitals. Dumoulin doesn’t carry a to of fantasy value despite playing over 20 minutes a night for one of the best teams in hockey. He had just 18 points (5G / 13A) in 80 games a season ago.
Edmundson missed the Blues preseason finale with a groin injury and it doesn’t appear as if he will play in their season opener either. If Edmundson is unable to play, look for Chris Butler to get into the Blues lineup.
Price was once revered as the best goalie in the NHL and one of the first goalies drafted in fantasy. He is coming off of the worst season of his career, posting a 3.11 GAA and .900 SV% across 49 games and the team in front of him only got worse this summer. Price will be a No.2 starting option throughout the season, but he is a very risky start against a high-powered Maple Leafs attack.
Tkachuk’s NHL debut will be put on hold because of a mild groin strain, but he shouldn’t be sidelined for too long. With Tkahuck out, Colin White will move up to centre the second line with Zack Smith and Mark Stone.
Andersen put a rough October behind him last year and ended up finishing the season with 38 wins in 66 starts while posting a 2.81 GAA, .918 SV% and five shutouts. Andersen draws a fantastic opening night matchup vs. a torn down Montreal team that he was 3-0 with a 1.66 GAA, .950 SV% and one shutout against last season.
