NHL Hockey Player News

Rinne allowed two goals on 35 shots in the Predators 2-1 overtime loss in Chicago on Saturday. The win snapped a brief two-game winning streak for Rinne, who has a 2.77 GAA and .913 SV% in four appearances this season. He should make for a strong start tonight, despite the Avs’ hot start (3.17 GF/PG).

Jacob Markstrom has started the first four games of the season, but it looks like Nilsson will make his season debut tonight in Ottawa. Nilsson was 10-10-4 with a 2.67 GAA and .923 SV% in 26 appearances with the Sabres. He will see a Senators team that ranks seventh in the NHL in scoring (3.80 GF/PG) and will get Erik Karlsson back in the lineup tonight.

Budaj split last season between the Kings and Lightning. He started a whopping 51 games with the Kings because of a Jonathan Quick injury and appeared in seven contests with the Lightning following a mid-season trade. Overall, he was a 30-game winner while posting a 2.18 GAA, .915 SV% and seven shutouts. Don’t expect him to replicate those numbers, but he is a solid spot-start option on most nights.

Okposo missed the last two games with an illness, but will draw back into the lineup tonight in Vegas. Okposo has gotten off to a really slow start to the season, failing to record a point in six games—he has a minus-6 rating, four PIMS and 11 shots on goal. Tonight he will play on the second line with Ryan O’Reilly at centre and Sam Reinhart at left wing. He will also see time on the top power-play unit with Jack Eichel.

Lundqvist allowed two goals on 42 shots in the Rangers’ loss in Columbus on Friday. Ondrej Pavelec gave him the night off on Saturday, so look for Lundqvist to go tonight vs. the Penguins. King Henrik and the Rangers have had a slow start—he comes in at 1-3-0 with a 2.82 GAA and .914 SV% in his first five games.

Jones allowed two goals on 25 shots in the Sharks’ win in Buffalo last Thursday. Aaron Dell started their last contest, so they’ll come back to Jones tonight vs. the Canadiens. Montreal and San Jose have both gotten off to really slow starts, so this could very well be another low-scoring affair.

Necas was the No.12 overall pick this summer and sat out the first three games of the season, but will make his debut tonight in Edmonton. Necas is a gifted offensive player, who collected 15 points (7G / 8A) in 41 games with Brno Kometa of the Czech league last season. Necas likely won’t stick with the Hurricanes, but he will get a chance to get some NHL experience under his belt and could see a handful of games. He has a some intrigue in daily contests tonight because he will be playing with Sebastian Aho and Elias Lindholm—a very dynamic trio that could make some noise vs. Oilers’ backup Laurent Brossoit.

There has been no word on what is ailing Hunwick or when he suffered the injury, but this move likely means that Ian Cole (mouth) will draw back into the lineup on Tuesday. Cole was cleared to play but remained a game-time decision, but Hunwick’s injury likely necessitates re-inserting Cole.

Eriksson did not travel with Vancouver on their five-game road trip so he was already expected to miss at least a few games so his move to IR does not change his status at all.

Sutter missed Monday’s practice with an illness, but deemed himself ready to go tonight. There’s no word on who Sutter will replace but it seems likely that it will be one of Jake Virtanen/Brock Boeser or Michael Chaput, who took Sutter’s spot at practice yesterday.

Johnson allowed one goal on 26 shots in the Sabres’ win in Anaheim on Sunday. The win earned Johnson a second straight start tonight in Vegas. A season ago, Johnson went 9-6-1 with a 2.16 GAA and .926 SV% on the road as a member of the Calgary Flames. Vegas is off to an O.K. start to the season, but it is a strong spot-start opportunity for the 31-year-old.

Rinne allowed two goals on 35 shots in the Predators 2-1 overtime loss in Chicago on Saturday. The win snapped a brief two-game winning streak for Rinne, who has a 2.77 GAA and .913 SV% in four appearances this season. He should make for a strong start tonight, despite the Avs’ hot start (3.17 GF/PG).

Benn has not recorded a point but has 11 shots, five blocks and two hits while averaging 17:29 TOI/GM through the first five games of the season. His scratching likely has more to do with the Canadiens wanting to see what they have in Joe Morrow than it does with Benn playing poorly. Benn has posted a 62.7 CorsiFor% and a 7.1 relative Corsi so far, so they can’t be expecting much more out of him from a puck possession perspective.

Morrow, 24, was a first round pick in 2011 but has had a hard time sticking in NHL lineups. After spending three years in Boston, where he had just nine points (2G / 7A) in 65 games, Morrow is now with Montreal where he will replace Jordie Benn tonight. He has offensive upside, but has not shown it thus far.

Subban stopped 21 of 22 shots in the Golden Knights’ win over the Bruins on Sunday. It was a shocking outing for Subban, who was yanked in his first two career NHL starts. With Marc-Andre Fleury sidelined with a concussion, Subban will start his second straight game tonight as Vegas hosts the Buffalo Sabres.

The Hurricanes new No.1, Scott Darling, started the first three games of the season, but Ward will make his season debut tonight in Edmonton. Ward was 26-22-12 with a 2.69 GAA, .905 SV% and two shutouts in 61 starts last season, but likely won’t see more than 30 starts this season. Leave him on the waiver wire for his first start of the season.

The Hurricanes new No.1, Scott Darling, started the first three games of the season, but Ward will make his season debut tonight in Edmonton. Ward was 26-22-12 with a 2.69 GAA, .905 SV% and two shutouts in 61 starts last season, but likely won’t see more than 30 starts this season. Leave him on the waiver wire for his first start of the season.

Girard impressed in his three-game stint while Roman Josi was sidelined with a lower-body injury, but with the captain expected back tonight it looks like Girard will take a seat. The young offensive-minded blueliner recorded one goal and two assists in three games and looks like yet another great future Predators blueliner.