Martinez will miss the Kings’ season opener with a lower-body injury, but it’s not considered serious. Martinez’s move to IR is retroactive to October 3rd, so he can come off after their second game and play next Wednesday vs. Calgary if he is healthy. In a corresponding move, the Kings have recalled Paul LaDue from Ontario (AHL).
When the 2016-17 season started, Vasilevskiy was the Lightning No.2 behind Ben Bishop. Following Bishop’s midseason trade to Los Angeles, Vasilevskiy was tied for the NHL lead in wins (12), ninth in SV% (.930) and 16th in GAA (2.27). Entering 2017-18 the Lightning are among the favourites in the Atlantic Division and if Vasilevskiy gets close to 60 starts, he has No.1 fantasy netminder upside.
Lundqvist has won at least 30 games in each of his 11 (full) NHL seasons but he struggled to a 2.74 GAA and .910 SV% last season—his worst season to date. Entering 2017-18, Lundqvist will have less competition for starts with Antti Raanta in Arizona and Ondrej Pavelec as his backup. Regardless, the aging veteran doesn’t look like a top-5 fantasy netminder anymore but he is a solid low-end No.1 option with an excellent matchup tonight.
Price missed most of 2015-16 with an injury but returned last year to finish tied for fifth in the NHL in wins (37), tied for sixth in GAA (2.23) and tied for seventh in SV% (.923). Price is one of the steadiest fantasy options and arguably the best goaltender in the world, but the Canadiens have some questions up front and on the blueline which could limit his upside this season. Regardless, he is a must-start whenever he gets the call and has a pretty solid matchup tonight in Buffalo.
Prior to getting hurt last year, Howard was fourth in the NHL in SV% (.934) and sixth in GAA (1.96) but then he missed nearly two and a half months with a knee injury. Howard was on-pace for the best season of his career, but shouldn’t be expected to replicate those numbers this season. Howard has a career 2.43 GAA and .915 SV%, which is O.K. but he’s playing behind one of the worst bluelines in the NHL, making him a risky option tonight vs. Minnesota—who ranked second in the NHL in scoring last year.
Bonino sat out during the preseason as he recovered from a broken leg suffered in the Stanley Cup Finals, but he was on the ice for the optional morning skate and will play vs. the Bruins. In his Nashville debut, Bonino will centre a line with veteran Scott Hartnell on one wing and Kevin Fiala on the other.
Zadorov, who was key piece in the Ryan O’Reilly trade to Buffalo, has struggled to find his way in Colorado. The 6-foot-5, 230 lbs. defenseman has the tools to be successful but has yet to put it all together. Still just 22-years-old, Zadorov will sit because the Avalanche claimed Patrik Nemeth off of waivers on Tuesday and he will play with Tyson Barrie.
Backes missed Wednesday’s practice and today’s optional morning skate because he is “under the weather.” The physical centre turned winger will miss the season opener, but could be available for their second game which isn’t until next Monday.
Bergeron left Tuesday’s practice early with a lower-body injury and has missed the Bruins skates each of the last two days and won’t play tonight vs. Nashville. With Bergeron out, Ryan Spooner will centre the line with Brad Marchand and Anders Bjork on his wings.
Pirri has proven to be a quality goal-scorer throughout his career, but hasn’t really been put in opportunities to succeed in recent years. Pirri had 22 goals in 49 games with the Panthers in 2014-15 and is coming off of a season where he tallied eight goals and 10 assists (18 points) in 60 contests with the Rangers.
Krug has an X-ray and a meeting with doctors scheduled for Friday and the best-case scenario would be a return to the lineup for the Bruins’ second game of the season on Monday. With Krug out on Thursday, Matt Grzelcyk will get a look on the Bruins’ third-pair and second power-play unit.
In 2016-17, Holtby followed up his Vezina Trophy campaign with a 2.07 GAA and .925 SV% and finished second in the Vezina voting. Holtby has become fantasy hockey’s best goaltender, winning 40-plus games in three consecutive seasons and ranking first in shutouts (21), second in GAA (2.17) and SV% (.923) over that stretch. You likely selected him with an early-round pick, so get him in your lineup whenever he gets the nod—especially tonight vs. a Senators team without Erik Karlsson.
A season ago, Dubnyk posted a 2.25 GAA and .923 SV% and finished fifth in Vezina Trophy voting. Since joining the Wild in January 2015, Dubnyk ranks second in wins (99), SV% (.924), shutouts (15) and is tied for third in GAA (2.17). Plain and simple, he has turned himself into one of the best goalies in the league and one of the most reliable fantasy targets. With a season opening matchup with a projected bottom-feeder, get Dubnyk in your lineup.
Bogosian has had a terrible time with injuries during his career, missing a combined 64 games over the last three seasons. With Bogosian out, Matt Tennyson will be on the blueline, paired with Marco Scandella.
Despite Kronwall saying that he felt like he would play tonight, Jeff Blashill told reporters otherwise. The veteran defenseman will sit out vs. the Wild and Xavier Ouellet will take his spot on the blueline. The injury also means that Trevor Daley is expected to see power-play time.
In his second season with the Sabres, Lehner started a career-high 58 games and went 23-26-8 with a 2.68 GAA and .920 SV%. Lehner has posted a strong .920 SV% in his two seasons with the Sabres, ranking sixth among qualified NHL netminders over that stretch. The Sabres should be an improved team this season, giving Lehner some intriguing upside. He starts his season against a Canadiens team with some question marks entering the season.
Borowiecki, 28, does not being a lot of fantasy value to the table unless you are in a hits league. In 2016-17. Borowiceki led the league in hits (364) last season, but had just one goal and two assists.
Prior to getting hurt last year, Howard was fourth in the NHL in SV% (.934) and sixth in GAA (1.96) but then he missed nearly two and a half months with a knee injury. Howard was on-pace for the best season of his career, but shouldn’t be expected to replicate those numbers this season. Howard has a career 2.43 GAA and .915 SV%, which is O.K. but he’s playing behind one of the worst bluelines in the NHL, making him a risky option tonight vs. Minnesota—who ranked second in the NHL in scoring last year.
With Brian Elliott starting the Flyers’ season opener last night, Neuvirth is expected to go tonight vs. the Kings. Neuvirth and Elliott are expected to split time this season, but Neuvirth will need a good game to keep pace with the veteran, who stopped 32 of 35 shots in a win in San Jose last night. Neuvirth was 11-11-1 with a 2.82 GAA and .891 SV% last year—he simply needs to be better in 2017-18 because Anthony Stolarz lurks around the corner.
Ekman-Larsson was banged up during training camp, but he is ready to go for first game of the season. Ekman-Larsson is coming off of a rough season by his standards, but remains one of the top-15 fantasy defensemen around.
