Last season, Stalock spent most of the season with Iowa (AHL), where he went 23-17-1 with a 2.28 GAA and .926 SV%. It was a strong season for the former Sharks’ backup, who has a 2.35 GAA and .912 SV% in his 64-game career. He draws a pretty difficult matchup in his first start as the young Hurricanes are expected to bring a lot of offence this season.
Oduya sustained the injury in the Senators’ opening night loss to the Capitals and is not expected to be in the lineup tonight vs. the Red Wings. Oduya, who played just 10:04 on Thursday, will be replaced by Ben Harpur on the back-end.
Formenton, 18, was a second round pick (No.47 overall) in this summer’s draft and tonight he will play in his first NHL games. Formenton, who will replace fellow 2017 draft pick Logan Brown, had 34 points (16G / 18A) in 65 games with London (OHL) last season.
Lindholm, 22, appeared in 12 games with the Avalanche last season, picking up zero points, two PIMS and a minus-8 rating. There’s no word whether or not Lindholm will draw into the lineup on Saturday. The Sweden-native had two goals and 11 assists (13 points) in 62 games with San Antonio (AHL).
Harpur has been recalled because Johnny Oduya is dealing with a lower-body injury and Erik Karlsson’s status remains up in the air. The 22-year-old has just one assist in 11 career NHL games and is coming off of a season in which he had 27 points (2G / 25A) in 63 games with Binghamton (AHL).
Rosen nearly made the Maple Leafs roster and after Martin Marincin cleared waivers he switched spots with Rosen. The 23-year-old will make his NHL debut on Saturday and comes to the Leafs after posting 19 points (6G / 13A) in 41 games with Vaxjo HC in Sweden.
Marincin cleared waivers, allowing the Maple Leafs to send him to the Marlies. Marincin appeared in just 25 games last season, picking up seven points (1G / 6A). After sending Marincin down, the Maple Leafs recalled Calle Rosen as a corresponding move.
In 2016-17, Bobrovsky had a Vezina-winning campaign posting 41 wins with a 2.06 GAA, .931 SV% and seven shutouts across a career-high 63 games. Injuries have been a bugaboo for Bobrovsky over his career, starting just 86 games in the two years prior to 2016-17—that ranked 24th during that span. However, if Bobrovsky can stay healthy, he is as good of a bet as any goalie to finish the year in the top-5.
Raanta missed the Coyotes’ season opener because of a lower-body injury, but he has deemed himself ready to go for Saturday’s game vs. the Golden Knights. In two years as the Rangers’ backup, Raanta posted a 2.25 GAA and .921 SV% and gets his crack as an No.1 netminder with Arizona. He makes for a strong start against a Vegas team that does not look very good on paper.
Lindberg, 22, was originally a fourth round pick of the Senators in 2013 and has only appeared in six NHL games since, collecting two assists. Last season, Lindberg had 16 points (6G / 10A) in 44 AHL games with the Marlies.
Pickard was placed on waivers on Thursday and cleared Friday afternoon. The Maple Leafs waited for him to clear because now they can send him to the Toronto Marlies (AHL) and keep him in their system. This is a smart move for Toronto, who’s current backup goaltender is veteran Curtis McElhinney, who has had his fair-share of struggles during his career.
Walker, 23, a Sydney, Australia native will make his NHL debut vs. the Canadiens on Saturday. The 5-foot-8, 186 lbs. winger showed some good offensive talent in the AHL in 2015-16, collecting 41 points (17G / 24A) in 73 games but had a more difficult time last season, posting just 11 goals and 12 assists (23 points) in 58 games.
Zadorov was a healthy scratch in the Avs’ opening night win in New York, but will draw into the lineup in New Jersey tomorrow. Zadorov, who stands at 6-foot-5, 230 lbs. has great shutdown ability and posted 10 assists in 56 games with Colorado last season. He is expected to replace Andrei Mironov on the back-end.
In his first and only season with the Ducks, Bernier filled in well for John Gibson when he was unavailable and went 21-7-4 with a 2.50 GAA, .915 SV% and two shutouts. The 29-year-old signed with the Avalanche this season, where he is one Semyon Varlamov injury away from being a No.1 netminder again. Bernier’s numbers will surely take a hit, but he’s a reasonable spot-start in his first start as he takes on a Devils team that is typically low-scoring.
After his first three seasons in New Jersey, Schneider was tied for second in the NHL in SV% (.924) and third in GAA (2.14) He fell apart in his fourth season with the Devils, posting a 2.82 GAA and .908 SV%. As a result, the 31-year-old fell down the draft board and has went from overvalued to undervalued as the Devils look to take a step forward in 2017-18. Last year, Schneider was 14-12-6 with a 2.67 GAA and .911 SV% on home-ice.
Anderson surrendered four goals on 28 shots in the Senators’ shootout loss to the Capitals on Thursday. It was not a great start to the season for the veteran netminder, who will make his second start of the season tonight vs. Detroit. The Red Wings looked surprisingly good in their opener, but this is a pretty solid matchup for Anderson.
Fleury spent the first 13 years of his NHL career in Pittsburgh but now becomes the face of the Golden Knights after being selected in the expansion draft this summer. Fleury has carried a 2.58 GAA and .912 SV% across his lengthy NHL career but will likely struggle in his first season with Vegas because the team in front of him needs a lot of work.
Despite being on the non-roster injury list, Neal will play in the season opener after participating in the last few practices. Neal will be expected to carry the Golden Knigts offence for much of the season and he will start on a line with Cody Eakin and David Perron.
When the Golden Knights submitted their regular season roster and sent Shipachyov to the AHL, everyone expected their No.1 centre to return in advance of their season opener. However, because of a number crunch—they are carrying nine defensemen right now—Shipachyov remains in the AHL and will not play tonight.
Price stopped 43 of 45 shots in the Canadiens’ 3-2 shooting win in Buffalo on Thursday. It was an outstanding start to the season for one of the league’s top netminders. He gets the nod again tonight as the Canadiens continue their road-trip in Washington—he was 1-2-0 with a 2.69 GAA and .911 SV% in three starts vs. the Capitals.
