Bobrovsky allowed four goals on 21 shots in the Blue Jackets’ win in Minnesota on Saturday. With Joonas Korpisalo starting on Tuesday, there’s no surprise to see Bob going tonight vs. the Lightning. Bobrovsky has won his first four starts of the season while posting a 1.47 GAA and .952 SV%.
Jost has recorded one goal and one assist in five games while averaging just 13:04 TOI/GM. However it looks like he might see more playing time on Thursday because he skated on the second line with Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen during Wednesday’s practice.
Nemeth missed Tuesday’s game in Nashville because of a shoulder injury that he suffered in a fight with his former teammate Tyler Seguin on Saturday. Nemeth has recorded three assists and a plus-7 rating in his first six games with Colorado. Nemeth is expected to replace Anton Lindholm in the lineup and skate with Tyson Barrie.
Carter was reportedly cut by a skate blade in the Kings’ win over the Canadiens on Wednesday and is expected to miss a couple of weeks. It’s still too early for an exact timetable, so expect the Kings to update his status in the next 24 hours. This is a huge loss for the Kings, but should afford Adrian Kempe extra playing time, especially after a four-point performance last night.
Kulemin has just one assist in six games this season and will be replaced by Ryan Pulock as the Islanders go with seven defenseman in New York tonight.
Pulock, 23, was a first round pick in 2013 and Islanders fans have been clamouring to get Pulock a full-time lineup spot, but he will make his season debut tonight as a seventh-defenseman. The 23-year-old had 46 points (15G / 31A) in 55 games with Bridgeport (AHL) last season but has just four points (2G / 2A) in 16 career NHL games. Pulock rotated with Johnny Boychuk on the top PP-unit in Wednesday’s practice.
Spooner suffered the injury in Vegas on Sunday and will miss at least one month. Luckily for the Bruins, it looks like Patrice Bergeron and David Backes are going to be back soon, maybe even on Thursday.
Hill stopped 31 of 33 shots in a 3-1 loss in Dallas in his NHL debut on Tuesday. It was a strong debut for the 21-year-old rookie netminder, earning him a second straight start to kick-off his NHL career. The Coyotes are still searching for their first win of the season, but will be in tough vs. the Stars again tonight.
Hendricks has missed the first six games of the season and is likely to miss No.7 on Friday. Hendricks may not be a full-time member of the Jets lineup, but with Mathieu Perreault and Adam Lowry both sidelined, there’s a spot for Hendicks to see some ice-time when he’s healthy.
Oleksiak was a healthy scratch in the last two games, but will get back into the lineup tomorrow in Arizona. Oleksiak has yet to record a point while averaging 16:46 TOI/GM in the first four games of the season. He will replace Julius Honka.
Honka appeared in the las four games, failing to record a point while averaging 15:35 TOI. Honka will be replaced by Jamie Oleksiak vs. the Coyotes.
McDonagh was held off of the this morning for “maintenance” reasons but head coach Alain Vigneault said he “should” play and will skate in the morning skate.
Auger, 23, was a fourth round pick in 2013 and comes up to the NHL after picking up just four PIMS in three games with Ontario (AHL). He is not expected to bring a lot of offence to the table, having an AHL career-high of just 36 points (19G / 17A). What he certainly brings is size, standing in at 6-foot-7, 229 lbs.
Montoya allowed two goals on nine shots after replacing Carey Price in the Canadiens’ loss in Washington on October 7th. With Price starting last night, Montoya will start his first game of the season tonight in Los Angeles. Montoya was 8-6-4 with a 2.67 GAA, .912 SV% and two shutouts last season.
Bernier stopped 17 of 18 shots in Colorado’s win over the Ducks last Friday. Bernier has one win and one loss in his first two starts while stopping 52 of 57 shots (.912 SV%). Tonight he will make his third start of the season and it comes against a 5-2-0 Blues team thats coming off of a big win vs. the Blackhawks last night.
Quick allowed two goals on 25 shots in the Kings’ win over the Sabres on Saturday. Darcy Kuemper got the nod on Sunday, so they’ll come back to Quick tonight vs. the Canadiens. Quick has won three of his four starts while posting a 1.74 GAA, .943 SV% and one shutout. He makes for a great option tonight vs. a 1-4-1 Canadiens team on the tail-end of a back-to-back.
Hellebuyck allowed one goal on 29 shots in the Jets’ win over the Hurricanes last Saturday. The Jets inexplicably went to Steve Mason on Tuesday and he lost yet again, so they’ll come back to Hellebuyck tonight. He has won three straight starts while turning aside 95 of 100 shots (.950 SV%). He’ll face a Wild team that is extremely banged up.
Bishop stopped 27 of 28 shots in the Stars’ win over the Coyotes on Tuesday. Bishop has been excellent in his first five starts, going 3-1-0 with a 1.49 GAA and .944 SV% with his new team. He is a must-start again tonight as he faces Adin Hill and the Coyotes for the second straight game.
Smith allowed two goals on 29 shots in the Flames win in Vancouver last Saturday. Smith’s Flames career has gotten off to a great start—he has won four of his six starts while posting a 2.59 GAA and .929 SV%. Tonight he will make his seventh consecutive start and will take on a Carolina team that is 21st in scoring (2.75 GF/PG) through just four games.
