NHL Hockey Player News

After two and a half seasons as the Blackhawks’ backup, Darling was dealt to the Hurricanes this summer where he is expected to take over as their No.1 goalie. Last season, the 28-year-old netminder was 18-5-5 with a 2.38 GAA and .924 SV% and now he’ll play behind one of the best young bluelines in the NHL. His first start will likely come against a Wild team that was second in the NHL in scoring last season (3.21 GF/PG).

Lazar was a healthy scratch in the season opener, but will draw in for Garnet Hathaway tonight. Lazar will play on the third line with Sam Bennett and Kris Versteeg. He had one goal and two assists in four games after joining the Flames last season.

Jagr had been practicing on the Flames third line since joining the team earlier this week, but he isn’t quite ready to play, so he will sit tonight and Curtis Lazar will draw into the lineup. Expect Jagr to be in the lineup on Monday vs. the Blue Jackets.

Lehtonen surrendered two goals on 11 shots after replacing Ben Bishop and was handed the loss last night vs. the Golden Knights. Despite the rough outing, the Stars will stick with their plan of going with Lehtonen on the tail-end of the back-to-back. Things get more difficult tonight as they travel to St. Louis to see a Blues team that looked good on opening night.

Saros will start in Pittsburgh because Pekka Rinne has never won a game (regular season or playoffs) in Pittsburgh, so they will roll the dice with the 22-year-old. Saros had a really good season as Rinne’s backup last year, going 10-8-3 with a 2.35 GAA, .923 SV% and one shutout. The Penguins haven’t had a good start to the season, but that might be a reason to stay away from Saros—they will be a motivated team after getting embarrassed on Thursday.

Lundqvist allowed three goals on 25 shots in the Rangers’ opening night loss to the Avalanche. The Rangers were the better of the two teams but Semyon Varlamov out-duelled Lundqvist to earn the win. Things won’t get easier for Lundqvist tonight as he goes up against one of the best young teams in the NHL in Toronto.

Wingels was a healthy scratch in the season opener but he will replace Tanner Kero (undisclosed) in the lineup tonight. The 29-year-old had just 12 points (7G / 5A) in 73 games between the Sharks and Senators last season.

Kero is dealing with an undisclosed injury and will be replaced by Tommy Wingels on the fourth line. Kero played 7:35 TOI in the season opener and is listed as day-to-day.

Lundqvist allowed three goals on 25 shots in the Rangers’ opening night loss to the Avalanche. The Rangers were the better of the two teams but Semyon Varlamov out-duelled Lundqvist to earn the win. Things won’t get easier for Lundqvist tonight as he goes up against one of the best young teams in the NHL in Toronto.

Smith allowed just two goals on 44 shots in the Flames 3-0 opening night loss in Edmonton. Smith was exceptional in his Calgary debut but the Flames had no answers for Connor McDavid, who recorded a hat trick on the night. Smith will look to record his first ‘W’ in a Flames uniform when they host the Jets tonight.

Fiala played 14:28 in the Predators season opener before leaving with an upper-body injury. With Fiala out, Pontus Aberg will draw onto the second line. Fiala is listed as day-to-day.

Aberg spent the majority of last season with Milwaukee (AHL) where he picked up 31 goals and 21 assists (52 points) in 56 games. He also appeared in 15 regular season games (1G / 1A) with the Predators. He will draw in on the second-line with Kevin Fiala sidelined.

Fiala played 14:28 in the Predators season opener before leaving with an upper-body injury. With Fiala out, Pontus Aberg will draw onto the second line. Fiala is listed as day-to-day.

In his Predators debut, Emelin played just 9:47 TOI and lasted just one game in Nashville before becoming a healthy scratch. Emelin will be replaced by Anthony Bitetto tonight.

Bitetto has split time between the AHL and NHL over the last two seasons, but it looks like he will be a full-time NHLer this season—even if it’s as a seventh defenseman. Bitetto had seven assists in 29 games with the Predators last season and tonight he will replace Alexei Emelin in the lineup.

Karlsson was on the ice for the Senators morning skate, but did so in a non-contact sweater. Karlsson is nearing his debut, but it doesn’t sound like he will travel out west on the Senators’ three-game road trip.