NHL Hockey Player News

Luongo enters his 18th NHL season and is no longer the workhorse he once was. Luongo will start opening night, but is expected to basically split starts down the middle with James Reimer. In 39 starts last season, Luongo was 17-15-6 with a 2.68 GAA and .915 SV%. The Panthers are a completely different looking team and have a new head coach, who brings a fast paced style of hockey with him. This could lead to more work for Luongo on a nightly basis.

Quick will look to have a better season opener tonight than he did last year. Quick left last year’s game No.1 with a groin injury and ended up missing four and a half months as a result. Upon his return, Quick was 8-5-2 with a 2.26 GAA and .917 SV% and two shutouts. Those are very Quick-like numbers for the veteran who will face the Flyers, who are on the wrong end of a back-to-back after beating the Sharks last night.

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.

Sanheim was a healthy scratch in the first game of the season, but will replace Brandon Manning in game No.2 of the season. Sanheim had some dominant games during the preseason and had 37 points (10G / 27A) in 76 games with Lehigh Valley (AHL) a season ago.

In 2016-17, Rask started 62-plus games for the third straight season and was tied for sixth in the NHL in GAA (2.23) with a .915 SV%. Rask has been a reliable No.1 fantasy option for years and he hasn’t showed any signs of slowing down. Tonight he will take on a Predators team without Patrice Bergeron, David Backes or Torey Krug. Nashville averaged 2.90 goals for per game a year ago.

In 2016-17, Rinne started at least 61 games for the third straight season and won 30-plus games for the sixth time in his career. Rinne has an average regular season, posting a 2.42 GAA and .918 SV% in 61 games but was marvellous in the playoffs en route to a Stanley Cup Finals appearance. Rinne will have to fend off his young backup Juuse Saros for starts, but should be able to play like a low-end No.1/high-end No.2 option nonetheless.

Quick will look to have a better season opener tonight than he did last year. Quick left last year’s game No.1 with a groin injury and ended up missing four and a half months as a result. Upon his return, Quick was 8-5-2 with a 2.26 GAA and .917 SV% and two shutouts. Those are very Quick-like numbers for the veteran who will face the Flyers, who are on the wrong end of a back-to-back after beating the Sharks last night.

This summer, the Coyotes went out and acquired Antti Raanta to be their No.1 netminder. Despite acquiring the former backup, Domingue will get the nod in the season opener with Raanta not cleared to play due to a lower-body injury. Domingue has a career 2.87 GAA and .910 SV%, but doesn’t draw too tough of a matchup tonight because the Ducks are decimated by injuries.

After starting 57-plus games for three straight seasons, Varlamov was bit by the injury bug last season, starting just 23 games. In his 24 appearances, the Russian netminder struggled to an ugly 3.38 GAA and .898 SV%. Varlamov plays behind one of the worst teams in the NHL which will limit his upside in 2017-18. Look for him to improve on last year’s numbers, but he draws a difficult matchup in his first start of the year.

In 2016-17, Rask started 62-plus games for the third straight season and was tied for sixth in the NHL in GAA (2.23) with a .915 SV%. Rask has been a reliable No.1 fantasy option for years and he hasn’t showed any signs of slowing down. Tonight he will take on a Predators team without Patrice Bergeron, David Backes or Torey Krug. Nashville averaged 2.90 goals for per game a year ago.

Fiore, 21, is an undrafted free agent who picked one a goal and assist in four preseason games with the Ducks. The Quebec native is turned pro after collecting 52 goals and 38 assists (90 points) in 61 games with Cape Breton (QMJHL) last season.

Getzlaf returned to practice on Wednesday, but was not on the ice for the morning skate and will be held out of the Ducks’ opener vs. Arizona. There’s no word as of now on how Getzlaf’s absence will affect the Ducks’ line combinations.

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.

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.

In 2016-17, Gibson started a career-high 49 games and went 25-16-9 with a 2.22 GAA and .924 SV%. The 24-year-old has an impressive 2.22 GAA and .924 SV% in his 111 career starts and he could easily be a top-5 fantasy netminder if he could stay healthy and start 60-plus games. He will face the Coyotes in his opening night start, but the Ducks are five of their top players—Ryan Getzlaf, Ryan Kesler, Patrick Eaves, Sami Vatanen and Hampus Lindholm.

LaDue, 25, has been recalled because Alec Martinez was moved to IR this afternoon. LaDue split his time between Ontario and Los Angeles last season, picking up eight assists in his first 22 NHL games. Despite the call-up, he will be a healthy scratch on opening night.

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.