Varlamov stopped all 27 shots that he faced in Colorado’s shutout win in Tampa Bay on Thursday. It was an excellent performance from the Russian netminder, who is now 2-1-0 with a 2.67 GAA and .916 SV% in three games this season. A tough matchup on Thursday didn’t seem to matter, but he draws another difficult matchup tonight in Florida. The Panthers are 2-1-1 and are averaging 2.75 goals per game.
Girardi has missed the Rangers’ last two games and will miss his third consecutive on Saturday. However, he it doesn’t sound like he will be out much longer and could return to the lineup as soon as Sunday.
Lundqvist gave up two goals on 18 shots in the Rangers loss to the Red Wings on Wednesday. Lundqvist was outplayed by Jimmy Howard and suffered his second straight loss. Lundqvist is 1-2-0 with a 2.71 GAA and 875 SV% in three starts to being the season. Tonight he faces a Washington team that he was 1-1-1 with a 4.09 GAA and .876 SV% against last year.
Buchnevich will miss his third consecutive game with back spasms. He remains day-to-day and with the Rangers having a back-to-back on Saturday and Sunday, expect him to miss both contests.
It looked like Campbell would be a healthy scratch during Thursday’s practice, but he will remain in the lineup, but it’s unknown who will come out of the lineup with Trevor van Riemsdyk expected to be in the lineup.
Jokinen had to go to the dentist after being caught by a high stick on Thursday’s game and he is also dealing with a knee issue. He is listed as questionable for Saturday’s game, so monitor his status during the morning skate.
Eaves left Thursday’s game with a lower-body injury and is a question mark for Saturday’s game vs. the Blue Jackets. Monitor Eaves’ status during the Stars’ morning skate.
Hemsky missed the first four games of the regular season with a groin injury, but will play on Saturday and will replace Patrick Sharp, who is sidelined with concussion-like symptoms.
Rinne allowed two goals on 37 shots in the Predators’ loss to the Stars on Tuesday. Rinne is off to a hot start to the season, going 1-1-0 with a 2.04 GAA and .934 SV% and tonight he faces the 2-2-0 Red Wings. Rinne was 0-1-1 with a 4.01 GAA and .864 SV% in two starts against Detroit last season.
Sharp left Thursday’s game under concussion protocol and head coach Lindy Ruff said after the game that he will be out “for a while.” With Sharp out, the Stars are hopeful that Ales Hemsky will return soon.
Warsofsky, 26, recorded one goal and one assist in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s season opener and has been recalled because Kris Letang and Derrick Pouliot are both dealing with injuries. Warsofsky had one goal and one assist in 22 games with the Penguins and Devils last season.
Pouliot was injured in his season debut on Thursday and will miss at least one week with an undisclosed injury. The Penguins have recalled David Warsofsky from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL) to take Pouliot’s spot on the roster.
Anderson allowed four goals on 35 shots in the Senators’ win over the Coyotes on Tuesday. Despite allowing 11 goals on 97 shots (.887 SV%) in three starts, Anderson is 3-0-0 to being the 2016-17 season. He will look to keep his winning streak going tonight vs. the Lightning. In two starts against Tampa Bay last year, Anderson was 1-1-0 with a 2.04 GAA and .934 SV%.
Mrazek stopped 31 of 32 shots in the Red Wings’ win over the Senators on Monday. Jimmy Howard got the nod on Wednesday, but they’ll go back to Mrazek tonight vs. the Predators. Mrazek has played well to start the year, but the Red Wings’ haven’t played all that great in front of him—he’s faced an average of 32 shots against per game.
Ouellet collected one assists with five shots and a plus-2 rating while averaging 14:47 TOI in the first four games of the season. Tonight he will be replaced by Ryan Sproul, who will be making his season debut.
Sproul make the Red Wings roster out of trading camp but was a healthy scratch in the first four games of the season. Tonight the second round pick (55th overall in 2011) will replace Xavier Ouellet in the lineup and skate on the second power-play unit as well. Sproul had 12 goals and 23 assists (35 points) in 75 games with Grand Rapids (AHL) last year.
Ott played just 9:28 in the Red Wings’ season opener, but served as a healthy scratch in the last three games. Tonight, the rugged winger will replace Andreas Athanasiou on the fourth line, but doesn’t have any fantasy value.
Athanasiou had no points, three shots and a plus-1 rating in three games while averaging 11:25 TOI in his three games in the lineup. Tonight he will be scratched for the second time in five games as he gets replaced by Steve Ott on the fourth line.
Murray missed last Saturday’s game vs. San Jose, but will return to the lineup tonight vs. Chicago. Murray will replace Dalton Prout in the lineup and skate on the top pair with Seth Jones. Murray was a minus-2 with two shots on goal in 19:52 in the Blue Jackets’ season opener.
Gagner had no points and just one shot on goal while averaging 11:03 TOI in his first two games in a Blue Jackets jersey, but tonight he will come out of the lineup as Lukas Sedlak will make his NHL debut.
