NHL Hockey Player News

Andrei Vasilevskiy started the first three games of the season, but it looks like Domingue will make his season debut tonight vs. the Hurricanes. Domingue was 7-3-1 with a 2.89 GAA and .914 SV% in 12 games after arriving in Tampa Bay last season. He draws a very difficult matchup tonight vs. a Hurricanes team that is leading the NHL in shots per game (42.3) and seventh in goals for (3.83).

Engelland is not expected to play Tuesday vs. the Sabres because of an undisclosed injury. With Engelland out, Brad Hunt is expected to draw into the Golden Knights lineup and skate on the third pair with Colin Miller.

Varlamov allowed three goals on 41 shots in Colorado’s 3-2 overtime loss to Calgary on Saturday. The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for Varlamov, who now has a 1.75 GAA and .946 SV% through four starts. The veteran netminder has been great so far this season and can be trusted against a Rangers team that is averaging just 2.40 goals for per game so far.

Dubnyk allowed five goals on 57 shots in the Wild’s loss to the Hurricanes on Saturday. He was given a breather in Nashville last night, but will be back in net tonight vs. the Coyotes. Despite ranking dead last in goals per game (0.50), the Coyotes are fifth in the NHL in shots per game, so Dubnyk could be a busy man again tonight.

Matheson will not play Tuesday in Philadelphia or Friday in Washington, but is eligible to return Saturday vs. the Red Wings. Pettersson will miss at least 7-10 days with a concussion as a result of the hit.

Stastny was picked up this offseason to stabilize the Golden Knights’ second line, but it looks like that duty will fall on Erik Haula until mid-December. Stastny “will be out for a bit, potentially up to two months” according to head coach Gerard Gallant. This will allow someone like Alex Tuch to move back into the top-6 right away as soon as he is healthy.

Howard allowed four goals on 34 shots in the Red Wings loss to the Maple Leafs last Thursday. Howard was given the afternoon off in Boston on Saturday, so will draw Monday’s start in Montreal. Howard has had very little success against the Canadiens in his career, especially last season—he allowed 11 goals on 34 shots (.676 SV%) vs. Montreal.

Howard allowed four goals on 34 shots in the Red Wings loss to the Maple Leafs last Thursday. Howard was given the afternoon off in Boston on Saturday, so will draw Monday’s start in Montreal. Howard has had very little success against the Canadiens in his career, especially last season—he allowed 11 goals on 34 shots (.676 SV%) vs. Montreal.

Gambrell had two goals and one assist in his season debut with the Barracuda before being called-up following Joe Thornton’s move to IR. With the Sharks off until Thursday, Gambrell could just head down to get some AHL games and return before their meeting with the Sabres.

McAdam might be coming up to backup Garret Sparks tonight vs. the Kings. Frederik Andersen was on the ice for the morning skate, but this call-up suggests that he won’t be available to backup. McAdam was 13-10-2 with a 2.84 GAA and .910 SV% in 29 ECHL games last season.

Hellebuyck allowed three goals on 30 shots in the Jets loss in Nashville last Thursday. Hellebuyck was given his first night off on Sunday, so he will be back between the pipes tonight vs. the Oilers. Hellebuyck has had a mixed bag of results early in the season, but you can trust him vs. a struggling Oilers team—he was 3-0-0 with a 1.67 GAA, .949 SV% and one shutout against Edmonton last year.

Talbot stopped 23 of 24 shots in the Oilers win over the Rangers on Saturday afternoon. it was Talbot’s first win of the season and first win of his career versus his former team. The Oilers have limped out of the gate so far this season and Talbot is a risky option in Winnipeg—he was 0-3-0 with a 4.73 GAA and .883 SV% vs. the Jets last year.

Bjugstad missed Monday’s practice so his status for Tuesday’s game is in question. The Panthers called the winger “day-to-day” so monitor his status during Tuesday’s morning skate. With Bjugstad absent today, Denis Malgin skated on the Panthers’ top line and Mike Hoffman moved back to the second line.

Stone was given Monday morning off to “give him a break” because he has a “little nagging thing,” according to Senators head coach Guy Boucher. Stone comes into Monday’s meeting with the Stars with two goals and one assist in five games this season.

Quick has been out since the Kings season opener but will be back on the ice for the first time on Monday. This is a huge step for Quick, who is expected to face shots tomorrow as the next step in his recovery. The Kings No.1 netminder remains without a timetable for his return so they will continue to roll with Jack Campbell between the pipes.

For the first time since suffering a lower-body injury in the preseason, Galchenyuk took to the ice in a non-contact jersey. The yougn centre was acquired from the Canadiens this offseason but his Coyotes debut was put on hold. This is the first step in Galchenyuk’s recovery and his return will be imminent once he shed that non-contact sweater.

Stalock was 10-10-4 with a 2.85 GAA, .910 SV% and one shutout as the Wild’s backup last season. Devan Dubnyk has had a good start to the season, but they’ll get Stalock his first start of the season tonight in Nashville. The Predators come in at 4-1-0 while averaging 3.00 goals for per game.