Cole was smashed in the face by a Roman Josi slapshot on Saturday, resulting in some lost teeth and a mangled mouth. Cole obviously has some discomfort after the gruesome shot block, so look for Chad Ruhwedel to replace him on the blueline tomorrow.
Tokarski appeared in 27 games with San Diego (AHL) last season, going 17-8-1 with a 2.93 GAA and .898 SV%. The 28-year-old has had limited success in his brief NHL career, going 10-12-5 with a 2.84 GAA and .904 SV% in 34 career games between the Lightning, Canadiens and Ducks.
Anderson appeared in a game with Cleveland (AHL) over the weekend and will get into the Blue Jackets lineup tomorrow in Carolina. Anderson skated with Brandon Dubinsky and Matt Calvert on the third line on Monday.
Cracknell played 8:35 TOI in the Stars’ second game of the season and was placed on waivers shortly after. He’ll join the Rangers where he will be in a similar role of depth forward. He had 10 goals and six assists (16 points) in 69 games with Dallas a season ago.
Stafford played just 6:06 TOI in the Devils’ season opener and will not be available for today’s game in Buffalo. With Stafford sidelined, Jimmy Hayes will move up to play with Nico Hischier and Marcus Johansson.
Palmieri left the Devils season opener after playing just 10:29 TOI and will not be available for this afternoon’s game in Buffalo. With Palmieri out, Jesper Bratt will get an opportunity to play on the Devils’ top line with Taylor Hall and Pavel Zacha.
Schneider was excellent in his season debut, stopping 40 of 41 shots in the Devils win vs. Colorado on Saturday. Schneider will look to carry that success into this afternoon’s start in Buffalo. The 31-year-old netminder was terrible on the road last season, going 6-15-5 with a 2.99 GAA and .906 SV% in 27 starts outside of New Jersey.
Johnson allowed just one goal on 16 shots after replacing Robin Lehner in the Sabres loss in Brooklyn on Saturday. It was a strong relief appearance from the 31-year-old and earned him his first start of the season this afternoon. Johnson has a career 2.44 GAA and .915 SV% and his first start will come vs. a Devils team that will be missing Kyle Palmieri and Drew Stafford.
Talbot was yanked after allowing three goals on seven shots in the Oilers loss to the Canucks on Saturday. It was an ugly performance from Talbot, who had a tidy shutout in his first start of the season. Despite a nice relief appearance from Laurent Brossoit, the Oilers will go right back to their No.1 vs. a Jets team that has stumbled out of the gate.
Crawford made 32 saves on 33 shots in the Blackhawks’ win over the Blue Jackets on Saturday. Anton Forsberg started last night in Toronto, so they’ll go with Crawford tonight in Montreal. Crawford has had an excellent start to the season, winning his first two starts while stopping 60 of 62 shots (.968 SV%). Montreal is 1-2-0 with three goals in their first three games.
Talbot was yanked after allowing three goals on seven shots in the Oilers loss to the Canucks on Saturday. It was an ugly performance from Talbot, who had a tidy shutout in his first start of the season. Despite a nice relief appearance from Laurent Brossoit, the Oilers will go right back to their No.1 vs. a Jets team that has stumbled out of the gate.
Forsberg was acquired along with Brandon Saad in the trade that sent Artemi Panarin to the Blue Jackets this summer. Tonight will be his Blackhawks debut and he has had a hard time in his young NHL career. In 10 career appearances, Forsberg has a 4.02 GAA and .879 SV%, but was an impressive 27-17-2 with a 2.28 GAA and .926 SV% in the AHL last year.
Varlamov turned aside 37 of 39 shots in Colorado’s opening night win in New York. It was an excellent start to 2017-18 for Varlamov, who has given Saturday night in New Jersey off. Varlamov will return to the crease in Boston, where the Bruins will be playing without Patrice Bergeron.
Rask allowed three goals on 29 shots in the Bruins’ win over the Predators in their season opener. It was a nice start to the season for Rask, who had three days off between then and today’s start vs. the Avalanche. Rask has excellent numbers (1.83 GAA /.937 SV%) during his career vs. Colorado, but that has translated into just one win in six tries.
van Riemsdyk lasted just 10:56 TOI in his Hurricanes debut before departing the game with a lower-body ailment. The Hurricanes said T.V.R. will “likely” miss tomorrow’s game, so consider him day-to-day.
Darling allowed four goals on 27 shots in a winning effort vs. Minnesota in his Hurricanes debut. Darling chalked up the ‘W’ in his first game with Carolina but it was not the greatest outing for the 28-year-old netminder. In his second start, Darling will see a Blue Jackets team that has started 1-1-0 with 3.00 goals per game early on.
Bergeron was officially listed as a game-time decision, but it seemed unlikely he would play considering he skated with a no-contract sweater in practice over the weekend. However, it’s a positive that he is progressing and could be back in the lineup sometime this week.
Thorburn has a minus-1 rating and two PIMS through two contests. He has absolutely zero fantasy relevance and will be replaced by Wade Megan today.
Sundqvist had no points, a minus-2 rating and three shots on goal while averaging 12:52 TOI in the first two games of the season. The Blues will replace him with Ivan Barbashev this afternoon.
Megan served as a healthy scratch in the first two games of the season, but will replace Chris Thorburn this afternoon. Megan will centre the fourth line, which drains most of his fantasy appeal, but this is a player with offensive upside. Megan had 33 goals and 33 assists (66 points) in 73 AHL games a season ago and score one goal in three NHL games.
