Orpik didn’t play in any preseason games because of offseason wrist surgery, but is ready to play in the Capitals regular season opener on Saturday. Orpik didn’t register a goal last season, but had 19 assists in 78 games.
Gionta did not take part in the Sabres’ morning skate and will miss his second straight game with a lower-body injury. With Gionta out, Zemgus Girgensons will play on a line with Jack Eichel and Evander Kane. GIonta remains day-to-day.
McCabe, 21, was a healthy scratch in the season opener and was sent back to the AHL this morning to make room to recall Nathan Lieuwen. McCabe had 29 points (5G / 24A) in 57 games with Rochester last season.
Ullmark, 22, came over from the Swedish Elite League and will make his North American debut today with Rochester (AHL). He was 12-20-0 with a 3.12 GAA and .904 SV% in Sweden a season ago.
Lieuwen, 24, won his first start with Rochester this seasoned went 4-9-0 with a 3.29 GAA and .883 SV% in 16 AHL games last season. Lieuwen will serve as Chad Johnson’s backup with Robin Lehner out with a lower-body injury.
Chara was labeled as doubtful, but he stayed on the ice for extra work during the morning skate, which suggests he is very doubtful. This is the second straight game that Chara will have missed—however he continues to practice which suggests he could be back next week.
Holtby was tremendous in 2014-15, winning 41 games with a 2.22 GAA and .923 SV%. Holtby draws a great matchup in his first start of the season as he goes up against the low-scoring New Jersey Devils. Holtby was 4-1-0 with a 1.20 GAA and .958 SV% in five starts against the Devils last season.
After Corey Crawford started the first two games of the season, it looks like the Blackhawks will turn to Darling in the second game of the home-and-home with the Islanders. In his first NHL season, Darling went 9-4-0 with a 1.95 GAA and .936 SV%. Crawford is expected to start nearly 60 games, making Darling one of the NHL’s best spot-start options for the other 22 games.
Luongo started 61 games last season, which was the first time he started 60-plus games since 2010-11 and it resulted in 28 wins, a 2.35 GAA and .921 SV%. It was a nice season for the 36-year-old, who stabilized the position for the Panthers. Florida should be an even better team in 2015-16, which gives Luongo No. 1 fantasy upside.
Schroeder is expected to make his season debut on Saturday after Tyler Graovac was injured in the season opener. Schroeder had three goals and five assists (8 points) in 25 games with Minnesota last season.
Graovac suffered a lower-body injury in the season opener and isn’t expected to play on Saturday. Jordan Schroeder was recalled and will replace Graovac if he ends up being scratched.
Brouwer suffered a lower-body injury in the season opener while blocking a Griffin Reinhart slapshot. Brouwer is expected to play according to Ken Hitchcock, but if he can’t go, Scottie Upshall will suit up for his Blues’ debut.
Mason allowed three goals on 32 shots in the Flyers overtime loss to the Lightning in the season opener. Mason continues to play very well for the Flyers and will look to register his first win of the season tonight in Florida. Mason was 1-1-1 with a 1.32 GAA and .959 SV% in three starts against the Panthers last season.
Dubnyk allowed four goals on 23 shots in the Wild’s 5-4 come from behind win over the Avalanche on Thursday. Dubnyk’s season did not get off to a great start. He allowed four goals on the first 11 shots that he faced, but settled in an was rewarded with the win. Tonight he will face a Blues team whom he was 2-1-0 with a 2.63 GAA and .918 SV% against last season.
Wennberg suffered a concussion in Friday’s loss to the Rangers after being hit by Chris Kreider, who was not penalized on the play. This is not an ideal start to the season for the Blue Jackets, who led the MHL with 508 man-games lost to injury last year.
Wisniewski was acquired this summer from Anaheim in a trade that saw Anton Khudobin go the other way. Wisniewski has battled injury issues throughout his NHL career and he only made it 47 seconds into his Hurricanes debut before he had to be helped off of the ice. Wisniewski is signed through next season, so he might get another chance to dress with the Hurricanes.
Lundqvist stopped 31 of 33 shots that he faced in the Rangers’ 4-2 win in Columbus last night. He will start on back-to-back nights as the Rangers welcome the Blue Jackets for their home opener. Lundqvist has stopped 63 of 65 shots (.940 SV%) that he’s faced en route to a 2-0 start.
Johnson allowed one goal on nine shots after replaced Robin Lehner in the Sabres 2-1 loss to the Senators on Thursday. With Lehner expected to miss an extended period of time, this is Johnson’s team for the foreseeable future. He comes in with a strong 2,41 career GAA and .914 SV%. However, he draws a tough matchup in his first start with the 2015 Eastern Conference Champions in town.
Reimer stopped 12 of 13 shots after replacing Jonathan Bernier in the Maple Leafs 4-0 loss to the Red Wings last night. Reimer will make his first start of the season against the Senators—he allowed three goals on 25 shots in a loss in his only start against Ottawa last season. A strong start tonight could carve out a larger early-season role for Reimer.
After sitting out the season opener on Wednesday, McNabb is expected to replace Matt Greene in the lineup tonight vs. the Coyotes. McNabb had 24 points (2G / 22A) in 71 games with the Kings last season.
