Backes missed Wednesday’s practice and today’s optional morning skate because he is “under the weather.” The physical centre turned winger will miss the season opener, but could be available for their second game which isn’t until next Monday.
Bergeron left Tuesday’s practice early with a lower-body injury and has missed the Bruins skates each of the last two days and won’t play tonight vs. Nashville. With Bergeron out, Ryan Spooner will centre the line with Brad Marchand and Anders Bjork on his wings.
Pirri has proven to be a quality goal-scorer throughout his career, but hasn’t really been put in opportunities to succeed in recent years. Pirri had 22 goals in 49 games with the Panthers in 2014-15 and is coming off of a season where he tallied eight goals and 10 assists (18 points) in 60 contests with the Rangers.
Krug has an X-ray and a meeting with doctors scheduled for Friday and the best-case scenario would be a return to the lineup for the Bruins’ second game of the season on Monday. With Krug out on Thursday, Matt Grzelcyk will get a look on the Bruins’ third-pair and second power-play unit.
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.
A season ago, Dubnyk posted a 2.25 GAA and .923 SV% and finished fifth in Vezina Trophy voting. Since joining the Wild in January 2015, Dubnyk ranks second in wins (99), SV% (.924), shutouts (15) and is tied for third in GAA (2.17). Plain and simple, he has turned himself into one of the best goalies in the league and one of the most reliable fantasy targets. With a season opening matchup with a projected bottom-feeder, get Dubnyk in your lineup.
Bogosian has had a terrible time with injuries during his career, missing a combined 64 games over the last three seasons. With Bogosian out, Matt Tennyson will be on the blueline, paired with Marco Scandella.
Despite Kronwall saying that he felt like he would play tonight, Jeff Blashill told reporters otherwise. The veteran defenseman will sit out vs. the Wild and Xavier Ouellet will take his spot on the blueline. The injury also means that Trevor Daley is expected to see power-play time.
In his second season with the Sabres, Lehner started a career-high 58 games and went 23-26-8 with a 2.68 GAA and .920 SV%. Lehner has posted a strong .920 SV% in his two seasons with the Sabres, ranking sixth among qualified NHL netminders over that stretch. The Sabres should be an improved team this season, giving Lehner some intriguing upside. He starts his season against a Canadiens team with some question marks entering the season.
Borowiecki, 28, does not being a lot of fantasy value to the table unless you are in a hits league. In 2016-17. Borowiceki led the league in hits (364) last season, but had just one goal and two assists.
Prior to getting hurt last year, Howard was fourth in the NHL in SV% (.934) and sixth in GAA (1.96) but then he missed nearly two and a half months with a knee injury. Howard was on-pace for the best season of his career, but shouldn’t be expected to replicate those numbers this season. Howard has a career 2.43 GAA and .915 SV%, which is O.K. but he’s playing behind one of the worst bluelines in the NHL, making him a risky option tonight vs. Minnesota—who ranked second in the NHL in scoring last year.
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.
Ekman-Larsson was banged up during training camp, but he is ready to go for first game of the season. Ekman-Larsson is coming off of a rough season by his standards, but remains one of the top-15 fantasy defensemen around.
Chychrun underwent knee surgery in August and his season appeared to be in jeopardy. However, Chychrun is an athletic freak and is already close to getting back on the ice and it looks like he will return at some point this season. The second-year defenseman remains without a timetable for his return, but it’s great news that he is already ahead of schedule.
Jones has had steady results in his first two years in San Jose, starting 65 games and winning at least 35 of them in both seasons. Last year, Jones’ GAA and SV% took a bit of a hit but were more than serviceable fantasy numbers. The 27-year-old was also very good on home-ice (19-10-4 / 2.16 / .916) so don’t hesitate to roll him out there in a home matchup vs. a Flyers team that was 14-22-5 on the road last year.
Crawford has been sensational since taking over as the Blackhawks’ starter in 2010-11. Besides the lockout shortened campaign, Crawford has started at least 55 games and won at least 30 of them in six consecutive seasons. The Blackhawks outlook is as bleak as it has looked during that time, but he remains one of the safest and most reliable options between the pipes. In his first start of the season he will see the reigning Stanley Cup Champions, who are coming off of an overtime loss last night.
Winnik is expected to make his Wild debut on Thursday after earning a contract on a PTO during training camp. Winnik is coming off of a year in which he had 12 goals and 13 assists (25 points) in 72 games with the Capitals. Look for him to skate with Matt Cullen and Tyler Ennis on the Wild fourth line in his debut.
Kulak, who had 10 points (2G / 8A) in 22 AHL games and three assists in 21 NHL games a season ago was expected to be in the opening night lineup, but Matt Barkowski will get the first crack alongside Michael Stone tonight.
Lazar, who picked up three points in four games after being acquired by the Flames last season was beat out by Tanner Glass and Garnet Hathaway for the last few spots in the Flames’ opening night roster. With Jaromir Jagr also coming to town soon, Lazar might have a difficult time working his way into the lineup.
Elliott was very successful in a timeshare in five years with the Blues and stumbled in his opportunity to be a true No.1 last year in Calgary. Now in Philadelphia he is expected to split time with Michal Neuvirth and will play behind a team that allowed the seventh fewest shots in the league last season. Expect improved numbers from last year, but the timeshare limits his overall upside in 2017-18.
