Hjalmarsson was handed a three-game suspension for his preseason hit on Blues’ forward Ty Rattie, but only missed one regular season game. He returns to the Blackhawks blueline tonight and will be paired with Duncan Keith.
Hunwick only played 2:11 in the Maple Leafs’ opener after being crushed by Senators’ forward Chris Neil in the first period. Hunwick’s face was cut on the hit and he never returned to the game. He was in practice on Friday and said he was good-to-go, but head coach Mike Babcock said that they will see where Hunwick is at on Saturday.
Motte picked up one assist in 12:16 in his NHL debut on Wednesday and will be rewarded by being bumped up to the second line tonight. In the Blackhawks’ morning skate, Motte skated with Kane in Anisimov, a spot usually reserved for Artemi Panarin, who was moved to the top line with Jonathan Toews. Marian Hossa was bumped out of the top-6—this is a look the Hawks gave in the preseason, let’s see how it works out in Nashville tonight.
Elliott was torched for six goals on 27 shots in his Flames’ debut on Wednesday. The Flames went on to lose 7-4 to the Oilers, but it can’t be pinned on Elliott. Calgary left their netminder hung out to dry on multiple occasions and one goal was a Connor McDavid penalty shot. With the same opponent tonight, Elliott looks like a risky start, but the Flames should be better in front of him in this one—they frankly can’t be worse.
Harrington, 23, was acquired in a trade from the Maple Leafs this summer and was scratched in their season opener on Thursday. There’s no word what, if anything is ailing Harrington, but he heads to the AHL, where he had three points (1G / 2A) in 17 games last season.
Andrighetto, 23, split his 2015-16 season between the AHL and NHL. With St. John’s (AHL) he collected 23 points (10G / 13A) in 26 games and had 17 points (7G / 10A) in 44 games with the Canadiens. It wouldn't be shocking if another team claims Swiss winger.
Little played just 2:48 in the first period before exiting the game with a lower-body injury. Little missed 25 games last year and a total of 37 games over the previous two seasons, so injuries are nothing new for the 28-year-old centre. After the game head coach Paul Maurice did not have an update on Little’s condition, so consider him day-to-day until more information is available.
Anderson allowed four goals on 38 shots in the Senators 5-4 overtime win vs. the Maple Leafs in the season opener. Toronto dominated the Senators throughout this game, but Anderson was equal to the task, at least when Auston Matthews wasn’t shooting. Tonight he faces a Montreal team that also won their opener. The 35-year-old was 1-1-0 with a 2.76 GAA and .941 SV% against the Canadiens last year.
Quick was injured in Wednesday’s season opener and Zatkoff played the final two periods, stopping 15 of 16 shots (.938 SV%) in a 2-1 loss to the Sharks. Zatkoff will be a busy man with Quick expected to miss an extended period of time. The 29-year-old comes in with a career 2.64 GAA and .915 SV% in 36 NHL games.
McKeown, 20, was drafted 50th overall in 2014 and was acquired from the Kings last season in a trade that sent Kris Versteeg to Los Angeles. McKeown spent last year in Kingston (OHL), posting 42 points (7G / 35A) in 59 games.
Eichel was hurt in Wednesday’s practice and the Sabres said it was a high ankle sprain but did not give a timetable for his return. On Thursday, Sabres’ GM Tim Murray said that 6-8 weeks could be a possible timetable for Eichel. The second-year forward can’t put any weight on his injured ankle, he was seen on Thursday using a scooter to get around.
The Kings did not release much information on Quick’s injury, other than to say that it was of the lower-body variety and that he is week-to-week. With Quick sidelined for an unknown amount of time, the Kings will turn to the duo of Jeff Zatkoff and Peter Pudaj. Zatkoff will likely start on Friday after stopping 16 of 17 shots in relief on Wednesday.
Ben Bishop has started 60-plus games in three consecutive seasons, but the Lightning would like that number to be closer to 50 this season, with Vasilevskiy getting around 30 games. Vasilevskiy is 18-15-1 with a 2.60 GAA and .913 SV% in his brief NHL career and is one of the best backup options in the NHL.
Skille, 29, appeared in four preseason games during his professional tryout with the Canucks. Skill is coming off of 14 points (8G / 6A) in 74 games with the Avalanche last season.
Montoya stopped 30 of 31 shots in the Canadiens’ season opening win in Buffalo. No Carey Price, no problem. Montoya’s Habs debut was a successful one and he will look to carry that success into tonight’s game in Ottawa. Montoya lost his only start against the Senators last year (with Florida), but they are a solid matchup. However, you always have to be a little wary of a matchup against Erik Karlsson.
Davidson left Wednesday’s game with an undisclosed injury and did not return. Davidson, who was battling injury in the preseason as well, will head to IR and opens up a roster spot for Eric Gryba to get into the lineup.
Price is still fighting an illness and will miss his second straight game on Saturday. With Price out, Al Montoya will start his second straight game. He was victorious on Thursday vs. the Sabres.
Kane slid hard into the end-boards during the Sabres’ season opener on Thursday and was taken to hospital for further evaluation and precautionary measures. It has been a tough start to the year for Sabres, who are already without Jack Eichel for at least a few weeks and both Kyle Okposo and Dmitry Kulikov are day-to-day.
Varlamov will start Colorado’s season opener and he is hoping their coaching change will help him. Over the last three years, Varlamov has faced a ridiculous 5,518 shots (most in the NHL), which has made things really tough on him. He has the ability to be a No.1 fantasy netminder, if the Avalanche improve in front of him. Last year he was 27-25-3 with a 2.81 GAA and .914 SV%—expect better numbers across the board this year.
Allen’s first year as the Blues’ No.1 netminder got off to a nice start last night. Allen stopped 17 of 19 shots in the Blues’ 5-2 win over the Blackhawks. St. Louis dominated possession, which limited Allen’s workload and will allow him to go again tonight vs. the Wild. Last year the 26-year-old was 2-2-0 with a 2.24 GAA and .918 SV% in four starts against Minnesota.
