Caron, 23, will be eligible to play in the Bruins game tonight vs. the Red Wings. He had one goal and two assists (three points) in 35 games with the B's last season. There is a solid chance that he replaces enforcer Bobby Robins, because the Red Wings don't carry an enforcer of their own.
Green was skating on the fourth pair this morning so this comes as no surprise. "He is close," said head coach Barry Trotz, who added Green will definitely be back for the homestand next week and may even play on Saturday.
In the last four seasons Fleury has won 36, 42, 23 (lockout year) and 39 games while posting a GAA below 2.40 with a SV% above .912 with 12 shutouts.Playing for the high-powered Penguins should provide him with a ton of goal support and lead to close to 40 wins. He draws a tough matchup to start the season against the Ducks.
Mason allowed two goals on 33 shots (.939 SV%) in a 2-1 loss to the Bruins in last night's season opener. It was a nice start to the season for Mason, who is trying to find some consistency from season-to-season. He will try and play well again tonight, but get the Flyers into the win column this time around.
Enroth has been waiting for his chance to be a starting goalie in the NHL and with Ryan Miller now in Vancouver, he may finally get his chance. He will need to outplay Michal Neuvirth to lock down the number-1 gig, but in order to do that he will need to improve on his 2.82 GAA and .911 SV% from a season ago.
Both Mason and Ray Emery shared the starter's net this morning, but Mason was the first one off, which suggests he will get his second start in as many nights. Mason allowed two goals on 33 shots (.939 SV%) in a 2-1 loss to the Bruins in last night's season opener.
Bishop had a sensational season in 2013-14. He won 37 games with a 2.23 GAA, .924 SV% and five shutouts. He was injured prior to the playoffs and underwent wrist surgery in April, but is at 100% to start 2014-15 and should be in for another excellent season. The Lightning have a ton of firepower, so the 6-foot-7 netminder should have plenty of goal support.
Drouin is participating in practice this morning and reportedly taking part in shooting drills, which is a good sign as he works his way back from a fractured thumb. He is not at 100%, but he is getting close.
Kucherov was "sent down" yesterday as a "paper move" to get the Lightning under the cap, but is back with the Lightning today. He is skating on the fourth line with Vladimir Namestnikov and Brett Connolly. He and Namestnikov were sensational during the preseason.
Holtby is coming off of a tough year, but the hiring of Barry Trotz and his defensive style of hockey should help the 25-year-old have a bounce-back season. Holtby had a 2.01 GAA and .926 SV% in five preseason games. He will take on a Habs team who are coming off of a season opening 4-3 win over the Maple Leafs last night.
Green is skating on the Capitals fourth pair with John Erskine this morning, which suggests that his upper-body injury will keep him out of tonight's season opener. Injuries have become a trend for Green, but he is still one of the league's top offensive threats from the blueline. Expect a complete update following the morning skate.
Kapanen, 18, was the 22nd overall pick in this summer's draft. He had one goal on six shots in four preseason games, but will head back to KalPa Kuopio in Finland, a team he had seven goals and seven assists (14 points) in 47 games with last season.
Rinne is coming off of a season where he was hampered by an infection in his surgically repaired hip. He made just 24 starts and posted a 2.77 GAA and .902 SV%, but chalk that up to a difficult season due to the injury. Expect Rinne to be back to his regular self with a GAA around 2.40 and SV% near .920. It starts tonight vs. Ottawa.
Reinhart, 18, was the second overall pick in this summer's draft. He will start his NHL career on the Sabres' second line with Cody Hodgson and Brian Gionta. "They're obviously very smart players and good players," Reinhart said of his linemates. "I feel if I move the puck to them and get myself open, we're going to create a lot of chances. I feel comfortable on that line."
After the Kings' Stanley Cup banner raising ceremony, Quick went on to allow four goals on 27 shots and was pulled before the start of the third period. "It wasn’t good enough, they were better than we were," Quick said after the game. "They got the win. I don’t think it had anything to do with all that stuff we had to do before, they were the better team." Martin Jones stopped all three shots he faced in relief as the Sharks finished the night with an impressive 4-0 win.
Monahan did not participate in the morning skate but it looks like he will give it a go in the season opener vs. the Canucks. Monahan will centre the top-line with Curtis Glencross and Jiri Hudler on his wings.
Bieksa skated the last two days so he was expected to be in the lineup tonight, so his participation in warmups all pretty much assures that he will play. Expect Yannick Weber to take a seat with Bieksa playing.
There was a ton of preseason hype about Kuznetsov, but he will start his career under Barry Trotz as the fourth line centre. "[Kuz] thinks it's the right spot for him at this moment," said Trotz after practice on Wednesday. He will centre a line with Chris Brown and Liam O'Brien on his wings, so the offence doesn't sound like it will be there in the early going. Fellow rookie Andre Burakovsky will centre the second line; Kuznetsov's projected spot.
Nikitin, 28, was acquired from Columbus this offseason to bring some added experience to the Oilers blueline. He had a breakout year in 2011-12, but has failed to eclipse the 20-point mark in any of his other four seasons. He will start his Oilers career on the second pairing with Mark Fayne; who will also be making his Edmonton debut.
All signs are pointing towards Jake Muzzin being unavailable tonight, which leaves the 23-year-old McNabb to make his Kings' debut on the Stanley Cup banner raising night and on the top D-pair with Drew Doughty to boot. McNabb was acquired from the Sabres at last year's deadline and totaled 10 goals and 26 assists (36 points) in 52 AHL games between Manchester and Rochester. He failed to record any points in 12 games with the Sabres.
