After going 9-6-3 with a 2.59 GAA and .908 SV% with the Penguins last season Greiss signed with the Islanders this summer and will start the season opener because Jaroslav Halak is out with an upper-body injury. Greiss has 70 career starts under his belt but his first outing with the Islanders will be a difficult one with the reigning Stanley Cup Champions in town.
Bobrovsky was limited to 51 starts last season, but he was still a 30-game winner while posting a 2.68 GAA and .918 SV%. Bobrovsky has posted strong numbers in his tim with Columbus, but he has yet to stay healthy enough to start 60-plus games. If he can do that in 2015-16, he could turn into a top-5 fantasy netminder. Tonight he starts his season vs. the Rangers—he was 1-1-1 with a 2.62 GAA and .915 SV% in three games vs. New York last year.
Just 47 seconds into his Hurricanes debut, the oft-injured Wisniewski went down with a lower-body injury and had to be helped off of the ice. After the game, head coach Bill Peters did not have an update on Wisniewski’s injury, but expect a status report leading up to Saturday’s game with the Red Wings.
Halfway through his first game with his new team, Lehner suffered a fluky injury that is going to force him to “miss some time” according to Sabres head coach Dan Bylsma. Lehner went behind the net to play the puck and when he returned to the crease and went into the butterfly, he suffered a leg injury. Lehner was unable to put any weight on his leg and was spotted wearing a walking boot on his right foot after the game. Chad Johnson will take over as the Sabres netminder in the meantime.
Lundqvist stopped 32 of 34 shots that he faced in Wednesday’s season opening win in Chicago. This is the type of performance we’ve become accustom to seeing from King Henrik over the years. Tonight he will take on a Blue Jackets team that he was 2-0-0 with a 1.94 GAA and .941 SV% against in 2014-15.
MacAthur was listed as a game-time decision, but he is on the ice for warmups, so it appears as if he will play. MacArthur, who is expected to skate on the Senators third line with J.G Pageau and Milan Michalek, is coming off of a season where he had 36 points (16G / 20A) in 62 games last season.
Fleury comes into 2015-16 having won at least 34-plus games in each of the last six full NHL seasons. Fleury has a career 2.59 GAA, but hasn’t posted a GAA over 2.39 in each of the last five seasons. He is as steady of a fantasy hockey goalie as you will find and plays behind of the strongest offences in hockey. However, he draws one of the other really good offences in Dallas tonight.
Niemi spent the last five years in San Jose but will start a new chapter tonight as he makes his Dallas Stars’ debut at home vs. the Penguins. He had a 2.59 GAA and .914 SV% in 61 starts last season, but the Stars weren’t very good defensively last season and if that is the case again in 2015-16, those numbers could rise a little bit. Either way, it looks like he has the upper hand as the team’s No. 1…for now.
Raymond missed the season opener because of an undisclosed injury and despite being placed on waivers on Tuesday, he remains with the Flames and will play in the top six on Saturday.
Hiller sat on the bench and watched Karri Ramo give up five goals in the Flames’ season opener, so it is no surprise to to see them turn to Hiller in the second game of the season. The Flames couldn’t matchup with the Canucks in the first meeting, but should bring their A-game in the second game. Hiller went 0-1-1 with a 2.52 GAA and .922 SV% vs. Vancouver last year.
Dubnyk comes into 2015-16 with a lot of questions around whether or not he can repeat last year’s insane performance. Dubnyk was 27-9-2 wit a 1.78 GAA and .936 SV% after being traded to Minnesota last season. He has started this year strong as well, posting a 1.33 GAA and .926 SV% in three preseason games, but some regression has to be expected in 2015-16. He gets things started tonight in Colorado.
Halak practiced on Thursday, but said “hopefully, I’ll be back soon,” after practice which doesn’t sound like he will be available for Friday or Saturday’s games (both vs. Chicago). If he doesn’t play over the weekend, Thomas Greiss could start back-to-back and then Halak’s next chance to return would be Monday against the Jets.
Silfverberg was cleared for practice on Wednesday so it wasn’t a surprise to see him back at practice on Thursday, but it is a positive sign that he should be available for the Ducks season opener on Friday.
Svedberg, 24, is a monster. At 6-foot-9, 235 lbs. he rivals Zdeno Chara for the tallest player in the NHL. Svedberg had a strong training camp and is expected to replace David Rundblad on Friday. He had three goals and 11 assists (14 points) in 49 games with Rockford (AHL) last season.
Hiller sat on the bench and watched Karri Ramo give up five goals in the Flames’ season opener, so it is no surprise to to see them turn to Hiller in the second game of the season. The Flames couldn’t matchup with the Canucks in the first meeting, but should bring their A-game in the second game. Hiller went 0-1-1 with a 2.52 GAA and .922 SV% vs. Vancouver last year.
Bernier had a rough start to 2015-16, allowing the first shot that he faced to trickle across the goal line. After that he settled in, stopping a total of 27 shots on the night in a 3-1 loss to the Canadiens. The Maple Leafs didn’t actually look too bad, but they will be in tough again on Friday as they face a young, talented Red Wings squad.
Ouellet, 22, being sent back to the AHL suggests that Alexey Marcheko is set to come off of IR before Friday’s game. Ouellet will head to Grand Rapids, where he had 16 points (1G / 15A) in 52 games a season ago.
Schneider started a career high 69 games last season and will probably start close to that this season. Despite being one of the very few goalies who will start 65-plus games, the Devils are really bad, which will limit the number of wins. However, paired with a goalie who will win a lot, Schneider is a great No. 2 option because he posts elite splits. He will start the season off at home, where he was 14-13-6 with a 1.87 GAA and .934 SV% last season.
Grigorenko was acquired from the Sabres in the Ryan O’Reilly trade this summer, but he will be a healthy scratch in his first game with his new team. The 21-year-old has a tonne of potential but has had a difficult time getting his NHL career off of the ground.
Pavelec and Michael Hutchinson are expected to split playing time like they did last season, but it will be Pavelec who will man the crease in the season opener. He outplayed Hutchinson in the preseason, posting a 2-0-1 record, 2.41 GAA and .921 SV% in four games. The 28-year-old did not face the Bruins last year, but went 10-8-5 with a 2.00 GAA and .932 SV% in 23 starts on the road last year.
