Schneider returned to practice on Thursday after missing Wednesday’s session for “maintenance” reasons. It appears as if Schneider is on track to start the Devils’ season opener on Friday—in what should be the first of many starts for Schneider this season.
Chara has been battling an upper-body injury and despite practicing yesterday and taking part in this morning’s gameday skate, he will sit out tonight’s game vs. the Jets. He reportedly started taking slapshots yesterday and continued today—but the strength on his shots are not where it usually is. That report suggests Chara may still be a few days or games away from returning.
Rask started 70 games last season, winning 34 while posting a 2.30 GAA and .922 SV%. He is among fantasy hockey’s elite, but with Zdeno Chara out, the blueline in front of him is sketchy. Rask posted a 1.86 GAA and .923 SV% in two preseason games. Rask had great numbers against the Jets last year, going 1-1-0 with a1.48 GAA and .952 SV%.
Bishop comes into 2015-16 after a career-year where he won 40 games with a 2.32 GAA and .916 SV%. Bishop also enjoyed a strong preseason where he won all three starts with a 1.60 GAA and .948 SV%. Despite those strong numbers, Bishop didn’t have an easy time against the Flyers, allowing six goals on just 39 shots.
Paquette has been battling a foot injury since he blocked a shot in September’s 26th preseason game. Not taking part in line rushes this morning suggests he will not play tonight vs. the Flyers. With Paquette out, J.T Brown should enter the lineup.
Gionta missed Wednesday’s practice and was not on the ice for today’s morning skate which suggests he won’t play tonight vs. the Senators. With Gionta sidelined, Sam Reinhart appears to be moving up in to the Sabres’ top six.
Halak has been battling an upper-body injury recently, but was able to return to practice on Wednesday and practiced again this morning. The Islanders’ season starts tomorrow but Halak’s status remains up in the air. If he can’t start, Thomas Greiss will likely face the Blackhawks. Continue to monitor his status.
Ward had competition in the crease last year in Anton Khudobin and started 50 games. This season Eddie Lack is in town and will push Ward for crease time, but despite being outplayed by Lack in the preseason, the Hurricanes will roll with Ward in their season opener. He posted a 3.22 GAA and .904 SV% in the preseason and struggled on the road last year—8-15-1, 3.01 GAA and .895 SV%.
Panarin was sidelined with an upper-body injury for the majority of training camp, but the young Russian played in the Blackhawks season finale and is set to make his NHL debut tonight vs. the Rangers. He will start on a line with Artem Anisimov and Patrick Kane and makes for a sneaky, low-priced DraftKings play.
Hudler was dealing with a minor injury in the preseason and missed Tuesday’s practice because of illness but was able to take part in the Flames’ morning skate today and will play tonight vs. the Canucks.
Puempel has been on the verge of cracking the Senators roster for awhile now, but can’t seem to quite get there. His demotion comes after ht has two assists and seven shots in five preseason games and it also suggests that Clarke MacArthur is ready to play in the season opener.
Elias will open the season on IR after dealing with knee soreness throughout the preseason. He didn’t play in any preseason games and now the question, is how long will he be out? With Elias out, expect Jacob Josefson and Lee Stempniak to take on larger roles to start the season.
Markstrom tweaked a lower-body injury in Tuesday’s practice and is unable to suit up as Ryan Miller’s backup tonight. Markstrom will be evaluated later today to determine the severity of the injury and how much time he will miss. Richard Bachman has been recalled to serve as the backup.
Bachman has been recalled to serve as Ryan Miller’s backup tonight vs. the Flames. Miller’s regular backup Jacob Markstrom suffered a lower-body injury in Tuesday’s practice and is unable to suit up tonight.
After spending two years as Henrik Lundqvist’s backup, Talbot gets a chance to be a starter in Edmonton. He was 33-15-5 with a 2.00 GAA and .931 SV% in 53 starts in New York, so he has starter potential, but the Oilers are no where near as good as the Rangers. Talbot posted a 3.13 GAA and .892 SV% in four preseason games.
Allen will start the Blues second game of the season after Brian Elliott led the Blues to a win over the Oilers in their season opener. Allen was 22-7-4 with a 2.28 GAA and .913 SV% last season. In one start and one relief appearance against the Wild, Allen stopped 46 of 50 shots en route to a 1-0 record.
Elliott will get the first start of the year for the Blues, but this should be an even split throughout the year. Elliott was sensational in the preseason, going 2-0-0 with a 0.86 GAA and .965 SV% in three games. In four years with the Blues he has never had a GAA above 2.28 while posting a strong .923 SV%. His splits are always great, but he never starts enough game to be elite.
Quick had Martin Jones as his backup last season but he will go head-to-head to start the 2015-16 season. Quick played well against their California rival last year, going 3-2-0 with a 2.17 GAA and .921 SV% in five starts vs. San Jose. Quick had a strong preseason, posting a 1.29 GAA, a .939 SV% and a shutout in the finale.
Harrington was originally sent down because he was waiver exempt and helped the Leafs get down to 23 players. After Richard Panik cleared waivers, they were able to send him down and bring Harrington back up. The 22-year-old was part of the Phil Kessel trade this summer and is expected to make his Maple Leafs’ debut tonight vs. Montreal. He had two goals and 10 assists (12 points) in 48 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL) last year and was held pointless in 10 games with the Penguins.
Mrazek was fantastic after being recalled from Grand Rapids last season positioned a 16-9-2 record, a 2.38 GAA and .918 SV%. Those splits earned him the nod in the postseason where he nearly led the Red Wings to a first round upset of the Tampa Bay Lightning. Mrazek will battle Jimmy Howard for starts this season, but will need a good performance tonight after Howard shutout the Maple Leafs last night.
