With Calvert out with a sore groin, Jenner will draw back into the Blue Jackets lineup. He dropped from their first line to a healthy scratch in two games, so don't expect him to stick in the lineup or have any fantasy relevance.
Boone Jenner will replace Calvert on the Blue Jackets third line. Calvert has no points while averaging 15:25 TOI in the first three games. Consider him day-to-day, but he should be back Tuesday vs. Detroit.
Hayes has no points while averaging 11:51 TOI in two games with the Blackhawks.
Pirri, who missed most of the preseason with an injury, was one of the last roster cuts the team made heading in to October 1st's opening game. Had he not gotten injured, it's safe to assume he would have made the team from the start. This is the chance of a lifetime for Pirri, who led the entire American Hockey League in scoring last season. If he can stick, he could be up permanently. To do that, he'll have to play responsible hockey on both ends of the ice.
Stalberg missed the Preds first four games of the season recovering from a sprained AC joint in his shoulder. He was expected to miss 4-6 weeks, but has returned after just two and a half. Expect Predators head coach Barry Trotz to ease him back into the lineup.
Halak continues to have a stranglehold on the Blues starting job, and for good reason. He is 3-0 with a 1.34 GAA, .948 SV% and one shutout. Tonight he will face a Rangers team who have been dominated in their last two games (outscored 15-2), so I think its safe to roll with Halak tonight.
Rask allowed just one goal on 29 shots on Thursday, but the Bruins couldn't beat J.S Giguere; resulting in a 1-0 loss. It was Rask's first loss of the season, but no fault of his own. He has allowed just three goals through his first three starts and has a .966 SV%. He will make his first road start of the season this afternoon in Columbus.
With Vincent Lecavalier and Scott Hartnell both out, the Flyers had to make two callups. Raffl who spent last season with Leksands in the Swedish league almost made the team out of training camp. He already has one goal and two assists with Adirondack.
With Vincent Lecavalier and Scott Hartnell both out, the Flyers had to make two callups. McGinn has one goal in two games with Adirondack. He played 18 games for the Flyers last season scoring three times and adding two assists.
Lashoff had a goal, four assists and a minus-10 rating in 31 games with the Red Wings last season.
Smith is averaging just under 18 minutes a game (17:58) and is a minus-4 with no points in four games. He is one of Detroit's top-defensive prospects so don't expect him to sit for too long.
After a strong 2012-13 campaign, Nabokov has picked up right where he left off. He has started the year 2-0-1 with a 1.89 GAA and .935 SV%. He was given the night off last night in Chicago, so he draws a much easier matchup tonight against the offensively inept Predators.
Rinne's up-and-down play continued on Thursday. He allowed four goals on 26 shots in a 4-0 loss to Toronto. It has been an alarming start for his fantasy owners; 3.50 GAA and .891 SV% are not what owners were expecting when selecting him in the early rounds. The Preds take on the 2-1-1 Islanders, who are averaging 3.75 goals per game so far.
Fleury is 3-0-0 and has allowed only three goals on 82 shots. It is the best start of his 10-year career. New Jersey, Buffalo and Carolina rarely tested Fleury consistently, though there were moments when he was required to, and made, sensational saves. Tampa Bay is a significantly stronger offensive outfit than any of the Penguins’ opening four opponents, so the first blip on Fleury's stat line could come tonight.
Lindback allowed three goals on 25 shots in an opening night loss to the Bruins. With Ben Bishop out with a lower-body injury, Linback has an opportunity to earn himself some more starts down the road. His matchup with the Penguins is not a favourable one, look elsewhere.
Ellis made his Stars debut Friday night in relief of Kari Lehtonen. He stopped 22 of 23 shots in a 4-1 win over Winnipeg. He gets the call tonight against a Wild team who is also coming off of a win over the Jets.
Dan Ellis came on in relief and played the final 25:17, stopping 22 of 23 shots in his first game of the season for the Stars. Lehtonen has had a difficult time staying healthy in his NHL career, so this comes as no surprise. A further update on his status will likely come over the weekend.
Bernier will start three straight games for the first time in his career. His first week and a half as a Maple Leaf have been spectacular. Thursday night he posted a 36 save shutout, dropping his GAA to 0.84 through four starts. Of goalies who have made at least two starts, he leads the NHL in SV% with a .974. While it isn't time to start building a statue in front of the ACC, this is a great start for the 25-year-old.
The Red Wings shuffled their lines around on Friday and the changes saw veteran Todd Bertuzzi skating on the top line with Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg. “I’m not 100 percent,” said Wing head coach Mike Babcock of the line shuffling. “All I know is I can’t keep going the way I’m going, because it’s not working.”
It's getting close to decision time on whether or not to burn Lindholm’s first year of his entry level deal. Lindholm’s recurring "upper-body" problems could make that decision a little easier on Carolina. Consider his day-to-day.
