Fleury will start Thursday vs. the Senators. Fleury allowed five goals on 39 shots in the Golden Knights loss to the Predators on Tuesday. The win snapped a brief two-game winning streak for Fleury, who is now 4-2-0 with a 2.56 GAA and .922 SV% on the season. I don’t need to tell you that Fleury is a must-start on home-ice against the 1-4-0 Senators.Source: David Schoen
Price will make his fourth consecutive start on Thursday. Price gave up three goals on 22 shots in the Canadiens loss to the Lightning on Tuesday. Through five starts, Price has allowed at least three goals in every game, totalling in a 3.33 GAA and .896 SV%. It’s not a good streak but a home matchup with the Wild is a good opportunity to end it. Minnesota is 1-5-0 and are averaging just 2.33 goals per game (t-26th). Source: Stu Cowan
Vasilevskiy led the Lightning onto the ice for warmups. Vasilevskiy stopped 33 of 34 shots in the Lightning’s win in Montreal on Tuesday. It was Vasilevskiy’s best outing of the young season and moved him to 3-1-0 with a 2.53 GAA and .921 SV% in four starts. Tonight he faces the Bruins in an Atlantic Division clash. He only faced Boston once last season (a 5-4 win) but they provide a stiff test, even without David Krejci on the second line.Source: Caley Chelios
Rask will start Thursday vs. the Lightning. Rask stopped all 31 of the shots that he faced in the Bruins shutout win over the Devils last Saturday. Rask and Jaroslav Halak continue to split time and both have been outstanding. Rask comes into Thursday’s game at 3-0-0 with a 1.33 GAA, .957 SV% and one shutout in three games. Tonight he faces the Lightning, who he was 1-3-0 with a 3.55 GAA and .860 SV% in four games against last season. Source: Matt Porter
Varlamov led the Islanders onto the ice for warmups. Varlamov gave up two goals on 37 shots in the Islanders win over the Panthers last Saturday. Varlamov and Thomas Greiss continue to alternate games, with both netminders playing well in recent outings. As a former member of the Avalanche, Varlamov has seen a lot of the Jets in recent years—going 4-3-0 with a .928 SV% against them over the last three years.Source: @NYIslanders
Hellebuyck will start Thursday vs. the Islanders. Hellebuyck surrendered four goals on 35 shots in the Jets loss to the Coyotes on Tuesday. The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for Hellebuyck, who is now 3-2-0 with a 2.82 GAA and .919 SV% in his first five games. On Thursday he draws a great home matchup vs. an Islanders team that is tied for 26th in goal-scoring (2.33 GF/gm) through six games. Source: Scott Billeck
Demko will start Thursday in St. Louis. Demko allowed one goal on 27 shots in the Canucks 5-1 win over the Red Wings on Tuesday. Demko gave up a goal to Dylan Larkin in the first 30 seconds but settled in and didn’t allow another goal after that. It was an outstanding season debut for the young netminder, who will start again tonight with Jacob Markstrom (personal) still away from the team. Demko was 1-2-1 with a 2.95 GAA and .904 SV% in four road starts last yearSource: Jeff Paterson
Binnington will start Thursday vs. the Canucks. Binnington allowed three goals on 32 shots in the Blues overtime loss to the Islanders on Monday. Binnington has now lost two in a row and three of his first five starts (2-1-2) while posting a 2.97 GAA and .910 SV%. Tonight he faces a Canucks team on a three-game winning streak while outscoring their opponents 16-to-5.
Source: Jim Thomas
Saros led the Predators onto the ice for warmups. Saros allowed six goals on 37 shots in the Predators loss in Los Angeles last Saturday. Saros has had a forgettable start to the season, losing each of his first two games while allowing 10 goals on 64 shots (.844 SV%). He hasn’t had very difficult opponents either. Arizona comes in averaging just 2.20 goals per game (29th) so this could be a spot where Saros gets back on-track.Source: Brooks Bratten
Rittich will start Thursday vs. the Red Wings. Rittich stopped 21 of 22 shots in the Flames win over the Flyers on Tuesday. It was a nice bounce-back game for Rittich, who gave up six goals in Vegas in his previous outing. The 27-year-old has been inconsistent to begin 2019-20, allowing at least four goals in three starts and less than two goals in the other three starts. Overall, he is 3-2-1 with a 2.80 GAA and .912 SV% and is a must-start against the Red Wings on Thursday.
Source: Pat Steinberg