Murphy missed the Blackhawks season opener but will draw into the lineup on Thursday. Murphy, who had 13 points (5G / 8A) in 52 games last year, will skate on the third pair with Slater Koekkoek.
Wagner had three shots in 10:34 TOI in the season opener but is expected to be scratched in favour of Carl Grundstrom on Tuesday.
Despite being placed on IR on Monday night, Athanasiou was on the ice for the morning skate and will play Tuesday vs. the Ducks. Head coach Jeff Blashill confirmed that Athanasiou will play and is expected to centre the second line with Luke Glendening and Taro Hirose on his wings.
Athanasiou has missed the first two games of the regular season and was moved to IR, retroactively to September 20th, which means he can be activated whenever he is healthy. Athanasiou practiced on Friday, which suggests that he shouldn’t be out too long, so monitor his status throughout the week.
Athanasiou was a question mark heading into the weekend after missing practice earlier in the week and will miss his second straight game on Sunday. Athanasiou was able to skate on Friday, which suggests he won’t be sidelined long-term, so keep an eye on his status heading into Tuesday’s game vs. the Ducks.
Khudobin started a career-high 37 games, going 16-17-5 with a 2.57 GAA and .923 SV% in 2018-19. Ben Bishop started the first two games of the season, including the first game of the back-to-back, so Khudobin will go tonight in Detroit. Khudobin was 9-10-4 with a 2.74 GAA, .918 SV% and two shutouts on the road last year. As good as this matchup looks, the Red Wings did have an impressive showing in their season debut (5-2 win in Nashville).
Brossoit allowed four goals on 39 shots in the Jets come from behind shootout win in New Jersey on Friday. With Connor Hellebuyck struggling in his season debut, the Jets will give Brossoit a second straight start tonight vs. the Islanders. Brossoit is 8-6-0 in 14 career road appearances with the Jets.
Sanford was a healthy scratch in the Blues season opener. With Robert Thomas (upper-body) out, Sanford will draw into the Blues lineup on a line with Tyler Bozak and Robby Fabbri.
Dickinson played just 6:14 TOI before leaving Thursday’s game with an upper-body injury. With Blake Comeau also suffering an injury last night, the Stars have recalled Nick Caamano and Rhett Gardner from Texas (AHL).
Athanasiou returned to practice on Friday but remains a game-time decision for the Red Wings season opener. Valtteri Filppula rotated with Athanasiou on the power-play in practice, which suggests that head coach Jeff Blashill is prepared to play without Athanasiou.
Athanasiou has missed the last two practices but returned to the ice on Friday afternoon. Athanasiou’s availability for practice suggests that he will be in the lineup for the Red Wings’ season opener on Saturday.
Dickinson was cross-checked in the Stars season opener and is expected to be sidelined for at least a week. The Stars will need to recall a forward from Texas (AHL) to replace Dickinson on Saturday.
With Connor Hellebuyck starting on Thursday, Brossoit will make his season debut on the tail-end of the back-to-back. Brossoit played extremely well during his first season with the Jets, going 13-6-2 with a 2.52 GAA and .925 SV% in 21 games. He’ll be a solid spot-start option throughout the 2019-20 season, but his first matchup is difficult. The Devils revamped their offence this offseason and present a tough challenge for a weak Jets bluelline.
Murphy has landed on IR to begin the 2019-20 season but is not expected to be sidelined long-term. Slater Koekkoek will open the year as the Blackhawks No.6 defensemen while Murphy is out.
Maroon returned to his hometown in 2019, scoring 10 goals with 18 assists (28 points) in 74 games with the Blues. He went on to have a decent postseason but won a Stanley Cup and now signs on with the 2020 preseason favorites to win the Cup. Maroon will have a really hard time cracking the Lighting’s top-6, but he will solidify their bottom-6 and second power-play unit.
The Wild acquired Donato in the Charlie Coyle trade and the Harvard grad picked up 16 points (4G / 12A) in 22 games with Minnesota after the trade. The 24-year-old has gifted hands and middle-6 potential but his position to start 2020 is uncertain. He had a strong showing to end last season but the additions of Mats Zuccarello and Ryan Hartman will likely push him down the depth chart and maybe to the AHL to being the year.
