Wedgewood stopped all 28 shots that he faced in the Devils' shutout win over the Islanders on Sunday. It was a terrific bounce-back performance from Wedgewood, who struggled a bit in his season debut a few nights prior. Tonight he'll face a Flyers team that is dealing with a few injuries and have lost three of their last four games.
Manson missed Wednesday's game with an injury he suffered on Monday and unfortunately for the Ducks, the oblique issue will keep him out for roughly six weeks. This is a huge loss for a Ducks blueline that is running thin on experience.
Manson played just 6:14 TOI on Monday before leaving with an upper-body injury. With Manson out for Wednesday's game vs. the Wild, Andy Welinski will draw into the lineup and Jani Hakanpää will move up to play with Cam Fowler.
Francouz suffered a minor injury and is listed as day-to-day, so Hunter Miska has been promoted to the active roster to serve as Philipp Grubauer's backup in Los Angeles.
Wolanin was held off of the scoresheet while playing 16:34 TOI in the season debut on Friday but will be replaced by Mike Reilly on Saturday.
Blackwood was outstanding in the Devils’ season opener, stopping 35 of the 37 shots that he faced in the shootout loss to the Bruins. Boston dominated the game but Blackwood stood tall and kept the Devils alive. He will likely be under siege again this afternoon in the rematch.
Blackwood came into 2021 expecting to split time with Corey Crawford but could become a workhorse after Crawford retired prior to the start of the season. Blackwood performed well in 2020, going 22-14-8 with a 2.77 GAA and .915 SV%. He enters the season with a career .916 SV% in 70 appearances, so he should make for a low-end No.2/high-end No.3 fantasy netminder but draws a tough matchup vs. the Bruins on opening night.
Juulsen was a first-round pick (No.26 overall) in 2015 but only played in 44 NHL games since. Juulsen has dealt with headache issues in recent years, last year playing just 13 games with Laval (AHL). Still, he is just 23-years-old and has a bright future as long as he can stay healthy and on the ice.
The Coyotes did not tender the RFA, letting him hit the open market and signing on with the Panthers. The former sixth-round pick had a great debut season in Arizona, posting 39 points (16G / 23A) but struggled to just 22 points (5G / 17A) last season. Hinostroza is a good bounce-back candidate in Florida, where he'll be a middle-6 winger.
Juulsen missed most of the 2019-20 season with concussion-like symptoms that stemmed from a facial fracture that he suffered after being hit in the face with the pick in September. He had three assists in 13 AHL games and will likely start 2021 with Laval (AHL) after the promotion of Alexander Romanov and the addition of Joel Edmundson.
Nelson was forced to leave Game 2 but did return. Despite being banged up, head coach Barry Trotz expects to have his No.2 centre in Game 3 on Friday. Nelson has had a terrific postseason, posting 15 points (7G / 8A) in 17 games.
