Tkachuk will be a healthy scratch for a second straight game.
Tkachuk, who has one goal on nine shots in his first five NHL games, will be a healthy scratch again tonight. With Tkachuk in the press box, Freddie Hamilton will play again.
Florida Panthers News
Goalie Start
Tkachuk is expected to be a healthy scratch on Saturday.
Tkachuk has one goal, nine shots and a minus-1 rating while averaging 11:55 through his first five NHL games. It looks like he will sit tonight while Freddie Hamilton makes his season debut.
Goalie Start
Bobrovsky will start Friday vs. the Blackhawks.
Bobrovsky allowed two goals on 37 shots in the Blue Jackets’ loss to the Sharks last Saturday. Columbus has been off for nearly one week, so Bobrovsky will be well rested for tonight’s game vs. Chicago. In Bobrovsky’s only start against the Blackhawks last year, he allowed four goals on 26 shots (.846 SV%), but it came in a winning effort.
Puljujarvi will be a healthy scratch on Tuesday.
Puljujarvi has one goal and five shots while averaging 10:51 TOI in the first three games of his NHL career. Puljujarvi will be replaced by Anton Slepyshev tonight.
Bitetto (upper-body) will miss 4-6 weeks.
Bitetto was injured in a fight with Blackhawks’ forward Jordin Tootoo on Friday and will miss 4-6 weeks. With Bitetto out, Yannick Weber will land a permanent role on the Predators’ blueline.
Kulikov (lower-body) will make his Sabres debut on Sunday.
Kulikov missed the Sabres’ season opener, but will be in the lineup when they take on the Oilers tonight. Kulikov will take Casey Nelson’s spot in the lineup and is expected to play on the third pairing with Cody Franson. The 25-year-old had one goal and 16 assists (17 points) in 74 games a season ago.
Bitetto (upper-body) will not play on Saturday.
Bitetto suffered an upper-body injury in the Predators’ win over the Blackhawks on Friday. With Bitetto listed as day-to-day, Yannick Weber will get into the lineup on Saturday.
Goalie Start
Bobrovsky will start Saturday vs. the Sharks.
Bobrovsky allowed five goals on 36 shots in the Blue Jackets’ opening night loss to the Bruins. Bobrovsky was peppered after the Blue Jackets took an early 2-0 lead and was unable to hold onto the lead. His teammates did not play well in front of him, so this can’t all be pinned on Bobrovsky, but it was an unsettling start to the season for his fantasy investors. Things won’t get any easier tonight with the Sharks in town.
Goalie Start
Bobrovsky is expected to start Saturday against the Sharks.
Bobrovsky allowed five goals on 36 shots in the Blue Jackets’ opening night loss to the Bruins. Bobrovsky was peppered after the Blue Jackets took an early 2-0 lead and was unable to hold onto the lead. His teammates did not play well in front of him, so this can’t all be pinned on Bobrovsky, but it was an unsettling start to the season for his fantasy investors. Things won’t get any easier tonight with the Sharks in town.
Kulikov (lower-body) could make his Sabres debut on Sunday.
Kulikov missed the Sabres’ season opener on Thursday but was on the ice for practice on Friday and is encouraged that he will be able to play on Sunday. Kulikov was skating on the third pair with Cody Franson.
Goalie Start
Bobrovsky starts the Blue Jackets' season opener vs. Boston.
Last year, Bobrovsky was limited to just 37 games thanks to injuries, but even when he was healthy he was largely ineffective. Bobrovsky finished the year with 15 wins, a 2.75 GAA and .908 SV%, but expect those numbers to improve significantly this season. He would be in the conversation as a potential low-end No.1 option if he can stay healthy, but that’s a massive if. He comes into this year with low expectations on an improving Blue Jackets team. Bob gets his season started on home ice, where he was just 7-11-1 a season ago.
Kulikov (tailbone) will not play in the Sabres’ season opener.
Kulikov had been practicing with the team leading up to tonight’s season opener, but his bruised tailbone has not healed enough for him to be in the lineup vs. Montreal. Casey Nelson will replace the offseason acquisition to start the year.
Tkachuk will make the Flames’ opening night roster.
Tkachuk was selected sixth overall this summer after picking up 107 points (30G / 77A) in 57 games with the London Knights. Tkachuk has impressed in his first NHL training camp and will break camp with the Flames. He is expected to start on a line with Sam Bennett and Troy Brouwer, which gives him an excellent chance to produce right away.
The Bruins have signed Brad Marchand to an eight-year deal worth $49 million ($6.125M AAV).
Marchand, 28, is coming off of a career-high 37 goals and 60 points. The Canadian-born winger has scored 20-plus goals in every full 82-game season that he has played in and is in a great spot on Patrice Bergeron’s wing out in Boston. He has had a very strong showing in the World Cup of Hockey which shows last year may not be a fluke.
Schmidt is day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
Schmidt suffered a lower-body injury on Sunday and was held out of a scrimmage on Monday. Schmidt is day-to-day, but doesn’t appear to be in any danger of missing any regular season time.
Ekblad (neck/concussion) “is going to be fine” said head coach Gerard Gallant.
Ekblad was sent home after suffering a neck injury and a reported concussion at the World Cup of Hockey. Ekblad is back skating in Florida and is expected to be ready to anchor the Panthers’ top-pair in the season opener.
The Islanders signed Jean-Francois Berube to a one-year deal.
Berube, 24, was hampered by a lower-body injury early in 2015-16, limiting him to just 12 games between the NHL and AHL. In seven games with the Islanders, he was 3-2-0 with a 2.71 GAA and .914 SV%. In his brief time with Bridgeport, he was 4-1-0 with an impressive 1.25 GAA and .960 SV%. Berube will continue to serve as the Islanders’ third goalie behind Jaroslav Halak and Thomas Greiss.
The Panthers signed Aaron Ekblad to an eight-year, $60 million contract extension.
Ekblad, 20, will carry a $7.5 million cap-hit in the 2017-18 season, which would make him the sixth highest paid defenseman as of now. The 6-foot-4, 216 lbs. blueliner has had two great years to kick off his NHL career—posting 39-points (12G / 27A) in 2014-15 and 36 points (15G / 21A) last season. Ekblad will be the cornerstone of the Panthers franchise through the 2024-25 season.
The Blue Jackets signed Seth Jones to a six-year contract worth $32.5 million ($5.416M AAV).
Jones, 21, had 20 points (2G / 18A) in 41 games with the Blue Jackets after he was acquired from Nashville. Overall, he had 31 points (3G / 28A) in 2015-16, which was a new career-high for the 2013 4th overall pick. Jones has top-pairing upside and the Blue Jackets are hoping he takes a big step forward in 2016-17.
