Copley stopped 18 of 19 shots after replacing Braden Holtby in the Capitals shootout loss to the Panthers on October 19th. In his first start of the season, Copley allowed six goals on 36 shots in a loss in New Jersey. Today he faces a Flames team that has lost three of their last four while being outscored 18-to-10.
Ceci has missed the last four games with an upper-body injury, but will replace Ben Harpur in Colorado. Ceci had no points, a minus-4 rating and six shots on goal in his first four games of the season.
Edler was forced to leave Wednesday’s game with a lower-body injury and was placed on IR on Thursday afternoon. He will go for an MRI on Friday to determine the severity of his injury. Edler missing time due to injury comes as no surprise, as the veteran defenseman has missed at least 12 games in each of the last three seasons—missing a total of 56 games over that span.
Kuemper filled in for Antti Raanta, who was a late scratch after being schedule to start Tuesday’s game in Columbus. Kuemper stopped 35 of 36 shots in the 4-1 win. Tonight he will make his third start of the season and comes in with a 1.52 GAA and .953 SV% in his first two outings. He draws a solid matchup against a Canucks team that is banged up and coming in on the tail-end of a back-to-back.
Edler played just 3:10 TOI before leaving Wednesday’s game in Vegas. Edler was hit hard by Golden Knights winger Max Pacioretty and did not return to the ice. Michael Del Zotto will likely replace Edler if he can’t play Thursday in Arizona.
With Corey Crawford back for the Blackhawks, they have sent Forsberg back to the AHL, where he was 27-17-2 with a 2.28 GAA, .926 SV% and four shutouts in his last stint.
Ceci will miss his fourth straight games with an upper-body injury, but is getting close. Christian Jaros was recalled and will be in the lineup on Tuesday with Ceci still sidelined.
Kopitar was forced to miss Thursday’s game against the Islanders due to an illness, but he is feeling better and should be back vs. the Sabres. Kopitar was back between Alex Iafallo and Tyler Toffoli at Friday’s practice and comes into Saturday with two goals in six games this season.
Kuemper split last season between the Kings and Coyotes. During his time in Arizona, Kuemper was 2-6-2 with a 3.22 GAA and .899 SV%. The Coyotes are an improved team so far this season, allowing the fewest shots on goal per game (23.3) in the NHL through four games—8.4 fewer shots than Kuemper faced per game last season. He could be a decent spot-start option tonight vs. a Wild team averaging just 2.40 goals per game so far.
Ceci likely suffered the upper-body injury vs. the Flyers on Wednesday. Ceci played a season-low 19:33 TOI vs. the Flyers, suggesting he left the game in the third period. With Ceci out, Christian Jaros has been recalled from Belleville (AHL).
Edmundson said he wants to get through tomorrow’s morning skate before making a decision but it looks like he will play. Vince Dunn is expected to sit for Edmundson, meaning that Alex Pietrangelo will move to the top power-play and Colton Parayko on the second. Edmundson had 17 points (7G / 10A) in 69 games a season ago.
Copley went 15-17-4 with a 2.91 GAA and .896 SV% in 41 starts with the Hershey Bears (AHL) last season. Now that Philipp Grubauer is in Colorado, Copley takes over as the Capitals’ backup and will make his Washington debut tonight in New Jersey. Copley has allowed six goals on 35 shots in two NHL relief appearances.
Forsberg had to be helped off of the ice during the Blackhawks morning skate and will not be available to backup Cam Ward tonight. Forsberg will eventually be the Blackhawks’ No.3 netminder when Corey Crawford is healthy. Colin Delia will meet the team and serve as their No.2 in Ottawa.
Dumoulin, who has been battling an upper-body injury, took part in Wednesday’s practice and today’s morning skate, so it looks like he’ll play tonight. Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan loves the “game-time decision” tag, so expect Dumoulin to be in the lineup.
