Hischier left Monday’s practice with a lower-body issue that he suffered while blocking a shot in their last game. Hischier is good-to-go vs. the Stars and comes into play with two assists in three games.
Bjugstad missed Monday’s practice so his status for Tuesday’s game is in question. The Panthers called the winger “day-to-day” so monitor his status during Tuesday’s morning skate. With Bjugstad absent today, Denis Malgin skated on the Panthers’ top line and Mike Hoffman moved back to the second line.
Rittich stopped all eight shots that he has faced in relief this season but struggled to a 2.92 GAA and .904 SV% in 21 appearances with the Flames last year. Rittich will have some spot-start value through the season, but he will be in tough tonight. The Avalanche, particularly their top-line is absolutely dominant on home-ice.
Allen allowed three goals on 34 shots in the Blues win over the Flames on Thursday. Allen will start the front-end of the Blues’ back-to-back tonight in Chicago. The Blackhawks lit him up for five goals on 30 shots in St. Louis last Saturday, making Allen a risky option during his fourth start of the season.
Allen allowed five goals on 30 shots in the Blues overtime loss to the Blackhawks last Saturday. Allen has had a terrible start to the season, allowing 10 goals on 55 shots (.818 SV%) in his first two starts. Tonight he faces a Flames team that is scoring 4.00 goals for per game so far.
Lammikko, 22, was a third round pick (No.65 overall) in 2014 and has spent the last two seasons with the Thunderbirds. Lammikko has just 14 goals and 25 assists (39 points) in 108 career AHL games. He is expected to make his NHL debut on Thursday with Derek MacKenzie dealing with an upper-body injury.
Allen allowed five goals on 25 shots in the Blues loss to the Jets on Thursday. It was a rough start to the season for Allen, who draws an easier matchup tonight with the Blackhawks in town. The 28-year-old was 2-1-0 with a 3.28 GAA and .875 SV% vs. Chicago last season.
Bratt suffered a fractured jaw after he was hit in the face by a puck that deflected off of the crossbar during Thursday’s practice. With Bratt out, the team signed veteran winger Drew Stafford to a one-year deal after playing on a PTO during training camp. Stefan Noesen is expected to move up into the top-6 in the Devils’ season opener with Bratt sidelined.
Over the last two seasons, Allen has averaged 60 starts per season while posting a 2.75 GAA (14th) and .906 SV% (21st). Allen looks like a pretty average netminder, but he plays behind a defensively sound team that scores a lot of goals, so he’ll rack up the wins this year. He draws a brutal matchup tonight with the Jets in town—he was 1-2-0 with a 3.34 GAA and .890 SV% against them last season.
Allen was sidelined with back spasms during the start of training camp, but has been cleared for game action on Tuesday. This is great news for the Blues, who kick-off the regular season next Thursday (Oct. 4th). Allen had one of his worst seasons in 2017-18, going 27-25-3 with a 2.75 GAA, .906 SV% and one shutout. He had a negative (-10.34) goals saved above average for the first time since 2015.
Mantha is coming off of his best season as a pro, scoring 24 goals with 24 assists (48 points) in 80 games. The 23-year-old, former first-round pick has 30-30 potential and is a key part of the Red Wings’ future and rebuild. Mantha is locked into a top-6 spot in Detroit and graded out as the No.31 RW in the NHL—meaning he is a low-end first-liner/high-end second-liner as he enters his third NHL season.
Hamilton is ranked as the No.13 right-handed defenseman according to Corsica Player Ratings. During his three-years in Calgary, Hamilton ranked sixth in the NHL among defensemen in goals (62) and 17th in points (137). Over the last two seasons, Hamilton has a 56.3 CorsiFor% and brings that to a team that ranked first in Corsi last season.
Allen was pulled after he allowed two goals on 14 shots in the Blues 6-0 loss in Arizona on Saturday. Allen finished March at 8-3-1 with a 2.27 GAA and .916 SV%. Tonight he faces the Capitals on home ice, where he has gone 14-10-0 with a 2.58 GAA and .903 SV% this season.
