Schneider allowed three goals on 50 shots in the Devils’ win in Toronto on Wednesday. It was an outstanding start for Schneider, who moves to 3-0-0 with a 2.00 GAA and .948 SV% in his first three starts of the season. He will look to continue his run tonight vs. a powerful Capitals team—he stopped 41 of 42 shots (.976 SV%) in one start and one relief appearance vs. Washington last season.
Schneider allowed three goals on 50 shots in the Devils’ win in Toronto on Wednesday. It was an outstanding start for Schneider, who moves to 3-0-0 with a 2.00 GAA and .948 SV% in his first three starts of the season. He will look to continue his run tonight vs. a powerful Capitals team—he stopped 41 of 42 shots (.976 SV%) in one start and one relief appearance vs. Washington last season.
Varlamov stopped 20 of 23 shots in Colorado’s win over the Bruins on Wednesday. Jonathan Bernier started last night so the Avalanche will start tonight in Dallas. He has been great through the first week and a half of the season, going 3-0-0 with a 1.67 GAA and .945 SV% to this point.
Varlamov stopped all 29 shots that he faced in Colorado’s shutout win in Boston on Monday afternoon. In his first two starts of the season, Varlamov has stopped 66 of 68 shots (.971 SV%) en route to a 2-0-0 start. Tonight he will take on the Bruins again—they’re still without Patrice Bergeron and David Backes, but expect a better effort from them tonight.
Schneider allowed two goals on 25 shots in the Devils’ win in Buffalo on Monday. Schneider has had a strong start to 2017-18, winning his first two starts while turning aside 63 of 66 shots (.955 SV%). He’ll have a difficult time extending his winning streak to three in Toronto—the Maple Leafs are playing great hockey to start the year.
Palmieri missed Monday’s afternoon game with a lower-body injury that he suffered on Saturday, but will return to the lineup tonight in Toronto. The early emergence of Jesper Bratt is a threat to Palmieri and his minutes, but he will start back on the top-line this evening.
Palmieri left the Devils season opener after playing just 10:29 TOI and will not be available for this afternoon’s game in Buffalo. With Palmieri out, Jesper Bratt will get an opportunity to play on the Devils’ top line with Taylor Hall and Pavel Zacha.
Schneider was excellent in his season debut, stopping 40 of 41 shots in the Devils win vs. Colorado on Saturday. Schneider will look to carry that success into this afternoon’s start in Buffalo. The 31-year-old netminder was terrible on the road last season, going 6-15-5 with a 2.99 GAA and .906 SV% in 27 starts outside of New Jersey.
Varlamov turned aside 37 of 39 shots in Colorado’s opening night win in New York. It was an excellent start to 2017-18 for Varlamov, who has given Saturday night in New Jersey off. Varlamov will return to the crease in Boston, where the Bruins will be playing without Patrice Bergeron.
Clutterbuck came out of the lineup on Saturday because of a lower-body injury that he suffered on opening night. Clutterbuck will sit for a second straight game, which means the Islanders will go with the same lineup today vs. the Blues.
Palmieri recorded two assists in 10:29 TOI in the season opener before departing with a lower-body injury. The 26-year-old winger did travel to Buffalo, so he may not miss any time. Expect John Hynes to address the media around 12:45 pm ET and if Palmieri can’t play, look for Jesper Bratt to take his spot on the top line.
After his first three seasons in New Jersey, Schneider was tied for second in the NHL in SV% (.924) and third in GAA (2.14) He fell apart in his fourth season with the Devils, posting a 2.82 GAA and .908 SV%. As a result, the 31-year-old fell down the draft board and has went from overvalued to undervalued as the Devils look to take a step forward in 2017-18. Last year, Schneider was 14-12-6 with a 2.67 GAA and .911 SV% on home-ice.
After starting 57-plus games for three straight seasons, Varlamov was bit by the injury bug last season, starting just 23 games. In his 24 appearances, the Russian netminder struggled to an ugly 3.38 GAA and .898 SV%. Varlamov plays behind one of the worst teams in the NHL which will limit his upside in 2017-18. Look for him to improve on last year’s numbers, but he draws a difficult matchup in his first start of the year.
Andreoff enjoyed moderate success in 2015-16, posting 10 points (8G / 2A) in 60 games with the Kings, but struggled to find regular playing time in 2016-17, failing to score a goal while posting two assists in 36 contests. Andreoff is a serviceable fourth-line centre as he won 59.4% of the 69 faceoffs he took a season ago.
