Varlamov stopped 26 of 28 shots in the Islanders 2-1 loss to the Capitals on Friday. Thomas Greiss had an outstanding outing vs. the Jets on Sunday, but it looks like Varlamov will go tonight vs. the Oilers. Everything is pointing towards this being a 50/50 split all season long. He faces an Edmonton team that is 2-0-0 while averaging 4.50 goals for per game so far.
Rittich stopped all 34 shots that he faced in the Flames shutout win over the Canucks on Saturday. It was a strong outing for Rittich, who will need to play well to fend off Cam Talbot for starts. He makes for a strong option vs. the Kings, who surprisingly scored five goals in their season debut—a 6-5 loss in Edmonton. Rittich was 2-0-0 with a 1.00 GAA, .957 SV% and one shutout vs. L.A. last year.
Rittich allowed four goals on 31 shots in the Flames opening night loss in Colorado. It wasn’t a great start to the season for the Flames’ new No.1 netminder, who will start tonight vs. the Canucks. He was 0-0-2 with a 2.82 GAA and .885 SV% in two starts against their Pacific Division rival last season.
Varlamov went 20-19-9 with a 2.87 GAA and .909 SV% in 49 games with Colorado last season. This summer the Avalanche let him walk in free agency, where he signed to take over for Robin Lehner in their timeshare. He draws a tough assignment for his Islanders debut with the Capitals in town.
Bear was sent to the AHL on Thursday but it was always believed to be a “paper move” while they moved Adam Larsson to LTIR. Bear is back with the big club and should be in the lineup on Saturday.
This is believed to be cap maneuvering with Adam Larsson going on LTIR. Bear was a minus-1 in 15:33 TOI in the season-opening win and has been replaced on the roster by Evan Bouchard, for now.
Cizikas has been dealing with a lower-body injury since the late stages of the preseason but it won’t keep him out of Friday’s season opener. Cizikas will fill a familiar fourth-line role with Matt Martin and Cal Clutterbuck on his wings.
Rittich went 27-9-5 with a 2.61 GAA and .911 SV% in 2018-19. He had a chance to run with the starting job and faltered and it resulted in Mike Smith starting in the postseason. With Smith now in Edmonton, Rittich will get another chance, this time with Cam Talbot as his backup. He will start the season vs. an Avalanche team that he was 2-0-0 with a 2.49 GAA and .918 SV% against last year.
Cizikas is dealing with a lower-body injury and head coach Barry Trotz said it’s too early to determine if he will be ready for the season opener. Trotz is hopeful he’ll have his fourth-line centre available, but it doesn’t sound like the injury is going to linger too deep into October.
DeAngelo emerged as a key part of the Rangers future in 2019, recording 30 points (4G / 26A) in 61 games. The coaching staff was reluctant to use DeAngelo on a nightly basis, scratching him with some regularity, but that should change in 2020. The additions of Jacob Trouba and Adam Fox adds to the competition DeAngelo has for playing time at both 5v5 and on the man-advantage.
Rittich played very well for stretches of the 2019 season, going 27-9-5 with a 2.61 GAA and .911 SV% in 45 games with the Flames. However, when it came to the postseason, the Flames leaned on Mike Smith and were ultimately bounced in the first-round. Coming into 2020, Rittich will be battling with Cam Talbot for the No.1 job and the 26-year-old probably has the early edge to win the spot.
Hogberg spent most of the 2018-19 season with the Belleville Senators (AHL) where he was named the team’s most valuable player after going 21-17-4 with a 2.32 GAA and .917 SV% in 39 games. During his four games with Ottawa, the 24-year-old was 0-2-1 with a 4.09 GAA and .884 SV%. He will likely start the 2019-20 season with Belleville.
Duclair was acquired from the Blue Jackets as a part of the Matt Duchene trade and drastically improved his numbers in Ottawa. Duclair saw over 1:30 TOI more per game with the Senators and scored eight goals with six assists (14 points) in 21 games. With a lack of talent in Ottawa heading into 2019-20, Duclair should continue to play a middle-6 role for the Senators.
Clutterbuck was hurt in Game 2 in Brooklyn but travel to Carolina for Game 3 and remains a game-time decision for Wednesday’s tilt. If looks like Michael Dal Colle will be in the lineup regardless of Clutterbuck’s status, so expect the rugged winger to replace Tom Kuhnhackl if he ends up playing.
Clutterbuck was hurt in the Islanders 2-1 loss to the Hurricanes in Game 2 and missed Tuesday’s practice. Michael Dal Colle will replace Clutterbuck in the lineup for Game 3 if he can’t play. Head coach Barry Trotz called him day-to-day, which makes him questionable for Game 3.
