Sheary (upper-body) returned to practice on Tuesday.
Tampa Bay Lightning News
Goalie Start
Vasilevskiy will start Tuesday in Montreal.
Vasilevskiy surrendered three goals on 28 shots in the Lightning’s win in Toronto last Thursday. Curtis McElhinney has started two of the last three games, so there’s no surprise that they will go with Vasilevskiy in Montreal. The 25-year-old has won two of his first three starts and was 3-0-0 with a 2.00 GAA, .935 SV% and one shutout vs. the Canadiens last season.
Goalie Start
Elliott will start Tuesday in Calgary.
Carter Hart started the first three games of the season but Elliott will make his season debut in Calgary, the front-end of a west coast back-to-back. The former Flames’ netminder was 11-11-1 with a 2.96 GAA and .907 SV% in 26 appearances last season. Calgary’s offence hasn’t been great through six games but it’s still not a very good streaming matchup for Elliott.
The Senators have recalled Nick Paul from Belleville (AHL).
Paul has had a strong start to the season, scoring one goal with three assists in three AHL games. The 24-year-old is a candidate to draw into the lineup on Monday afternoon and comes up with eight points (4G / 4A) in 56 career NHL games.
Goalie Start
Vasilevskiy will start Thursday in Toronto.
Vasilevskiy gave up four goals on 28 shots in the Lightning’s loss in Florida last Saturday. Curtis McElhinney made his season debut on Sunday, so Vasilevskiy comes into Thursday’s game very well-rested. The 25-year-old was 16-4-2 with a 2.48 GAA, .923 SV% and three shutouts on the road last year and was 3-1-0 with a 1.77 GAA and .949 SV% vs. the Maple Leafs.
Point (hip) will make his season debut on Thursday.
Sheary is week-to-week with an upper-body injury.
Sheary will miss a couple of weeks with an upper-body injury that it is believed he suffered late in Monday’s overtime loss. Evan Rodrigues will make his season debut replacing Sheary on Wednesday and will likely be his permanent replacement for the next couple of weeks.
The Oilers have placed Josh Archibald (illness) on IR.
Archibald was on the ice for the pre-game skate but was moved to IR to create a spot on the roster to activate Riley Sheahan (concussion). His move to IR is retroactive so he is eligible to return Thursday in New Jersey.
The Lightning have assigned Gemel Smith to Syracuse (AHL).
Smith had one goal and four PIMS during 9:10 ATOI in his first three games with the Lightning. This roster move suggests that Brayden Point (hip) is ready to make his season debut on Thursday.
Sheary is day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
Sheary played a season-high 12:05 TOI on Monday night but is questionable for Wednesday’s game due to an upper-body injury. The Sabres called him day-to-day, so monitor his status during tomorrow’s morning skate.
Archibald (illness) is not expected to play Tuesday vs. the Islanders.
Archibald missed Saturday’s game vs. the Kings due to illness and is expected to miss his second straight game on Tuesday. Markus Granlund will remain in the Oilers lineup with Archibald out.
Archibald (illness) will not play on Saturday.
Goalie Start
Vasilevskiy leads the Lightning onto the ice for warmups.
Vasilevskiy stopped 35 of 37 shots in the Lightning’s 5-2 win over the Panthers on Thursday. It was just another day at the office for the 25-year-old net minder, who was tied for sixth in the NHL in SV% (.925) last season. Vasilevskiy is 5-1-0 against the Panthers over his last six starts, so roll him out with confidence tonight.
Point (hip) will miss at least two more games.
Point missed the season opener as he recovers from offseason hip surgery and head coach Jon Cooper ruled him out for both games this weekend. Point is expected to be back soon, so monitor his status as the Lightning head into their game in Toronto next Thursday.
Sabourin (undisclosed) missed Friday’s practice but is expected to play Saturday.
Sabourin was a great story on opening night. After 308 career AHL games and three ECHL, Sabourin made it to the NHL and scored one goal on three shots in 8:27 TOI. Sabourin was missing from Friday’s practise because he was “sore” but head coach DJ Smith said it’s “likely” that he plays on Saturday.
Goalie Start
Vasilevskiy will start the Lightning's season opener vs. Florida.
Vasilevskiy will begin his Vezina Trophy defence with an opening start vs. the Panthers. Vasilevskiy is the favourite to lead the NHL in wins this season, after doing so each of the last two seasons. In those two years, Vasilevskiy posted a 2.52 GAA and .922 SV%. He stopped 42 of 43 shots in a 2-1 shootout win in the opener vs. Florida last season.
Hedman (undisclosed) will play in the Lightning’s season opener on Thursday.
Hedman was listed as day-to-day on Monday but was always trending towards playing in the season opener. Hedman is coming off of 54 points (12G / 42A) last season and will skate with Kevin Shattenkirk at 5v5 and anchor the top power-play unit.
Lightning are “hopeful” that Hedman will play on opening night.
Hedman missed Monday’s practice as “maintenance” but head coach Jon Cooper believes his star defenseman will be able to play in the season opener. Hedman is coming off of a 54-point (12G / 42A) season, where he only skated in 70 games.
Point (hip) returned to practice on Monday.
Point was not expected to be ready for the season opener, but he was a full participant in Monday’s practice and centred the top-line with Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov. This doesn’t necessarily mean Point will be ready for Thursday, but the possibility of him playing is looking more and more likely.
Sheary is day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
Sheary didn’t play in Saturday’s preseason finale and missed Sunday’s practice as well. Sabres head coach Ralph Krueger said that Sheary skated on his own before practice, but his absence over the weekend clouds his status for Thursday’s season opener.