Hart struggled in his previous start after allowing five goals on 31 shots (.839 SV%) in a loss to Ottawa but will take the crease Tuesday vs. Vancouver. The 25-year-old netminder has been up and down in his two starts so far this season, with a 1-1-0 record, 3.53 GAA and .891 SV%. He takes on the undefeated Vancouver Canucks (2-0-0), who rank first in the NHL in goals per game (6.0) after beating up on Edmonton in both of their games.
After alternating between Hill and Logan Thompson in their first two games, the Golden Knights will turn to Hill for his second consecutive start. Hill has picked up where he left off in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, recording a stellar 1.01 GAA and .964 SV% in two starts this season (2-0-0). The defending Stanley Cup Champion Golden Knights have been remarkable as a whole, outscoring opponents 12-3 en route to a 3-0-0 start to the season. Tonight, however, they are slight +104 road underdogs in a rematch against the team they defeated in the Western Conference Finals, the Dallas Stars. The Stars are expected to welcome star center Roope Hintz into the lineup for his season debut.
Howden has served his suspension for two-games for an illegal check to the head on Seattle's Brandon Tanev and will return to Vegas' lineup Tuesday vs. Dallas. The 25-year-old forward had an assist, 15 PIMs and a SOG through 16 shifts and 11:57 TOI in his only game played this season. He is expected to return to his role on Vegas' fourth line alongside Nicolas Roy and Keegan Kolesar.
The 28-goal-man from last season is expected to be a healthy scratch Tuesday night after poor back-to-back performances to start the season. In two games, Olofsson has zero points, one shot, and a -2 plus/minus rating. Tyson Jost will enter the Sabres lineup as his replacement.
Pietrangelo was high high by a pick late in Thursday's win in San Jose. Pietrangelo will be held out of the lineup in Anaheim but is considered day-to-day and isn't expected to be sidelined long-term. Pietrbngelo's absence is always detrimental, but it hurts even more when the Golden Knights are already without Alec Martinez and Zach Whitecloud on the blueline. Kaedan Korczak will draw into the lineup for Pietrangelo.
Hart stopped 31 of 33 shots in the Flyers' opening night win over the Blue Jackets on Thursday. It was a strong start to the season for Hart, who was 22-23-10 with a 2.94 GAA and .907 SV% a season ago. This afternoon, he'll face a Senators team that he succeeded against last season, going 1-1-0 while stopping 56 of the 60 shots (.933 SV%) that he faced.
Rondbjerg was recalled from the Henderson Silver Knights (AHL) Thursday ahead of Vegas' game vs. San Jose due to the two game suspension to Brett Howden and the injury to William Carrier (upper body). The 24-year-old forward appeared in 13 games in 2022-23 for Vegas and failed to pick up a goal while collecting an assist, four PIMs and a -5 plus/minus. He is expected to line up on the Golden Knights' fourth line alongside Keegan Kolesar and Nicholas Roy.
Hart will begin his sixth NHL season as the starter for the Philadelphia Flyers in their season-opening matchup against the Blue Jackets. In 55 games last season (22-23-10), Hart posted a respectable 2.94 GAA and .907 SV% for a struggling Flyers team that ranked 26th last season (31-38-13). The Flyers will hope to get off to a good start against a Blue Jackets team that ranked third-worst offensively last season, averaging only 2.60 goals per game. Hart is the bonafide starting goalie in Philadelphia and should see plenty of action this season.
The hit occurred midway through the third period of Tuesday's season opener and Howden received a match penalty on the play. Tanev did not return to the game due to what the Kraken are calling an upper-body injury. Prior to his ejection, Howden had played 11:57 and collected an assist while skating alongside Mark Stone and Chandler Stephenson. Mike Amadio and Paul Cotter are the most likely candidates to be prompoted to Vegas' second line in Howden's absence.
Hill was awarded a two-year, $9.8 million contract extension by Vegas in the offseason and will take the crease in their opening matchup of the 2023-24 campaign. The 27-year-old was 16-7-1 with a .915 SV% and a 2.50 GAA in 27 games played in 2022-23 before leading the Golden Knights to a Stanley Cup. He draws the tough task of the Seattle Kraken who were fourth in the NHL in GF in 2022-23 (289) and 20th in SOG/GP (30.5).
Heinola suffered a fractured ankle in the Jets' final preseason game and is now expected to miss anywhere from eight to 12 weeks. It is a big loss for Winnipeg's back six as the 22-year-old was entering his fifth season with the Jets after producing an assist, five SOG and a -5 plus/minus through 10 games in 2022-23. He has one goal and 10 assists across 35 career games played in the NHL but has never appeared in more than 12 for the Jets in any one season.
Howden had six goals, seven assists, 53 SOG, 55 PIMs and a +5 plus/minus through 54 games with Vegas in 2022-23 and has signed a two-year, $3.8 million extension ($1,900,000 AAV). The 25-year-old centre was a 2017 first-round pick (27th overall) and has 31 goals, 82 points and 120 PIMs through 279 career NHL games across five seasons.
Lavoie had 25 goals, 20 assists, 47 PIMs and a +10 plus/minus through 61 games played with Bakersfield (AHL) in 2022-23 and has signed a one-year, two-way contract extension worth $874,125. The 22-year-old right-wing was Edmonton's 2019 second-round Draft Pick (38th overall) and has yet to make his NHL debut.
Coghlan appeared in just 17 games for the Hurricanes last season, picking up three assists, 29 SOG and 11 hits. The 25-year-old will likely fill a similar role as the Hurricanes' No.7 defenseman in 2024 and will only see playing time when a member of the core blueline gets hurt.
Wotherspoon has appeared in 293 AHL games since 2016, but finally made his NHL debut for the Islanders in 2023. He had just one assists in 12 games and signs with the Bruins, where he'll end up back in the AHL to start the 2023-24 season.
