NHL Hockey Player News

Aho was a late scratch to Tuesday's game thanks to the surprise upper-body injury, with the team announcing his absence just 30 minutes before puck drop. The driving force behind Carolina's offense, Aho has enjoyed a nice start to the season, picking up two goals and one assist with eight shots on goal through the first three games of the season. Teuvo Teravainen will attempt to fill the void left by Aho as he'll serve as the team's first line centre to begin Tuesday's game against the Sharks.

Oettinger makes his second start of the season after an impressive 23-save performance in a 2-1 shootout win over the St. Louis Blues in the Stars' season-opener. Oettinger and the Stars should be well rested, having not seen game-action in five days, and are listed as slight -115 road favourites over the defending Stanely Cup Champion Vegas Golden Knights. In three games against the Golden Knights last season (3-0-0), Oettinger was lights-out, recording a 0.96 GAA and .967 SV%. This rematch of the Western Conference Finals makes for a highly contested matchup in what has traditionally been low-scoring affairs between the two teams.

Samuelsson's absence will create a hole on the Sabres blue-line should it extend at all passed just the remainder of Tuesday's game. The 23-year-old blue-liner has become a dependable partner for Rasmus Dahlin on Buffalo's top pair. He scored two goals and added eights assists in 55 games last season with an ATOI of 22:11.

The Stars, who have only played one game this season (1-0-0) and have been off for five days, will welcome Hintz into the lineup for his season debut. Primarily centring one of the league's top lines with Jason Robertson and Joe Pavelski, Hintz recorded a career-high 75 points (37G / 38A) last season. Hintz will retake his spot on the top line as Tyler Seguin will move down to a line with Mason Marchment and Matt Duchene.

Vilardi suffered what the Jets are calling a lower-body injury after falling awkwardly following a hit from the Kings Blake Lizotte. Vilardi scored 23 goals and added 18 assists in 63 games with the Kings last season before heading to Winnipeg as part of the trade that sent Pierre-Luc Dubois to Los Angeles. The 24-year-old Vilardi had impressed in his first two games as a Jet, registering one assist and nine shots on goal.

Campbell will start for the Oilers on Tuesday night and will hope to bounce back from a miserable opening-game performance. Campbell allowed four goals on 16 shots before being relieved by Stuart Skinner en route to an 8-1 loss to the Vancouver Canucks. The Oilers, who have been outscored 12-4 in their first two contests, are -135 road favourites tonight against the Nashville Predators as they search for their first victory of the season (0-2-0). The starting goalie position is still very much up for grabs in Edmonton and a strong performance for Campbell against the Predators could go a long way in securing some more starts down the line.

Saros will start his fourth straight game for the Predators to open the season. He is pretty well on par with his career 2.57 GAA and .919 SV% so far this season, posting a 2.41 GAA and .920 SV% in three contests (1-2-0). The wins aren't always there for Saros and the Predators but his superb performances have become expected as he has solidified himself as a top-tier goaltender in the NHL over the past half-decade. Saros will be put to the ultimate test Tuesday as the Predators face off against Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers, who are still searching for their first victory (0-2-0).

Talbot will get his second start of the season on Tuesday night as the Kings faceoff against the Winnipeg Jets. The Kings, who have been outscored 10-7 in their first two games, are +120 road underdogs as they search for the first win of the season (0-1-1). In his first game, Talbot allowed four goals on 36 shots in a 5-2 season-opening loss to the Colorado Avalanche. Talbot has the front track for the starting role in Los Angeles but a strong performance tonight against the Jets will go a long way in garnering him more net security.

Johansson will get the call for his third start of the season tonight after sitting out Sunday’s 5-2 loss to the Senators. Signed in the off-season with the intention of serving as Andrei Vasilevskiy’s backup, Johansson was thrust into a starting role after Vasilevskiy suffered a back injury in the final weeks of pre-season. With a 4.09 GAA and an .889 SV% to show for his efforts, Johansson has underwhelmed through his first two starts of the season, and he draws another difficult matchup tonight in Buffalo against Tage Thompson’s Sabres.

Soucy signed a three-year, $9.75 million contract ($3,250,000 AAV) with the Canucks in the offseason and has yet to make his Vancouver debut due to an undisclosed injury but will draw into the lineup Tuesday vs. Pittsburgh. The 29-year-old defensemen had three goals, 13 assists, 87 SOG, 68 PIMs and a +18 plus/minus in 78 games played with Seattle in 2022-23. He is expected to lineup on Vancouver's third pairing with Noah Juulsen.

Brisebois has not skated in 10 days and has now been placed on the long-term injured reserve with an upper-body injury. The 26-year-old had a goal, two assists, 15 SOG, six PIMs and a -2 plus/minus through 17 games played in 2022-23. His move to the LTIR allows the Canucks to keep Jack Studnicka on the active roster after he was originally an emergency call up.

Demko was sensational in his only start of the season, stopping 21 of 22 shots against (.955 SV%) as he beat Edmonton 8-1 six days ago. The 27-year-old struggled in 2022-23, posting a 14-14-4 record, 3.16 GAA and .901 SV% in 32 games started. He takes on the Philadelphia Flyers Tuesday on the road, who is 1-1-0 and rank 15th in the NHL in goals per game (3.0).

Andrea made his NHL debut in the Flyers' previous contest vs. Ottawa and was a -1 plus/minus through 23 shifts and 16:27 TOI but will be a healthy scratch Tuesday as Philadelphia hosts Vancouver. The 21-year-old defensemen will be replaced by Egor Zamula in the Flyers' lineup.

Zamula was a healthy scratch for the Flyers' previous game but will draw back into the lineup vs. Vancouver Tuesday. The 23-year-old has an assist, one SOG, and a +2 plus/minus in a productive 21 shifts and 13:49 TOI in his only game played so far in 2023-24. He will replace Emil Andrea on the Flyers' third defensive pair.

Brink was a healthy scratch for the Flyers' previous contest but will draw back into the lineup Tuesday vs. Vancouver. The 22-year right-winger had a strong season debut in his only contest of 2023-24, picking up two SOG and a +1 plus/minus in 17 shifts and 13:16 TOI. He steps into the lineup as Morgan Frost is a surprising healthy scratch Tuesday.

Frost will be the surprising odd man out of the Flyers' lineup Tuesday vs. Vancouver a season after leading Phialdelphia in even strength points. The 24-year-old centre has failed to pick up a point in any of the Flyers' first two games and only has two SOG and a -1 plus/minus while averaging 13:57 TOI. He willl make way to Bobby Brink (healthy scratch) returning to Philadelphia's lineup Tuesday.

Couturier missed the Flyers' practice Monday as he is banged up with an undisclosed injury but will return Tuesday as Philadelphia hosts Vancouver after being a game-time decision originally. The 30-year-old centre missed the entire 2022-23 season with a back injury but has been off to a solid start so far in 2023-24 with an assist, three SOG, four PIMs and a +3 plus/minus while averaging 20:19 TOI in two games. If he does play Tuesday, expect him to be atop both Philadelphia's top line and power play unit.

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.