Zamula scored the Flyers' game-winning goal in Tuesday's victory over Vancouver but will be the odd man out as he is a healthy scratch Thursday vs. Edmonton. The 23-year-old had a goal, an assist, four SOG, and a +3 plus/minus through two games so far in 2023-24. He will be replaced by Emil Andrea on the Flyers' third defensive pair.
Hart is coming off his best performance of the young season in which he recorded a 25-save shutout to lead his Flyers to a 2-0 victory over the Vancouver Canucks. In three games this year, Hart has 2.35 GAA and .921 SV% but will be hard-pressed to continue his early-season success tonight as the Flyers are +177 home underdogs against Connor McDavid and the high-scoring Edmonton Oilers. Working in his favour, Hart performed admirably in his two games against the Oilers last season (1-1-0), recording a 1.96 GAA and .934 SV%.
After an excellent performance in his first game of the season on Tuesday, in which he saved 27 of 29 shots in a 5-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens, Fleury will find himself in the starter's crease for the second consecutive game. Dean Evanson and the Wild coaching staff clearly have faith in Fleury and, as such, the veteran netminder might see more action this season than initially anticipated. Filip Gustavsson will probably still see the heavier workload in net for Minnesota but it could be closer to a timeshare if Fleury continues to give his team a chance to win. Minnesota enters action on Thursday night as a slight -108 favourite against a Los Angeles Kings team that is coming off a dominant 5-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets.
Shesterkin is coming off a season-high 26-save, 2-1 victory over the Arizona Coyotes and will look to record consecutive victories for the first time this season. Shesterkin has started all three contests for the Rangers thus far and should continue to see the lion's share of action going forward. Shesterkin looks poised for a strong performance tonight as the Rangers are -182 home favourites against a Nashville Predators team that has struggled out of the gate, being outscored 14-9 in their first four games of the season (1-3-0).
No further details have been given in terms of the nature or the expected timeline of the injury, but the Capitals will miss the depth scoring and adept penalty-killing Dowd provides. The 33-year-old centreman tallied 13 goals and 12 assists in 65 games for the Capitals last season, and has managed to score double-digit goals in three straight seasons despite being limited to a fourth-line role. Anthony Mantha will draw back into the lineup in place of Dowd.
Kuemper made his season debut in Monday’s game against the Flames after missing the Capitals’ season opener due to the birth of his son. The 33-year-old netminder kicked off his season with an impressive 3-2 shootout victory over Calgary, stopping 38 of the 40 shots he faced in the process. Kuemper will be hoping to build off that momentum heading into Wednesday night’s clash with the Senators in Ottawa, where he and the Capitals are sizable underdogs at +150. Kuemper recorded a 22-26-7 record in 57 appearances with the Capitals last season to go along with a .908 SV% and a 2.87 GAA.
The Senators have an early-season goalie rotation in effect as Forsberg will get the start for the second time in four games. In his first start of the season, Forsberg wasn't heavily tested but managed to save 19 of 21 shots, aiding the Senators to a 5-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers. If the Senators can continue getting strong performances from both netminders, they will likely continue to rotate starts to keep them both fresh. The Senators are -170 home favourites tonight against a Washington Capitals team that has only scored twice in their first two games (1-1-0). A season ago, Forsberg shut the door in his only matchup against the Capitals, saving 22 of 24 shots in a 5-2 victory.
Karlsson had been forced to miss Anaheim's first two games of the season due to a lower-body injury but will make his debut Thursday vs. Dallas. The 18-year-old forward was the second overall pick in the 2023 draft after watching his stock skyrocket throughout the season. He had 10 goals, 15 assists, six PIMs and a -5 plus/minus in 44 games with Orebro HK (SHL) in 2022-23.
Kotchetkov was 1-0-0 with a .912 SV% and a 2.79 GAA with Syracuse (AHL) but has been recalled Wednesday to Carolina. The 24-year-old's promotion comes the night after Frederik Andersen left Carolina's game in the first period due to an injury. Kotchetkov returns to the big leagues, where he has a 15-7-5 record, a .908 SV% and a 2.43 GAA in 27 career NHL games played.
Goligoski left the Wilds' game against Toronto after 16:04 TOI due to a lower-body injury and is expected out 6-10 weeks after being placed on the long-term injured reserve Wednesday. The 38-year-old veteran is in his 17th NHL season and had yet to pick up a point but had one SOG, four PIMs and was a -3 plus/minus through two games so far in 2023-24. Sammy Walker was recalled to Minnesota as a roster replacement for Goligoski.
Walker has yet to pick up a point in two games with Iowa (AHL) and is a -4 plus/minus but has been recalled to Minnesota Wednesday with the news that Alex Goligoski will be heading to the LTIR. Walker returns to the Wild, where he had a goal, an assist, eight SOG and a -1 plus/minus in nine games played in his rookie season in 2022-23.
Labanc had 15 goals, 18 assists, 129 SOG, 36 PIMs and a -17 plus/minus through 72 games in 2022-23 but has yet to see NHL action this season through San Jose's first three games. He will make his season debut Thursday as the Sharks take on Boston and is expected to play on San Jose's second line alongside Thomas Bordeleau and Filip Zadina.
After taking a backseat to Mackenzie Blackwood for the last two games and, despite him saving saving 87 of 94 shots, watching his Sharks go winless (0-1-1), Kahkonen will get the start on Thursday night against the Boston Bruins. In his only game this season, Kahkonen allowed four goals on 32 shots in a 4-1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights. The Sharks are +236 home underdogs against a Boston Bruins team that has yet to lose a game (2-0-0).
Jets' newcomer Vilardi will miss approximately four to six weeks after suffering an injury yesterday (sprained MCL) in a matchup against the Los Angeles Kings. In three games this season, Vilardi was seeing time on the top line and top powerplay unit, recording one assist and nine shots on goal. The loss is a sizeable one for the Jets, who will likely turn to Mason Appleton and Alex Iafallo for an increase in playing time.
The Jets have been completely inept at keeping the puck out of their net this season and have been outscored 14-10 in only three games (1-2-0). They hope to have their early season defensive struggles solved tonight as Brossoit will suit up against his former team for his first start of the 2023-24 campaign. Last season, as a member of the Vegas Golden Knights, Brossoit played exceptionally, recording a 2.17 GAA and .927 SV% in 11 games (7-0-3). Now on the other side, Brossoit and the Jets find themselves as +101 road underdogs against the Golden Knights.
Thrun has two assists, one SOG, and a -1 plus/minus through two games with San Jose in 2023-24 but finds himself the odd man out on their roster as he was reassigned to the San Jose Barracuda (AHL) Wednesday. The 22-year-old will endure his first taste of AHL action after he made the jump to the NHL straight from Harvard (NCAA) in 2022-23.
Buchnevich has been officially ruled out for the Blues' Thursday night matchup against the Arizona Coyotes. Despite being held without a point or shot in his two games played this season, the talented Russian winger will unquestionably return to the top line and top powerplay unit for the Blues when he is ready to play.
Samuelsson left the Sabres' game Tuesday vs. Tampa after 17:36 TOI due to an upper-body injury and is considered day-to-day according to head coach Don Granato. The 23-year-old defensive cog collected his first assist of the season Tuesday but also is a +2 plus/minus with three SOG through three games this season. If he is forced to miss time it will be a huge loss as the towering defensemen is averaging over 20+ TOI for the second straight season (20:25).
