It's the first missed game of the young season for Zadorov. The 28-year-old blue-liner has no goals, two assists and 19 hits through his opening nine games. Jordan Oesterle will draw back into the lineup in place of Zadorov.
Hunt has been recalled from Iowa (AHL) for a second time this season after failing to put up a point in four games but has seven PIMs and a -3 plus/minus. He returns to Minnesota, where he made his NHL debut earlier this season in two games, playing only 4:52 TOI/GP.
Hutton has been a healthy scratch for Vegas' previous five games but will draw back into the lineup Thursday vs. Winnipeg to replace Nicolas Hague (lower body). The 30-year-old defenseman has an assist, eight SOG, five PIMs, and a +3 plus/minus through five games played in 2023-24.
Hague has a goal, two assists, 14 PIMs, eight SOG, and a -1 plus/minus but will be out for at least this weekend's games as he deals with a lower-body injury. The 24-year-old will be replaced by Ben Hutton on Vegas' third defensive pairing.
Kahkonen stopped 37 of 40 shots against (.925 SV%) in his previous start vs. Carolina but picked up his third-straight loss of the season and will take the crease again Thursday vs. Vancouver. The 27-year-old has been decent despite no offensive help with his 0-3-0 record, .907 SV%, and 3.16 GAA. He will try to get San Jose into the win column for the first time this season (0-8-1) as they take on Vancouver, who is third in the NHL in goals per game (4.0).
Ekman-Larsson was forced to leave the Panthers' previous game after taking a high hit from Charlie McAvoy which led to a four-game suspension and will be a game-time decision Thursday vs. Detroit. The 32-year-old signed a one-year, $2.25 million contract with the Panthers in the offseason and has a goal, two assists, 21 SOG and six PIMs in eight games this season.
Bennett saw his first action of the season on Monday after returning from an injury (lower-body) but played only 7:54 before being forced to leave the game with another lower-body injury. This injury isn't believed to be related to the previous one that kept him out of action but is still cause for concern as he has a week-to-week timeline for his next potential return. Bennett had 16 goals, 24 assists, 193 SOG, 54 PIMs and, a +5 plus/minus in 63 games played in 2022-23.
With John Gibson out indefinitely with an undisclosed injury, Stalock finds himself in the Ducks' lineup and should serve as the backup to Dostal until Gibson is ready to return after being recalled from San Diego (AHL). In three games (1-2-0) with the San Diego Gulls, Stalock has a 2.74 GAA and .919 SV%.
Gibson was injured against the Pittsburgh Penguins after making a heroic save on Sidney Crosby late in the first period and will be out indefinitely. Gibson has a 2.82 GAA and .902 SV% in five games (1-3-0) and has been alternating starts with Lukas Dostal, who should see the majority of action while Gibson is sidelined.
Dostal, who was already seeing a fair share of action, alternating starts with John Gibson, should see a heavy workload moving forward as Gibson is out indefinitely with an undisclosed injury. In five games this season (4-1-0), Dostal has been impressive, posting a 2.79 GAA and .921 SV%. The Ducks, who are off to a surprising 5-4-0 start are +116 home underdogs against an Arizona Coyotes team coming off an 8-1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks.
Erne cleared waivers on Tuesday and has now been sent down to the Bakersfield Condors of the AHL. In six games with the Oilers, Erne recorded zero points, five penalty minutes, and a -1 plus/minus rating. The move was made to allow the Oilers to sign Sam Gagner on Monday.
Binnington appears to be the starter for the Blues on Wednesday as they visit the Colorado Avalanche. The 30-year-old netminder is hoping to get back into the win column after losing consecutive games (0-2-0) and recording a .875 SV%. Before that, Binnington was off to a torrid start with a 2-0-1 record and .959 SV% but seems to have levelled off to more familiar territory in recent games. The Blues are +194 road underdogs on Wednesday even though the Avalanche have been shut out in consecutive contests.
Reimer has been terrific in limited action this season, posting a 1.68 GAA and .939 SV% in three games (2-1-0) and will get the nod in between the pipes on Thursday against the Florida Panthers. Reimer has never finished a season with a sub-2.31 GAA so this is unfamiliar territory for the veteran netminder and is likely unsustainable going forward. The Red Wings are +106 home underdogs against a Panthers team that is 4-3-1 to start the season.
Drouin has only one point (0G / 1A) while averaging 13:16 time-on-ice through eight games with the Avalanche this season. Drouin started the season playing on the top line, skating alongside his former junior hockey linemate Nathan MacKinnon but has since been shifted off the line after failing to refind their chemistry. Riley Tufte will slot into the lineup and play alongside Ryan Johansen and Valeri Nichushkin.
Devon Levi has officially returned to the Sabres' lineup after missing five games with a lower-body injury but will serve as the backup, at least for his first game, to Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. Luukkonen didn't get his chance to be the number-one goaltender in Buffalo until Eric Comrie (lower-body) also went down with an injury but has filled in admirably after being called upon. Coming off his best performance thus far, a 23-save shutout victory over the Colorado Avalanche, Luukkonen has a 2.84 GAA and .915 SV% in three games this season (2-1-0). The Sabres are slight +101 road underdogs against a Philadelphia Flyers team that has done a decent job finding the back of the net, averaging 3.33 goals per game so far this season (4-4-1).
Forbort played a season-high 23:28 on Monday for the Bruins in their 3-2 victory over the Florida Panthers but suffered an undisclosed injury at some point, making him questionable for the team's Thursday night contest against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Forbort's potential absence comes at a time when the Bruins are already thin on the back end, being without Charlie McAvoy (suspension) and Matt Grzelcyk (upper-body). On Wednesday, the team recalled defensemen Parker Wotherspoon, Ian Mitchell, and Mason Lohrei from the Providence Bruins of the AHL.
Oettinger will look to build on his terrific season as he will start between the pipes for the Stars on Wednesday in Calgary. In five games (4-0-1), Oettinger leads the league with a 1.74 GAA and .940 SV% among goalies that have started at least five games. Oettinger looks poised to improve those league-leading totals as he and the Stars are -132 road favourites against a Flames team that is averaging the fourth-fewest goals scored per game (2.11).
After being injured in the second game of the season and being forced to miss the subsequent seven contests, Boldy will make his much-anticipated return to the Wild lineup on Thursday against the New Jersey Devils. The Wild have struggled immensely in his absence, winning only twice (2-3-2). Boldy has two points (1G / 1A) in two games this season and will be a fixture in the top-six and top powerplay unit for the Wild going forward.
Prosvetov will make his first start as a member of the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday after making his first appearance last week, saving all five shots he faced entering the game in relief of Alexandar Georgiev. Prosvetov has 14 NHL games under his belt (4-6-1), accumulated over the last three seasons as a member of the Arizona Coyotes, averaging a 4.03 GAA and .873 SV%. The Avalanche have been outscored 8-0 in their last two games (0-2-0) but are still -229 home favourites against a St. Louis Blues team that ranks second worst in the league offensively, averaging only 1.86 goals per game.
Dube played 18:10 in the Heritage Classic on Sunday but suffered an undisclosed injury at some point that has kept him out of two consecutive practices and subsequently has been ruled out of the Flames' contest against the Dallas Stars on Wednesday. In nine games this season, Dube has three points (1G / 2A) and a -10 plus/minus rating.
