With Joonas Korpisalo starting the season opener vs. Toronto, it sets Merzlikins up for a date with the Pittsburgh Penguins in his NHL debut. The Blue Jackets have high hopes for the 2014 third-round pick, who turned in a .921 SV% in two straight seasons while playing with Lugano of the Swiss-A League. He will have spot-start value this season, but this is a tough spot for him.
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.
Blackwood allowed two goals on nine shots in the Devils shootout loss to the Jets last night. Blackwood entered the game with a 4-2 lead after Cory Schneider got hurt and he continued to blow the Devils four-goal lead. Blackwood was solid last season, posting a .918 SV% 21 starts, so there’s no reason to panic after half of a game. He was 4-7-0 with a 3.02 GAA and .914 SV% on the road last year, so you have a right to be nervous tonight.
Kuemper stopped 27 of the 29 shots the he faced in the Coyotes opening game loss in Anaheim. Kuemper picked up right where he left off last season but didn’t get any help from his offence. He will look to put a notch in the win column tonight vs. the Bruins, a team he was 0-2-0 against last year.
Grubauer allowed three goals on 30 shots in Colorado’s 5-3 win over the Flames on Thursday. Grubauer passed the first test as Colorado’s new No.1 goalie and draws a good matchup in his second start. Minnesota was beat up in Nashville in their opener and Grubauer was 1-1-0 with a 3.00 GAA and .908 SV% vs. them last season.
Smith stopped 31 of 33 shots in the Oilers 3-2 win over Vancouver on opening night. It was an outstanding debut for Smith, who was in command all night. Even during a down year in Calgary, Smith only surrendered three goals in two games against the Kings, so don’t hesitate to get him in your lineups tonight.
Czarnik only played 3:56 TOI in the season opener and will be a healthy scratch on Saturday. Tobias Rieder will replace him on the fourth line.
Rieder was signed after a PTO but sat out as a healthy scratch in the season opener. On Saturday, Reider will replace Austin Czarnik on the fourth line and will look to score his first NHL goal since April 5th, 2018.
Bishop gave up two goals on 20 shots in the Stars 2-1 loss to the Bruins on Thursday. Both goals came in the first period but Bishop settled in gave the Stars a chance to comeback. His season starts against the two teams that were in the Stanley Cup Finals in the spring. He was 2-1-0 with a 1.69 GAA and .941 SV% in three starts vs. the Blues last year.
Smith stopped 31 of 33 shots in the Oilers 3-2 win over Vancouver on opening night. It was an outstanding debut for Smith, who was in command all night. Even during a down year in Calgary, Smith only surrendered three goals in two games against the Kings, so don’t hesitate to get him in your lineups tonight.
Rittich allowed four goals on 31 shots in the Flames opening night loss in Colorado. It wasn’t a great start to the season for the Flames’ new No.1 netminder, who will start tonight vs. the Canucks. He was 0-0-2 with a 2.82 GAA and .885 SV% in two starts against their Pacific Division rival last season.
Bortuzzo played just 12:15 TOI, recording one shot, in the Blues season opener but will be scratched in favour of Carl Gunnarsson on Saturday.
Gunnarsson was a healthy scratch in the Blues season opener but will draw-in for Robert Bortuzzo on Saturday. Gunnarsson, who had just seven points (3G / 4A) in 25 games last season, will skate on the top-pair with Alex Pietrangelo.
Sanford was a healthy scratch in the Blues season opener. With Robert Thomas (upper-body) out, Sanford will draw into the Blues lineup on a line with Tyler Bozak and Robby Fabbri.
Thomas suffered an upper-body injury in the Blues season opener and will be replaced by Zach Sanford in the lineup on Saturday. Thomas is listed as day-to-day.
Boedker sat out during the Senators season opener but will replace Filip Chlapik on Saturday. Boedker had 35 points (7G / 28A) while playing 14:11 ATOI in 71 games last season.
Chlapik had one assist in just 5:20 TOI in the Senators season opener. Chlapik took a bad penalty in the contest though and will be replaced by Mikkel Boedker on Saturday.
Saros’ start volume has increased each season he’s been in the NHL as the Predators are making a concerted effort to cut-back Pekka Rinne’s workload. 2018-19 was Saros’ worst season to date, but his .921 SV% through his first three years is among the NHL’s best. He did not face Detroit last season but was 6-5-1 with a 2.94 GAA and .902 SV% on home-ice.
Holtby stopped 20 of the 22 shots that he faced to earn the overtime win in St. Louis on opening night. With Ilya Samsonov getting the start against the Islanders on Friday, the Capitals will come back with Holtby tonight vs. Carolina. He was 4-0-0 with a 2.21 GAA and .918 SV% in four starts vs. the Hurricanes last season.
