Comtois was sent down to start the season but was quickly recalled after just one game with San Diego. The 20-year-old had two goals and five assists (seven points) in 10 NHL games to start last season.
Both Bjugstad and Evgeni Malkin are expected to miss extended periods of time with lower-body injuries. The Penguins were deep down the middle heading into the season and now will have to rely on players like Jared McCann and Teddy Blueger to centre their middle-6. Bjugstad has missed at least 15 games in three of the last four years.
Durability has always been a concern for Malkin, who has missed 20 percent of the games over the last six years, and now he is expected to miss a large chunk of 2019-20. With Nick Bjugstad also out “longer-term," the Penguins are going to lean heavily on Jared McCann and Teddy Blueger to stabilize their second and third lines.
Bobrovsky allowed three goals on 35 shots in the Panthers win over the Lightning on Saturday. Bobrovsky has allowed seven goals on 64 shots (.890 SV%) in his first two starts with the Panthers, both of them coming against the high-powered Lightning. Tonight he faces a Hurricanes team that has started the season 3-0-0 while ranking second in Shots-per game (38.3) and averaging 3.33 goals per game.
Binnington allowed two goals on 29 shots in the Blues 3-2 win over the Stars on Saturday. Binnington has picked up right where he left off in 2018-19, starting the year 1-0-1 while stopping 58 of the 63 shots (.921 SV%) that he has faced. The Richmond Hill native will make his first start in his hometown on Monday—he stopped 31 of 33 shots in his only career start vs. Toronto.
Kempny was on the ice for Monday’s practice but is not ready to play vs. Dallas. Jonas Siegenthaler is expected to be recalled from Hershey (AHL) and will skate on the top-pair with John Carlson. Kempny remains day-to-day and Thursday is a possible return date for him.
Binnington allowed two goals on 29 shots in the Blues 3-2 win over the Stars on Saturday. Binnington has picked up right where he left off in 2018-19, starting the year 1-0-1 while stopping 58 of the 63 shots (.921 SV%) that he has faced. The Richmond Hill native will make his first start in his hometown on Monday—he stopped 31 of 33 shots in his only career start vs. Toronto.
Ullmark appeared in a career-high 37 games in 2019-20, going 15-14-5 with a 3.11 GAA and .905 SV%. Carter Hutton has had a strong start to the season, but the Sabres view this as a good time to get Ullmark into the crease. He’ll face a Blue Jackets team that has started the season at 0-2 while being outscored 11-3.
Marincin has not recorded a point while averaging 11:00 TOI/gm through two games. Justin Holl will draw in for Marincin on Monday.
Shore has not recorded a point while averaging 9:11 TOI/gm through his first two games of the season. With the fourth line rotation continuing, Shore will be replaced by Jason Spezza on Monday.
Timashov registered two shots in 9:40 TOI on Saturday and has one assist in two games thus far. The fourth-line rotation continues on Monday, which means Nic Petan will replace Timashov on the fourth-line.
Holl played 9:07 TOI in his season debut in Columbus on Friday before sitting out Saturday’s game vs. the Canadiens. He continues to rotate with Martin Marincin, so he will skate with Rasmus Sandin on Monday night.
Petan and Dmytro Timashov continue to rotate in and out of the Maple Leafs, with Mike Babcock essentially holding live fourth line auditions. Petan had two shots while playing just 6:54 TOI in his season debut on Friday.
Toronto continues to rotate Spezza and Nick Shore, with Spezza, set to centre the fourth line vs. the Blues. Spezza had two shots in 10:36 TOI in his Maple Leafs debut in Columbus last Friday.
Kukan had two shots in 15:16 TOI in his season debut on Saturday but will sit as a healthy scratch for the second time in three games. Markus Nutivaara will replace him on the third pairing.
Nutivaara had two shots and two PIMS while playing 13:23 TOI in the season opener but served as a healthy scratch on Saturday. Tonight he will replace Dean Kukan on the Blue Jackets’ third-pair.
Milano had just one goal in eight games with Columbus last season. He spent most of the year in Cleveland (AHL), where he had 24 points (11G / 13A) in 27 games. He will replace Josh Anderson, who is day-to-day with an injury.
Anderson played 16:54 and 16:01 TOI in his first two games of the season but will come out of the lineup vs. Buffalo. Anderson battled a lingering shoulder injury throughout training camp but there’s no evidence that it’s the same injury. Sonny Milano will replace Anderson in the Blue Jackets lineup.
Korpisalo allowed four goals on 29 shots in the Blue Jackets loss to the Maple Leafs on Friday. Elvis Merzlikins was torched in the second game of the Blue Jackets back-to-back, so head coach John Tortorella will come back to Korpisalo on Monday. The Sabres have had a nice start to the season, winning each of their first two games while outscoring their opponents 10-3.
Andersen made 28 saves on 29 shots in the Maple Leafs 4-1 win in Columbus on Friday. Andersen made a number of huge saves to preserve Toronto’s lead and has started the season 2-0 while stopping 51 of the 55 shots (.927 SV%) that he has faced in his first two starts. On Monday, he will face the reigning Stanley Cup Champions, who he was 0-1-1 with a 3.02 GAA and .908 SV% against last year.
