NHL Hockey Player News

Corey Crawford started the season opener and the home opener but Lehner will make his Blackhawks debut on Saturday. Lehner was outstanding in 2018-19, going 25-13-5 with a 2.13 GAA, .930 SV% and six shutouts with the Islanders. Chicago is giving up the fifth-most shots per game, so he’ll be much busier with his new team and has a tough matchup vs. a Jets team that is averaging 3.60 goals per game through five games.

Binnington allowed two goals on 34 shots in the Blues win in Toronto on Monday. With Jake Allen starting on Thursday, Binnington will come into Saturday’s game well rested. Since being called up in the middle of last season Binnington is an impressive 11-3-1 with a .934 SV% in 15 road starts.

Rask allowed three goals on 34 shots in the Bruins win in Vegas on Tuesday. Rask has opened the season with back-to-back wins, stopping 59 of the 63 shots (.937 SV%) that he has faced. Jaroslav Halak has played well too, but the Bruins will come back to Rask vs. a Devils team that has stumbled out of the gate.

Howard allowed three goals on 29 shots in the Red Wings loss to the Ducks on Tuesday. Howard has given up three goals in each of his first two starts, going 1-1-0 with a .915 SV%. While Howard has been solid, Saturday’s matchup is not appealing. Howard went 1-1-0 against Toronto last season, with a 2.97 GAA and .891 SV%.

Lundqvist allowed four goals on 47 shots in the Rangers season-opening win over the Jets on October 3rd. Alexandar Georgiev started their second game but thanks to a quirky schedule, Lundqvist will make his second start nine days after his first. The Rangers offence has been impressive through two games, so it could carry King Henrik to the ‘W’ vs. Edmonton on Saturday.

Montembeault allowed one goal on 20 shots after replacing Sergei Bobrovsky in the Panthers loss to the Hurricanes on Tuesday. With Bobrovsky starting Friday in Buffalo, Montembeault will make his first start of the season on the tail-end of the back-to-back. It’s a solid matchup against an offensively challenged Islanders team, making him a reasonable spot-start option if you’re desperate.

John Gibson has started the first four games of the season and has been outstanding but Miller is expected to start the second game of the Ducks back-to-back tonight. The veteran was solid last year and is a decent spot-start option for needy owners. He was 5-3-1 with a 2.58 GAA and .910 SV% on the road in 2018-19.

Mrazek stopped 10 of the 13 shots he faced in the Hurricanes 4-3 overtime win over the Lightning last Sunday. Carolina absolutely owned the puck in this game and it led to a slow night for Mrazek, who is now 2-0 despite an .878 SV% so far this season. He has been great in Carolina, going 14-5-1 with a .910 SV% in his last 20 starts at PNC Arena. He also has an inviting matchup vs. the Islanders who are averaging just 2.33 goals per game so far.

Greiss allowed one goal on eight shots after replacing Semyon Varlamov in the Islanders' loss to the Oilers on Tuesday. Greiss has been the better of the two goalies so far, stopping 42 of the 44 shots (.955 SV%) that he has faced so far. As good as he’s been, a road matchup with the Hurricanes is one to avoid right now.

Hannikainen had one goal in two games with the Monsters to start the AHL season. He takes Josh Anderson’s spot on the roster and returns to the NHL, where he had seven points (4G / 3A) in 44 games last year.

Columbus announced that Anderson is day-to-day with an upper-body injury that he suffered on October 5th, but was moved to IR so they could recall Markus Hannikainen from Cleveland (AHL). Anderson had already been ruled out of Friday’s game and is eligible to come off IR whenever he is healthy.

Schuldt, 24, recorded an assist in his NHL debut last year but sat as a healthy scratch in the first four games of 2019-20. Schuldt switches spots with Jake Bischoff.

Bischoff, 25, was a seventh-round pick in 2012 and has taken a long road to the NHL. He spent four years at the University of Minnesota and over 120 games in the AHL. The 6-foot-1, 194 lbs. defenseman had 13 points (2G / 11A) in 60 games with the Wolves last year.

Anderson surrendered four goals on 30 shots in the Senators' loss to the Rangers last Saturday. Anders Nilsson started on Thursday, so they’ll come back to Anderson today vs. the Lightning. He should be left on the bench/free agency against a Tampa Bay team that just destroyed Toronto and is averaging 4.50 goals per game through four games.

John Gibson has started the first four games of the season and has been outstanding but Miller is expected to start the second game of the Ducks back-to-back tonight. The veteran was solid last year and is a decent spot-start option for needy owners. He was 5-3-1 with a 2.58 GAA and .910 SV% on the road in 2018-19.

Anderson is set to miss his second straight game with an upper-body injury. The Blue Jackets have not released any type of timeline for his return, but the fact they are updating his status on a game-to-game basis suggests that he is simply day-to-day.