Larsson took a Quinn Hughes slapshot off his right leg on Wednesday and landed on LTIR this afternoon. The original timetable puts Larsson out until at least mid-November. Evan Bouchard or Joel Persson are expected to replace Larsson on Saturday.
Steel missed the second half of training camp with a lower-body injury but was on the ice for Wednesday’s practice and head coach Dallas Eakins said Steel is “ready to rip.” Steel is expected to centre the second line with Rickard Rakell and Jakob Silfverberg on his wings, which is a great opportunity for him to build off of the 11 points (6G / 5A) he had in 22 games last season.
Kase is on the non-roster injured list but could be activated ahead of Thursday’s season opener, with a corresponding move. The Ducks did not hold a morning skate so there is no indication on who will be in the lineup vs. Arizona.
Persson missed the Oilers season opener with a shoulder injury but head coach Dave Tippett did not rule him out for Saturday’s game against the Kings. His return would be great news because the Oilers just lost Adam Larsson to a broken foot.
Backlund has been dealing with a lower-body injury since the late stages of the preseason but is ready to go in Colorado. Backlund, who will centre the second line with familiar linemates (Tkachuk and Frolik) had 21 goals and 26 assists (47 points) last season.
With Semyon Varlamov signing with the Islanders, Grubauer is left as Colorado’s No.1 netminder to begin 2019-20. It is the first time in his career that Grubauer has been leaned on as a No.1 goalie, which will allow him to blow by his previous career-highs in starts (33) and wins (18). It’s a huge opportunity for the 27-year-old, who was 4-1-0 with a 1.90 GAA and .939 SV% vs. the Flames in the postseason last year.
Gibson started 57 games, going 26-22-8 with a 2.84 GAA and .917 SV%, the worst numbers since his rookie campaign. The Ducks did not do much to improve in front of Gibson this offseason, so it’s difficult to envision him returning to 30-plus wins. Tonight he faces a Coyotes team that went 1-0-2 with a 2.27 GAA, .936 SV% and one shutout against last season.
Hellebuyck had a breakout campaign in 2018, winning 44 games while posting a .924 SV%. In his fourth season, Hellebuyck’s numbers dropped off (.913 SV%) but he still managed to win 34 games. This summer the Jets were gutted on the back-end and it hurt Hellebuyck’s chances for a bounce-back. He starts the season vs. a Rangers team that he was 2-0 against last year—however, they added some game-breaking talent in the offseason.
In 2018-19, Price was able to return to the 60-start, 30-win club for the fourth time in his career. As soon as it looked like Price’s career was on the downswing, he finished t-11th in SV% (.918). He will make his first start of 2019-20 vs. the Hurricanes, who he was 1-1-1 with a 2.67 GAA and .914 SV% against last season.
It shouldn’t come as a big surprise that the Panthers prized offseason acquisition will start on opening night. Bobrovsky has started 60-plus games for three straight seasons and has led the NHL in wins (115), tied for second in SV% (.922) and tied for third in GAA (2.35) over that span. You didn’t draft Bobrovsky to bench him, but he draws a brutal matchup to open the season.
With Adam Larsson going on LTIR, replacing Ethan Bear with Bouchard increases the Oilers' LTIR pool. Bouchard was close to making the team out of training camp and earns his first call-up because of some salary cap manipulation.
This is believed to be cap maneuvering with Adam Larsson going on LTIR. Bear was a minus-1 in 15:33 TOI in the season-opening win and has been replaced on the roster by Evan Bouchard, for now.
The movement to LTIR means that Larsson will miss at least 24 days but his timeline should become more clear when the Oilers disclose what his injury is. Larsson took a Quinn Hughes shot off of his foot in Wednesday’s win and it could be related to that. For a corresponding move, the Oilers sent Ethan Bear to Bakersfield (AHL) and recalled Evan Bouchard.
Schneider will be looking for a bounce-back campaign after going 6-13-4 with a 3.06 GAA and .903 SV%. Injuries have crushed Schneider’s once-promising career but he comes into 2019-20 fully healthy and with an improved squad in front of him. In his first start of the season, he will face a Jets team on the tail-end of a back-to-back on home-ice—where he was 4-3-3 with a 2.35 GAA and .920 SV% last year.
Little is making progress and is scheduled to skate on Thursday but will not be in the lineup against the Rangers. With Little sidelined to begin the season, Andrew Copp will get a chance to show what he can do as the team’s No.2 centre between Patrik Laine and Kyle Connor.
Dubnyk has been an absolute workhorse since arriving in Minnesota, averaging 64 starts and 35 wins per season. Over that time he has posted a 2.41 GAA and .918 SV%, which are t-4th and t-10th in the NHL respectively. Minnesota isn’t projected to be very good this year, but Dubnky’s workload keeps him in the No.2 fantasy conversation. He was 0-1-1 with a 2.46 GAA and .886 SV% vs. Nashville a season ago.
With Semyon Varlamov signing with the Islanders, Grubauer is left as Colorado’s No.1 netminder to begin 2019-20. It is the first time in his career that Grubauer has been leaned on as a No.1 goalie, which will allow him to blow by his previous career-highs in starts (33) and wins (18). It’s a huge opportunity for the 27-year-old, who was 4-1-0 with a 1.90 GAA and .939 SV% vs. the Flames in the postseason last year.
Cizikas has been dealing with a lower-body injury since the late stages of the preseason but it won’t keep him out of Friday’s season opener. Cizikas will fill a familiar fourth-line role with Matt Martin and Cal Clutterbuck on his wings.
Larkin was banged up when he fell into the boards in Tuesday’s practice. He returned in a no-contact jersey on Thursday and told reporters all tests were negative and he’ll be in the lineup for the season opener on Saturday.
Dermott, who is expected to miss the first 12-to-14 games of the season, practiced with his teammates for the first time since undergoing shoulder surgery. Rasmus Sandin had a great preseason and looked solid in his NHL debut, which will allow the Maple Leafs to be patient with Dermott.
