Howard gave up two goals on 25 shots in the Red Wings’ shootout win in Philadelphia on Tuesday. Howard has been excellent this season, winning three of his first five starts while posting a 1.26 GAA and .958 SV%. On Thursday, Howard makes for an excellent option as he takes on the NHL’s lowest scoring team.
Fleury allowed three goals on 27 shots in the Penguins’ loss in Los Angeles last Thursday. Matt Murray started the last two games, but the Penguins will go with Fleury tonight vs. the Wild. Fleury has won six of 10 starts while posting a 3.07 GAA and .908 SV%—tonight he faces a Wild team that is tied for eighth in scoring (3.00 G/PG).
Rask stopped all 32 shots that he faced in the Bruins’ shutout win over the Sabres on Monday. Zane McIntyre started on Tuesday, so they’ll go back to Rask tonight vs. the Blue Jackets. Rask has won four of his last five starts while posting a 1.77 GAA, .938 SV% ad two shutouts. He’s been impressive in the first month of the season and makes for a strong start tonight.
Ward allowed two goals on 41 shots in the Hurricanes’ shootout loss in New Jersey. Ward has gone 1-0-2 with a 1.86 GAA and .940 SV% in his last three starts. The veteran netminder has improved over the last few starts and tonghthe draws a solid matchup vs. the Ducks—Anaheim is 6-5-3 while averaging 2.64 goals per game (16th in the NHL).
Gibson allowed a single goal on 22 shots in the Ducks’ win over the Coyotes last Friday. Jonathan Bernier started on Sunday, so they’ll go with Gibson tonight vs. the Flames. Gibson has alternated losses and wins in his last six starts and carries a .914 SV% into his second start vs. Columbus—he was pulled after allowing four goals on 32 shots in a 4-0 loss in the first meeting.
Price allowed two goals on 43 shots in the Canadiens’ win over the Bruins on Tuesday. Price has won all eight of his starts while posting a 1.63 GAA and .953 SV% to kick off 2016-17. Price is the clear No.1 fantasy netminder and is a must-start regardless of his matchup—Los Angeles is 17th in the league in scoring (2.62 G/PG).
Condon made an impressive first impression on his new team, stopping all 27 shots that he faced in a shutout win over Vancouver in his Senators debut last Thursday. With Craig Anderson starting yesterday, Condon will get his second start with Ottawa tonight vs. the Sabres. Buffalo comes in averaging the third fewest goals for in the NHL (2.08 GF/PG).
Lindholm has missed the first 13 games of the season due to a contract holdout, but will be in the lineup on Wednesday. Revered as one of the best young defensemen in the NHL, Lindholm will have a huge impact on the Ducks’ blueline. Lindholm had 10 goals and 18 assists (28 points) last year and will look to build on that this season.
Dubinsky practiced the last two days, but will not be in the lineup tonight vs. the Ducks. Brandon Saad was expected to be a healthy scratch, but with Dubinsky now out, it looks like Saad will be in the lineup. Dubinsky is day-to-day.
O’Reilly was not on the ice for the Sabres’ morning skate and is listed as questionable for Wednesday’s game vs. the Senators. With O’Reilly taking the morning off, Hudson Fasching skated in his spot, but the lines will likely be shuffled if O’Reilly can’t go. Monitor his status when the Sabres’ hit the ice for warmups at 7:00 p.m. ET.
Ennis was hurt in Monday’s game in Boston and it will keep him out of tonight’s game vs. the Senators. Ennis is listed as day-to-day and will be replaced by Evander Kane, who will return from broken ribs.
Kane suffered three broken ribs in the Sabres’ season opener and has missed the last 11 games. Kane had 35 points (20G / 15A) in 65 games last year and tonight he is expected to skate on the top line with Ryan O’Reilly and Kyle Okposo.
Bobrovsky stopped all 30 shots that he faced in the Blue Jackets’ shutout, 10-0 destruction of the Canadiens last Friday. After starting the first nine games of the season, Bobrovsky was finally given a night off on Saturday, so they’ll come back to him tonight in Anaheim. Goalie Bob stopped all 35 shots that he faced to shutout the Ducks in their first meeting of the season.
Scandella has been placed on LTIR, which means that he will miss the next 24 days or 10 games, whichever comes first. Scandella has already missed three games, so he isn’t eligible to return until November 21st in Dallas.
Bertschy, 22, has appeared in three games with the Wild this season, picking up a single assist. During his time in Iowa, he has one goal and two assists. It remains to be seen if Bertschy will draw into the lineup in Pittsburgh on Thursday.
Mitchell, 23, has registered one goal in 11 games with Iowa this season and this is his first NHL call-up, but it’s unknown when or if he will make his NHL debut.
Reilly, 23, has picked up seven points (1G / 6A) in seven games with Iowa, but has failed to record a point in two games with the Wild. With Marco Scandella moved to LTIR, Reilly could see some extra NHL playing time for the next few weeks.
Lehner gave up four goals on 42 shots in the Sabres’ loss in Boston on Monday. Despite the loss, the Sabres will go back to Lehner tonight vs. his former team. Lehner stopped 32 of 33 shots in a 2-1 win over the Senators on the weekend and comes in with a 3-2-0 record, 1.81 GAA and .947 SV% over his last five starts.
Barzal served as a healthy scratch for the last six games and only appeared in two games after cracking the roster out of training camp. The Islanders never really gave Barzal a chance, so he returns to Seattle, where he had 88 points (27G / 61A) in 58 games a season ago.
