Originally Stars head coach Jim Montgomery said that Radulov was a “possibility” to play Tuesday, but ruled him out after the morning skate. With Radulov out, Tyler Pitlick is expected to start on the top-line with Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn.
Galchenyuk will skate on the Coyotes top line with Clayton Keller and Lawson Crouse tonight in Columbus. Galchenyuk was listed as a game-time decision on Monday, but head coach Rick Tocchet confirmed that he will play after Tuesday’s morning skate.
Rittich stopped 44 of 45 shots in the Flames win in New York on Sunday. Rittich has played exceptionally well this season, stopping 76 of the 79 shots (.962 SV%) that he has faced in two starts and one relief appearance. Rittich is outplaying Mike Smith early-on, so he’ll make his second straight start tonight in Montreal—a matchup that offers some spot-start value.
Anderson gave up three goals on 27 shots in the Senators win over the Canadiens on Saturday. All of a sudden Anderson has strung together three-straight wins while turning aside 97 of the 102 shots (.951 SV%) that he has faced. Anderson has been one of the biggest early-season surprises, but draws a terrible matchup with the Bruins in town on Tuesday.
Rask surrendered four goals on 28 shots in the Bruins loss in Calgary last Wednesday. Throughout his first four starts, Rask has posted a putrid 4.08 GAA and .875 SV%, but could get back on track tonight in Ottawa. Rask stopped 28 of 31 shots in a 6-3 win over the Senators on October 8th.
Raanta allowed four goals on 31 shots in the Coyotes loss in Winnipeg on Saturday. Raanta has played very well in his first six starts of the season, posting a 2.32 GAA and .911 SV% but that has only translated into two wins. Goal support may be hard to come by for Raanta, but he should post some of the strongest splits in the league.
Saros stopped all 31 shots that he faced in the Predators shutout win in Edmonton on Saturday. In his first start after Pekka Rinne got hurt, Saros showcased that he is more than capable of being the Predators No.1 guy. Saros leads the NHL in wins (4) and has posted a 1.54 GAA, .945 SV% and one shutout in his first four appearances of the season.
Crawford stopped 37 of 38 shots in the Blackhawks win in Columbus on Saturday. Crawford doesn’t look like a goalie that missed 10 months, stopping 64 of the first 68 shots (.941 SV%) he has faced. Tonight he makes for a solid option against a Ducks team that is last in the NHL in shots (23.8 S/PG) and 24th in goals (2.56 GF/PG).
Ceci will miss his fourth straight games with an upper-body injury, but is getting close. Christian Jaros was recalled and will be in the lineup on Tuesday with Ceci still sidelined.
Quenneville has not recorded a point in four NHL games or one AHL game this season. He will take Drew Stafford’s spot on the roster but has only registered four points (1G / 3A) in 18 career NHL games.
Gryba was a minus-2 in his first game with Binghamton and could make his Devils debut after being recalled to take Ben Lovejoy’s spot on the roster.
Stafford was hurt in his second game of the season and his move to IR means he will miss at least Thursday’s game. John Quenneville was recalled in a corresponding move.
Lovejoy missed Saturday’s game with a lower-body injury and will miss at least Thursday’s vs. the Predators after being placed on IR. His roster spot was filled by Eric Gryba, who was called up from Binghamton (AHL) in a corresponding move.
Bobrovsky allowed three goals on 25 shots in the Blue Jackets loss to the Blackhawks on Saturday. Bobrovsky has alternated wins and losses through his first five starts, posting a 3.84 GAA and .876 SV% in the process. Bobrovsky has looked a little better in his most recent games and has a solid matchup against a Coyotes team that is last in goal-scoring (1.43 GF/PG) so far this season.
Nilsson allowed four goals on 32 shots in the Canucks loss in Winnipeg last Thursday. The win snapped a three-game winning streak for Nilsson, who will make his fifth start tonight vs. the Capitals. Despite a strong start from Jacob Markstrom on Saturday, the Canucks will come back to Nilsson tonight—trying to build some competition in the crease.
Galchenyuk skated on the top-line in Coyotes’ practice on Monday and it looks as if he will make his Arizona debut tomorrow. The Coyotes top line could make some noise with the 24-year-old skating alongside Clayton Keller and former first-rounder Lawson Crouse. Galchenyuk had 19 goals and 32 assists (51 points) in 82 games with the Canadiens last season.
The belief is that Brown will accompany the Kings on their road-trip and play Sunday in New York when he is first eligible to be activated. The Kings have struggled without Brown in the lineup and his return would bring some offence and physicality to the top-6.
