Skille, 29, appeared in four preseason games during his professional tryout with the Canucks. Skill is coming off of 14 points (8G / 6A) in 74 games with the Avalanche last season.
Montoya stopped 30 of 31 shots in the Canadiens’ season opening win in Buffalo. No Carey Price, no problem. Montoya’s Habs debut was a successful one and he will look to carry that success into tonight’s game in Ottawa. Montoya lost his only start against the Senators last year (with Florida), but they are a solid matchup. However, you always have to be a little wary of a matchup against Erik Karlsson.
Davidson left Wednesday’s game with an undisclosed injury and did not return. Davidson, who was battling injury in the preseason as well, will head to IR and opens up a roster spot for Eric Gryba to get into the lineup.
Price is still fighting an illness and will miss his second straight game on Saturday. With Price out, Al Montoya will start his second straight game. He was victorious on Thursday vs. the Sabres.
Kane slid hard into the end-boards during the Sabres’ season opener on Thursday and was taken to hospital for further evaluation and precautionary measures. It has been a tough start to the year for Sabres, who are already without Jack Eichel for at least a few weeks and both Kyle Okposo and Dmitry Kulikov are day-to-day.
Varlamov will start Colorado’s season opener and he is hoping their coaching change will help him. Over the last three years, Varlamov has faced a ridiculous 5,518 shots (most in the NHL), which has made things really tough on him. He has the ability to be a No.1 fantasy netminder, if the Avalanche improve in front of him. Last year he was 27-25-3 with a 2.81 GAA and .914 SV%—expect better numbers across the board this year.
Allen’s first year as the Blues’ No.1 netminder got off to a nice start last night. Allen stopped 17 of 19 shots in the Blues’ 5-2 win over the Blackhawks. St. Louis dominated possession, which limited Allen’s workload and will allow him to go again tonight vs. the Wild. Last year the 26-year-old was 2-2-0 with a 2.24 GAA and .918 SV% in four starts against Minnesota.
Ward was the better of the two Hurricanes’ goaltenders last year, but that isn’t saying much. Ward was 23-17-10 with a 2.41 GAA and .909 SV% in 2015-16. Ward has been the definition of mediocre over the last four years, going five games over .500 with a 2.58 GAA and .907 SV%. Tonight he faces a Jets team that was tied for 20th in scoring last year, but an infusion of quality young talent has them looking more dangerous this season.
Santini was expected to start the season on the Devils’ third pairing, but a late signing of Kyle Quincey will push him out of the lineup tonight. He has offensive potential, but likely won’t be given enough opportunity to make a fantasy impact this season.
Quincey signed a one-year deal with the Devils a few weeks ago and will play on the third pair with Johann Auvitu on Thursday. Steven Santina will sit in the press box so that Quincey can play. He had just 11 points (4G / 7A) in 47 games with the Red Wings last year.
A week ago it looked as if Bennett was going to play with Taylor Hall and Adam Henrique. Today, he won’t even be in the lineup. Bennett was acquired from Pittsburgh this summer, but his Devils debut will have to wait.
Paajarvi sat out of the Blues’ season opener on Wednesday, but will replace Jaskin in the lineup tonight vs. the Wild. The 25-year-old former first round pick had just nine points (3G / 6A) in 48 games last year.
Jaskin failed to pick up a point in the Blues’ season opener on Wednesday. Jaskin played just 12:14 TOI and will come out of the lineup tonight with Mangus Paajarvi replacing him.
Bortuzzo picked up just one shot on goal in 13:17 TOI in the Blues season opener on Wednesday. St. Louis is back in action tonight vs. the Wild, but Bortuzzo will sit and Carl Gunnarsson will replace him.
Gunnarsson served as as healthy scratch in the Blues’ season opener on Wednesday, but will get into the lineup tonight vs. the Wild. Gunnarsson has little-to-no fantasy value, having posted just nine points (3G / 6A) in 72 games last year.
After splitting the crease for two seasons, Gibson takes over as the Ducks’ No.1 this year. Gibson has a career 37-21-4 with a 2.22 GAA and .920 SV% in 66 NHL games. The Ducks aren’t as deep as they normally are and their new head coach Randy Carlyle is notorious for having poor possession teams, which could hurt Gibson’s value. He draws a tough assignment tonight with the Stars in town.
Hellebuyck split last year between the NHL and the AHL and was impressive at both levels. While with Manitoba (AHL) he was 13-15-1 with a 2.49 GAA and .922 SV%. His numbers actually improved with the Jets, having gone 13-11-0 with a 2.34 GAA and .918 SV%. His promising future allowed the Jets to waive Ondrej Pavelec, who is now in Manitoba. The future in goal starts tonight vs. the Hurricanes. The Hurricanes should be better this year than they were last year, but Hellebuyck remains a solid option tonight.
Etem was originally drafted by the Ducks back in 2010 (29th overall) and played with their organization until the 2014-15 season before ending up with the Rangers and then the Canucks last year. He hasn’t lived up to the billing of a first round pick, having collected just 46 points (22G / 24A) in 170 NHL games.
Last year, Bobrovsky was limited to just 37 games thanks to injuries, but even when he was healthy he was largely ineffective. Bobrovsky finished the year with 15 wins, a 2.75 GAA and .908 SV%, but expect those numbers to improve significantly this season. He would be in the conversation as a potential low-end No.1 option if he can stay healthy, but that’s a massive if. He comes into this year with low expectations on an improving Blue Jackets team. Bob gets his season started on home ice, where he was just 7-11-1 a season ago.
