Stafford played just 6:06 TOI in the Devils’ season opener and will not be available for today’s game in Buffalo. With Stafford sidelined, Jimmy Hayes will move up to play with Nico Hischier and Marcus Johansson.
Palmieri left the Devils season opener after playing just 10:29 TOI and will not be available for this afternoon’s game in Buffalo. With Palmieri out, Jesper Bratt will get an opportunity to play on the Devils’ top line with Taylor Hall and Pavel Zacha.
Schneider was excellent in his season debut, stopping 40 of 41 shots in the Devils win vs. Colorado on Saturday. Schneider will look to carry that success into this afternoon’s start in Buffalo. The 31-year-old netminder was terrible on the road last season, going 6-15-5 with a 2.99 GAA and .906 SV% in 27 starts outside of New Jersey.
Johnson allowed just one goal on 16 shots after replacing Robin Lehner in the Sabres loss in Brooklyn on Saturday. It was a strong relief appearance from the 31-year-old and earned him his first start of the season this afternoon. Johnson has a career 2.44 GAA and .915 SV% and his first start will come vs. a Devils team that will be missing Kyle Palmieri and Drew Stafford.
Talbot was yanked after allowing three goals on seven shots in the Oilers loss to the Canucks on Saturday. It was an ugly performance from Talbot, who had a tidy shutout in his first start of the season. Despite a nice relief appearance from Laurent Brossoit, the Oilers will go right back to their No.1 vs. a Jets team that has stumbled out of the gate.
Crawford made 32 saves on 33 shots in the Blackhawks’ win over the Blue Jackets on Saturday. Anton Forsberg started last night in Toronto, so they’ll go with Crawford tonight in Montreal. Crawford has had an excellent start to the season, winning his first two starts while stopping 60 of 62 shots (.968 SV%). Montreal is 1-2-0 with three goals in their first three games.
Talbot was yanked after allowing three goals on seven shots in the Oilers loss to the Canucks on Saturday. It was an ugly performance from Talbot, who had a tidy shutout in his first start of the season. Despite a nice relief appearance from Laurent Brossoit, the Oilers will go right back to their No.1 vs. a Jets team that has stumbled out of the gate.
Forsberg was acquired along with Brandon Saad in the trade that sent Artemi Panarin to the Blue Jackets this summer. Tonight will be his Blackhawks debut and he has had a hard time in his young NHL career. In 10 career appearances, Forsberg has a 4.02 GAA and .879 SV%, but was an impressive 27-17-2 with a 2.28 GAA and .926 SV% in the AHL last year.
Varlamov turned aside 37 of 39 shots in Colorado’s opening night win in New York. It was an excellent start to 2017-18 for Varlamov, who has given Saturday night in New Jersey off. Varlamov will return to the crease in Boston, where the Bruins will be playing without Patrice Bergeron.
Rask allowed three goals on 29 shots in the Bruins’ win over the Predators in their season opener. It was a nice start to the season for Rask, who had three days off between then and today’s start vs. the Avalanche. Rask has excellent numbers (1.83 GAA /.937 SV%) during his career vs. Colorado, but that has translated into just one win in six tries.
van Riemsdyk lasted just 10:56 TOI in his Hurricanes debut before departing the game with a lower-body ailment. The Hurricanes said T.V.R. will “likely” miss tomorrow’s game, so consider him day-to-day.
Darling allowed four goals on 27 shots in a winning effort vs. Minnesota in his Hurricanes debut. Darling chalked up the ‘W’ in his first game with Carolina but it was not the greatest outing for the 28-year-old netminder. In his second start, Darling will see a Blue Jackets team that has started 1-1-0 with 3.00 goals per game early on.
Bergeron was officially listed as a game-time decision, but it seemed unlikely he would play considering he skated with a no-contract sweater in practice over the weekend. However, it’s a positive that he is progressing and could be back in the lineup sometime this week.
Thorburn has a minus-1 rating and two PIMS through two contests. He has absolutely zero fantasy relevance and will be replaced by Wade Megan today.
Sundqvist had no points, a minus-2 rating and three shots on goal while averaging 12:52 TOI in the first two games of the season. The Blues will replace him with Ivan Barbashev this afternoon.
Megan served as a healthy scratch in the first two games of the season, but will replace Chris Thorburn this afternoon. Megan will centre the fourth line, which drains most of his fantasy appeal, but this is a player with offensive upside. Megan had 33 goals and 33 assists (66 points) in 73 AHL games a season ago and score one goal in three NHL games.
Barbashev unsurprisingly cracked the Blues roster, but was surprisingly scratched in the first two contests. This afternoon he will replace Oskar Sundqvist as the third-line centre and will look to build off of the 12 points (5G / 7A) he had in 30 games with the Blues last season.
Allen made 38 saves on 40 shots in the Blues’ win over the Stars on Saturday. Allen moved to 2-0-0 on the season, having stopped 67 of 73 shots (.918 SV%) against two of the most potent offences in the NHL. Allen will look to extend his winning streak to three against an Islanders team that is 1-1-0 to start the season.
Schmaltz collected two goals and one assist while playing on a line with Patrick Kane in the season opener, but lasted just one shift vs. the Blue Jackets on Saturday. With Schmaltz out, Artem Anisimov will re-claim his spot as the second-line centre and Tanner Kero will draw back into the lineup.
Grubauer has been one of the most reliable backups in the NHL over the years and comes into 2017-18 having gone 13-6-2 with a 2.04 GAA, .926 SV% and three shutouts last season. Grubauer’s first start will come against a Tampa Bay team that is playing for the third time in four days and had two totally different results in their first two contests.
