Drouin said that his fractured thumb has healed and that he expects to play in Syracuse on Friday. Going to Syracuse is about Drouin getting his timing back and getting some game experience before he makes his NHL debut. He can stay in Syracuse for a maximum of two weeks and at this time there is no timetable for when he is expected to return to the Lightning.
Elliott stopped 23 of 24 shots in a 4-1 win over the Flames last Saturday. With four days off between games, Elliott will be back between the pipes tonight in Los Angeles. He is 1-1-0 with a 2.02 GAA and .918 SV% in his first two starts. The Kings have averaged three goals per game in their first four contests.
Rask surrendered four goals on 21 shots in a loss to the Capitals on Saturday. The Bruins have only scored three goals in front of Rask in his first three starts, but Rask has only posted an .892 SV% so far, so neither party is getting the job done. He will face the Red Wings tonight, he lost 2-1 to them on October 9th.
Hossa was given the day off on Tuesday, but will play tonight vs.the Flames. He has one goal on six shots and a plus-2 rating in the first two games of the season. Get him in your lineup.
Petry was a healthy scratch in the Oilers loss to the Kings last night, but he will be back in the lineup vs. Arizona tonight. Brad Hunt will come out of the lineup to make room for Petry. Getting scratched last night was a surprise, so this move is not shocking at all.
Afredsson, less than two months shy of his 42nd birthday, is no longer skating at Joe Louis Arena, and last week told general manager Ken Holland that there wasn't much of a chance that that would change. "He was feeling pretty good but was getting frustrated because he wasn't getting over the hump," Holland told the Free Press today. "He would feel good, push it and have a setback. He was frustrated because he was not able to get to the point where he wants to be at to tell me he wants to practice with us." Holland told Alfredsson to take more time, that the Wings are "prepared to wait a little longer." It's dubious that anything will change, however.
Wagner, 23, was the 122nd overall pick in the 2010 draft and has never played an NHL game. Wagner got off to a blistering pace in the AHL this season, scoring four goals in two games. There is no word if Wagner will make his NHL debut during the Ducks' home opener on Friday.
LaBarbera has been recalled to back-up Frederik Andersen over the weekend with John Gibson going back to the AHL for a two-game stint. LaBarbera likely won't see any action unless Andersen struggles and gets pulled. This is just a temporary move to get Gibson some crease time.
Allen has not played yet this season and is not all that close to returning from a lower-body injury. Placing him on IR allows the Ducks to make some roster moves without having to send anyone down. Allen is eligible to play whenever he is healthy.
Maroon's designation on IR allows the Ducks to make some roster moves while he works his way back to full health. Maroon is eligible to come off of IR on October 21st. He had three assists in three games before getting hurt on Sunday.
Nugent-Hopkins skated on Tuesday but missed yesterday's game against the Kings and will not play tonight vs. the Coyotes. However, it is a positive sign that he has skated two days in a row, so consider him day-to-day.
Eberle did not skate for the last two days and missed Tuesday's game against the Kings, but skating prior to tonight's game at least leaves hope that he might play. Monitor his status during pre-game warmups.
Andersen allowed three goals on 42 shots in a 4-3 shootout win over the Flyers last night. He has posted a 3-0 record with a 1.95 GAA and .928 SV% in his first three starts. John Gibson was sent to the AHL for the weekend, so this is Andersen's gig right now.
The Kings will pay Muzzin an average of $4 million per year, which is a very reasonable cap-hit for your number-2 defenseman. Muzzin has not played yet this season but is coming off of a 24-point (5G / 19A) year and is just 25-years-old. He has an absolute cannon from the point and that cannon will be on the Kings blueline for five more years.
Gibson struggled in his season debut and watched Frederik Andersen start the following two games. However, he is not going down to stay. He will start two AHL games over the weekend and then return to the Ducks next week. So that means Andersen will get the crease this weekend while Gibson refines his game in the AHL. Do not panic on Gibson, but jump on Andersen if available for the weekend.
Drouin suffered a fractured thumb in the preseason and has been working his way back from the injury and is believed to be close to returning. However, it looks like the Lightning will take a slow approach with Drouin and ease him back into playing with Syracuse before he makes his NHL debut.
Yakimov was a minus-1 with one shot and two hits in 11:19 in his NHL debut last night. Apparently he did not make a good enough impression to stick in the lineup tonight vs. the Coyotes. Steve Pinnizzotto was recalled to replace Yakimov.
Pinnizzotto, 30, had one assist in the first AHL game of the season but will replace Bogdan Yakimov in the Oilers lineup tonight against the Coyotes. He has two assists in 18 career NHL games.
Bachman, 27, made 27 saves on 30 shots in an overtime loss in his season debut with OKC (AHL), but will now be Ben Scrivens backup for the foreseeable future after Viktor Fasth suffered a groin injury on Tuesaday.
Fasth injured his groin in the first period of last night's loss to the Kings. Fasth was limited last season due to injury and it has started already again this season. With Fasth on IR the Oilers have recalled Richard Bachman.
