Acciari missed the Penguins' morning skate Thursday as he was being evaluated for an upper-body injury and is considered day-to-day until Pittsburgh releases more information. The 31-year-old bruising winger was signed to a three-year, $6 million contract ($2,000,000 AAV) during the offseason and has yet to pick up a point through four games in 2023-24.
Letting did not participate in the Penguins' practice Thursday and is being evaluated for a lower-body injury. The 36-year-old defensemen is in his 18th season with the Penguins and has three assists, six SOG, two PIMs and a +3 plus/minus in four games played so far in 2023-24. Pittsburgh should be releasing more information on the injuries in the upcoming day or two.
Tomasino has an assist, two SOG, two PIMs and a -1 plus/minus through four games to start 2023-24 but will be a healthy scratch Thursday vs. the New York Rangers. Michael McCarron will replace Tomasino on the Predators' fourth line alongside Yakov Trenin and Colton Sissons.
Jarry will get his third start of the season for the Penguins who, after losing their season opener, have convincingly won two games in a row, outscoring their opposition 9-2. In Jarry's two games so far (1-1-0), he has a terrific 1.53 GAA and .944 SV%. Tonight, Jarry and the Penguins (-122 road favourites) face off against the Detroit Red Wings, who are also off to a hot start as well, outscoring opponents 13-8 in their first three games (2-1-0). Though the Red Wings have an improved offence this season, Jarry posted a .950 SV% and 1.01 GAA in his only meeting against them last season.
Plasek had six goals, nine assists, and 10 PIMs across 31 games played on loan with HC Olomouc (Czachia) in 2022-23 and has been dealt to Pittsburgh alongside Jack Rathbone for Ty Glover and Mark Friedman Tuesday. The 23-year-old left-winger was Vancouvers' 2019 sixth-round pick (175th overall) and has yet to make his NHL debut.
Bemstrom is expected to play in his second game of the season after being scratched by the Blue Jackets on Saturday. He recorded two shots on goal in 14:27 time-on-ice in his only game of the season. The 24-year-old had a career-high 22 points (7G / 15A) in 55 games last season.
Nedeljkovic fell into a backup role with the Red Wings last season and went 5-7-2 with a 3.53 GAA and .895 SV% in 15 games (13 starts). This summer he signed with Penguins, where he'll serve as Tristan Jarry's backup. He had a strong pre-season but is far from the goalie we saw in 2021 when he posted a 1.90 GAA and .932 SV%. Nedeljkovic has a sub-par matchup vs. the Flames and should probably be left on the waiver wire until he has a better matchup.
Nedeljkovic fell into a backup role with the Red Wings last season and went 5-7-2 with a 3.53 GAA and .895 SV% in 15 games (13 starts). This summer he signed with Penguins, where he'll serve as Tristan Jarry's backup. He had a strong pre-season but is far from the goalie we saw in 2021 when he posted a 1.90 GAA and .932 SV%. Nedeljkovic has a sub-par matchup vs. the Flames and should probably be left on the waiver wire until he has a better matchup.
Jarry will get his second start for the Penguins in as many games and look to help them secure their first victory of the season. Despite a 4-2 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks, Jarry played reasonably well in the season opener, saving 32 of 35 shots. The Penguins are -120 road favourites against the Capitals, who will be playing their first game of the season.
Jarry picked up 24 wins for the Penguins in the 2022-23 season to go along with a 2.90 GAA and a .909 SV% across 47 appearances. He is expected to command a heavy workload for the Penguins this season and will get the nod in their season opener against Chicago. Jarry looks to be one of the safer starts on the slate as the Penguins are heavy favourites over Connor Bedard’s Blackhawks tonight.
Timmins was enjoying an incredible preseason with the Maple Leafs after leading all scorers thus far with two goals and four assists in three games but will now be forced to miss a significant amount of time as he is week-to-week with a lower-body injury. It is a tough loss for the 25-year-old as he was battling for one of Toronto's final roster spots after two goals, 14 points and 19 SOG in 27 games with Arizona and Toronto in 2022-23.
Hamaliuk was acquired by Pittsburgh as part of the three-way trade involving San Jose and Montreal that saw superstar Erik Karlsson also land with the Penguins. The 22-year-old left-winger was San Jose's 2019 second-round pick (55th overall) and has yet to make his NHL debut. In 2022-23 he had three goals, nine points and 37 PIMs across 44 games with San Jose (AHL) in his first professional season.
Karlsson was acquired by Pittsburgh as part of a massive blockbuster trade with involves both San Jose and Montreal. The 33-year-old defensemen is fresh off of winning the 2022-23 Norris Trophy after a season which saw him surpass 100+ points for the first time in his career with 25 goals, 76 assists, 209 SOG, 36 PIMs and a -26 plus/minus through 82 games with San Jose last season. The addition of the superstar brings 178 goals and 761 points in 920 games alongside three Norris Trophies to the Penguins' blue line.
Johnsson had three assists, 18 SOG, six PIMs and a -6 plus/minus through 13 games with both New Jersey and San Jose in 2022-23 and has signed a one-year, $800,000 AAV contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins. The 28-year-old left-winger will be hoping for a resurgent season in the NHL after spending most of 2022-23 in the minors (AHL). He joins Pittsburgh with 48 goals and 116 points across 259 career NHL games with Toronto, New Jersey and San Jose across six seasons.
Imama had five goals, 10 assists, 109 PIMs and a +3 plus/minus with the Tucson Roadrunners (AHL) in 2022-23 and has signed a one-year, two-way contract worth $775,000 with Ottawa. The 26-year-old left-winger also appeared in five games for Arizona last season but failed to pick up a point to go along with his five PIMs and -2 plus/minus. He brings a goal, 10 PIMs and nine games of NHL experience to the Senators.
Koppanen had an assist, two SOG, and four PIMs through five games with Boston in 2022-23 and has signed a two-year, two-way contract worth $1.55 million ($775,000 AAV) with Pittsburgh. The 25-year-old left-winger was Boston's 2016 fifth-round pick (135th overall) and made his NHL debut in 2022-23.
Shea had seven goals, 21 assists, 36 PIMs and a +37 plus/minus through 70 games with the Texas Stars (AHL) and has signed a one-year, one-way $775,00 contract with Pittsburgh. The 26-year-old was drafted by Chicago in 2015 in the fourth-round (121st overall) and has yet to make his NHL debut despite his constant success at the AHL level.
Graves had eight goals, 18 assists, 141 SOG, 28 PIMs and a +34 plus/minus through 78 games played with New Jersey in 2022-23 and has signed a six-year, $27 million contract ($4,500,000 AAV) with Pittsburgh. The 28-year-old led the NHL in plus/minus in 2019-20 with Colorado (+40) and has racked up 28 goals and 100 points across 302 NHL games in his career thus far.
Poolman had 14 points (2G / 12A) in 64 AHL games for the Calgary Wranglers last season. The 27-year-old defenseman has played exclusively with Calgary's AHL team since turning pro in 2021, tallying 33 points (3G / 30A) across 147 games.
Hollowell had two assists, four SOG, two PIMs and a +3 plus/minus through six games with Toronto in 2022-23 and has signed a one-year, two-way contract ($775,000 AAV) with the New York Rangers. The 24-year-old defenseman was Toronto's 2018 fourth-round pick (118th overall) and should provide the Rangers with some defensive depth after making his NHL debut in 2022-23.
