After clearing waivers, the Maple Leafs have assigned Panik to the minors in order to make room to recall Scott Harrington, who is expected to make his Maple Leafs debut tonight.
Panik, 24, had 11 goals and six assists (17 points) in 76 games with the Maple Leafs last season. Toronto brought in a tonne of depth pieces this offseason which continuously push Panik down the depth chart, to the point where he has been placed on waivers with the intention of sending him to the minors.
Varlamov posted a 1.83 GAA and .941 SV% in three preseason games and is the clear No. 1 in Colorado. He will get his 2015-16 season started against a Wild team that he was 1-4-0 with a 2.71 GAA and .926 SV% against last season. The 27-year-old comes in with a career 2.55 GAA and .918 SV%.
Pageau, 22, scored 10 goals and nine assists (19 points) in 50 games in his second NHL season. During his time in Binghamton (AHL), he had 21 points (11G / 10A) in 27 games.
It looks like Drouin will take a seat in game 1 as Vladimir Namestnikov gets set to suit up in his first career playoff game. Monitor Drouin’s status as the playoffs progress. The young forward is too goo to be held out of the lineup permanently.
Drouin missed the season finale, but was on the ice for practice this morning which suggests that he will be fine for Thursday’s game. Drouin had just four goals, but 28 assists (32 points) in 70 games this season.
Clutterbuck served as a healthy scratch on Tuesday, but he will get back into the lineup tonight in Pittsburgh. Clutterbuck has 15 points (7G / 8A) in 74 games this season, but that is not where his value lies—he is second in the NHL with 328 hits this season.
Schneider gave up three goals on 39 shots in the Devils loss to the Rangers on Tuesday. Schnieder has not recorded a win since March 17th, losing his last seven straight outings. Overall he had a strong season, going 26-30-9 with a 2.25 GAA and .926 SV% on a Devils team who rank 28th in the NHL in scoring (2.15 G/PG).
Martin will be out of the lineup tonight because of an unspecified injury. Martin will be replaced by Colin McDonald and is listed as day-to-day.
Varlamov allowed four goals on 42 shots in the Avs win over the Predators on Tuesday. Varalamov was limited to 56 starts entering today because of injury. He has gone 27-20-8 with a 2.57 GAA and .921 SV%. Tonight will be his third starts against the Blackhawks this season—he has gone 2-0-0 with a 0.50 GAA and .988 SV% in the first two.
Varlamov allowed three goals on 26 shots in the Avs loss in Los Angeles on Saturday. Tonight Varlamov will make his fourth start of the season against the Predators—he comes in having lost five of his last six and sits 1-1-1 with a 2.94 GAA and .912 SV% in his first three starts against Nashville.
Schneider was pulled after he allowed three goals on six shots in the Devils 6-1 loss to the Rangers on Saturday. Tonight he will look for revenge against the Rangers, this time in New Jersey. Schneider is 0-2-1 with a 4.01 GAA and .845 SV% in his first three starts against New York this season.
Schneider allowed three goals on 31 shots in the Devils loss in Columbus on Tuesday. Keith Kinkaid got the win last night, but Schneider will be between the pipes tonight in New York. Schneider has lost his last five starts while posting a 2.64 GAA and .908 SV% over that span. He has gone 0-1-1 with a 2.94 GAA and .885 SV% in his first two starts vs. the Rangers.
Varlamov allowed two goals on 34 shots in the Avs loss to the Oilers on Monday. How does he lose to Edmonton twice in less than week? I mean come on Varlamov, not even Anders Lindback would do that. Varlamov comes in as a loser of four of his last five while posting a 3.38 GAA and .903 SV% in the process.
