Grubauer stopped all 18 shots that he faced in a shutout win over the Avalanche on October 18th. It was a great season debut for Grubauer, who will make his second start of the season tonight in Vancouver. Grubauer makes for an excellent spot-start option against a Canucks team that has lost four in a row while averaging 1.25 goals per game.
Kempny has appeared in each of the first six games of the season, but will come out of the lineup on Monday. Kempny has no points, five shots on goal and four penalty minutes so far, but will be replaced by Michal Rozsival tonight.
Gaudreau played on Saturday because the Predators were missing four players due to food poisoning, but with those players set to return this week, Gaudreau has been sent back to Milwaukee. He had three blocked shots in 9:01 TOI on Saturday.
The 22-year-old netminder hasn’t appeared in a game this season thanks to a broken hand that he suffered in the World Cup of Hockey, but earned an extension with an excellent postseason, en route to a Stanley Cup. Murray was 9-2-1 with a 2.00 GAA and .930 SV% in 13 regular season starts a season ago. Marc-Andre Fleury is off to a good start to the year, but Murray should rejoin the fold in the next week or so.
Oleksiak missed the first two games of the season with an undisclosed injury, but he will get into the lineup on Tuesday as the Stars get set to take on the Predators. Oleksiad is not known for his offence though, he had just two assists in 19 games last year and has just 12 points (1G / 11A) in 78 career NHL games.
Braden Holtby started the Capitals’ first two games of the season, but they will get Grubauer into his first game of the season tonight. Grubauer was 8-9-1 with a 2.32 GAA and .918 SV% last season, but draws a tough matchup against an Avalanche team that is off to a hot-start to the 2016-17 season.
Braden Holtby started the Capitals’ first two games of the season, but it looks like they will get Grubauer into his first game of the season tonight. Grubauer was 8-9-1 with a 2.32 GAA and .918 SV% last season, but draws a tough matchup against an Avalanche team that is off to a hot-start to the 2016-17 season.
Schwartz was expected to miss the entire month of October, but it looks like Schwartz could return earlier than expected. Monitor Schwartz’s status as the week progresses.
Schwartz, who hyperextended his left elbow in practice back on September 29th, was originally expected to be re-evaluated in four weeks (end of October), skated today for the first time since suffering the injury. However, Schwartz remains on his original timetable, but it is still encouraging to see that he is making progress.
Oleksiak has been bothered by a lower-body injury, but was able to skate this morning which indicates he may not miss much time past tonight’s season opener.
This is a tough start to the 2016-17 season for Schwartz, who was limited to 33 regular season games last year due to a foot injury he suffered in October. We’re still two weeks away from the start of the season, so Schwartz should only miss the first 8-10 games.
Murray broke his hand while representing Team North America at the World Cup of Hockey. The Penguins were expected to start the season with a two-goalie system, splitting time between Marc-Andre Fleury and Murray. The 22-year-old led the Penguins to the Stanley Cup last season and is still expected to be a huge part of their success this season. Murray will miss 1-4 weeks to start the regular season.
Gibson, 23, spent the majority of the 2015-16 season with Bridgeport (AHL), where he went 19-11-6 with a 2.70 GAA and .909 SV% in 42 games. He also appeared in four games with the Islanders, going 1-1-1 with a 3.40 GAA and .882 SV%. Gibson will be fourth on the Islanders’ depth chart and start the 2016-17 season as the Sound Tigers’ starter.
Schwartz, 24, missed 49 games in 2015-16 after fracturing his ankle in October, but still finished with 22 points (8G / 14A) in 33 games. The injury was frustrating for his fantasy investors, who were expecting another 25-goal, 60-point season out of him. Schwartz comes into 2016-17 with that kind of potential and should be drafted as a 60-point player with the potential for 30 goals.
Schultz, 26, was stuck on a bad Edmonton team for three and a half years, before being traded to Pittsburgh at last year’s trade deadline. He enjoyed success with the Penguins, picking up eight points (1G / 7A) in 18 regular season games and four assists in 15 playoff games, en route to winning the Stanley Cup. Schultz’s $1.4 million dollar contract is a pay-cut from his previous $3.9M AAV contract, but he wanted to stay in Pittsburgh.
Oleksiak, 23, was unable to land a full-time spot with the Stars in 2015-16, appearing in just 19 games and eight others with Texas (AHL). The 2011 14th overall pick is a huge body (6’7” / 260 lbs) but doesn’t possess a lot of offensive upside. Oleksiak will push for a regular role on the Stars’ blueline in training camp.
Larsson, 23, was the fourth overall pick in the 2011 NHL Draft, but has yet to develop into the premiere two-way defenseman that he was expected to be. However, at just 23-years-old he still has a lot of years to become the top-pairing defenseman that the Oilers are hoping they just acquired. He had 18 points (3G / 15A) in 82 games with the Devils last season.
