Drouin left Tuesday’s game with a head injury after being hit by Islanders’ defenseman Calvin de Haan. Drouin missed the morning skate and is still being evaluated by doctors. Drouin is day-to-day and will be replaced by J.T. Brown tonight.
Varlamov surrendered five goals on 36 shots in Colorado’s loss to the Predators on Tuesday. Varlamov has lost his last three starts while posting a 3.71 GAA and .884 SV% and things don’t get any easier tonight in Chicago. The Blackhawks are 6-3-1 and rank third in the NHL in scoring with 3.50 goals per game. There are better options out there tonight.
Drouin got crunched by Islanders’ defenseman Calvin de Haan and was forced to leave the game and did not return. The hit was to Drouin’s head, so there is some immediate concussion concern, but the Lightning have not released any information on his condition.
Varlamov allowed one goal on 21 shots in Colorado’s 1-0 loss to the Jets last Friday. Varlamov was inconsistent in October, finishing the month at 2-3-0 with a 2.82 GAA and .909 SV%. On Tuesday he will take on a Nashville team that is off to a sluggish start to 2016-17. The Predators are 2-5-1 and surprisingly rank 24th in the NHL in scoring (2.38 G/PG).
Varlamov allowed five goals on 38 shots in Colorado’s loss in Florida last Saturday. The Avalanche have had six days off, so Varlamov should be well rested for tonight’s game vs. the Jets. Varlamov has won two of his first four starts while posting a 3.25 GAA, .902 SV% and one shutout.
Pulock will miss 4-6 weeks after breaking his foot blocking a shot in Saturday’s win over the Coyotes. Nick Leddy (upper-body) is expected to take Pulock’s spot in the lineup after missing Friday’s game.
Pulock left Friday’s game with a lower-body injury after playing just 3:57 TOI in his season debut. Pulock was given a great opportunity with Nick Leddy out, but the injury forced him from the game and will force him to miss at least one month.
Varlamov stopped all 27 shots that he faced in Colorado’s shutout win in Tampa Bay on Thursday. It was an excellent performance from the Russian netminder, who is now 2-1-0 with a 2.67 GAA and .916 SV% in three games this season. A tough matchup on Thursday didn’t seem to matter, but he draws another difficult matchup tonight in Florida. The Panthers are 2-1-1 and are averaging 2.75 goals per game.
Varlamov allowed three goals on 40 shots in Colorado’s loss in Washington on Tuesday. Varlamov has allowed a combined eight goals on 68 shots (.882 SV%) in his first two starts of the season and draws another tough matchup tonight in Tampa Bay. The Lightning are off to a 3-0-0 start to the season and are averaging an impressive 4.33 goals for per game.
Pulock has not appeared in an NHL game this season and has one assist in two games with Bridgeport. Pulock could draw into the lineup for his season debut on Friday.
Barzal played 10:10 during his NHL debut on Saturday, but he will come out of the lineup in favour of Alan Quine on Sunday.
Varlamov allowed five goals on 28 shots in Colorado’s win over the Stars on Saturday. Calvin Pickard got the nod last night, but they will come back to Varlamov tonight in Washington. The Avalanche are off to a 2-0-0 start to the season, but draw a tough matchup on the tail-end of a back-to-back. Varlamov was 13-10-0 with a 2.53 GAA and .923 SV% on the road a season ago.
Barzal sat out of the Islanders’ season opener, but will draw into the lineup on Saturday. Barzal will centre the third line with Ryan Strome on his right wing and Anders Lee on the left. Barzal is also expected to play on the Islanders’ top power-play unit.
Varlamov will start Colorado’s season opener and he is hoping their coaching change will help him. Over the last three years, Varlamov has faced a ridiculous 5,518 shots (most in the NHL), which has made things really tough on him. He has the ability to be a No.1 fantasy netminder, if the Avalanche improve in front of him. Last year he was 27-25-3 with a 2.81 GAA and .914 SV%—expect better numbers across the board this year.
Mayfield, 23, was the 34th overall pick in the 2011 NHL Draft, but has yet to make a big impact at the NHL level. The 6-foot-4, 225 lbs. blueliner has appeared in just 11 NHL games, tallying just one goal. There may be a team out there that lacks depth on the blueline that claims the St. Louis native.
Palmieri 25, had the best season of his career in his first year in New Jersey. He entered 2015-16 with a career-high of 14 goals, but burst out for 30 goals along with 27 assists (57 points) in 82 games. Palmieri should benefit from the Devils adding Taylor Hall to the mix for 2016-17.
Martin, 27, has missed just 11 games in the last five years while averaging seven goals and seven assists per season. However, that’s not where his value lies. Since his first full NHL season in 2011-12, Martin leads the NHL in hits with 1714, which is 370 more than second (Cal Clutterbuck)—1714 hit equates to 4.7 hits per game.
