Jacob Markstrom started the first five games of the season, so Thursday will be Rittich's season debut. The 28-year-old has won 20-plus games in back-to-back seasons, going 24-17-6 with a 2.97 GAA, .907 SV% and two shutouts in 48 games last season. Tonight he faces a Canadiens team that has yet to lose in regulation and lead the NHL in scoring through six games (4.83 GF/gm).
Varlamov stopped 30 of 31 shots in the Islanders' win over the Devils last Thursday. With Ilya Sorokin struggling again on Sunday, Varlamov is likely to start for the fourth time in six games on Tuesday. He's been the best goalie in the NHL through three starts, going 3-0-0 with a 0.33 GAA, .988 SV% and two shutouts.
Highmore has been a healthy scratch for the last three games but he will play Tuesday because Alex DeBrincat is in COVID-19 protocol. Highmore has eight points (4G / 4A) in 52 career NHL games.
Getting added to the COVID-19 reserve list means that Boqvist likely will not be available for the Tuesday/Wednesday back-to-back in Nashville. Boqvist's roommate Alex DeBrincat was also added to the list, so Chicago could be without two of their best offensive weapons in a tough series with the Predators.
Varlamov stopped 30 of 31 shots in the Islanders' win over the Devils last Thursday. With Ilya Sorokin struggling again on Sunday, Varlamov is likely to start for the fourth time in six games on Tuesday. He's been the best goalie in the NHL through three starts, going 3-0-0 with a 0.33 GAA, .988 SV% and two shutouts.
Varlamov stopped all 24 shots that he faced in the Islanders' shutout win over the Rangers on opening night. He was scheduled to start Saturday's rematch but was scratched after getting hit in the face in warmups. Luckily the injury was not serious and he'll be back between the pipes tonight vs. a Bruins offence that has been relatively quiet through their first two games.
Varlamov was scheduled to start Saturday but took a puck up high in warmups and ended up not playing. Head coach Barry Trotz said that both Varlamov and Ilya Sorokin are available to start on Monday but did not name a starter. We will get confirmation once warmups start at 4:30 PM ET.
Nick Robertson was hurt over the weekend and is expected to miss some time, so Engvall comes up from the AHL and should be in the lineup on Monday evening. The 24-year-old Engvall had eight goals and seven assists (15 points) in 48 games with the Maple Leafs last season.
DeAngelo had a tough game on Thursday and took undisciplined penalties so he will sit in the second game of the season but head coach David Quinn said “he’ll be back in the lineup soon.” Brendan Smith will replace DeAngelo on the Rangers’ blueline and Adam Fox will be on PP1.
In his first year with the Islanders, Varlamov went 19-14-6 with a 2.62 GAA, .914 SV% and two shutouts in 45 appearances (39 starts). In year-2, Varlamov will be pressured by rookie netminder Ilya Sorokin but he is still expected to start the majority of games as long as he's healthy and playing well. He was 0-2-1 with an ugly 4.64 GAA and .857 SV% in three games vs. the Rangers last year.
