Vladar took the loss his last time out stopping 17 of 19 shots (.895 SV%) in relief of Jakob Markstrom in a 6-3 loss over 11 days ago. Tuesday will be only Vladars second start of the 2022-23 season, as he has been used scarcely posting a .896 SV% and .303 GAA in two games. He takes on a much better Seattle Kraken team than a season ago who is coming off a 3-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Anaheim Ducks announced Monday that defenseman Jamie Drysdale will be out for approximately 4-6 months with a torn labrum after suffering the injury during last Friday's game vs. Vegas. It is a tough likely end to the season for the Ducks' 2020 1st round pick (6th overall) who had yet to acquire a point through eight games in his third NHL season.
Couturier had another injury setback as his 2022-23 season from Hell continues. The star centre had back revision surgery Thursday and is expected to miss the net 3-4 months.
Pederson was dealt along with Ethan Bear for a 2023 5th-round pick. Pederson never got to play an NHL game for the Carolina Hurricanes before being health but has enjoyed two seasons prior with the Sharks and Coyotes. In 44 career games, he has one goal and four assists while posting a -18 plus/minus.
Jiricek was the No.6 pick in the 2022 draft this past June. The 18-year-old prospect will be filling in for Adam Boqvist who was announced out for six weeks (foot) Wednesday.
John Tortorella announced Thursday that star centre Sean Couturier has unfortunately stopped skating as he is not ready to ramp up his workload yet. His timetable to return is still indefinite with him now not expected back anytime soon. The 29-year-old has 460 points (180G/280A) through his first 721 career games.
Jiricek was the No.6 pick in the 2022 draft this past June. The 18-year-old prospect will be filling in for Adam Boqvist who was announced out for six weeks (foot) Wednesday.
Tippett suffered an upper-body injury in the Flyers' season opener and missed the last five games. Tippett will replace James van Riemsdyk, who is out long-term with a hand injury that will require surgery. Tippett has four goals and three assists (seven points) in 22 games since being traded to the Flyers.
Ristolainen missed the first six games of the regular season but is set to make his season debut on Thursday. In his first season with the Flyers in 2021-22, Ristolainen had 16 points (2G / 14A), a minus-9 rating, 125 blocked shots and 230 hits in 66 games.
Wayne Simmonds will see his first NHL action of the 2022-23 season Saturday as the Maple Leafs head to Winnipeg to take on the Jets. After being waived early in the season, Simmonds is expected to slot into a fourth-line role for the struggle Maple Leafs. Simmonds became a member of the 1000 games club last season and currently sits on 1019 games played. Throughout his 14-year career, he has 263 goals, and 524 points to go along with 2121 PIMs.
The two-year extension will start at the beginning of the 2023-24 season, with an AAV of $2,200,000. He will continue to back up Jacob Markstrom until at least 2026 after collecting 14 wins in his first 20 starts since coming to Calgary in 2021-22. He holds a career .902 SV% and 2.88 GAA in three NHL seasons.
Ristolainen missed the first two games of the season, and moving him to IR opened up a roster spot for the Flyers to call up Louie Belpedio from Lehigh Valley (AHL) for the Flyers' three-game road trip.
Simmonds cleared waivers and was assigned to the Marlies to open the season. However, with Matt Murray landing on LTIR, the Maple Leafs had enough cap space to bring him back. He skated as an extra on Sunday, so don't expect him to be in the lineup vs. the Coyotes on Monday.
Tucker Poolman was hurt in Saturday's game against the Flyers, so Juulsen comes up to serve as the Canucks No.7 defenseman in Washington. Juulsen did not record a point and had nine PIMS in his first two AHL contests of the season.
Vladar will surprisingly get his first start of the 2022-23 season Saturday in the Battle of Alberta for the undefeated Calgary Flames. Vladar enjoyed a decent first season in Calgary last season, posting a .906 SV% while winning 13 of his 19 starts backing up Jacob Markstrom.
