Gustavsson stopped all 41 shots that he faced in a shutout win over the Panthers on Thursday. Gustavsson picked up right where he left off in 2023. In his last 19 regular season starts, Gustavsson is 12-1-6 with a 1.83 GAA, .943 SV% and three shutouts. As good as he's been, he draws a tough matchup in Toronto on Saturday. He stopped 22 of 24 shots in a 2-1 OT loss in his only start vs. the Maple Leafs last year.
Brink cracked the Flyers' opening night lineup and skated on the top line and top power-play unit, recording two shots in 13:16 TOI. Today, he will be replaced by fellow prospect Tyson Foerster. This is a rotation that could continue for a couple of games.
Maatta appeared in 78 games for the Red Wings in 2022-23 picking up six goals, 17 assists and a -9 plus/minus but will be a healthy scratch for their season opener Thursday vs. New Jersey. The 29-year-old signed a two-year, $6 million contract extension in February but was the odd man out for newly signed Justin Holl Thursday. He should find himself in Detroits' lineup more often than not.
Expectations are high this season for the 25-year-old Gustavsson, who made his presence known in his first season with the Wild, posting a 2.10 GAA and .931 SV% in 39 games (22-9-7) en route to eventually capturing the starting role from veteran Marc-Andre Fleury. As the confirmed starting goalie in Minnesota's season-opener, Gustavsson appears poised to pick up where he left off and should see an even larger role between the pipes this season. The Wild enter action tonight as -130 home favourites against the Florida Panthers, who will be without their top two defensemen, Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour.
Bogosian cleared waivers on Tuesday but has been recalled from Syracuse (AHL) on Wednesday. The 33-year-old defenseman missed the Lightnings' season-opening win over Nashville but will mark his 16th NHL season when he makes his first appearance for Tampa. He had a goal, four assists, 54 SOG, 42 PIMs and a -4 plus/minus through 46 games played with the Lightning in 2022-23.
Hartman is coming off a 37-point (15G / 22A), 59-game campaign, in which he predominantly centred a line between Kiril Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello. The nine-year veteran is expected to reassume his role as the top-line center for the Wild.
Spurgeon is expected to be out week-to-week as he deals with an upper-body injury and his presence will be greatly missed on Minnesota's back end. Last season, he led all Wild defensemen with 34 points (11G / 23A) and was second in time on ice, averaging 21:49 per game. With Spurgeon out, Alex Goligoski will likely become a regular in the lineup and Jonas Brodin and Brock Faber will be thrust into larger roles.
Foligno had seven goals, 14 assists, 97 PIMs, 83 SOG, and a -6 plus/minus in 2022-23 and signed a four-year, $16 million extension with Minnesota on Friday. The 32-year-old is entering his seventh season in Minnesota and has 116 goals and 272 points across 12 NHL seasons and 743 games played. He should have a key-role in the Wilds' bottom six yet again this season.
Schmidt was Tampa Bay's 2021 third-round pick (96th overall) and was expected to report to Syracuse (AHL) for his first professional season but is now not expected to be ready for the start of the 2023-24 season and is out indefinitely as he deals with an undisclosed injury. The 20-year-old defensemen had four goals, 24 assists, 74 PIMs and a +6 plus/minus through 64 games played with Kitchener in 2022-23.
Gustavsson had a 22-9-7 record, 2.10 GAA (2nd in NHL), and a .931 SV% (2nd in NHL) in his first season in Minnesota in 2022-23 and has signed a $11.25 million extension ($3,750,000 AAV). The 25-year-old netminder was acquired in July of 2022 for Cam Talbot from Ottawa and excelled in his first season with the Wild. He will man Minnesota's crease for the next three years and brings a 32-22-10 career record, and a .920 SV% and a .2.51 career GAA into 2023-24.
Kirkland appeared in seven games for Anaheim in 2022-23 but failed to pick up a point while getting five SOG and a -3 plus/minus and has signed a one-year, two-way contract worth $775,000 AAV with Arizona. The 26-year-old centre was a third-round pick in 2014 (62nd overall) with Nashville and made his NHL debut last season and has therefore not picked up a point yet in his career.
Gambrell had four goals, six assists, 46 SOG, 35 PIMs and a -4 plus/minus through 60 games with Ottawa in 2022-23 and has signed a one-year, $775,000 contract with the Maple Leafs. The 26-year-old centre has 17 goals, 23 assists, and a -28 plus/minus through 233 NHL games played and will make a solid depth piece for Toronto.
Pitlick had seven goals, nine assists, 54 SOG, 14 PIMs and a -1 plus/minus through 61 games with St.Louis in 2022-23 and has signed a one-year contract with the New York Rangers worth $785,500. The 31-year-old centre is joining his eighth NHL team and has 55 goals and 105 points across 386 games and nine NHL seasons.
The Blackhawks acquired the rights to Foligno from the Boston Bruins along with Taylor Hall on Monday and signed the veteran winger to a one-year deal on Tuesday. Foligno doesn't pack the same offensive punch he once did in Columbus but is a terrific veteran presence for a Blackhawks team going through a transitional period. Foligno had 26 points (10G / 16A) in 60 games with the Bruins in 2022-23.
Foligno had 10 goals, 16 assists, 71 SOG, 45 PIMs, a +18 plus/minus through 60 games with Boston in 2022-23 and has had his rights traded alongside Taylor Hall to Chicago for the rights to Ian Mitchell and Alec Regula. If the 35-year-old left-winger is to sign with the Blackhawks, he will enter his 17th season with his fifth NHL team having collected 215 goals and 525 points across 1081 career games played.
Eriksson Ek played in only one shift throughout the entire first round of the playoffs after appearing in Game 3 for only 0:19 seconds TOI and has confirmed Monday that he broke his leg and has already completed surgery. The 26-year-old will have a long road to return from but will hope to be back for the 2023-24 season opener after picking up a career-high 23 goals and 61 points through 78 regular season games.
Gustavsson allowed three goals on 24 shots (.875 SV%) for his second-straight loss as Dallas took a 3-2 series lead with a 4-0 defeat over Minnesota in Game 5. The 24-year-old has continued his outer worldly play from the regular season right into the playoffs, with his 2-2-0 record, 2.01 GAA and .928 SV%. He will hope to take the series to Game 7 as he takes on Dallas Friday, who finished the regular season seventh in the NHL in goals per game (3.43).
Gustavsson allowed three goals on 24 shots (.875 SV%) for his first loss of the playoffs as Dallas evened the series at two with a 3-2 victory over Minnesota last game. The 24-year-old has continued his historic opening season in Minnesota with an incredible post season so far, with his 2-1-0 record, 1.72 GAA and .941 SV%. He will hope to get the Wild back into the win column vs Dallas, who finished the season seventh in the NHL in goals per game (3.43).
