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New York Islanders News

Palmieri (lower-body) will not be in the Devils’ lineup this afternoon.

Palmieri left the Devils season opener after playing just 10:29 TOI and will not be available for this afternoon’s game in Buffalo. With Palmieri out, Jesper Bratt will get an opportunity to play on the Devils’ top line with Taylor Hall and Pavel Zacha.

Kyle Palmieri
Varlamov leads the Avalanche onto the ice for warmups.

Varlamov turned aside 37 of 39 shots in Colorado’s opening night win in New York. It was an excellent start to 2017-18 for Varlamov, who has given Saturday night in New Jersey off. Varlamov will return to the crease in Boston, where the Bruins will be playing without Patrice Bergeron.

Semyon Varlamov
Palmieri (lower-body) travelled to Buffalo; listed as a game-time decision.

Palmieri recorded two assists in 10:29 TOI in the season opener before departing with a lower-body injury. The 26-year-old winger did travel to Buffalo, so he may not miss any time. Expect John Hynes to address the media around 12:45 pm ET and if Palmieri can’t play, look for Jesper Bratt to take his spot on the top line.

Kyle Palmieri
Varlamov starts Colorado's season opener in New York.

After starting 57-plus games for three straight seasons, Varlamov was bit by the injury bug last season, starting just 23 games. In his 24 appearances, the Russian netminder struggled to an ugly 3.38 GAA and .898 SV%. Varlamov plays behind one of the worst teams in the NHL which will limit his upside in 2017-18. Look for him to improve on last year’s numbers, but he draws a difficult matchup in his first start of the year.

Semyon Varlamov
The Canadiens have acquired Jonathan Drouin and a conditional 2018 6th round pick from the Lightning for Mikhail Sergachev and a conditional 2nd round pick.

Drouin was the No.3 overall pick in the 2013 draft and carried his success in the 2015-16 playoffs into 2016-17, when he scored 21 goals with 32 assists (53 points) in 73 games. The Canadiens ranked 15th in the NHL in scoring a season ago and Drouin should help them push for the top 10 in 2018.

Jonathan Drouin