Hart allowed three goals on 31 shots I the Flyers win over the Blackhawks in their season opener overseas. Now he returns to Philadelphia, where Hart was 11-9-1 with a 2.98 GAA and .912 SV% last season. He will face a Devils team that is still looking for their first win of the season, having been outscored 12-to-6 so far.
Dowd averaged 10:22 TOI/gm through the first three games of the season but did not record a shot or point. Dowd will be replaced by Evgeny Kuznetsov, who will make his season debut after serving his three-game suspension.
The Flyers and Blackhawks will meet in the Czech Republic on Friday and the 21-year-old netminder will start opening night. Hart was thrust into the NHL last year and played very well, going 16-13-1 with a 2.83 GAA and .917 SV%. He’ll be a solid No.2 fantasy option this season, but draws a tough assignment vs. a Chicago team that was eighth in the NHL in scoring last year.
After four years and 276 NHL games with the Canucks, Hutton is going to the Kings on a one-year deal. The 26-year-old left-shot defenseman had 20 points (5G / 15A) in 69 games last season and provides Los Angeles with a little depth while Derek Forbort recovers from a back injury.
After just one day of training camp, the Maple Leafs and Marner were able to come to terms on a six-year contract extension that makes him the seventh highest paid player in the NHL (by AAV). Marner had 94 points (26G / 68A) last season and comes into 2020 with 90-point potential as a staple next to John Tavares.
Barbashev had 14 goals and 12 assists (26 points) in 80 games in 2019. The 23-year-old also chipped in during the postseason, picking up six points (3G / 3A) in 25 games en route to winning the Stanley Cup. Barbashev is back but is buried on the depth chart behind Brayden Schenn, Ryan O’Reilly, and Tyler Bozak.
Hill spent most of the 2019 in the AHL, but also went 7-5-0 with a 2.76 GAA, .901 SV% and one shutout in 13 NHL contests. The former third-round pick was 16-19-2 with a 2.61 GAA and .906 SV% in 36 games in Tucson (AHL). With Antti Raanta and Darcy Kuemper firmly ahead of him on the depth chart, Hill will open the 2020 season with the Roadrunners.
Kallionkieli was a fifth-round pick in this summer’s draft after scoring 29 goals and 24 assists (53 points) in 58 games with Sioux City (USHL).
Sissons set career-bests in goals (15) and points (30) in 75 games a season go. Sissons is an integral part of the Predators bottom-6, ranking second on the team in faceoffs (53.1 percent), first among Predators forwards in SH TOI/GM (1:59) and hits (109). It is the type of contract you don’t see very often for a player with Sissons role but the Predators are making a long-term commitment to him.
In his second season with the Golden Knights, Karlsson expectedly saw his shooting percentage drop from 23.4% to 14.2% which led to him scoring just 24 goals with 32 assists (56 points) in 82 games. Over the last two seasons, Karlsson ranks 17th in goals (67) and tied for 45th in points (134). His new cap-hit is the same last Jonathan Huberdeau and Aleksander Barkov, which is tied for 109th highest in the NHL—extremely reasonable for a player who is in the top-50 in scoring.
Davies was a seventh-round pick of the Devils in 2016 and is coming off of his Junior year at Northeastern University, where he had 36 points (8G / 28A) in 37 games.
While Johansson was taking a shot, Barbashev caught him in the head with his shoulder and the NHL deemed it was worthy of a one-game suspension. Robert Thomas, if he’s healthy, will likely replace Barbashev in Game 6, but if he can’t play it will be Robby Fabbri.
Rondbjerg, 20, was selected in the third-round (No.65 overall) in 2017 and had two goals and four assists (six points) in 45 games with Vaxjo HC of the Swedish Elite League.
Hertl suffered a hand injury in Tuesday’s practice and today’s morning skate but head coach Pete DeBoer said that Hertl will be in the lineup for Game 1. Hertl has enjoyed a career year, setting career-highs in goals (35), assists (39) and points (74) in 77 games. The 25-year-old has six goals and three assists in 10 playoff games a year ago.
Darcy Kuemper was forced to leave Tuesday’s game after taking a stick in the face vs. the Kings, so Hill comes back up in case Kuemper isn’t available for Thursday’s game. Hill has gone 15-12-2 with a 2.46 GAA and .911 SV% in 32 AHL games this season.
