The NHL had only one game Monday night, but is set for a full slate of games this evening. Here’s a few things to keep in mind for tonight’s games.
- Edmonton picked up their first win last night at home over the Lightning 3-2, after a late goal from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.
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Detroit Red Wings star Pavel Datsyuk is set to return to the lineup after suffering a shoulder injury in the teams first preseason game. “I need to feel in the game. At practice it’s a different level,” Datsyuk said. “We’ll see [Tuesday] and I can more explain after the game how it’s feeling.”
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Blackhawks goalie Cory Crawford will miss his start tonight at home against the Philadelphia Flyers with an upper-body injury. Antti Raanta will make his first start of the season, while the team recalled Scott Darling from the Rockford IceHogs. Raanta’s numbers after last years rookie season, 13-5-4 record with a 2.71 goals-against average and .897 save percentage.
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Colorado Avalanche place Semyon Varlamov on the injured reserve due to his recent groin injury in Tuesday nights overtime loss to Toronto. Varlamov led the Avalanche and the league with 41 wins last season. The Russian was having problems early though this season, sporting a 0-2-1 record with 3.80 goals against average.
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Los Angeles Kings ban defenseman Slava Voynov indefinitely after Monday mornings domestic abuse arrest. The NHL is taking a more serious tone with this incident. Last season the above, Semyon Varlamov had an incident and arrest with his then girlfriend, but was allowed to travel and play as the case played out in the judicial system.
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Calgary looks to stay flaming hot, 4-2-0, tonight as they face the Tampa Bay Lightning at the Saddle Dome. Tampa is coming off a 3-2 loss last night in Edmonton. Flames captain Mark Giordano said, “We got the points we wanted out of the trip. You have to make it count. What I mean by saying that is we have to have a successful homestand here. We have to get points in a lot of these games. We can put ourselves in a pretty good spot here early in the year.”
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Sticking with the Flames. Calgary resigned star defenseman T.J. Brodie to a 5-year $23 million extension. Brodie has has three goals and four assists on the year.
Play of the night – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins game winner, giving the Oilers their first win on the season.
Locks for tonight
Chicago, NY Islanders, Nashville, and Calgary.