NHL Roster News: Early Lineup Notes, Key Injury Updates and Situations to Monitor for August 24

The DraftKings NHL slate gets going at 7 p.m. ET on Monday night, with the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Islanders beginning their second-round series and the Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars playing Game 2 of theirs. As has been a theme throughout these NHL Playoffs, there are line changes being made across the board, and several key injuries to deal with throughout the league. Both of these games tonight are affected, and you can see below for the implications of these updates.

Set your DraftKings lineups here: NHL $50K Rd. 2 Face Off [$10K to 1st]

Philadelphia Flyers

Michael Raffl ($2,700), James van Riemsdyk ($3,700)

The Flyers’ line combinations changed drastically throughout Philly’s first-round series against the Montreal Canadiens but seemed to stabilize later on in the series. The Flyers used groups that they didn’t really go to at all during the regular season, with Michael Raffl joining Sean Couturier ($6,400) and Jakub Voracek ($5,200) on the first line. James van Riemsdyk also notably returned to the lineup for the clinching Game 6 win after being a healthy scratch and skated with Claude Giroux ($5,900) for the majority of that game.

The Flyers clearly placed an emphasis on balance toward the end of the first round and it seemed to work well for them, so it’s likely that they’ll stick with this approach for tonight’s Game 1 against the Islanders. If the Flyers get off to a slow start, however, they’ll also probably be inclined to scrap things and go back to the lines that led them to the No. 1 seed.

Colorado Avalanche

Vladislav Namestnikov ($3,500), Pavel Francouz ($8,400)

The Avalanche will face the Dallas Stars in Game 2 of their series tonight and the opposing Stars are as unlikely to switch up their lines as anyone given that they’re now on a four-game winning streak dating back the prior round. The Avs, on the other hand, struggled in Game 1 against the Stars and made some changes during the game as a result. The top line stuck together but there were some alterations to the depth lines, as the second line, in particular, got broken up.

Joonas Donskoi ($3,600) had started the game alongside Nazem Kadri ($5,800) and Andre Burakovsky ($4,700) but by the end, Vladislav Namestnikov had taken Donskoi’s spot. The Avalanche also suffered a notable injury on the back end, losing Erik Johnson ($4,200) early on in the game and the rest of the Avs’ defensemen will have to pick up the slack in Johnson’s absence. On top of that, goaltender Philipp Grubauer ($8,200) is out indefinitely as well, which means that Pavel Francouz ($8,400) will likely be in net for the remainder of the series.

Set your DraftKings lineups here: NHL $50K Rd. 2 Face Off [$10K to 1st]

Put your knowledge to the test. Sign up for DraftKings and experience the game inside the game.

For sports betting, head over to DraftKings Sportsbook or download the DK Sportsbook app.

If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) (IL). Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ/WV/PA), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (NH/CO) or 1-800-BETS OFF (IA). 21+ (18+ NH). NJ/PA/WV/IN/NH/IA/CO/IL only. Eligibility restrictions apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for full terms and conditions.

All views expressed are my own. I am an employee of DraftKings and am ineligible to play in public DFS or DKSB contests.