Skinner Wins His First Home Game as a Jet, Hensley Heads the PWHL’s Goalie Moves
Plus: the Canadiens call up Jacob Fowler from Laval, Devon Levi is 3-0 as an Oiler, Andrei Vasilevskiy enters the top 20 in career wins, Robert Mayer heads to Lugano after 11 seasons in Geneva, and Dylan Garand's new Pro Read on facing Kucherov from behind the net.
In this edition 8 stories
NHL
New on InGoal
NHLSkinner makes 32 saves for his first home win as a Jet
Colorado put 20 shots on Stuart Skinner before one finally got past him early in the second period. He finished with 32 saves on 34 shots, stopping all five the Avalanche managed on the power play, and Kyle Connor’s goal with a minute to go gave Winnipeg a 3-2 win. (NHL.com)
Martin Necas was the Avalanche forward he kept frustrating. Skinner slid across to deny him during a first-period penalty kill, then scrambled back after a big rebound early in the second to stop him again. It was also Skinner’s first win in front of the Winnipeg crowd, and his second in a row. “It was nice to get a lot of shots early,” he said. (Global News)
He was thinking, too. When an Avalanche player knocked his net loose in the first period, Colorado couldn’t touch the puck without play being stopped, so Skinner raced to the bench to give Winnipeg an extra skater, as Dave Minuk pointed out. (Dave Minuk on X)
The other bench saw it too. “I thought Skinner made a couple of key, big saves, timely saves in that game,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. (NHL.com)
On InGoal: InGoal Radio Episode 338 with Stuart Skinner and InGoal Radio Episode 151 with Stuart Skinner.
NHLCanadiens call up Jacob Fowler from Laval
Montreal brought Jacob Fowler back from the AHL’s Laval Rocket on Wednesday, after Samuel Montembeault left practice early after going down awkwardly in his crease during a drill. (TSN, Montreal Gazette) RDS noted that nobody had made contact with him, and Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said more on his status should be known Thursday. (RDS, Elliotte Friedman on X)
Fowler, 21, has been sharp in Laval, with a 1.53 goals-against average and a .945 save percentage through his first two games. (Montreal Gazette) The Melbourne, Fla., native was Montreal’s third-round pick, 69th overall, in 2023, and he went 9-6-2 with a .908 save percentage after making his NHL debut last season. (TSN)
Montembeault had earned the backup job behind Jakub Dobes in camp, allowing one goal on 35 shots across three preseason games, and has yet to play this season. (Montreal Gazette)
Update: Fowler gets the start. The Canadiens announced Thursday that he will make his season debut against Nashville at the Bell Centre that night. (Canadiens on X)
On InGoal: InGoal Radio Episode 339 with Jacob Fowler and Jacob Fowler and Apophenia.
NHLLevi is 3-0 as an Oiler after 29 saves in Anaheim
Devon Levi has now won every start he has made for Edmonton. In Anaheim on Wednesday, he made 29 saves in a 5-2 win. (NHL.com) The Ducks scored twice on the power play in the first period before the Oilers took over with five goals in the second. (TSN)
The Edmonton Journal’s David Staples credits Levi with keeping the Oilers in it through that first period, starting with a pokecheck that broke up an early Ducks push to the net. He also stopped Killorn and Sennecke from the slot after an Edmonton turnover, and twice turned away Granlund in the third period, the first time with Anaheim on the power play. (Edmonton Journal)
On InGoal: Devon Levi’s Pro Reads and ProTips with Devon Levi.
NHLVasilevskiy joins the top 20 in career wins
Monday’s win over Philadelphia was the 372nd of Andrei Vasilevskiy‘s NHL career, which puts him level with Andy Moog and inside the top 20 all time. (NHL.com) Only three goalies in that group have a higher career save percentage than his .917, pointed out Benjamin Pierce, the Lightning’s beat writer and manager of media relations. (Benjamin Pierce on X)
Vasilevskiy may get Thursday night off. At the Lightning’s optional morning skate, Dennis Hildeby was the first goalie off the ice while Vasilevskiy stayed out for extra work, which points to Hildeby making his Tampa Bay debut against Minnesota, Tampa Bay Times beat writer Eduardo A. Encina noted. (Eduardo A. Encina on X)
On InGoal: InGoal Radio Episode 41 with Andy Moog.
NHLSenators to honour Ray Emery at their home opener
Ottawa plays its first home game of the season against Philadelphia on Thursday night, and the Senators are using it to remember Ray Emery, who passed away in 2018 at 35. His family will ring the ceremonial bell at Canadian Tire Centre to start the night. (CBC News)
Ottawa drafted the Hamilton, Ont., native in 2001, and he spent five seasons with the club. He is best remembered for carrying the Senators to the 2007 Stanley Cup Final, the franchise’s first since its return to the NHL. (CBC News)
PWHLHensley heads the goalie moves as camp rosters land
All 12 PWHL teams named their training camp rosters on Wednesday, with 46 goaltenders between them. Two-time Walter Cup champion Nicole Hensley, now with expansion Las Vegas, heads the list of goalies on new teams. Who moved, who’s new to the league and every camp invite, team by team: Every goalie at PWHL camp.
InternationalRobert Mayer and Joren van Pottelberghe swap clubs on loan
After 11 seasons in Geneva, Robert Mayer asked for a move to get more playing time, and he’ll finish the season on loan to Lugano, with Joren van Pottelberghe going the other way. Mayer was the backbone of Genève-Servette’s first Swiss title in 2023. (Genève-Servette)
“Geneva is and always will be my home,” Mayer said in the club’s announcement (translated from French). Geneva plans a ceremony for him before Lugano visits on Oct. 20. (Genève-Servette)
New on InGoalGarand on facing Kucherov from behind the net
- In his second Pro Read, Dylan Garand walks through two plays where Tampa Bay worked the puck behind his net and Nikita Kucherov tried to pass it out front: how he holds his right post, where he looks, how far his stick reaches, and how his head and eyes lead every push. Read: Facing Kucherov: Visual + Stick Keys Behind the Net with Dylan Garand.
Have goalie news from your league, a big save, a signing, or a coaching hire? Send it to news@ingoalmag.com.