We're barely (not even?) a week into the season, and some goaltending situations are shaping up. Apologies if you're in one of those scoring-only pools, but the bulk of this version of the Ramblings will be focused on goalies. Of course, we'll start with the news that shook Leafs Nation early Saturday.

It's Ilya Samsonov or bust for the next little while in Toronto. In case you missed it, Matt Murray will miss at least the next 10 games because of an injured groin from the morning skate. Murray is a Certified Band-Aid Boy thanks to being placed on injured reserve seven times within the last five years. At this point in his career, Murray is the type of goalie that needs a proven tandem partner if a team is to invest in him. Murray played just 20 games last season for the Senators, so the fact that he is injured again so soon should come as no surprise.

Erik Kallgren was injured during the Toronto Marlies' AHL opener on Friday, which set off alarm bells as to whether an EBUG (emergency backup goalie) would be needed. Fortunately, Kallgren's injury appears to be minor, so he has been recalled on an emergency basis. No Zamboni driver needed, at least for today. I don't expect Kallgren to start often, except maybe back-to-backs. The next B2B for the Leafs is October 29 (@LA) and 30 (@ANA).

Given the amount of coverage the Leafs receive, there's no shortage of analysis out there, so I don't think I can provide any more than what has already been said. Samsonov's stock rises as a result of the fact that he should receive almost all of the starts for at least the next month. The question is, can he handle the additional workload? Samsonov had a -12.52 GSAA last season – only six goalies had a worse GSAA. Worried yet, Leafs fans? At least he should be in a good spot for some wins, although his ratios may not be that tidy. 

With Murray unable to face his former team on Saturday, Samsonov was put to the test against the Senators. He passed that test with his second quality start in as many games, making 26 saves in the Leafs' 3-2 win. At least for two games, he's been getting the job done.

Late Saturday, Elliotte Friedman suggested that as a result of Murray getting placed on LTIR, Nick Robertson might receive a callup. Robertson did everything he possibly could to make the Leafs, scoring eight points in five preseason games. He's just 4 percent rostered in Yahoo leagues, so feel free to make him a speculative add if you have the bench space. I'm not sure he'll receive the scoring line and PP1 minutes out of the gate, but he clearly has the upside to make something happen.

Also from the Battle of Ontario, Jake Sanderson recorded his first NHL point, which was a power-play assist on Shane Pinto's first career power-play goal. In his rookie season, he's received top-4 minutes with Travis Hamonic as well as power-play time. Following a strong NCAA season (26 points in 23 games), Sanderson could be a darkhorse Calder candidate. For a quick follow-up on Calder candidates, check out The Journey this week.

Claude Giroux scored his first goal as a Senator on Saturday. As a result of the newfound offseason talent in Ottawa, D.J. Smith has put his lines in a blender, splitting up the Brady Tkachuk – Josh Norris unit that he relied on last season.

BRADY TKACHUK – DRAKE BATHERSON – TIM STUTZLE

CLAUDE GIROUX – ALEX DEBRINCAT – JOSH NORRIS

MATHIEU JOSEPH – TYLER MOTTE – SHANE PINTO

DERICK BRASSARD – PARKER KELLY – MARK KASTELIC

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We need to have a chat about Marc-Andre Fleury. Yeah, it's still early. But if you started Fleury this week in your head-to-head matchup, he's singlehandedly damaged your goaltending. Following seven goals allowed to the Rangers on Thursday, Fleury was pulled on Saturday after allowing four goals on 14 shots in the first period to the Kings. That's two really bad starts. This follows a similar pattern to last season, when Fleury allowed at least four goals in each of his first four starts. This season's Wild are supposed to be a better team than last season's Blackhawks, right? At the very least, slow starts are becoming a thing for MAF.

Assuming Fleury starts the next game, it doesn't get any easier as the Wild face the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche on a busier-than-normal Monday. I'd bench Fleury for that one, since you might have other goaltending options that day anyway. If he can survive that game, then Thursday against Vancouver seems more promising (hey, look at me, the Canucks fan already down on his team.) Unless you're in a very shallow league when it comes to number of teams and goalie slots, I wouldn't recommend dropping Fleury because I don't usually overreact to what happens in the first week.

After trailing 3-0 midway through the first period, the Wild came back and made this a game, eventually losing 7-6. Filip Gustavsson was only marginally better, allowing three goals on 20 shots. I don't see Gustavsson making a major run at the starting job unless the 37-year-old Fleury has in fact surpassed his expiry date.

In just his third game as a King, Kevin Fiala returned to Minnesota and gave the Wild a dose of what they gave up. A known slow starter himself, Fiala scored a goal and added two assists while taking six shots. Fiala had been held without a point in each of his first two games, but as expected he's been on the top line with Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe, both of whom finished with three points.

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Travis Konecny has multiple points in each of his first two games. Three of his four points have been goals. Even though the Flyers look on paper to be a team that will have decent draft lottery odds, someone has to score for them. Konecny took a career-high 220 shots with a career-low 7.3 SH% last season, so you could argue that his 16-goal result could have been much higher. Scott Laughton and Kevin Hayes might not be the most ideal linemates for that increase to happen, so a modest increase might be a more realistic expectation.

Did I mention that both of those games have been victories for the Flyers? Carter Hart has both of those wins. After allowing two first-period goals, Hart settled down to finish with 28 saves in a 3-2 come-from-behind win for the Flyers. It won't be smooth sailing for the Flyers all season, but those courageous enough to start Hart will take the wins.

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The lucky winner of the Arizona matchup on Saturday was Boston, who lit the lamp six times on Karel Vejmelka – just like the Penguins did to him on Thursday. Unfortunately, it wasn't the players you needed that cashed in. All of David Pastrnak, Patrice Bergeron, and Taylor Hall posted goose eggs on the scoreboard. Instead, A.J. Greer produced a bevy of different stats: 2 G, 1 A, +4, 2 PIM, 4 SOG, 6 HITS, 1 BLKS. The 25-year-old Greer skates on what appears to be Boston's third line with Charlie Coyle and Trent Frederic and hasn't really stuck anywhere in the NHL, so for now his statline probably helps no one.

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Something to take note if you're playing the Tim Horton's Daily Challenge: Stammertime! Steven Stamkos has goals in each of his first three games and four goals total. He's also taken a minimum of four shots in each of those games, so not surprisingly he's one of the league leaders in that category as well. Stamkos recorded a goal and an assist on Saturday.

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Jack Campbell's second start as an Oiler didn't go nearly as well as his first. He was yanked midway through the first period after allowing four goals on 11 shots. Stuart Skinner performed much better in relief, stopping all 31 shots he faced as Edmonton overcame a 4-1 deficit to eventually settle for a 4-3 loss to Calgary. With gamebreakers such as McDavid and Draisaitl in front of them, Oilers goalies always have a shot at a victory even when it seems like all is lost. And between the two goalies, Skinner might start more often than you think.

Nazem Kadri scored his first goal as a Flame while adding an assist and five shots on goal.

NAZEM KADRI'S FIRST AS A FLAME. WOW. pic.twitter.com/tBaeqznlDe

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) October 16, 2022

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Martin Jones received his second consecutive start after Philipp Grubauer coughed up five goals on 27 shots in Seattle's season debut. Jones is only signed to the one-year contract for $2 million while Grubauer took advantage of a strong season with Colorado, netting a contract that has five more years left at nearly $6 million per. Grubauer hasn't been starter worthy dating back to last season, so I wonder how patient Dave Hakstol will be as the Kraken try to improve. Jones hasn't given much reason to be relied upon as a starter either in recent seasons, but there's less pressure on him to perform. Another bad season from Grubauer and I wonder if the Kraken begin to consider a buyout.

Unlike his first start where he posted a 4-1 win over Los Angeles, Jones didn't exactly help his cause on Saturday. Jones was pulled after the second period after allowing five goals on 24 shots. Although they've made some strides toward improvement this season, the Seattle Kraken continue to be a risky goaltending play.

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We didn't write a Fantasy Take on Jason Dickinson getting traded from Vancouver to Chicago, but maybe we should have. In his first game as a Blackhawk, Dickinson scored a goal and added two assists. Given Dickinson's roles as a defensive forward, I'm not doing anything with that.

Dickinson's two assists were both on goals from Sam Lafferty. Both of those goals were shorthanded. The odds of you rostering and starting Lafferty AND your league counting shorthanded goals is probably about 9 billion to 1, but maybe somebody out there got lucky. I was curious how often two shorthanded goals by a player in a game happens – apparently, it's more often than I thought.  

And that was the second such game for Bourque that season (also Nov. 17)

— Christopher Kamka (@ckamka) October 16, 2022

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