It all comes down to a home-and-home versus the New Yawk Rain-juhz to settle the opening night roster. Who will have their names emblazoned on those precious few dressing room stalls that are yet unclaimed? Here’s a look at the remaining battles, and how each player is trending (to be updated as warranted):
| Goalies | Trend | Notes |
| Semyon Varlamov | ▲ | Acquitted himself well last night in DC, particularly in the second-half of the third. Coach said post-game, “I gotta believe he’s got a good chance of being here [on October 1].” We do too. |
| Michal Neuvirth | – | Your final move, Neuvy. Or it is already “Czechmate,” Varly? |
| Defensemen | ||
| Karl Alzner | – | No waiver worries may mean some more time in Hershey to better incorporate that new-found “aggressiveness” into his game. |
| Tyler Sloan | ▲ | Twenty three shifts of goodness, as good as any of the six D on the ice, a late second frame strike, and four more blocked shots last night. |
| Sean Collins | – | Sloan’s gain is perhaps Collins’ loss. For now. |
| Forwards | ||
| Keith Aucoin |
▼ | Anything you can do, Mathieu Perreault can do, well, just as well. And with more upside. |
| Jay Beagle | – | It’s abundantly clear now which bubble players at center can win draws at the NHL level and which struggle at the dot. Good thing for him that Beagle’s in the former category. |
| Chris Bourque | ▼ | Still day-to-day. When do we start “call[ing] it a concussion?” |
| Alexandre Giroux | – | Perhaps at least one more game to redeem himself from Monday. No room for further ringing-it-off-the-iron error. |
| Quintin Laing | ▲ | A couple of blocks, a couple of shots, a lot of energy. Looked real comfortable with Captain Clark and B. Gordon. Solid again on the PK. Gabby: “He’s giving it a good chance to make the team.” |
| Andrew Gordon |
▼ | Four preseason games, four sweaters. But don’t read anything into that, says Coach. And precious few shifts or marks on the score sheet to make it all that interesting. Update: Gordon has been cut. |