This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
Around the Rink
We aren't that far into the season, but we should be at the stage where we're getting a pretty good feel for our rosters. Dropping, adding, moaning about it on message boards, ruining the introduction to fantasy columns as a cheap ploy to look a little deeper into your own roster.
Things didn't go perfectly on draft day in my rotisserie league, but I reach for a few players above where they were projected and I'm feeling pretty smug about it. I have a point I'm going to get to, but in order to reach the end of the journey we do need to take a pit-stop in the Fern Smuggy forest.
I reached up a round or two to grab Tampa's Tyler Johnson who currently has one goal, 11 assists, a plus-5 rating, and 29 shots through the first ten games. I also reached up for Brent Burns who leads all defensemen in points -- and I think could finish the season near the top too. These aren't the centerpieces of my roster, but a few players I had to shimmy to get and I'm glad I did.
I've also whiffed on some and am not feeling especially fond of guys like Loui Eriksson (come on, you were traded for Tyler Seguin, shouldn't you be sneaking your way up the lineup this year?), Aleksander Barkov (maybe a case of better in real hockey than fantasy hockey?), and Eric Gelinas (I blame my proximity to Prudential Center and knowing too many Devils fans as a result).
Aside from some gloating and a little commiserating, the point is we're over 10% of the way into the season even though we still preface player discussions with phrases like "it's early in the season, but..." It's time to make decisions on your players. You don't want to make decision after just a couple of games (like I did with Marco Scandella, who we'll get to in a bit), but this is a good time to decide who to gloat over, who to cut your losses on, and who you are going to let sit on your roster for a while, even if he's performing terrible.
I'm gloating (quite publicly) about players I reached up a round for who paid off, but I also have to cut ties with Gelinas and Barkov. I also think I can get someone better than Eriksson off waivers, but I'm giving him another ten-to-fifteen games. I think if I waive him I'm going to get a decent player, a Jordan Eberle or Chris Kreider (both available in this league), but I think I'll regret it if I cut Eriksson loose too soon. I drafted him knowing the risks and that if this is the season he emerges as a top six forward that there will be lean times I have stick with him through. If that's why I drafted him, then I should stick with that logic. Right? Well, I'm going to for now. At the 20-25-game mark I'll reassess and then write about how you should never do that. Just kidding. I'd never do that. I've never been wrong before. (See: Recommend Pickups.)
That's the long way around to saying that we're there. Teams are crossing the ten-game mark and it's a good spot to realize who isn't who you thought they were and who you're sticking with for their upside. At this point in the season you can still grab a top-end talent like Mikael Granlund on waivers -- or maybe even a guy like Eric Staal who is sitting there because of early season injuries -- and those kind of players, difference makers, are the ones who are going to be gone from the waivers at the 20-game mark when you're wondering why you sat around waiting for Tomas Kopecky to start scoring.
Projected Goalie Starters (all times Eastern)
For updates on the projected goalies later in the day, check our Projected Goalies Grid
Boston Bruins (Tuukka Rask) at Buffalo Sabres (Jhonas Enroth), 7:00 PM
Winnipeg Jets (Ondrej Pavelec) at New Jersey Devils (Cory Schneider), 7:00 PM
Los Angeles Kings (Jonathan Quick) at Pittsburgh Penguins (Marc-Andre Fleury), 7:00 PM
Chicago Blackhawks (Corey Crawford) at Ottawa Senators (Craig Anderson), 7:30 PM
Philadelphia Flyers (Ray Emery) at Tampa Bay Lightning (Ben Bishop), 7:30 PM
Arizona Coyotes (Mike Smith) at Florida Panthers (Roberto Luongo), 7:30 PM
Anaheim Ducks (Frederik Andersen) at St. Louis Blues (Jake Allen), 8:00 PM
San Jose Sharks (Antti Niemi) at Minnesota Wild (Darcy Kuemper), 8:00 PM
New York Islanders (Jaroslav Halak) at Colorado Avalanche (Reto Berra), 9:00 PM
Montreal Canadiens (Carey Price) at Vancouver Canucks (Ryan Miller), 10:00 PM
Injury News For Teams Playing Thursday
Boston Bruins
Zdeno Chara, D (knee) - Is on IR and will be out for a while.
Brad Marchand, LW (undisclosed) - Left Wednesday's practice with an undisclosed injury.
Torey Krug, D (finger) - Has been ruled out for 2-4 weeks after getting slashed in Tuesday's game.
Kevan Miller, D (shoulder) - Isn't ready to return yet.
Buffalo Sabres
Matt Hackett, G (knee) - Returned to practice on Wednesday.
Patrick Kaleta, RW - Has practiced, but isn't ready for game action.
Winnipeg Jets
Zach Bogosian, D (upper body) - Was held out of Tuesday's game.
Evander Kane, LW (knee) - Is progressing well and could return to practice soon.
Anthony Peluso, RW (upper body) - Won't be available.
New Jersey Devils
Stefan Matteau, LW (upper body) - Is still nursing an injury.
Steve Santini, D (wrist) - Has undergone surgery on his wrist this week.
Martin Havlat, RW (lower body) - Has been placed on IR.
Michael Cammalleri, LW (neck) - Is "dealing with some discomfort."
Jordin Tootoo, RW (foot) - Is considered day-to-day.
Los Angeles Kings
Slava Voynov, D (suspension) - Isn't expected back anytime soon as he goes through the legal system accused of domestic violence.
Marian Gaborik, RW (undisclosed) - Is skating, but has no timetable for a return.
Anze Kopitar, C (upper body) - Missed Tuesday's game and hasn't been cleared for Thursday's game.
Trevor Lewis, C (upper body) - Could return to the lineup on Thursday.
Pittsburgh Penguins
Beau Bennett, RW (leg) - Could return as soon as next week.
Robert Bortuzzo, D (upper body) - Is close to a return.
Olli Maatta, D (surgery) - Is slated to have surgery to remove a tumor on his thyroid.
Chicago Blackhawks
Corey Crawford, G (upper body) - Will travel with the team Thursday, but it's not clear if he'll play or not.
Daniel Carcillo, LW - Will likely miss four weeks.
Ottawa Senators
Marc Methot, D (back) - Isn't expected to play.
Philadelphia Flyers
Vincent Lecavalier, C (foot) - Participated in morning skate on Tuesday and could return soon.
Kimmo Timonen, D (blood clots) - Isn't likely to play this season.
Braydon Coburn, D (lower body) - Is on IR.
Ryan White, RW (chset) - Won't be on the ice for months.
Samuel Morin, D (jaw) - Remains out.
Andrew MacDonald, D (lower body) - Was placed on IR this week.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Victor Hedman, D (hand) - Will be out for weeks.
Brett Connolly, RW (lower body) - Could be out for more than a month.
Ryan Callahan, RW (lower body) - Will return on Saturday at the earliest.
Arizona Coyotes
Brendan Perlini, LW (hand) - Is out indefinitely.
David Moss, RW - Was placed on IR Sunday.
Florida Panthers
Dave Bolland, C (lower body) - Has been ruled out of Thursday's game.
Anaheim Ducks
Sheldon Souray, D (wrist) - His career remains in jeopardy.
Bryan Allen, D (lower body) - Practiced with the team this week, but his availability is still up in the air.
Ben Lovejoy, D (finger) - Will miss six-to-eight weeks.
Kyle Palmieri, RW (ankle) - Has no timetable for his return.
Stefan Noesen, C (achilles) - Is out indefinitely.
Patrick Maroon, LW (knee) - Remains out.
St. Louis Blues
David Backes, RW (upper body) - Didn't practice Wednesday after leaving Tuesday's game with an injury.
Paul Stastny, C (upper body) - Hasn't officially been ruled out of Thursday's game.
San Jose Sharks
Raffi Torres, LW (knee) - Will be out for months.
Mike Brown, RW (hand) - Remains out.
John Scott, LW (suspension) - Will serve the second game of his two-game suspension on Thursday.
Tyler Kennedy, LW (upper body) - Is in the AHL on a conditioning stint.
Minnesota Wild
Erik Haula, LW (head) - Hasn't returned to the ice since taking a hit to the head on Tuesday.
Jonas Brodin, D (undisclosed) - Was hit from behind on Tuesday and is sore in "a couple areas."
Christian Folin, D (illness) - Is on IR.
Keith Ballard, D (illness) - Is on Ir.
Josh Harding, G (foot) - Isn't expected back for a while.
New York Islanders
Matt Carkner, D (upper body) - Is on IR.
Michael Grabner, RW (hernia) - Is close to a return.
Josh Bailey, LW (hand) - Could be back soon.
Travis Hamonic, D (upper body) - Won't be in the lineup Thursday.
Colorado Avalanche
Ryan Wilson, D (shoulder) - Will be out for weeks.
Patrick Bordeleau, LW - Is on IR.
Jesse Winchester, LW (concussion) - Remains out.
Vancouver Canucks
Ryan Stanton, D (lower body) - Is "close" to a return.
Bo Horvat, C (shoulder) - Has been sent to the AHL for conditioning.
Hot
Pavel Datsyuk, C, DET -- Heard this one before? Datsyuk is old, injury prone, and on the decline. The 36-year-old center doesn't seem to have gotten the memo. He started the season injured, but in the four games since his return he's tallied two goals, three assists, and an average of two shots per game. Datsyuk's detractors point to injuries, Datsyuk owners should point to that his .82 point per game rate from last season is the lowest he's had in ten seasons and that's really a pretty strong mark. He's above that rate now and though he looks like he's 45, he skates like he's 25.
Radim Vrbata, RW, VAN -- The move to Vancouver and to the Sedin line has done wonders for Vrbata's fantasy value. He's riding a five-game point streak and has a total of five goals and six assists through the season's first nine games. Add to that two power play goals, an average of 3.89 shots per game, and two game-winning goals and you've got one of the better values based on draft position this season.
Cold
Alexander Semin, RW, CAR -- We're far removed from the days of Semin as a 40-goal scorer. Semin's production has been on the decline for years -- though he did have a nice lockout-shortened season, scoring a point per game -- but even by the low standards most drafters had when picking him up, he's falling short. Last season he had the lowest point per game total he's had since the 2007-08 season and the second lowest cumulative point total of his career (even fewer than the lockout-shortened season). Right now, he's on pace to put up fewer points than last season. He has just two assists through his first eight games and doesn't have a point in his last six. He's also averaged over three shots per game regularly throughout his career and is averaging just 1.5 shots per game right now. With how bad Carolina is, he's not going to get a lot of assistance turning this slump around. If I can move Semin for a high risk, high reward player off waivers, I'm doing it.
Matt Niskanen, D, WSH -- Niskanen got paid by the Capitals and drafted in fantasy based on the impressive numbers he posted last year, potting ten goals and 36 assists for the Penguins. He has not been able to deliver on that offensive ability yet for the Capitals, tallying no goals and three assists through nine games. He also averaged two shots per game last season and despite getting good minutes and power play time, he's averaging just 1.2 shots per game for the Caps. For fantasy owners, it's a slower start than you hoped for from the most sought-after free agent of the offseason.
Recommended Pickup
Marco Scandella, D, MIN -- Scandella has always looked like he has a lot of offensive potential in his fancy stats, but given his defensive deployments and limited ice time, he has never delivered on that potential. But over the last three games he's got two goals and two assists, including a game-winner. He's also averaging 2.25 shots per game and has a plus-8 rating, seventh best in the NHL. If you dig a little deeper into his stats, there are many reasons to believe that he can keep it up beyond that he's getting top 4 minutes and power play spots are up for grabs in Minnesota. One of the best signs is that he's got the tenth best shots per 60 minutes (s/60) among NHL defensemen at 7.27. It may not last forever, but he could be a great sleeper candidate on the blueline.
