This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
Around the Rink
Ah, the weekend. Due to a time shortage as I write this to fill in for our suddenly departed Sunday writer, let's just get right into this thing. I promise, I'll have my typical dose of brilliant insight (just go with me on this, okay?) for you in the Tuesday Daily Puck.
Projected Goalie Starters (all times Eastern)
Devils (Cory Schneider) at Rangers (Henrik Lundqvist), 1:00 PM
Blues (Brian Elliott) at Jets (Ondrej Pavelec), 3:00 PM
Wild (Devan Dubnyk) at Ducks (Frederik Andersen), 8:00 PM
Oilers (Cam Talbot) at Canucks (Ryan Miller), 9:00 PM
Avalanche (Reto Berra) at Kings (Jonathan Quick), 10:00 PM
For updates on the projected goalies later in the day, check out our Projected Goalies Grid.
Injury News For Teams Playing Tuesday
New Jersey Devils
Patrik Elias, LW (knee) – On non-roster injured list
Tuomo Ruutu, LW (undisclosed) – didn't practice Saturday
Travis Zajac, C (undisclosed) – Returned to practice Saturday
New York Rangers
None.
St. Louis Blues
Paul Stastny, C (lower body) – Won't play Sunday or Tuesday
Kevin Shattenkirk, D (lower body) – Also won't play Sunday or Tuesday
Patrik Berglund, C (shoulder) – On long-term IR
Robby Fabbri, C (concussion) – Timeline remains unclear
Winnipeg Jets
Ben Chiarot, D (undisclosed) – Won't play Sunday
Minnesota Wild
Tyler Graovac, C (lower body) – Out a couple weeks yet
Anaheim Ducks
Simon Despres, D (upper body) – Placed on IR Saturday
Clayton Stoner, D (lower body) – Hit IR on Saturday
Nate Thompson, C (shoulder) – Out into November
Edmonton Oilers
Jordan Eberle, RW (shoulder) – Lingering on IR into November
Vancouver Canucks
Jared McCann, C (undisclosed) – Doubtful for Sunday's game
Chris Higgins, LW (foot) – Expected to miss 3-to-5 weeks more
Jacob Markstrom, G (lower body) – Making progress, but still not ready
Colorado Avalanche
Jesse Winchester, LW (concussion) – On IR; return unclear
Tyson Barrie, D (suspension) – Got three-game ban for hit on Despres
Los Angeles Kings
Dwight King, LW (foot) – Out until at least January
Matt Greene, D (upper body) – Didn't play Friday; Sunday status unclear
Hot
Zach Parise, LW, MIN – Surprise, surprise, Parise is good. The star winger is off and running with a season-opening four-game point streak, tallying seven points (five goals!) in that span. While the Ducks' Frederik Andersen – Sunday's opponent – has been good on the other end, Parise's line with Jason Pominville and Mikael Granlund is awfully hard to hold off the board. After he fired five shots on Jonathan Quick in Friday's game, only to leave with a single measly assist in an OT loss, Parise should be hunting for twine again.
Connor McDavid, C, EDM – Things finally opened up for McDavid on Saturday, as he woke up to the tune of two goals and an assist in Calgary, and he gets the chance to carry that momentum forward the very next day against Ryan Miller and the Canucks. It's hard to bet against the NHL's top pick, as he seems to be getting better and better by the game.
Cold
Matt Duchene, C, COL – A lot of things are going right offensively for the Avs this year – Gabriel Landeskog and Nathan MacKinnon have six points each in four games, with newcomers Carl Soderberg and Francois Beauchemin contributing too, and heck – even John Mitchell has four goals in four games. (Who saw that coming?) But Duchene has not joined the party. In four games, he has no points, only three shots on goal and a minus-3 rating, completely wasting the solid second-line ice time he's seen. Of course, this is a kid who went No. 3 overall in the draft and has 67- and 70-point seasons on his resume, so he should wake up in good time, but this isn't the way he wanted to start 2015-16 after last year's disappointing 55-point campaign.
Recommended Pickup
Martin Hanzal, C, ARI – You may have already missed the boat on Hanzal, considering his hot start to the year, but those in leagues with weekly pickups may still have a chance to push their chips in on the young pivot. He's been everything we didn't expect so far – not just super-productive with seven points (all assists) in five games, but also a plus-5 rating and eight PIM to beautifully round out his fantasy line. With the benefit of serious power-play time (he's averaging 4:48 with the man advantage) Hanzal may only be scratching the surface on what he can do this year. Injury's always a concern – he hasn't even approached 80 games since 2009-10 – but it's well worth picking up and riding Hanzal while he and the Coyotes are playing surprisingly well in the early going.
