This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
Around the Rink
A little while ago, ESPN.com ran an article about the inundation of third jerseys in the NHL in 1995. If you don't remember those jerseys, consider yourself lucky, because they were truly hideous, by and large. The Boston Bruins' was OK, but it wasn't as good as their classic, iconic uniforms they usually wear. Actually, and this is an unpopular opinion, but the Islanders' fisherman logo is pretty alright.
Third jerseys aren't, inherently, bad. Some look pretty cool, even if they are just designed to sell jerseys and more merchandise. Alas, as a Detroit Red Wings fan, I haven't really gotten to experience the third jersey phenomenon. On a couple occasions, they have worn vintage uniforms, for the Winter Classic and so on. They haven't ever done anything new and inventive, though. Maybe that's for the best. People don't like it when you mess with classic looks. It would be interesting to see what they could come up with for the Red Wings, or the Canadiens or any of the teams that have been largely untouched, but, when you look at some of those old designs, perhaps we have merely averted disaster by being left out of the fun.
Projected Goalie Starters (all times Eastern)
Jets (Ondrej Pavelec) at Maple Leafs (James Reimer*), 7:00 PM
Blues (Brian Elliott*) at Blackhawks (Corey Crawford), 8:00 PM
Penguins (Marc-Andre Fleury) at Canucks (Ryan Miller), 10:00 PM
Panthers (Roberto Luongo) at Ducks (Frederik Andersen), 10:30 PM
For updates on the projected goalies later in the day, check out our Projected Goalies Grid.
Injury News For Teams Playing Wednesday
Jets
Grant Clitsome, D (back) – Out for season
Maple Leafs
Scott Harrington, D (upper-body) – On injured reserve
Stephane Robidas, D (groin) – Return date unknown
Blues
Patrik Berglund, C (shoulder) – On injured reserve
Jaden Schwartz, LW (ankle) – Out 12 weeks
Kevin Shattenkirk, D (groin) – Did not play Tuesday
Paul Stastny, C (foot) – Out at least five weeks
Blackhawks
Phillip Danault, C (hip) – Likely to report to AHL when healthy
Marian Hossa, RW (lower-body) – Hopeful for Wednesday
Duncan Keith, D (knee) – On long-term injured reserve
Michal Rozsival, D (ankle) – Not expected to return this week
Penguins
Chris Kunitz, LW (undisclosed) – Expected to play Wednesday
Bryan Rust, RW (arm) – Out a couple of weeks
Canucks
Chris Higgins, LW (foot) – Skating, return date unknown
Jacob Markstrom, G (lower-body) – Skating, return date unknown
Brandon Prust, LW (ankle) – Out 4-6 weeks
Luca Sbisa, D (undisclosed) – On injured reserve
Panthers
Aleksander Barkov, C (broken hand) – On injured reserve
Jaromir Jagr, RW (hamstring) – Expected to play Wednesday
Alex Petrovic, D (foot) – Day-to-day, expected to play
Ducks
Simon Despres, D (upper-body) – On injured reserve
Ryan Getzlaf, C (appendix) – Out 4-12 days
Kenton Helgesen, LW (foot) – On injured reserve
Josh Manson, D (upper-body) – On injured reserve
Jiri Sekac, RW (lower-body) – Day-to-day
Nate Thompson, C (shoulder) – On injured reserve
Hot
Scott Hartnell, LW, CLM – While it may be too late for the Blue Jackets to salvage their season, it was inevitable that some of their players would start turning it around. Hartnell has been such a player, as his goal and assist on Tuesday gives him three goals and two assists in his last four games. Hartnell was good last year, and if you had forgotten about him while Columbus fell apart, now is the time to reacquaint yourself.
Derick Brassard, C, NYR – Brassard was one of four Rangers to score a goal and add an assist against the Capitals on Tuesday, but he's the most interesting of the bunch. Brassard has a four game scoring streak going on while includes a three assist game against Toronto. Brassard is also a plus-6 in his last three games, so clearly things are going well for him. He's on a team that doesn't really have an offensive focal point, giving him a chance to step up and make a real impact.
Cold
Valtteri Filppula, C, TAM – Filppula has two assists in his last six games, which is OK. He's also been a minus player in all of those games, which is very much not OK. He's not much of a goal scorer, and he only has one this year. Things should turn around a bit going forward, but right now he's not provided much help to anybody.
Michael Del Zotto, D, PHI – Del Zotto is playing a lot of minutes for the Flyers, and for a defenseman he takes a good amount of shots. He's just not doing anything with them. He has only one point this season, an assist, and it came nine games ago. If he keeps playing this much, and keeps taking this many shots, eventually a puck or two is going to go in. However, the idea of Del Zotto as an offensive force is probably stronger than his actual play warrants.
Recommended Pickup
Frans Nielsen, C, NYI – On Tuesday, Hockey Prospectus ran article that included the top 10 players in the NHL based on their statistic Goals Versus Threshold, or GVT. Coming in at number nine was Nielsen. Now, GVT doesn't mean much, or anything, from a fantasy perspective, but it is an indication of how good he has been. If you want fantasy numbers, Nielsen currently has five goals and four assists. There is plenty of talent around Nielsen, of course, which will only help him continue his success, fantasy and otherwise.
