This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
Around the League
News that Pekka Rinne will be sidelined for 3-5 weeks with a knee sprain comes at an awful time for the Predators, who are fending off the Blackhawks and the Blues for the Central Division lead. The two-time Vezina nominee was on his way to claiming the trophy this season before suffering the injury against the Canucks, leaving the Predators without their MVP. They will start Carter Hutton tonight with Marek Mazanec serving as the backup.
Astute owners, especially in deep leagues, will have picked up Hutton already, but those late to the waiver wire shouldn't forget about Mazanec. After Rinne went down with an injury last year, Hutton and Mazanec split the duties, with Hutton posting a slightly better stat line:
Hutton: 20-11-4, 2.62 GAA, .910 Sv%
Mazanec: 8-10-4, 2.80 GAA, .902 Sv%
This year, with Rinne healthy to begin the season, Hutton has been used sparingly, appearing in just six games and still in search of his first win. The 29-year-old former AHL journeyman is pretty average goalie while Mazanec, drafted in the sixth round in 2012, has much more upside at 23 years old. This will be his first appearance in the NHL this season.
It's unlikely that Peter Laviolette will stick with Hutton as the undisputed No. 1 goalie and will certainly give Mazanec a few games to audition for the starting job. It's not like Laviolette ever had the luxury of good goalies in Philadelphia, but he's certainly not afraid to just roll with the hot hand. This isn't like in Detroit, where the organization is so convinced that Petr Mrazek should handle the workload (as he rightfully should), rather than letting Tom McCollum challenge for the position.
Nashville's developed a reputation for drafting and developing good goalies, and then discarding the ones they can't afford (Tomas Vokoun) or no longer need (Anders Lindback). Rinne's obviously the long-term solution but Hutton is a temporary measure. If Mazanec falters, there's Magnus Hellberg, a 6-foot-5 Swedish goalie and a second-round pick from 2012 who has been lights-out for the Predators' AHL affiliate in Milwaukee.
Hutton/Mazanec and Mrazek are both short-term solutions, but they're good solutions because they're above average goalies that play on good teams. Mrazek, in particular, played quite well on the night of his Czech hero's jersey retirement, Dominik Hasek's No. 39, in Buffalo.
Friday notes:
- Even when the Isles weren't good, they would constantly give Pittsburgh the fits. In a battle for Metro Division dominance, look for a high-paced, physical, chippy affair. It's hardly a goaltender's duel but both Marc-Andre Fleury and Jaroslav Halak are worth starting.
- Ryan Miller shutout the Flyers on Thursday, 4-0, so the Canucks may ride the hot hand, but both him and Eddie Lack are good plays against the hapless Canes. Check the Projected Goalies Grid to see who will start. Cam Ward owners are just hoping for a good save percentage – he's got a 2-4-1 record with a 3.29 GAA and .881 Sv% in his career against Vancouver.
- The BJ's have lost three straight while the Rangers have lost two straight. The game could go either way with the Blueshirts being the slight favourites, but both Henrik Lundqvist and Sergei Bobrovsky are elite talents. Lundqvist has a below average .902 career save percentage against the BJ's, but Bob has been awful lately.
- Hutton gets the start post-Rinne injury but, again, expect Mazanec to get a few starts as well. Barry Trotz makes his return to Nashville and the Caps will be a big test. Holtby's quietly become quite a good goalie and should be safe start.
- This won't be an easy win for Corey Crawford because the Jets are surging. Andrew Ladd and Dustin Byfuglien – both former Hawks – are playing great right now. Michael Hutchinson's an intriguing play. He posts elite stats but the sample size is small, yet the eyes tell us the Jets are a good team and he's no fluke.
- Frederik Andersen notched a shutout in his last start while the Devils seem headed towards the lottery. Cory Schneider is now just a slightly better version of Cam Ward in fantasy, a decent goalie on a bad team, and this should be an easy win for the Ducks.
Projected Goalie Starters (all times Eastern)
For updates on the projected goalies later in the day, check our Projected Goalies Grid
Pittsburgh Penguins (Marc-Andre Fleury*) at New York Islanders (Jaroslav Halak), 7:00 PM
Vancouver Canucks (Eddie Lack) at Carolina Hurricanes (Cam Ward), 7:00 PM
New York Rangers (Henrik Lundqvist) at Columbus Blue Jackets (Sergei Bobrovsky), 7:00 PM
Washington Capitals (Braden Holtby) at Nashville Predators (Carter Hutton), 8:00 PM
Winnipeg Jets (Michael Hutchinson) at Chicago Blackhawks (Corey Crawford*), 8:30 PM
New Jersey Devils (Cory Schneider) at Anaheim Ducks (Frederik Andersen), 10:00 PM
Injury News For Teams Playing Friday
Pittsburgh Penguins
Steve Downie, RW (head) – practiced Wednesday; questionable.
Blake Comeau, LW (wrist) – no return date set.
Patric Hornqvist, RW (lower body) – no timetable for return.
Pascal Dupuis, RW (blood clot) – no timetable for return.
Olli Maatta, D (shoulder) – out for the season.
New York Islanders
Lubomir Visnovsky, D (upper body) – did not practice Thursday; questionable.
Mikhail Grabovski, C – (lower body) – did not practice Thursday; questionable.
Matt Carkner, D (back) – out for the season.
New York Rangers
Derek Stepan, C (upper body) – no return date set.
Columbus Blue Jackets
Boone Jenner, LW (back) – out 1-2 months.
Ryan Murray, D (knee) – no return date set.
Artem Anisimov, C (triceps) – no return date set.
Brian Gibbons, C (knee) – no return date set.
Jack Skille, RW (lower body) – no timetable for return.
Nathan Horton, RW (back) – out for the season.
Washington Capitals
John Erskine, D (neck) – no timetable for return.
Dmitry Orlov, D (wrist) – no return date set.
Aaron Volpatti, LW (neck) – no return date set.
Nate Schmidt, D (shoulder) – out 6-8 weeks.
Nashville Predators
Eric Nystrom, LW (upper body) – no return date set.
Ryan Ellis, D (lower body) – no return date set.
Pekka Rinne, G (knee) – out 3-5 weeks.
Winnipeg Jets
Grant Clitsome, D (upper body) – no return date set.
Jacob Trouba, D (upper body) – practiced Thursday; no return dates set.
Chicago Blackhawks
Trevor van Riemsdyk, D (knee) – no return date set.
Kris Versteeg, RW (had) – out one month.
New Jersey Devils
Jaromir Jagr, RW (illness) – unlikely to partake in road trip.
Mark Fraser, D (hand) – did not practice Thursday; doubtful.
Stephen Gionta, C (hand) – out 3-5 weeks.
Damon Severson, D (ankle) – no timetable for return.
Bryce Salvador, D (lower body) – no timetable for return.
Tuomo Ruutu, LW (illness) – no return date set.
Scott Clemmensen, G (illness) – no return date set.
Ryane Clowe, LW (head) – no timetable for return.
Anaheim Ducks
Stefan Noesen, RW (Achilles) – no return date set.
Sheldon Souray, D (wrist) – out for the season.
Hot
Braden Holtby, G, Washington – The Caps have won three straight and allowed two goals in that span. Holtby's also won six of his past seven games and hasn't had a sub-.900 save percentage in the 2015 calendar year.
Marian Gaborik, RW, Los Angeles – Three straight games with a goal and four goals in his past five games should tell us enough about his health. There should be no coincidence between Anze Kopitar's second half surge and Gaborik's spike in production. When healthy, Gaborik's still one of the league's fastest, shiftiest and dangerous snipers.
Cold
Jonathan Quick, G, Los Angeles – Quick hasn't won in nearly two weeks after posting a narrow 3-2 win over the Canucks on New Year's Day. He's winless in his past four starts with 14 goals against. He has a key matchup against Anaheim coming up Saturday night.
Tyler Seguin, C, Dallas – The Stars threw everything they had at Pavelec last night, but Seguin finished the game without a goal, stretching his goalless drought to six games. The Stars have lost five of their last six games and no doubt Seguin's lack of production is a cause of that. He should bounce back soon, especially if he wants to stay in the race for the Art Ross.
Recommended Pickup
David Pastrnak, RW, Boston – He's playing on the team's top line and scored four goals in his first three NHL games. He was kept off the score sheet last night but still got his ice time and generated offense. He will stay with the B's for the rest of the season and is a high-upside, low-risk waiver wire grab. The 25th overall pick from 2014 is projected to become a scoring whiz in the NHL.
