Friday Daily Puck: Jetsetters

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Updated on November 13, 2015 2:14AM EST

Around the League

If the NBA has Bill Simmons/Zach Lowe's League Pass rankings to judge the most exciting, intriguing and hilarious team to watch, then the NHL has to have GameCenter rankings. And there's no question who I want at the top of the list:

The Winnipeg Jets.

Seriously, how is this team not the most fun to watch?

They're the NHL's best kept secret, with a raucous home crowd that fills the stands every night. It's not the nicest city to visit (just ask Evander Kane), but it must be a fun place to play in. They play fast and they play hard, and they've got more than enough talent and variety to satisfy every kind of hockey fan. Like watching brute strength? Byfuglien. Dangles? Scheifele. Speed? Ehlers. Freaks of nature? Myers. The perfect hockey player? Ladd.

I mean, just look at this:

Every game they play is important, too, because losing ground in the tight Central Division is a death knell. The Avalanche are just two wins behind sixth-place Chicago, but just 16 games into the season they're all but buried. The Jets are always in the race up until the end of the season, so that's always exciting.

You could stick to the classics like the Penguins, Blackhawks, Rangers or Kings, but they're overexposed. Geographical teams are nice, but you need to have an excuse to watch other games when your home team isn't playing. Sure, the Stars with Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin and John Klingberg are fun to watch, but the rest of their roster isn't as compelling.

I mean, think of how many Jets have really become valuable, even in fantasy: Byfuglien, Ehlers, Ladd, Little, Pavelec, Scheifele, Wheeler, not to mention maybe Perreault or Enstrom. That's a nine-deep list. Compared to the league-leading Habs, who are eight-deep: Plekanec, Subban, Pacioretty, Gallagher, Markov, Price and maybe Desharnais and Galchenyuk.

I'll also throw in Tyler Myers, and not Jacob Trouba, into the list because he's worth watching. He's 6-foot-8, an inch shorter than Zdeno Chara (as if it makes a difference at that point), but is such a smoother player than Chara ever was. Myers gets hidden behind a very talented blue line, but Paul Maurice plays him a lot (20:46, only trails Byfuglien) and the points should start trickling in a little more often. He did just do this last night:

Tyler Myers ties the game pic.twitter.com/LN9oPKeN3M
— Stephanie (@myregularface) November 13, 2015

Projected Goalie Starters (all times Eastern)

For updates on the projected goalies later in the day, check our Projected Goalies Grid

Columbus Blue Jackets (Sergei Bobrovsky) at Pittsburgh Penguins (Jeff Zatkoff), 7:00 PM
Calgary Flames (Joni Ortio) at Washington Capitals (Philipp Grubauer), 7:00 PM
San Jose Sharks (Martin Jones) at Detroit Red Wings (Petr Mrazek), 7:30 PM
New York Islanders (Thomas Greiss) at Anaheim Ducks (Frederik Andersen), 10:00 PM

Injury News For Teams Playing Friday

Columbus Blue Jackets
David Clarkson, RW (lower body) – placed on IR; no return date set.
Ryan Johansen, C (undisclosed) – did not skate Wednesday; probable.
Alexander Wennberg, C (foot) – out two weeks.

Pittsburgh Penguins
Bryan Rust, RW (arm) – no return date set.

Calgary Flames
Jonas Hiller, G (hip) – out at least one more week.
Lance Bouma, C (broken fibula) – no return date set.

Washington Capitals
Brooks Orpik, D (lower body) – did not play Thursday; questionable.

San Jose Sharks
Raffi Torres, LW (suspension) – eligible to return in game 42.
Logan Couture, C (foot) – no return date set.
Ben Smith, RW (head) – no timetable for return.

Detroit Red Wings
Brendan Smith, D (illness) – did not play Tuesday; questionable.
Brad Richards, C (back) – practiced in full Thursday; questionable.
Landon Ferraro, RW (knee) – placed on IR; no return date set.
Johan Franzen, RW (concussion) – placed on IR; no return date set.
Kyle Quincey, D (ankle) – out 9-12 weeks.

New York Islanders
Thomas Hickey, D (lower body) – out another month.
Eric Boulton, LW (lower body) – did not play Tuesday; questionable.

Anaheim Ducks
Nate Thompson, C (shoulder) – no return date set.
Simon Despres, D (upper body) – placed on IR; no return date set.
Kenton Helgesen, LW (foot) – placed on IR; no return date set.
Jiri Sekac, RW (ankle) – out for another few weeks.

Hot
Corey Perry, RW, ANA – Finally. FINALLY. The former 50-goal scorer now has four goals and three assists in his past five games to bring his season total to 10 points in 16 games. He's still a little off of his regular pace, but the good news is that things are really turning around. Consistency, however, remains elusive for the Ducks, who lost five straight, then won four straight, and now have lost two straight. Perry is a must-start going forward.

Brendan Gallagher, RW, MTL – With five points in his past three games, no wonder Gallagher is getting discussed as part of the new blood that will be ushered in by Team Canada. The feisty winger is a perfect fit for the Habs, who utilize his speed on the forecheck and as crease crasher, something he does very well despite his height. Normally, I'd say a player of Gallagher's skill set has the makings of a very strong third-line and/or a borderline second-line scoring winger, but he's proven doubters his entire career. He should be owned in 100 percent of all fantasy leagues.

Cold
Brandon Saad, LW, CLB – Life's not easy under John Tortorella, and the game hasn't been either for the BJ's big summer splash. Make no mistake, nobody thought the Jackets were getting a franchise player, but Tortorella's right – they do need a little more from him. The good news is that I don't think he's playing as poorly as Tortorella thinks (he's shooting, just not scoring) but, then again, I'm not an NHL coach, so one point in three games is passable, but nowhere near what he's capable of.

Ryan Callahan, RW, TB – He's now goalless in his past five games and has just six points this season. He's never been blessed with the greatest speed and the Lightning like to play fast, not to mention their top-nine is pretty darn deep. The former Rangers captain seems to be living off just his reputation, being owned in over half of Yahoo! leagues. Droppable.

Recommended Pickup
Linus Ullmark, G, BUF – He won. Again. With 36 saves. I have been following the former Swedish Hockey League Goalie of the Year (2.08 GAA, .931 SV% - at 20 years old) and he's the real deal. Even though Chad Johnson won 4-1 against the Lightning, Dan Bylsma elected to go back to Ullmark, because of a rotation, or whatever. The point is, if Ullmark is the goalie of the future (and he likely is), and with Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart already on the team, why not see what this young core is made of? My guess: Ullmark gets most of the starts the rest of the way until Robin Lehner (high ankle sprain) comes back, and at worst, a 50/50 split. I know it's the Sabres, but they're not as bad as you think. Rasmus Ristolainen is also a must pick-up.

The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire.