This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
We're only in the second week of the NHL season, but enough time has passed for the what-have-you-done-for-me-lately crowd to start drawing conclusions from the available sample size. It's important to step back, take a deep breath, and remember that one two-to-four-game stretch does not an 82-game season make. Not every player who's lit the lamp twice so far is going to post a 40-goal season (sorry, Adam Cracknell fans), and if the Jonathan Quick-less Kings were good enough to beat Dallas on Thursday, then it's only a matter of time until the Blue Jackets win one too. That said, some players and teams truly have taken their game to a whole new level, whether positive or negative. So by all means, go out there and pounce on the Chris Kreiders and David Pastrnaks of the world, but make sure to keep some perspective -- that is, don't deal Sidney Crosby for Lee Stempniak just yet.
Friday's NHL slate is a small one, with only six teams taking the ice in three cross-conference matchups. Scoring has been plentiful in the early going with teams still working on tightening up defensively, so it's hardly surprising that a handful of players come in at or above a point-per-game pace in their small sample of action. Five of the six projected starters in net have a GAA above 3.00, meaning goals shouldn't be hard to come by. The question is figuring out which skaters are most likely to provide those goals, and the answers to that question are below.
Featured Matchups
Coyotes (PP:18, PK:18) at Islanders (PP:25, PK:5), 7:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Louis Domingue (0-1-0, 15, .727), Jaroslav Halak (1-2-0, 3.03, .901)
Key Injuries:Jamie McGinn (upper body), Mike Smith (lower body), Michael Stone (knee), Jarred Tinordi (suspension), Mikhail Grabovski (concussion), Nick Leddy (upper body), Shane Prince (lower body)
Domingue is expected to be in net with Smith day-to-day after leaving Tuesday's game, which should lead to plenty of offense for the Islanders against a young and defensively irresponsible Coyotes team. Brock Nelson is the early clubhouse leader with four points in four games for New York, though captain John Tavares has the skills to close the two-point gap currently separating him from Nelson at any time. While first-line left wing Andrew Ladd has yet to get on the scoresheet with his new team, he'll be hard-pressed to find a better opportunity to break the ice than this, as Arizona's allowed 15 goals in three games and is playing the second game of a road back-to-back. For the Coyotes, Jordan Martinook and blueliner Oliver Ekman-Larsson are tied for the team lead with two goals apiece, and they get to face the slow-starting Halak in net. This could well be the most lucrative fantasy matchup of the night.
Blackhawks (PP:3, PK:30) at Blue Jackets (PP:2, PK:12), 7:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Corey Crawford (1-2-0, 3.41, .884), Sergei Bobrovsky (0-2-0, 3.59, .904)
Key Injuries:Andrew Desjardins (lower body), Ryan Hartman (lower body), Marian Hossa (undisclosed), Ryan Murray (foot)
Much like the Coyotes-Islanders contest, this one could see plenty of scoring based on both teams' early defensive struggles. Chicago has gotten just one point from Jonathan Toews so far, but linemate Richard Panik has more than made up for the captain's lack of production with four goals and an assist through five games. Those two are the team's premier offensive threats outside of the Artemi Panarin-Artem Anisimov-Patrick Kane line that took the league by storm last year and looks equally dangerous in the early going. Columbus has played only two games, with the only player topping two points thus far being second-line center Alexander Wennberg (one goal, two assists). His nominal second line is the most dangerous unit the Blue Jackets have offensively, with a pair of former 31-goal scorers in Brandon Saad (last year) and Nick Foligno (two years ago) flanking the 22-year-old pivot.
Predators (PP:1, PK:20) at Red Wings (PP:4, PK:18), 7:30 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Pekka Rinne (1-1-0, 2.03, .934), Petr Mrazek (1-2-0, 3.03, .913)
Key Injuries:Johan Franzen (concussion), Tomas Jurco (back), Niklas Kronwall (knee)
This game will probably be the lowest-scoring of the bunch, as Mrazek will be feeling the pressure to step up following Jimmy Howard's 32-save masterpiece Tuesday against the Rangers. Meanwhile, after a down 2015-16, Pekka Rinne has started this year doing the things that have earned him three Vezina Trophy nominations. Nashville's power play has been rolling early, with five of the team's seven goals coming with the extra man. Consequently, skilled forwards like Ryan Johansen and Mike Fisher have jumped out to hot starts, as have top blueliners Roman Josi and P.K. Subban. For a cheap, high-upside daily play, look to center Calle Jarnkrok, whose spot as the left wing on Nashville's top line is bound to start paying off once the team begins producing at even strength. If anybody's going to solve Rinne for Detroit, it will likely be Thomas Vanek, Mike Green or Darren Helm, all of whom have lit the lamp three times in four games. The rest of the Wings have just three goals combined, and they mostly shouldn't be counted upon to contribute much in this difficult matchup.
Recommended Pickup
Calle Jarnkrok, C, NAS -- Jarnkrok has gotten more ice time with each game this season, and now he finds himself on the Predators' top line following head coach Peter Laviolette's shakeup in search of even-strength production. The 25-year-old Swede is coming off a 16-goal campaign, and he could easily exceed 20 if he can lock down a top-six job permanently. Skating alongside Ryan Johansen and James Neal will give him plenty of open ice to work with in the short term, and Jarnkrok will likely be a boon in the plus-minus category after finishing with a positive rating in each of his first three NHL seasons.
