This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
Around the League
Well, this is interesting. With a 4-3 overtime win over the Blackhawks last night, the Senators have now scored 82 goals in 25 games, the third-highest total in the league and on pace for 268 goals, improving last year's total by 30. For a team that consistently lacked secondary scoring behind the Pizza Line with Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley, and then for a long time couldn't get another marquee forward, this has become a pretty dangerous offensive group.
The biggest change, of course, is depth. Mike Hoffman, Mark Stone, Kyle Turris and the much-maligned Bobby Ryan all have at least 20 points, and promising rookie Mika Zibanejad isn't far behind with 16. All of their young forwards seem to have taken a step forward this year, and while in the past they needed to rely on defense (Zdeno Chara, Wade Redden, Chris Phillips, Anton Volchenkov) and/or streaky goaltending (Andrew Hammond and Craig Anderson) to win, they can now get a better hold of their destiny through their offense.
Make no mistake, Erik Karlsson remains the team's engine and any team that employs him will feature a pretty formidable attack, but not only can he bring the puck ice in his usual swift fashion, the team's wingers can all score. Ryan, Stone and Hoffman presents a pretty devastating scoring trio, because Dave Cameron can elect to stack two of them on one line or spread them out over three lines. Keep in mind that Milan Michalek and Chris Neil are pretty good at creating space for their linemates, while youngsters Curtis Lazar and Shane Prince continue to find ways to contribute. This is a team that is one top-six forward – preferably a center – away from being considered "good" rather than "pretty good."
The Sens sit just one point behind Detroit for second place in the Atlantic Division, and it's about time people paid a little more attention to them.
Projected Goalie Starters (all times Eastern)
For updates on the projected goalies later in the day, check our Projected Goalies Grid
Coyotes (Anders Lindback) at Sabres (Linus Ullmark), 7:00 PM
Flyers (Steve Mason) at Devils (Cory Schneider), 7:00 PM
Panthers (Al Montoya) at Blue Jackets (Sergei Bobrovsky), 7:00 PM
Blues (Brian Elliott) at Islanders (Jaroslav Halak), 7:30 PM
Bruins (Tuukka Rask) at Flames (Karri Ramo), 9:00 PM
Stars (Antti Niemi) at Oilers (Anders Nilsson), 9:00 PM
Sharks (Martin Jones) at Ducks (John Gibson), 10:00 PM
Injury News For Teams Playing Friday
Arizona Coyotes
Shane Doan, RW (lower body) – did not play Thursday; questionable.
Joe Vitale, C (fractured orbital bone) – out 4-6 weeks.
Buffalo Sabres
Robin Lehner, G (high ankle sprain) – no return date set.
Mark Pysyk, D (lower body) – week-to-week; no return date set.
Tyler Ennis, LW (upper body) – week-to-week; no return date set.
Cody McCormick, C (illness) – out indefinitely.
Philadelphia Flyers
Ryan White, RW (shoulder) – skated Monday; questionable.
Sam Gagner, C (upper body) – did not play Tuesday; questionable.
Radko Gudas, D (suspension) – will not play.
Mark Streit, D (groin) – skated Thursday; no return date set.
New Jersey Devils
Jiri Tlusty, LW (shoulder) – no timetable for return.
Tuomo Ruutu, LW (foot) – no return date set.
Travis Zajac, C (upper body) – will not play.
Florida Panthers
Nick Bjugstad, C (upper body) – will not play.
Alex Petrovic, D (foot) – out one week.
Columbus Blue Jackets
Fedor Tyutin, D (nose) – practiced Thursday; game-time decision.
Rene Bourque, LW (undisclosed) – no return date set.
David Clarkson, RW (back) – practiced Thursday; probable.
Jared Boll, RW (foot) – no return date set.
Cody Goloubef, D (jaw) – out six weeks.
St. Louis Blues
Jaden Schwartz, LW (fractured left ankle) – out 12 weeks.
Patrik Berglund, C (shoulder) – no return date set.
New York Islanders
Kirill Petrov, RW (broken foot) – out one month.
Eric Boulton, LW (lower body) – did not play Tuesday; questionable.
Boston Bruins
Chris Kelly, RW (left fractured femur) – out 6-8 months.
Kevan Miller, D (concussion) – did not play Wednesday; questionable.
David Pastrnak, LW (fractured left foot) – no return date set.
Calgary Flames
Lance Bouma, C (broken left) – out roughly two more months.
Kevin Poulin, G (dislocated kneecap) – out 4-6 weeks.
Dallas Stars
Jason Demers, D (upper body) – did not play Thursday; questionable.
Edmonton Oilers
Rob Klinkhammer, LW (lower body) – skated Wednesday; questionable.
Nail Yakupov, RW (ankle sprain) – out 2-4 weeks.
Connor McDavid, C (collarbone) – return date set for January.
Benoit Pouliot, LW (lower body) – did not play Wednesday; questionable.
San Jose Sharks
Raffi Torres, LW (suspension) – will not play.
Logan Couture, C (foot) – practiced Wednesday; no return date set.
Ben Smith, RW (head) – skated Monday; no return date set.
Anaheim Ducks
Frederik Andersen, G (illness) – practiced Thursday; no return date set.
Jiri Sekac, RW (ankle) – skated Sunday; no return date set.
Simon Despres, D (concussion) – no timetable for return.
Hot
Chris Wagner, C, COL – He's a fourth-line player but he's been surprisingly effective of late with three goals in his past five games. The Ducks took a risk placing him on waivers and the Avs were smart enough to get a pretty decent depth player. Obviously, he won't keep this pace up, but his recent hot streak deserves a mention.
Mike Hoffman, LW, OTT – With a three-point night against Chicago, Hoffman now has 11 points on his current six-game point streak. He's found excellent chemistry with Bobby Ryan, who also scored three points, and the Sens are slowly become a pretty dangerous offensive team. There's no standout star, but they have a good two-way center in Kyle Turris and wingers who can score in bunches.
Cold
Steven Stamkos, C, TB – The Lightning are still trying to find their groove, and so is their captain, who has just two goals in his past eight games. It looks like Jon Cooper is leaning on him a little more than we've seen in the past, and to be fair, Stamkos is doing his job putting pucks on net, but the Lightning just don't seem to have that swagger this season. More often than not this year, their wins have come from stellar goaltending from Ben Bishop.
Radim Vrbata, RW, VAN – The veteran sniper has just six goals this season and will be hard pressed to score 30 goals again, especially now that he's on a four-game goalless slide. The Canucks are really having trouble scoring without puck-moving defenseman Ben Hutton, speedy two-way center Brandon Sutter and hard-hitting rookie Jake Virtanen in the lineup, and much of that has to do with Vrbata's lack of production. Since Jannik Hansen has played with the Sedins, Vrbata has failed to generate scoring chances on his own and enters Friday with a minus-17 rating.
Recommended Pickup
Connor Hellebuyck, G, WPG – There's no denying that Hellebuyck is the goalie of the future for the Jets, who have now gone 2-for-2 with Ondrej Pavelec (lower body) sidelined for an extended period and Michael Hutchinson struggling. If Hellebuyck continues to play well, Paul Maurice will continue to roll with him because, well, why not? If the kid's ready, throw him into the fire and see what he can do, and on the off-chance that he displaces Pavelec when he returns, that's a pretty good problem to have. Unfortunately the Jets are stuck in a tough division so there won't be any easy matchups, but they have a chance to win every night, which gives Hellebuyck even more value.
