This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
Around the Rink
Two Central Division teams suffered some heavy losses in the last 24 hours.
The big player exiting stage right is Tyler Seguin, who had his Achilles partially cut (and it's exactly as terrible as it sounds). He will miss three-to-four weeks.
That's a huge loss for Dallas, but it's also one of the biggest names in fantasy being taken off the board. Seguin ranks third in points, fifth in goals, eighth in power play points and third in total shots. He's a beast.
More widespread chaos is hitting newsstands for the Colorado Avalanche. Matt Duchene, the team's leading scorer, was held out of Friday's game with a knee injury. The team officially says he's day-to-day, but Roger Millions reports that it's seven-to-ten days.
That would be bad enough for a team that's fighting to keep playoff hopes alive, but in Friday's game they also lost Nathan MacKinnon and Eric Gelinas. There's little information on MacKinnon. The team will be updating his status Saturday. Gelinas is out indefinitely.
Losing Duchene, MacKinnon and Seguin in a 24-hour period is a lot of firepower getting placed on the shelf in the Central Division.
Disappointing losses, but the games go on...
Projected Goalie Starters (all times Eastern)
For updates on the projected goalies later in the day, check our Projected Goalies Grid
Penguins (Marc-Andre Fleury) at Flyers (Steve Mason), 1:00 PM
Hurricanes (Cam Ward) at Wild (Devan Dubnyk), 2:00 PM
Rangers (Henrik Lundqvist) at Sharks (Martin Jones), 4:00 PM
Sabres (Nathan Lieuwen) at Maple Leafs (Garret Sparks), 7:00 PM
Canadiens (Mike Condon) at Senators (Andrew Hammond), 7:00 PM
Red Wings (Petr Mrazek) at Panthers (Roberto Luongo), 7:00 PM
Devils (Keith Kinkaid) at Blue Jackets (Sergei Bobrovsky), 7:00 PM
Islanders (Thomas Greiss) at Stars (Kari Lehtonen), 8:00 PM
Blues (Brian Elliott) at Canucks (Ryan Miller), 10:00 PM
Lightning (Ben Bishop) at Coyotes (Louis Domingue), 10:00 PM
Bruins (Jonas Gustavsson) at Kings (Jonathan Quick), 10:30 PM
Injury News For Teams Playing Saturday
Pittsburgh Penguins
Evgeni Malkin, C (upper body) - isn't likely to play again during the regular season
Kevin Porter, C (ankle) - is on injured reserve
Ben Lovejoy, D (upper body) - didn't play Thursday
Beau Bennett, RW (upper body) - remains out
Scott Wilson, LW (lower body) - requires surgery and may miss an extended period
Philadelphia Flyers
Chris VandeVelde, C (suspension) - has been suspended two games
Michael Del Zotto, D (wrist) - is likely to miss the rest of the season
Jakub Voracek, LW (lower body) - remains out
Carolina Hurricanes
James Wisniewski, D (knee) - has skated, but isn't going to be back Saturday
Andrej Nestrasil, C (back) - is done for the year
Justin Faulk, D (lower body) - isn't ready to return
Ryan Murphy, D (upper body) - is considered questionable
Minnesota Wild
Darcy Kuemper, G (upper body) - is considered day-to-day
Jason Pominville, RW (lower body) - is unlikely to play Saturday
New York Rangers
Dylan McIlrath, D (knee) - will miss a couple weeks
San Jose Sharks
Matt Tennyson, D (head) - remains sidelined
Buffalo Sabres
Carlo Colaiacovo, D (lower body) - is unlikely for Saturday
Cody Franson, D (neck) - remains out
Tyler Ennis, LW (concussion) - remains out
Robin Lehner, G (ankle) - will miss a couple games
Toronto Maple Leafs
Byron Froese, C (hand) - remains out
Leo Komarov, LW (lower body) - didn't play Thursday
Viktor Loov, D (undisclosed) - is questionable
Tyler Bozak, C (head) - has been cleared for contacts, but is questionable at best for Saturday
James van Riemsdyk, LW (foot) - is done for the season
Matt Hunwick, D (hernia) - is out for the remainder of the season
Stephane Robidas, D (knee) - is still without a timetable for return
Joffrey Lupul, LW (abdomen) - is out for the remainder of the season
Raffi Torres, LW(knee) - has been shut down for the season
Brad Boyes, RW (undisclosed) - is questionable
Montreal Canadiens
Carey Price, G (leg) - remains out
Jeff Petry, D (lower body) - isn't likely to see the ice again this season
Tom Gilbert, D (knee) - is out
P.K. Subban, D (neck) - has been ruled out
Mark Barberio, D (concussion) - has been ruled out indefinitely
Brendan Gallagher, RW (groin) - remains out
Brian Flynn, C (lower body) - is sidelined still
Daniel Carr, LW (knee) - is still out
David Desharnais, C (foot) - doesn't have a timetable to return
Ottawa Senators
Mark Borowiecki, D (knee) - has a torn MCL
Patrick Wiercioch, D (undisclosed) - didn't play this week
Chris Phillips, D (back) - isn't making progress toward a return
Clarke MacArthur, LW (concussion) - skated in Thursday's practice
Kyle Turris, C (ankle) - has been ruled out indefinitely
Detroit Red Wings
Niklas Kronwall, D (knee) - hopes to return Saturday
Petr Mrazek, G (illness) - didn't play Thursday
Johan Franzen, RW (concussion) - is out long-term
Drew Miller, LW (lower body) - is done for the year
Florida Panthers
Erik Gudbranson, D (undisclosed) - is expected to miss a week
Derek MacKenzie, C (foot) - has been ruled out
Dave Bolland, C (lower body) - is on IR
Willie Mitchell, D (lower body) - is out
New Jersey Devils
Patrik Elias, LW (knee) - has skated, but it isn't clear he'll play again this season
Michael Cammalleri, LW (hand) - is "not close"
Jordin Tootoo, RW (upper body) - didn't play Thursday
Jiri Tlusty, LW (wrist) - is out for the season
Jacob Josefson, C (hand) - remains sidelined
Cory Schneider, G (knee) - is still out
Columbus Blue Jackets
Jack Johnson, D (shoulder) - is out for the season
David Clarkson, RW (undisclosed) - is still out
Fedor Tyutin, D (illness) - didn't play Thursday
New York Islanders
Marek Zidlicky, D (upper body) - is likely to be out Saturday
Jaroslav Halak, G (groin) - remains a ways from a return
Mikhail Grabovski, C (undisclosed) - is no longer traveling with the team
Adam Pelech, D (undisclosed) - could return by the end of March
Casey Cizikas, C (undisclosed) - didn't play Thursday
Dallas Stars
Tyler Seguin, C (achilles) - will miss 3-to-4 weeks
Jordie Benn, D (lower body) - didn't play Thursday
John Klingberg, D (lower body) - didn't play Thursday, but could play Saturday
Mattias Janmark, C (upper body) - is improving
Jason Demers, D (shoulder) - is out
St. Louis Blues
Alexander Steen, LW (upper body) - is getting close, but isn't ready to return
Steve Ott, C (hamstring) - is practicing
Carl Gunnarsson, D (lower body) - is questionable
Joel Edmundson, D (face) - is questionable
Vancouver Canucks
Yannick Weber, D (upper body) - is questionable
Luca Sbisa, D (upper body) - remains out
Derek Dorsett, RW (undisclosed) - is questionable
Markus Granlund, C (upper body) - is now being called day-to-day
Alexander Edler, D (leg) - is out for the season
Jannik Hansen, RW (ribs) - has been ruled out for the weekend
Brandon Prust, LW (ankle) - has been shut down for the season
Brandon Sutter, C (jaw) - has skated, but remains out
Tampa Bay Lightning
Valtteri Filppula, C (upper body) - could miss the remainder of the team's road trip
Arizona Coyotes
Joe Vitale, C (concussion) - has been ruled out for the rest of the season
Oliver Ekman-Larsson, D (upper body) - is considered doubtful Saturday
Anders Lindback, G (Achilles) - will spend the remainder of the year on IR
Jarred Tinordi, D (suspension) - is still serving a 20-game suspension for PED use
Boston Bruins
Chris Kelly, RW (broken femur) - has skated, but isn't ready to return
Zac Rinaldo, C (suspension) - is in the AHL and consequently hasn't started serving his five-game suspension
Los Angeles Kings
Jordan Nolan, RW (back) - remains out indefinitely
Matt Greene, D (shoulder) - won't play again this season
Marian Gaborik, RW (knee) - is out
Hot
Mark Giordano, D, CGY — With a goal in Friday's game, the 32-year-old defenseman has tied his career-high point total of 48. He's one goal from his first-ever 20-goal season and has also set a career-high in shots. He's on a three-game point streak over which he has five points. Additionally, over his last eight games, he's put up four goals and 10 points.
Evgeny Kuznetsov, C, WSH — With a trio of assists Friday, Kuznetsov moved into a three-way tie for the second most assists in the league. He's on a five-game point streak and is regularly proving that he's got eyes in the back of his head. With his point total, he's almost always on fire, but he's been consistent and did another incredible no-look pass from behind the net last night.
Cold
Mike Ribeiro, C, NSH — While the Predators have been winning, Riberio has gone cold. He's without a point in his last five contests, accumulating a minus-5 rating in that time. Moreover, the shots are coming at a terrible pace. He has one or fewer shots in 11 of his last 12 games, averaging 0.75 shots per game over that stretch and less than a shot per game on the season. That means the goals aren't about to come flooding out, even though he's shooting below his career shooting percentage average.
Craig Smith, RW, NSH — Again, lots of things are going well in Nashville. Smith's production isn't one of those things. After two straight 20-goal seasons, the Predators need him to produce. Things weren't clicking for a long time and then he exploded with production, putting up seven goals and 14 points in 11 games, bringing his season totals up toward last year's. But since that outburst he's gone silent, with no points over his last five games. That stretch also has him posting a minus-5 rating and one or fewer shots in three of five.
Recommended Pickup
Sam Reinhart, C, BUF — On the back of a two-point night, Reinhart hit 20 goals on the season. With two goals and five assists in the last seven games, he remains under-appreciated. That's probably in part because he's competing with Jack Eichel for attention. Nonetheless, Reinhart is getting good ice time, good linemates and plenty of power play ice. There's a lot to like about the way Reinhart plays and he's continually getting better.
