This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
Around the Rink
We've got a second team heading to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. With a 2-1 overtime victory, the New York Rangers have put away the Pittsburgh Penguins for the second straight year.
The Rangers and Canadiens are providing some great examples of how success in a series doesn't necessarily mean value in fantasy hockey. The Rangers won their series 4-1 and the Montreal Canadiens were up 3-0 in their series before the Ottawa Senators won two in a row, including a 5-1 win last night, yet both of these series were far closer than they look.
In the Penguins/Rangers series, all five games were won by a one-goal margin and all four Rangers wins were 2-1 wins with two of those four 2-1 wins coming in overtime.
In the Senators/Canadiens series, last night was the first time a team had a two-goal lead at any point in the series. That series has had two of its five games go into overtime.
These series have lent themselves to some great hockey, but might be a little tough for fans to get a grasp of at a glance. With the Rangers winning 4-1, you could assume they've got some great players to grab in daily games, but only Henrik Lundqvist was really a fantasy knock-out in round one.
Meanwhile, less the wins, Penguins goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury wasn't much worse than Lundqvist. Fleury had a .927 Sv% with a 2.12 GAA and Lundqvist has a .939 Sv% with a 1.53 GAA. The gap there isn't all that significant. You certainly wanted to have Lundqvist over Fleury, but judging by the series marks you aren't getting the full picture.
Some of the best players to have from the Senators/Canadiens series are players from the team who has been down since Game 1. Mark Stone is third in the postseason with four assists. Since entering the playoffs in Game 3, Craig Anderson has stopped 120 of 123 shots through three games, leading all goaltenders with a .976 Sv% and ranking second with a 0.95 GAA.
That's all just to say, don't judge the players on the ice by how their team is doing in the series. A team who is down may be able to offer just as much value to your roster as a team up 3-0.
Projected Goalie Starters (all times Eastern)
For updates on the projected goalies later in the day, check our Projected Goalies Grid
Washington Capitals (Braden Holtby) at New York Islanders (Jaroslav Halak), 3:00 PM
Detroit Red Wings (Petr Mrazek) at Tampa Bay Lightning (Ben Bishop), 6:00 PM
Nashville Predators (Pekka Rinne) at Chicago Blackhawks (Scott Darling), 8:00 PM
Vancouver Canucks (Ryan Miller) at Calgary Flames (Jonas Hiller), 9:00 PM
Injury News For Teams Playing Saturday
Washington Capitals
John Erskine, D - (neck) isn't expected back.
Eric Fehr, RW - (upper body) isn't expected to return to the lineup for the first-round series against the Islanders unless there's a Game 7.
Dmitry Orlov, D - (wrist) remains out.
New York Islanders
Travis Hamonic, D - (knee) doesn't appear ready for a return.
Calvin de Haan, D - De Haan suffered an undisclosed injury in the third period of Thursday's Game 5 against the Capitals.
Lubomir Visnovsky, D - (concussion) has been ruled out indefinitely.
Detroit Red Wings
Erik Cole, RW - (spinal cord contusion) is reportedly done for the season.
Johan Franzen, RW - (concussion) isn't expecting to return to the lineup during the playoffs.
Jonas Gustavsson, G - (concussion) remains out and is unlikely to suit up when he's ready for a return.
Luke Glendening, RW - (thumb) suffered an injury in Thursday's Game 4 matchup, but said he'll be able to play in Game 5.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Michael Blunden, RW - (knee) is out for the season.
Nashville Predators
Eric Nystrom, LW - (lower body) skated on his own Wednesday morning.
Shea Weber, D - (lower body) will miss the rest of Nashville's opening-round series.
Gabriel Bourque, LW - (upper body) missed Game 5.
Chicago Blackhawks
Trevor van Riemsdyk, D - (wrist) will not play.
Daniel Carcillo, LW - (concussion) is not likely to return soon.
Vancouver Canucks
Alex Burrows, RW - (rib) will not be available for the remainder of the Canucks' first-round.
Zack Kassian, RW - (back) has resumed skating on his own.
Calgary Flames
Raphael Diaz, D - (lower body) remains out.
Lance Bouma, C - (upper body) remains out.
Paul Byron, C - (lower body) has not played yet in the opening round series.
Ladislav Smid, D - (neck) remains out.
Mark Giordano, D - (biceps) suffered a torn biceps muscle on Feb. 25, but is progressing. However, there is no timetable for his return to action.
Hot
Colin Wilson, C, NSH -- Even with Nashville down 3-2 to Chicago, entering Friday's games Wilson led the NHL postseason with five goals in five games, including four power play goals. He's also posted 16 shots, so he's a shade over an average of three shots per game. His shooting percentage of 31.3% is sure to come back down to earth (if it even has time to, with Nashville facing elimination again in Game 6), but Wilson has been incredible so far in the postseason.
Craig Anderson, G, OTT -- As I mentioned above, Anderson has stopped 120 of 123 shots he's faced since retaking the starting job for the Senators from Andrew Hammond. His .976 Sv% leads all goaltenders in the postseason and his 0.95 GAA is only bested by Ryan Miller's 0.61 and Miller's only been the Canucks' starter for two games.
Cold
David Backes, C, STL -- Backes hasn't been good enough. He's getting huge minutes for the Blues and through five games he has just a goal and an assist. For fantasy owners, it's made even worse by the fact that those two points came in the same game. He's also recorded just a single shot in three of five games. For a guy who is playing around 20 minutes per night and is captain of the team, that's just not good enough.
Antoine Vermette, C, CHI -- Vermette, a trade deadline acquisition, was a healthy scratch in the first two games of Chicago's series after posting zero goals and three assists through 19 games with Chicago after being acquired. This is a guy who averaged over half a point per game for a terrible Coyotes team through the first 63 games of the season and scored at better than a 20-goal pace the last two seasons. Vermette bought himself some time by putting in a goal in Game 4, but through three games he's got just one goal and no assists with an average of one shot per game. If he's not scratched again in the series, he's of little value. He played 19:20 in the game he scored, but in Game 5 he saw just 9:49 of ice time. It's clear that he doesn't have the trust of coach Joel Quenneville.
Recommended Value Play
Sam Bennett, C, CGY -- Bennett will be a rookie next season, but he's having a huge impact for the Flames in the playoffs this year. He only managed to play in a single regular season game this season, the first NHL game of his career. Game 2-6 in Bennett's young, promising career have been excellent. He's playing a good game and has put up two goals and an assist in those five games. He also played a key part in the very late game-winning goal in Game 1 of the playoffs, providing the screen that made sure Eddie Lack never saw the puck. Bennett, if for no other reason than by virtue of having no experience to speak of, will come cheap in daily games. He's making the most of his opportunity and could be an excellent value play for your roster.
