This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
Around the Rink
An exchange on twitter recently got me interested in looking at some of the early season leaders in shots (h/t Michael Clifford). Looking at total shots is not that valuable at this stage in the season, so let's take a look at shots per game among players who had played at least five games through Friday. There were eleven players who had averaged more than four shots per game:
Zach Parise – 6.2
Patric Hornqvist – 5.7
Patrick Sharp – 5.0
Erik Karlsson – 4.8
Claude Giroux – 4.7
Alex Ovechkin – 4.7
Vladimir Tarasenko – 4.7
Radim Vrbata – 4.6
Steven Stamkos – 4.4
Kyle Okposo – 4.1
Michael Cammalleri – 4.1
The averages will come down, but guys like Parise, Hornqvist, Sharp, Ovechkin, Stamkos, and Karlsson are familiar names on the list of NHL shot leaders. It's exciting to see young guys like Tarasenko and Okposo putting lots of rubber at the net as they look to build on their breakouts from last year. Tarasenko, only 22, has the higher ceiling if he can continue to see the kind of ice time (17:02) he has so far. Radim Vrbata was a sleeper for many people and he is meshing well with the Sedins in Vancouver as he tries to reach the 20-goal plateau again.
Interestingly, if we drop the five game minimum, one other player is averaging more than four shots per game as of Friday – Florida's Brandon Pirri. He has had a hard time cracking the lineup, but with Dave Bolland injured he is trying to take advantage with nine shots in his first two starts. Pirri has offensive upside (he won an AHL scoring title) and will be worth watching if he gets into the lineup regularly for the Panthers.
Now, onto the preview of Sunday's games.
Projected Goalie Starters (all times Eastern)
For updates on the projected goalies later in the day, check out our Projected Goalies Grid.
Colorado Avalanche (Semyon Varlamov*) at Winnipeg Jets (Ondrej Pavelec), 3:00 PM
Columbus Blue Jackets (Sergei Bobrovsky) at Los Angeles Kings (Jonathan Quick), 4:00 PM
Ottawa Senators (Craig Anderson) at Chicago Blackhawks (Scott Darling), 7:00 PM
San Jose Sharks (Antti Niemi) at Anaheim Ducks (Frederik Andersen), 8:00 PM
Washington Capitals (Braden Holtby) at Vancouver Canucks (Ryan Miller), 9:30 PM
*Confirmed Starters
Injury News For Teams Playing Wednesday
Colorado Avalanche
Jesse Winchester, LW - Winchester (concussion) has resumed taking part in non-contact drills, the Associated Press reports. (10/22/2014)
Ryan Wilson, D - Wilson (shoulder) has been ruled out for two-to-three weeks, Adrian Dater of the Denver Post reports. (10/23/2014)
Winnipeg Jets
Evander Kane, LW - Coach Paul Maurice said Kane (knee) is progressing well and could begin skating before the end of the week, Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun reports. (10/23/2014)
Anthony Peluso, RW - Peluso (upper body) didn't take part in the Jets' morning skate and looks to be unavailable Friday against the Lightning, Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun reports. (10/24/2014)
Columbus Blue Jackets
Nathan Horton, RW - The Blue Jackets fear that Horton (back) will not be able to suit up in 2014-15, Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch reports. (10/21/2014)
Curtis McElhinney, G - McElhinney (head/neck) has rejoined the Blue Jackets in Anaheim, Aaron Portzline of The Columbus Dispatch reports. (10/24/2014)
Cam Atkinson, RW - Atkinson suffered a cut below his right eye during Friday's game against the Ducks, Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch reports. (10/24/2014)
Ryan Murray, D - Murray (knee) will not return to action Saturday against the Senators, Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch reports. (10/18/2014)
Marko Dano, C - Dano (undisclosed) will not play Thursday against the Sharks. (10/23/2014)
Adam Cracknell, RW - Cracknell left Friday's game early in the third period with an apparent left knee injury, Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch reports. (10/24/2014)
Los Angeles Kings
Slava Voynov, D - Voynov's attorney is hopeful that the indefinite suspension could be lifted soon, the Los Angeles Times reports. (10/23/2014)
Trevor Lewis, C - Lewis (upper body) was a limited participant in Saturday's practice, Helene Elliott of the LA Times reports. (10/25/2014)
Marian Gaborik, RW - Gaborik (undisclosed) skated on his own Saturday morning, Helene Elliott of the LA Times reports. (10/25/2014)
Ottawa Senators
Marc Methot, D - Methot (back) is not expected to travel with the team on their upcoming road trip, Ian Mendes of TSN 1200 reports. (10/25/2014)
Chicago Blackhawks
Corey Crawford, G - Crawford (upper body), who skated at Saturday's practice and could skate at Sunday's practice, is not expected to be in goal Sunday against the Senators, coach Joel Quenneville told CSN Chicago. (10/25/2014)
San Jose Sharks
Mike Brown, RW - Brown (hand) was placed on injured reserve Saturday, Kevin Kurz of CSNBayArea.com reports. (10/18/2014)
Tyler Kennedy, LW - Kennedy (upper body) will not return from injured reserve for Saturday's game with the Sabres, David Pollak of the San Jose Mercury News reports. (10/25/2014)
Raffi Torres, LW - Torres (knee) will not require a second operation on his torn ACL, David Pollak of the San Jose Mercury News reports. (10/21/2014)
Anaheim Ducks
Dany Heatley, LW - Heatley (groin) took part in a full practice Thursday, but isn't sure when he might receive clearance to start playing in games, Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register reports. (10/23/2014)
Stefan Noesen, C - The Ducks announced Noesen is dealing with an Achilles injury and is expected to be sidelined for four months, Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register reports. (10/22/2014)
Bryan Allen, D - Allen (lower body) was able to participate in practice Monday, the Ducks' official site reports. (10/20/2014)
Washington Capitals
John Erskine, D - Erskine, who was placed on injured reserve earlier Wednesday, underwent surgery to repair a disk in his neck. (10/22/2014)
Brooks Laich, C - Laich (upper body) will be placed on IR, Alex Prewitt of the Washington Post reports. (10/20/2014)
Tom Wilson, RW - Coach Barry Trotz acknowledged Tuesday that Wilson (ankle) could return to the Washington lineup Oct. 29 against the Red Wings, Alex Prewitt of the Washington Post reports. (10/22/2014)
Vancouver Canucks
Ryan Stanton, D - Stanton (lower body) has been placed on injured reserve. (10/21/2014)
Hot
Nick Foligno, LW – Foligno was held without a point on Friday for the first time this year against Anaheim. He picked up three goals, 9 points, and 20 shots on net in his season opening six game point streak. Foligno can be a useful depth winger for fantasy owners – he had 18 goals and 39 points last year and has a career-high 47-point season under his belt. He's not a point-per-game guy, but he is playing on the Blue Jackets' top line with stud Ryan Johanson, so a new career best isn't a crazy objective for the 26 year-old.
Mike Green, D – Remember when Mike Green was putting up top-tier forward numbers and was a legitimate first or second round choice? You would be forgiven if you didn't, frankly, because it has been a while since he was at that level, but he was Erik Karlsson before Karlsson. After consecutive 70+ point seasons, Green failed to play 50 games and put up more than 26 points for three consecutive seasons from 2010-11 to 2012-13. Quietly Green played 70 games and registered 38 points last year and so far this year he has been even better with six points in five games. The 29 year-old doesn't hog ice time the way he used to (he is averaging 19:41 so far this year), but if Green is healthy he could be in line to get back above the 50-point plateau this year. He is not widely available, but would be an intriguing trade target if someone in your league doesn't believe he can avoid missing time.
Cold
Milan Michalek, LW – Michalek was without a point this year before Saturday's tilt with the Devils (in which he had two assists). From age 21 through 26, Michalek was dependable for 20 goals and he posted a career high 35 in 2011-12. He dropped to only 17 last year and has yet to bulge the twine this year while only getting five shot through six games. The Czech veteran is still getting healthy power play time (2:44 per game), but his ice time overall has dropped to 16:20 this year, his lowest mark since 2006-07. If you believe it's better to move a player a year too early, rather than a year too late, you may have already held Michalek too long.
Dustin Brown, RW – The Kings' captain is off to an incredibly slow start, registering just a single goal in seven games. After recording at least 50 points in five consecutive seasons before the lockout-shortened 2012-13, Brown's production dipped down to 27 points last year. He has seen his shot production and ice time drop the last couple of years too and at 29 years-old could have simply dropped to a lower plateau of production.
Recommended Pickup
Tyler Toffoli, RW – Toffoli doesn't have the name cache of some of Kings' teammates, but that's okay because he is producing more than they are, which is all that matters. He has picked up eight points in seven games so far this year with a plus-9 rating and 16 shots on net. Incredibly he remains available in four out of ten Yahoo leagues. One thing to note is that Toffoli is only getting 13:40 minutes of ice time so far. That said he did manage 29 points in 62 games last year and at 22 years-old should be improving.
