This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
Around the Rink
Brad Richards had a nice return to Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night, scoring the lone goal in 1-0 Chicago Blackhawks win.
The Rangers defense gave him all day once he pulled out from behind the net.
Richards is a nice example of where the divide between on-ice expectations and fantasy expectations can lie. Richards left the Rangers with very little love from the fans. Yet, he was a decent secondary scoring option in fantasy, tallying 20 goals and 51 points last year. This season, Blackhawks fans seem to love him, but he's only owned in about 20% of leagues.
If you look at his scoring per game pace, which matters more in fantasy than actual hockey, it's far below what he was doing last year. If he played a full 82 games this season he's on pace for 13 goals, 43 points, and 216 shots. That's a fair amount below last seasons 20 goals, 51 points, and 259 shots.
So why are Hawks fans happy with Richards? His low salary helps. Richards carried a big price tag in New York and needed to be a top tier scorer. Chicago has him at a very reasonable $2M deal, which means the team can be satisfied with him being a third line center who has the ability to play up the lineup. If you get 20 goals out of your third line center you're laughing all the way to the Western Conference Finals.
But it's not just the price tag and lowered expectations, he's actually scoring at a better pace than he was last season even though he's on track to score fewer goals -- and that's the pace the team is looking at more than points per game. His usage has changed. He's seeing fewer all situation minutes and far fewer power play minutes, which makes sense on a team that has Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp, Marian Hossa, Tuevo Teravainen, and Brandon Saad. They have options.
If you look at his points per 60 minutes, you can see why Hawks fans are happy. Richards is putting up 2.2 points per 60 minutes of all situation ice time (P/60). Last year he had a 2.0 P/60. While 2.2 is the lowest P/60 he's had since the 2007-08 season (outside of last season), the team's expectations weren't high, seeing how his game was regressing and knowing how scorers tend to regress fairly rapidly at his age.
However, Richards' increased P/60 in lowered ice time doesn't do much for fantasy owners. His reduced ice time is a burden that means you're getting fewer points and fewer minutes out of him overall -- a loss in two categories.
His value has gone up in the on-ice product, but his value has continued to plummet in fantasy. He's playing a decent game and is seeing more opportunities with Patrick Kane out of the lineup, but there's not much chance that Richards is going to suddenly become fantasy gold down the stretch. We see what he is and owners would be well advised to take note of this for next season. Teams may be high on him when he hits free agency -- and that's probably a fair assessment considering what he's likely to cost -- but the role he's going to play and the usage he's likely to get would suggest that we're unlikely to see a big fantasy year out of him again in his career.
Projected Goalie Starters (all times Eastern)
For updates on the projected goalies later in the day, check our Projected Goalies Grid
San Jose Sharks (Antti Niemi) at Toronto Maple Leafs (Jonathan Bernier), 7:30 PM
Carolina Hurricanes (Anton Khudobin) at Montreal Canadiens (Carey Price), 7:30 PM
Boston Bruins (Tuukka Rask) at Ottawa Senators (Andrew Hammond), 7:30 PM
Detroit Red Wings (Petr Mrazek) at Florida Panthers (Roberto Luongo), 7:30 PM
Washington Capitals (Braden Holtby) at Minnesota Wild (Devan Dubnyk), 8:00 PM
St. Louis Blues (Brian Elliott) at Winnipeg Jets (Michael Hutchinson), 8:00 PM
Pittsburgh Penguins (Marc-Andre Fleury) at Dallas Stars (Kari Lehtonen), 8:30 PM
Philadelphia Flyers (Steve Mason) at Calgary Flames (Karri Ramo), 9:00 PM
Columbus Blue Jackets (Sergei Bobrovsky) at Vancouver Canucks (Eddie Lack), 10:00 PM
Colorado Avalanche (Semyon Varlamov) at Arizona Coyotes (Mike Smith), 10:00 PM
Injury News For Teams Playing Thursday
San Jose Sharks
Raffi Torres, LW - (knee) is unlikely to play this season.
Mike Brown, RW - (leg) practiced Monday.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Stephane Robidas, D - (shoulder) is done for the season.
Roman Polak, D - (hernia) is out for the season.
Nazem Kadri, C - (suspension) will serve the first of four games on Thursday.
Peter Holland, C - (lower body) is expected to miss the next two games.
Tyler Biggs, RW - (Achilles) will undergo surgery.
Carolina Hurricanes
Jack Hillen, D - (concussion) took part in Tuesday's morning skate.
Rasmus Rissanen, D - (MCL) will miss a couple weeks.
Cam Ward, G - (illness) was still sick on Wednesday.
John-Michael Liles, D - (lower body) has been ruled out.
Montreal Canadiens
Torrey Mitchell, C - (arm) will miss a couple of weeks.
Nathan Beaulieu, D - (illness) was scratched on Tuesday.
Brian Flynn, C - (upper body) did not play Tuesday.
Boston Bruins
David Krejci, C - (knee) practiced Wednesday and will travel with the team for the road trip starting on Thursday.
Tuukka Rask, G - (general soreness) practiced Wednesday.
Brett Connolly, RW - (finger) has resumed skating.
Kevan Miller, D - (shoulder) is on LTIR.
Ottawa Senators
Robin Lehner, G - (concussion) remains out.
Clarke MacArthur, LW - (concussion) skated by himself Sunday.
Chris Neil, RW - (thumb) is still out.
Craig Anderson, G - (hand) will miss a week after aggravating his previous injury.
Chris Phillips, D - (undisclosed) is not viewed as close to a return.
Detroit Red Wings
Pavel Datsyuk, C - (lower body) will miss Thursday's game.
Johan Franzen, RW - (concussion) skated for a little bit Friday but left the ice before practice began.
Darren Helm, LW - (oblique) is expected to return Thursday.
Jonas Gustavsson, G - (concussion) is not ready to return.
Florida Panthers
Al Montoya, G - (groin) remains out.
Roberto Luongo, G - will be reevaluated during morning skate.
Washington Capitals
John Erskine, D - (neck) has skated, but isn't ready to return.
Brooks Orpik, D - (lower body) practiced Wednesday, is day-to-day.
Jay Beagle, C - (upper body) will miss the next two games.
Minnesota Wild
Nate Prosser, D - (lower body) is considered week-to-week.
Jason Zucker, LW - (shoulder) is progressing, but could be out as much as a month.
Keith Ballard, D - (concussion) is unlikely to play again this season.
Ryan Carter, C - (shoulder) could return as soon as this weekend.
Marco Scandella, D - (upper body) could also return over the weekend.
Matt Cooke, LW - (hernia) hasn't resumed practicing with the team.
St. Louis Blues
Kevin Shattenkirk, D - (abdominal surgery) has skated, but isn't ready for game action yet.
Winnipeg Jets
Mathieu Perreault, C - (lower body) is out indefinitely.
Grant Clitsome, D - (upper body) has been on IR since January.
Paul Postma, D - (undisclosed) will miss "a number of weeks."
Ben Chiarot, D - (hand) isn't ready to return.
Bryan Little, C - (upper body) took part in Wednesday's practice.
Dustin Byfuglien, D - (upper body) participated in Wednesday's practice.
Pittsburgh Penguins
Pascal Dupuis, RW - (blood clot) has skated, but isn't playing.
Patric Hornqvist, RW - (undisclosed) is expected to miss about a week from Sunday.
Olli Maatta, D - (shoulder) is done for the season.
Evgeni Malkin, C - (lower body) will not join the Penguins for the rest of their three-game road trip ending Saturday in Arizona.
Dallas Stars
Alex Goligoski, D - (illness) missed practice Wednesday.
Valeri Nichushkin, LW - (hip) is now being viewed as day-to-day.
Trevor Daley, D - (knee) skated on his own prior to Tuesday's practice.
Travis Moen, LW - (upper body) skated with the team on Tuesday.
Philadelphia Flyers
R.J. Umberger, LW - (hip/abdominal muscles) is out.
Michael Del Zotto, D - (upper body) said that he's ready to return to the lineup Thursday.
Matt Read, RW - (paternity) won't rejoin the team until Saturday.
Radko Gudas, D - (knee) isn't yet ready to return.
Calgary Flames
Ryan Culkin, D - (wrist) will miss significant time following surgery.
Joni Ortio, G - (lower body) will by out a while longer.
Paul Byron, C - (lower body) has resumed skating.
Ladislav Smid, D - (neck) is out for the season.
Mark Giordano, D - (bicep) will miss the rest of the season.
Columbus Blue Jackets
Jeremy Morin, LW - (chest) will travel with the team.
Matt Calvert, LW - (concussion) took a step back in his recovery and remains without a timetable for a return.
Boone Jenner, LW - (back) will return Saturday at the earliest.
Austin Madaisky, D - (undisclosed) will miss the remainder of the season.
Jack Skille, RW - (shoulder) is out for the season.
David Clarkson, RW - (oblique) won't return till close to the end of the season.
Vancouver Canucks
Zack Kassian, RW - (back) isn't likely to be in the game.
Ryan Miller, G - (leg) will miss the remainder of the regular season.
Colorado Avalanche
Ryan Wilson, D - (shoulder) is out for the season.
Joey Hishon, C - (neck) will not play Thursday.
Nathan MacKinnon, C - (foot) remains out.
Patrick Bordeleau, LW - (knee) skated Tuesday.
Borna Rendulic, RW - (broken leg) remains out.
Erik Johnson, D - (knee) is expected to return during the Avalanche's upcoming five-game road trip that will span from Mar. 19-26.
Jamie McGinn, LW - (back) is out for the season.
Jesse Winchester, LW - (concussion) isn't likely to play this year.
Arizona Coyotes
Mikkel Boedker, LW - (ruptured spleen) has been ruled out for the rest of the season.
Martin Hanzal, C - (back) will miss the rest of the season.
Hot
Roman Josi, D, NSH -- Josi is having a career year and he's been turning it on even more as the Predators have started to slide in the run up to the playoffs. Over the last three games he has three goals and an assist. Over the last five games he's averaged 3.8 shots per game. Prior to Tuesday's game against Minnesota, he hadn't been below 25 minutes in a game over a ten-game span. Josi is doing it across categories right now.
David Backes, C, STL -- Backes has been turning it on lately, helping the Blues make a good push for the President's Trophy. Over the last eight games Backes has four goals and six assists to go along with a plus-5 rating and eight penalty minutes. Backes is the kind of player who thrives down the stretch when the games get more physical and fast-paced. There are many reasons to believe that Backes can keep this going.
Cold
Logan Couture, C, SJS -- Couture hasn't totally bottomed out, but with the Sharks struggling (not to mention they seem closer to implosion than leanto left to rot in the woods for a decade), the team needs him badly and he's scored just one goal over the last 12 games. He also has four assists and a minus-4 rating in that span. The shots have been there and overall he's had a good season. There's a good chance he snaps out of this slump soon, but Couture is streaky, even more than most guys of his talent level. This is the second season in a row where he's gone through a long dry period. That's worrisome, but he should pull out of it and get back on the scoresheet soon. Dropping him at this point would be a risky move.
Shea Weber, D, NSH -- Unlike his D partner Josi -- and a lot like Couture -- Weber hasn't been able to help his team snap out of their stretch funk. The man who for a portion of the season was one of the team leaders in points, isn't even the highest scoring defenseman on the team any longer. Josi has been getting more minutes lately and Weber has had a tough time hitting the back of the net. He has just one goal and one assist in the last 15 games. He's also a minus-6 and has been held without a shot twice, which is a bad sign for a guy who is a power play pilot on the blue line. Despite being held without a shot twice, at large, the shots are there. And he's far from useless for Nashville. He's as vicious as ever in front of his own net, but unless your league scores grit (that includes subcategories of #gritz, heart, and "being a worker"), he's making the stretch run tough on owners. Unfortunately for the Predators, as Weber goes, it would seem, so go the Predators.
Recommended Pickup
Matt Dumba, D, MIN -- I've talked about him a bit lately, but Dumba continues to impress. On Tuesday he became only the second rookie defenseman to score an OT goal this season. He's played just 46 games this season, but ranks sixth among rookie defenseman in points and is a fixture on the Wild blue line at this point, so he's not in danger of suddenly being out of the lineup (that will continue to be true once Marco Scandella and Nate Prosser are back in the lineup). He's also a plus-14, which is the best plus/minus among rookie defensemen. He's got one of the league's best plus/minus ratings since February 16, a span over which he's a plus-16 with five goals and a growing number of minutes. The kid has a booming slapshot that is growing a reputation as something to be feared. He's most useful in deeper formats for the time being, but he's playing a really strong game and seems to be getting a little better every night.
