This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
Around the Rink
I was all ready to give you guys a big send-off for this final Tuesday of regular-season NHL action, but the hockey gods have intervened on your behalf by giving me a very irritating eye injury that makes it rather unpleasant to look at a computer screen. So let's make this short and sweet: It's been another banner year of Daily Pucking for you, but I'm truly looking forward to bringing you a new and improved Daily Puck next season – one modeled after the test run I threw down earlier this year. Gives you something to look forward to, right?
But on this day, let's enjoy one last classic-style Tuesday DP, just for old times' sake.
Projected Goalie Starters (all times Eastern)
Hurricanes (Cam Ward) at Bruins (Tuukka Rask), 7:00 PM
Sabres (Chad Johnson) at Devils (Cory Schneider), 7:00 PM
Islanders (Thomas Greiss) at Capitals (Braden Holtby), 7:00 PM
Lightning (Andrei Vasilevskiy) at Rangers (Henrik Lundqvist), 7:30 PM
Panthers (Roberto Luongo) at Canadiens (Mike Condon), 7:30 PM
Penguins (Marc-Andre Fleury) at Senators (Craig Anderson), 7:30 PM
Avalanche (Semyon Varlamov) at Predators (Pekka Rinne), 8:00 PM
Sharks (James Reimer) at Wild (Devan Dubnyk), 8:00 PM
Coyotes (Louis Domingue) at Blackhawks (Scott Darling), 8:30 PM
Kings (Jhonas Enroth) at Flames (Joni Ortio), 9:00 PM
Jets (Michael Hutchinson) at Ducks (John Gibson), 10:00 PM
For updates on projected goalies later in the day, check our Projected Goalies Grid.
Injury News for Teams Playing Tuesday
Carolina Hurricanes
James Wisniewski, D (knee) - Not looking likely to return
Riley Nash, C (upper body) - Expected to rejoin the lineup Tuesday
Andrej Nestrasil, C (back) - Season over
Phil Di Giuseppe, LW (undisclosed) - Tuesday status unclear
Boston Bruins
Kevan Miller, D (lower body) – Day-to-day
Brett Connolly, RW (lower body) – Didn't practice Monday
Dennis Seidenberg, D (undisclosed) – Status unclear for Tuesday
Chris Kelly, RW (leg) – No updated timeline recently
Buffalo Sabres
Cody Franson, D (concussion) – Season almost certainly over
Tyler Ennis, LW (concussion) – Still wants to return before season ends
Evander Kane, LW (upper body) – Season over
Robin Lehner, G (ankle) – Season over
Ryan O'Reilly, C (undisclosed) – Took maintenance day Monday, but should go Tuesday
Jack Eichel, C (undisclosed) – Same as O'Reilly
New Jersey Devils
Joe Blandisi, C (lower body) – Didn't practice Monday; Tuesday status seems iffy
Sergey Kalinin, LW (illness) – Didn't practice Monday; questionable for Tuesday
Jon Merrill, D (shoulder) – Season over
Jiri Tlusty, LW (wrist) – Season long over
Patrik Elias, LW (knee) – Could return Tuesday or Thursday
Michael Cammalleri, LW (hand) – Season over
Jordin Tootoo, RW (wrist) – Season over
New York Islanders
Jaroslav Halak, G (groin) – Should be closing in on return, but no updates
Mikhail Grabovski, C (upper body) – Skating, but return date unclear
Travis Hamonic, D (lower body) – Done for regular season
Calvin de Haan, D (knee) – Left Monday's game
Jean-Francois Berube, G (lower body) – Day-to-day
Adam Pelech, D (upper body) – Sent on AHL conditioning stint
Washington Capitals
Nicklas Backstrom, C (upper body) – Practiced Monday; still unsure on Tuesday status
Tampa Bay Lightning
Anton Stralman, D (leg) – Out indefinitely
Steven Stamkos, C (blood clots) – Out between one and three months after surgery
New York Rangers
Ryan McDonagh, D (hand) – Left Monday's game; Tuesday evaluation on tap
Florida Panthers
Erik Gudbranson, D (undisclosed) – Hurt Monday
Willie Mitchell, D (concussion) – Contemplating retirement
Dave Bolland, C (lower body) – Seems unlikely to return this year
Vincent Trocheck, C (ankle) – Out about another two weeks
Montreal Canadiens
Lucas Lessio, LW (undisclosed) – Has been in holding pattern for a while
Brian Flynn, C (lower body) – Probably not coming back at this point
Brett Lernout, D (undisclosed) – Left Saturday's game; no updates
Carey Price, G (leg) – Practicing, but doesn't sound like he's 100 percent
Jeff Petry, D (lower body) – Season over
Tom Gilbert, D (knee) – Season over
P.K. Subban, D (neck) – Won't play Tuesday
Mark Barberio, D (concussion) – Out indefinitely
Victor Bartley, D (lower body) – Has been day-to-day for more than two weeks now
Nathan Beaulieu, D (thumb) – Season over
Pittsburgh Penguins
Evgeni Malkin, C (upper body) – Out until playoffs
Olli Maatta, D (lower body) – Week-to-week
Scott Wilson, LW (lower body) – No clear timeline
Bryan Rust, RW (lower body) – Not close to returning
Kevin Porter, C (ankle) – Lingering on IR
Marc-Andre Fleury, G (concussion) – Seems unlikely to go Tuesday
Ottawa Senators
Dion Phaneuf, D (lower body) – Season over
Patrick Wiercioch, D (upper body) – Hoping to get back for last two games
Mark Stone, RW (upper body) – Back at practice Monday, but left early due to illness
Mark Borowiecki, D (knee) – Season over
Clarke MacArthur, LW (concussion) – Season over
Marc Methot, D (illness) – Tuesday status unclear due to flu
Kyle Turris, C (ankle) – Season over
Chris Phillips, D (back) – Season over
Colorado Avalanche
Brad Stuart, D (back) – Season over
Nathan MacKinnon, C (knee) – Still not back; Tuesday status unclear
Nikita Zadorov, D (concussion) – Timeline unclear
Nashville Predators
Ryan Ellis, D (upper body) – Tuesday status uncertain
Miikka Salomaki, RW (undisclosed) – Day-to-day
Gabriel Bourque, LW (upper body) – Return remains cloudy
San Jose Sharks
Marc-Edouard Vlasic, D (lower body) – Still not skating
Matthew Nieto, LW (hand) – Remains out with no clear timeline
Matt Tennyson, D (concussion) – Skating, but still not cleared
Minnesota Wild
Gustav Olofsson, D (shoulder) – Season-ending surgery
Ryan Carter, LW (personal) – Taking lengthy paternity leave
Jared Spurgeon, D (lower body) – Could suit up Tuesday
Thomas Vanek, LW (upper body) – Won't suit up Tuesday
Arizona Coyotes
Nicklas Grossmann, D (personal) – Having a kid; won't go Tuesday
Martin Hanzal, C (upper body) – Day-to-day
Michael Stone, D (knee) – Out six months with ACL/MCL surgery
Joe Vitale, C (concussion) – Season over
Anders Lindback, G (Achilles) – Season over
Jarred Tinordi, D (suspension) – Ban continues
Eric Selleck, LW (upper body) – Not taking contact yet
Chicago Blackhawks
Corey Crawford, G (upper body) – Could return Saturday
Duncan Keith, D (suspension) – Out through first game of postseason
Andrew Shaw, C (upper body) – Won't return Tuesday
Marian Hossa, RW (knee) – Questionable for Tuesday
Los Angeles Kings
Marian Gaborik, RW (knee) – Skating on his own
Matt Greene, D (shoulder) – Skating, but not close to returning
Alec Martinez, D (undisclosed) – Traveling with team; could return Tuesday
Jordan Nolan, RW (back) – Out indefinitely
Calgary Flames
Dennis Wideman, D (triceps) – Out for season
Michael Frolik, LW (lower body) – No timetable
Ladislav Smid, D (upper body) – Almost surely done for season
Karri Ramo, G (knee) – Season over
Winnipeg Jets
Bryan Little, C (back) – Improving, but long shot to return this year
J.C. Lipon, RW (upper body) – Remains out with no updates
Anthony Peluso, RW (shoulder) – Out for season
Toby Enstrom, D (knee) – Out indefinitely; season likely done
Mathieu Perreault, C (concussion) – Out indefinitely; season likely done
Tyler Myers, D (hip/knee) – Season over
Anaheim Ducks
Brandon Pirri, C (upper body) – Doesn't seem likely to return Tuesday
Rickard Rakell, C (appendicitis) – Out a week
Frederik Andersen, G (concussion) – Practiced Monday
Kevin Bieksa, D (upper body) – Tuesday status unclear
David Perron, LW (shoulder) – Out at least a couple more weeks
Hot
Zach Parise, LW, MIN – For the third consecutive season, injury absences will keep Parise from approaching 80 games, but he hasn't let the hurts sap his effectiveness – over the last seven games, the veteran sniper has potted six goals on 24 shots with five helpers to boot. He's even contributing peripherals, with 11 hits and 11 blocks in that span. If you own him, you don't need to be told to keep riding him hard down the stretch, including in daily formats, where his price remains below those of many other elite players.
Mike Green, D, DET – We haven't had many occasions to laud Green this year, but he's heated up in the season's final weeks even while most of his teammates have gone stone cold. The veteran is operating at a point-per-game pace over the last six, with four of those points coming on the power play. That's part of a broader trend of production of his last 17 games, in which he has 13 points and a plus-3 rating after notching just 21 points and a minus-8 over his first 54 games of the season, and it gives him some positive momentum heading into either the playoffs or next year (depending on how these next few games go).
Cold
Colin Wilson, LW, NAS – Things have been going so badly for Wilson of late that he even sat the final game of March as a healthy scratch. He hasn't scored a goal since the end of February and has just four assists and 10 shots on goal over the 15 games he's taken the ice between then and now. After Wilson set new career marks in goals and points at age 24 last year, it looked like he was trending up, but this season has been pretty much an unmitigated disaster. Unfortunately for the Preds, they locked him up to a four-year deal last summer, so they'll have to make lemonade out of this lemon.
Recommended Pickup
Troy Brouwer, RW, STL – The tough guy's ownership has been on the rise lately, but it's still not high enough – not when you consider his current hot streak, in which he's racked up five goals, eight assists, 15 PIM and a plus-8 rating over 11 games. Three of those goals have come on the power play, where he's seeing consistent ice time while also skating on the second line at even strength. With two games left to go, Brouwer needs to rack up four more points to post his third consecutive campaign of exactly 82 games and 43 points. It doesn't seem so unrealistic with the way he's been going lately.
