This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
Around the Rink
Let's start this baby off with, well, some baby news – my RotoWire NHL co-editor Mike Gay and his wife Lisa brought their first child into the world Monday. In the words of my people, mazel tov!
Anyway, Tuesday brings us a medium-sized slate with some intriguing matchups to take advantage of in fantasy.
Let's start with the Bolts, who appear likely to get the slightly injured Nikita Kucherov back in time for the evening's matchup with Toronto. Lightning backup goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy has beaten the Leafs three times this year already, and he's looking for a fourth Tuesday. Meanwhile, Jonathan Bernier's coming off a shutout (his third among eight wins this year in 31 starts) and seems like a good bet to regress to the norm. Start those … Tampans? Tampa-ites? Tampanians? You get the point.
Not that it's ever a bad idea to roll out some Capitals, but they draw a defensively weak Hurricanes team that's rolling out an extremely young blue-line grouping Tuesday – not to mention the ever-mediocre, little-used Eddie Lack in goal. Alex Ovechkin & Co. should – should! – have a field day.
Well, we've all got things to do. Let's get to it.
Projected Goalie Starters (all times Eastern)
Islanders (Jean-Francois Berube) at Penguins (Marc-Andre Fleury), 7:00 PM
Hurricanes (Eddie Lack) at Capitals (Braden Holtby), 7:00 PM
Red Wings (Petr Mrazek) at Flyers (Steve Mason), 7:30 PM
Lightning (Andrei Vasilevskiy) at Maple Leafs (Jonathan Bernier), 7:30 PM
Panthers (Al Montoya) at Canadiens (Mike Condon), 7:30 PM
Wild (Devan Dubnyk) at Senators (Craig Anderson), 7:30 PM
Kings (Jhonas Enroth) at Stars (Kari Lehtonen), 8:30 PM
Bruins (Tuukka Rask) at Sharks (James Reimer), 10:00 PM
For updates on projected goalies later in the day, check our Projected Goalies Grid.
Injury News for Teams Playing Tuesday
New York Islanders
Jaroslav Halak, G (groin) – Out at least five more weeks
Mikhail Grabovski, C (upper body) – Activated from IR on Monday
Adam Pelech, D (undisclosed) – Could return by end of march
Marek Zidlicky, D (upper body) – Out "a little while"
Pittsburgh Penguins
Evgeni Malkin, C (upper body) – Out for remainder of regular season at least
Oskar Sundqvist, C (undisclosed) – Should be nearing return based on original timeline
Kevin Porter, C (ankle) – Done for season and maybe postseason
Ben Lovejoy, D (upper body) – Not taking contact yet
Beau Bennett, RW (upper body) – Took line rushes in practice over weekend
Carolina Hurricanes
James Wisniewski, D (knee) – Skating a little, but not likely to return before end of season
Andrej Nestrasil, C (back) – Out for season
Justin Faulk, D (lower body) – Remains week-to-week
Washington Capitals
John Carlson, D (lower body) – Skated after practice Monday
Detroit Red Wings
Niklas Kronwall, D (knee) – Out 1-to-3 weeks
Darren Helm, LW (illness) – Sat out Sunday
Philadelphia Flyers
Michael Del Zotto, D (wrist) – Had surgery; regular season over
Jordan Weal, C (upper body) – Around expected return date, but no news
Michal Neuvirth, G (illness) – Couldn't suit up Saturday
Jakub Voracek, LW (lower body) – Won't return Tuesday; Wednesday doesn't look good either
Andrew MacDonald, D (lower body) – Expects to return Tuesday
Tampa Bay Lightning
Nikita Kucherov, RW (undisclosed) – Left Sunday's game; Tuesday status unclear
Cedric Paquette, C (lower body) – Didn't go Sunday
Valtteri Filppula, C (upper body) – Left Sunday's game; no word on Tuesday
Toronto Maple Leafs
James van Riemsdyk, LW (foot) – Season over
Tyler Bozak, C (head) – No timetable for return
Byron Froese, C (hand) – No timeline released
Viktor Loov, D (undisclosed) – Tuesday status unclear
Raffi Torres, LW (knee) – Done for season
Brad Boyes, RW (undisclosed) – No timeline for return, but seemingly a shorter-term issue
Joffrey Lupul, LW (abdomen) – Season over
Brooks Laich, C (foot) – Left Saturday's game after absorbing shot
Matt Hunwick, D (abdomen) – Out for season with sports hernia surgery
Stephane Robidas, D (knee) – No timeline
Florida Panthers
Willie Mitchell, D (lower body) – To begin skating this week
Derek MacKenzie, C (foot) – Not playing in next two games; MRI on tap
Dave Bolland, C (lower body) – No timeline
Teddy Purcell, RW (groin) – Will get back out there Tuesday
Montreal Canadiens
David Desharnais, C (foot) – Practicing, but no word on official return date
Brendan Gallagher, RW (groin) – Out another week or two
Nathan Beaulieu, D (lower body) – Practiced Monday; Tuesday status unclear
Brian Flynn, C (lower body) – Out a few more weeks
Stefan Matteau, LW (lower body) – Sat over weekend
Carey Price, G (leg) – Practicing in full gear
Jeff Petry, D (lower body) – Season over
Tom Gilbert, D (knee) – Season overLars Eller, C (illness) – Won't play Tuesday
P.K. Subban, D (neck) – Sitting Tuesday and Wednesday
Minnesota Wild
Jason Pominville, RW (lower body) – Won't play Tuesday; iffy for Thursday
Zac Dalpe, C (hip) – Out at least a couple more weeks
Ottawa Senators
Patrick Wiercioch, D (undisclosed) – Not ready to go Tuesday
Mark Borowiecki, D (knee) – Has torn MCL; season over
Clarke MacArthur, LW (concussion) – Hoping to return in final week or so of season
Kyle Turris, C (ankle) – Out indefinitely
Los Angeles Kings
Marian Gaborik, RW (knee) – Could return by end of regular season
Jordan Nolan, RW (back) – Out indefinitely following hernia surgery
Matt Greene, D (shoulder) – Out for season
Dallas Stars
Jason Demers, D (shoulder) – Will be reevaluated in 5-to-6 weeks
Jordie Benn, D (lower body) – Won't be ready to go Tuesday
John Klingberg, D (lower body) – Won't go Tuesday
Mattias Janmark, C (upper body) – Questionable for Tuesday
Patrick Sharp, LW (lower body) – Could be back in there Tuesday
Boston Bruins
Chris Kelly, RW (leg) – Skating, but return not imminent
San Jose Sharks
Matt Tennyson, D (head) – No recent updates
Tommy Wingels, RW (shoulder) – Could be ready Tuesday
Hot
Patric Hornqvist, RW, PIT – Those who drafted Phil Kessel quite a number of rounds ahead of Hornqvist have to be kicking themselves, as the two have provided near-equal production this year. Neither's had a huge campaign, but the Swede has been on a heater for nearly a month now – over the last 13 games, he's split 14 points evenly between goals and assists while going plus-7. The guy's a high-volume shooter playing on the top line with Sidney Crosby; what more can you ask for?
Radko Gudas, D, PHI – It's not often that a toughness-first blueliner makes it into this space, but fantasy's not all about goals and assists – though Gudas did have two of each in a huge explosion 10 days ago. Of course, he hasn't hit the scoresheet in three games since. But all the right indicators are there for Gudas right now – in the last six games, he's racked up not just 20 PIM and 21 hits, but also 20 shots (!), reflecting an increased level of offensive involvement. Indeed, he's even finding his way into occasional power-play duty. By no means is he a budding star, but there's more than meets the eye here.
Cold
Mike Reilly, D, MIN – After being named a Hobey Baker Award finalist as one of the top college players last year, the Wild won a bidding war for Reilly's services and started him out in the AHL, where he's delivered a credible 21 points in 40 games. He may end up back there to continue refining his game, as the 22-year-old Chicago native may be a healthy scratch for the second straight contest Tuesday, and there's no reason for the Wild to keep him in street clothes much longer instead of having him gain more pro experience. In the seven games before he got banished to the press box, Reilly collected exactly zero points to go with a minus-2 rating and just six shots on goal. Sometimes, the future just isn't now.
Recommended Pickup
Mikael Backlund, C, CGY – A former first-round pick and a second-liner on a going-nowhere team, Backlund doesn't get a lot of attention in fantasy circles. But he's been doing terrific work lately, with four goals on 16 shots to go with a pair of helpers in the last six games. He's also seen a big spike in minutes over the last four – the Swede's skated at least 18:31 in each of those contests, well above his season average of 16:18. Much of that increase has come in the form of power-play time, which is always nice. Backlund is going to set a new career high in points and probably goals as well; you may as well have him get there on your roster.
