This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
Around the Rink
Less than a week into this shiny new NHL season, we've unsurprisingly got some surprising results from the small sample of games played so far. So, despite the fact that this is horribly premature, let's discuss three things I think we've learned from six days of hockey action.
1. The Bruins are going to be bad again. I thought coming into the year that Tuukka Rask would have a bounce-back year and bring Boston back to the playoffs on his back, but as it turns out, that's going to be impossible with a defensive corps that looked atrocious even after the return of Zdeno Chara from injury Monday night. After Chara and Torey Krug, the B's have what can most optimistically be called a patchwork blue line that includes three players (Joe Morrow, Colin Miller and Kevan Miller) who have never played a full NHL season and don't appear ready to handle the opposition's top offensive talent. Even the 38-year-old Chara himself looked last year like he was clearly over the hill, and it's hard to imagine his game bouncing back to its old dominant levels. Now rumors are starting to swirl that Chara, Brad Marchand and other core Bruins are on the trade block. It's gonna get ugly in Boston.
2. The Coyotes might not be the worst team in hockey. It may be a little premature to say that they're necessarily a good team, but no one expected them to come away with wins over the Kings and Penguins in their first two games of the year. Mike Smith has been fabulous, and they've solidified the defense with Nicklas Grossman and the return of Zbynek Michalek. Still, I don't see a lot of scoring depth here even with an exciting crew of youngsters on the second line, and I question whether there's the organizational depth to deal with key injuries. This isn't a playoff team, but it's probably not a cellar dweller either.
3. The Sharks are going to be really good. I was singing the praises of new San Jose goalie Martin Jones on the final preseason edition of The Great Ones, my new hockey podcast with fellow RotoWire hockey expert Paul Bruno, and indeed, the newly Pete DeBoer-led Sharks are playing a tighter defensive system that's helped Jones – who looked fabulous in limited action as a King – look like a budding star between the pipes. This team can generate offense from each of the top three lines and it's got a defensively responsible corps of blueliners led by an offensive juggernaut in Brent Burns. There's a lot to like for Sharks fans.
Anyway, let's take a look at Tuesday's slate.
Projected Goalie Starters (all times Eastern)
Predators (Pekka Rinne) at Devils (Keith Kinkaid), 7:00 PM
Jets (Michael Hutchinson) at Rangers (Henrik Lundqvist), 7:00 PM
Canadiens (Carey Price) at Penguins (Marc-Andre Fleury), 7:00 PM
Sharks (Martin Jones) at Capitals (Braden Holtby), 7:00 PM
Panthers (Al Montoya) at Hurricanes (Eddie Lack), 7:00 PM
Lightning (Ben Bishop) at Red Wings (Jimmy Howard), 7:30 PM
Oilers (Anders Nilsson) at Stars (Kari Lehtonen), 8:30 PM
Blues (Brian Elliott) at Flames (Jonas Hiller), 9:00 PM
Canucks (Ryan Miller) at Kings (Jhonas Enroth), 10:30 PM
For updates on the projected goalies later in the day, check out our Projected Goalies Grid.
Injury News For Teams Playing Tuesday
New Jersey Devils
Cory Schneider, G (personal) – Away for birth of child; won't play Tuesday
John Moore, D (arm) – Game-time call Tuesday
Patrik Elias, LW (knee) – On non-roster injured list
Winnipeg Jets
Dustin Byfuglien, D (leg) – Injured late in Monday's game; Tuesday status unclear
New York Rangers
None, and let's keep it that way.
Montreal Canadiens
Zack Kassian, RW (suspension) – Remains suspended without pay indefinitely
Michael Bournival, C (concussion) – Lingering on IR; no clear timeline
Pittsburgh Penguins
Pascal Dupuis, RW (lower body) – Out at least another three weeks
Eric Fehr, RW (elbow) – Working out as he attempts to return from offseason surgery
San Jose Sharks
Raffi Torres, LW (suspension) – Only 38 more games to go!
Melker Karlsson, C (undisclosed) – Hasn't appeared yet; return doesn't sound imminent
Washington Capitals
Nicklas Backstrom, C (hip) – Taking light contact in practice
Tom Wilson, RW (leg) – Injured Saturday
Florida Panthers
None
Carolina Hurricanes
Victor Rask, C (undisclosed) – Hurt Saturday, but no big deal; should be in Tuesday
James Wisniewski, D (knee) – Out six months
Riley Nash, C (shoulder) – Will miss 10-to-14 days
Tampa Bay Lightning
Cedric Paquette, C (leg) – Didn't return Monday; Tuesday status unclear
Andrei Vasilevskiy, G (blood clot) – Working out as he recovers from surgery
Detroit Red Wings
Danny DeKeyser, D (foot) – Skated before practice Monday
Pavel Datsyuk, C (ankle) – On IR; out into November
Darren Helm, LW (shoulder) – Skating on fourth line in practice; close to return
Edmonton Oilers
Jordan Eberle, RW (shoulder) – Out first month or so
Dallas Stars
Brett Ritchie, RW (wrist) – Practicing with non-contact jersey
St. Louis Blues
Patrik Berglund, C - Berglund (shoulder) has been placed on long-term injured reserve. (10/7/2015)
Robby Fabbri, C - Fabbri is out indefinitely with his concussion injury, Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. (10/12/2015)
Calgary Flames
Ryan Culkin, D (shoulder) – Out another 2-to-4 weeks
Joe Colborne, C (thumb) – Week-to-week
T.J. Brodie, D (hand) – Out about another 1-to-3 weeks
Ladislav Smid, D (neck) – Traveling with team and skating, but return unclear
Vancouver Canucks
Chris Higgins, LW (foot) – Out 4-to-6 weeks
Jacob Markstrom, G (lower body) – Could be back sooner than initial three-week projection
Los Angeles Kings
Dwight King, LW (foot) – Out 8-to-10 weeks with broken bone
Hot
Oscar Lindberg, C, NYR – Lindberg's been a bit overlooked as a prospect despite a track record of generating offense both in Sweden and in the AHL, where he set new career bests with 28 goals and 56 points last year. Now the 23-year-old is the center of the Rangers' third line, and he's tied for the NHL lead in goals so far with four after a three-game scoring streak to start the year. Obviously, that won't persist, but Lindberg's shown a Johnny-on-the-spot sort of knack for being in the right place at the right time – which is usually right in front of the net mouth. He's no threat to displace Derek Stepan or Derrick Brassard on the top two lines, but the young Swede has shown great chemistry with his countryman Viktor Stalberg and J.T. Miller on the third trio, and it wouldn't be surprising to see the team look for ways to work him in on the power play.
Justin Abdelkader, RW, DET – The encore to Abdelkader's Opening Night hat trick was a goal, an assist and four PIM in Carolina the very next evening, giving the 28-year-old five points in two games to start the year. That's well worth taking note of after Abdelkader broke out for 23 goals and 44 points last year, dwarfing his previous career highs. Right now, he's skating on the top unit with Henrik Zetterberg, and while the center position is in flux on that line until Pavel Datsyuk gets back, it's hard not to like that position. The question is, having reached the level of, say, a Troy Brouwer, can Abdelkader reach past and become a cheap version of David Backes? Tuesday's game against the Lightning should help us learn some more about what the Michigander can bring to the table.
Cold
Jonathan Quick, G, LA – This season's gotten off to a disastrous start for Quick, who's given up nine goals in two games and looked bad doing it. That has us speculating on a Jhonas Enroth start Tuesday, though that hasn't been confirmed yet. The Kings have too much talent, particularly on the blue line, to struggle like this, but Quick might post shaky stats while he waits for the chemistry to come together ahead of him.
Recommended Pickup
Vincent Trocheck, C, FLA – Expected to occupy a third-line assignment coming into the year, Trocheck's certainly played a lot more minutes than your average third-liner – he's averaged 17:28 in the first two games this year, and he rewarded the Panthers with a four-point effort on Opening Night. While he wasn't able to put together an encore Monday against the Flyers, this is a terrifically talented 22-year-old who's got the opportunity to work his way into a consistently large role with the up-and-coming Panthers. A stud in the OHL, he concluded his junior career with a 109-point season, and after cutting his teeth in the AHL, Trocheck managed to pick up 22 points in 50 games with the Panthers last year despite typically limited minutes and almost no power-play time. The kid looks dangerous and poised for a big-time growth year, and the cost of investment is nothing more than a free-agent pickup.
