This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
Around the Rink
Do you want a glimpse behind the scenes of my writing of these articles? Of course you do. That's why everybody always watches the bonus features on movies. Wednesday is usually a light day of games for the NHL. So I usually see who remained hot/cold on Tuesday, and I write up the goalie stuff and injury stuff for three or four games. However, this week, Thursday is Thanksgiving, and there are no NHL games. Meanwhile, there are 13 games Wednesday, and only two Tuesday. What I'm trying to say is that I don't have anything more to say in this section. Enjoy Wednesday's games, and then enjoy your (American) Thanksgiving.
Projected Goalie Starters (all times Eastern)
Predators (Carter Hutton) at Sabres (Chad Johnson), 7:00 PM
Blue Jackets (Sergei Bobrovsky) at Devils (Cory Schneider), 7:00 PM
Canadiens (Carey Price*) at Rangers (Henrik Lundqvist), 7:00 PM
Blues (Jake Allen) at Penguins (Marc-Andre Fleury), 7:00 PM
Jets (Michael Hutchinson) at Capitals (Braden Holtby), 7:00 PM
Oilers (Anders Nilsson) at Hurricanes (Cam Ward), 7:00 PM
Canucks (Ryan Miller) at Wild (Devan Dubnyk), 7:00 PM
Flyers (Steve Mason) at Islanders (Jaroslav Halak), 7:30 PM
Bruins (Tuukka Rask) at Red Wings (Petr Mrazek*), 7:30 PM
Kings (Jonathan Quick) at Lightning (Ben Bishop), 7:30 PM
Ducks (Anton Khudobin) at Coyotes (Mike Smith), 9:00 PM
Senators (Andrew Hammond) at Avalanche (Reto Berra), 9:30 PM
Blackhawks (Corey Crawford) at Sharks (Martin Jones), 10:00 PM
For updates on the projected goalies later in the day, check out our Projected Goalies Grid.
Injury News For Teams Playing Wednesday
Predators
None
Sabres
Zemgus Girgensons, C (upper-body) – Might be able to play
Evander Kane, LW (lower-body) – Did not practice Tuesday
Robin Lehner, G (ankle) – Not yet ready to return
Cody McCormick, C (illness) – On injured reserve
Mark Pysyk, D (lower-body) – Did not play Monday
Mike Weber, D (knee) – No timetable for return
Blue Jackets
Jared Boll, RW (foot) – On injured reserve
Rene Bourque, LW (undisclosed) – Will not play Wednesday
David Clarkson, RW (lower-body) – On injured reserve
Brandon Dubinsky, C (elbow) – Doubtful
Fedor Tyutin, D (nose) – Will not play Wednesday
Alexander Wennberg, C (lower-body) – Likely to play
Devils
Patrik Elias, LW (knee) – Ready to return
Tuomo Ruutu, LW (foot) – Week-to-week
David Schlemko, D (lower-body) – Day-to-day
Canadiens
Michael Bournival, C (concussion) – Return date unknown
Alexei Emelin, D (lower-body) – Could play Wednesday
Brendan Gallagher, RW (hand) – Out six weeks
Zack Kassian, RW (suspension) – Out indefinitely
Torrey Mitchell, C (lower-body) – Out 7-10 days
Devante Smith-Pelly, RW (lower-body) – Likely to play Wednesday
Rangers
None
Blues
Patrik Berglund, C (shoulder) – On injured reserve
Jaden Schwartz, LW (ankle) – Out 12 weeks
Penguins
Olli Maatta, D (upper-body) – Out at least one month
Bryan Rust, RW (arm) – Return date unknown
Jets
Grant Clitsome, D (back) – Out for season
Ondrej Pavelec, G (knee) – Likely out at least a month
Capitals
Brooks Orpik, D (lower-body) – Day-to-day
Oilers
Rob Klinkhammer, LW (lower-body) – On injured reserve
Connor McDavid, C (shoulder) – Out months
Justin Schultz, D (back) – Likely to return Friday
Hurricanes
Nathan Gerbe, LW (lower-body) – Out 4-6 weeks
Ryan Murphy, D (concussion) – Did not play Monday
Canucks
Ben Hutton, D (undisclosed) – Will miss around two weeks
Brandon Sutter, C (abdomen) – Out indefinitely
Wild
Justin Fontaine, RW (knee) – Not expected to play Wednesday
Tyler Graovac, C (hernia) – A way off from returning
Zach Parise, LW (knee) – Doubtful for this week
Marco Scandella, D (lower-body) – Likely out through weekend
Flyers
Sam Gagner, C (upper-body) – Day-to-day
Mark Streit, D (pelvis) – Out six weeks
R.J. Umberger, LW (lower-body) – Out about a week
Ryan White, RW (upper-body) – Out 2-4 weeks
Islanders
Eric Boulton, LW (lower-body) – On injured reserve
Thomas Hickey, D (leg) – Could return to action
Bruins
Chris Kelly, RW (leg) – Out 6-8 months
Kevan Miller, D (upper-body) – Will not play
David Pastrnak, LW (foot) – Off crutches, out indefinitely
Frank Vatrano, C (upper-body) – May play Wednesday
Red Wings
Johan Franzen, RW (concussion) – On injured reserve
Kyle Quincey, D (ankle) – Out three months
Kings
Matt Greene, D (upper-body) – No timetable for return
Dwight King, LW (foot) – Out a week or so
Lightning
Jonathan Drouin, C (undisclosed) – Practiced Sunday
Tyler Johnson, C (upper-body) – Practiced Sunday
Ondrej Palat, LW (lower-body) – Out 3-5 weeks
Cedric Paquette, C (undisclosed) – Practiced Sunday
Ducks
Frederik Andersen, G (illness) – Will not play Tuesday
Simon Despres, D (concussion) – Out indefinitely
Kenton Helgesen, LW (foot) – On injured reserve
Jiri Sekac, RW (ankle) – Out indefinitely
Nate Thompson, C (shoulder) – Not ready to return
Coyotes
Steve Downie, RW (upper-body) – On injured reserve
Nicklas Grossmann, D (lower-body) – Out indefinitely
Mike Smith, G (lower-body) – Did not play Saturday
Joe Vitale, C (eye) – On injured reserve
Senators
Andrew Hammond, G (head) – On injured reserve
Clarke MacArthur, LW (concussion) – Out indefinitely
Chris Phillips, D (back) – Out indefinitely
Patrick Wiercioch, D (upper-body) – Did not play Saturday
Avalanche
John Mitchell, C (oblique) – Did not play Monday
Ben Street, C (chest) – On injured reserve
Alex Tanguay, LW (knee) – Out an extend period of time
Jesse Winchester, LW (concussion) – On injured reserve
Blackhawks
Phillip Danault, C (hip) – Out indefinitely
Teuvo Taravainen, C (upper-body) – Day-to-day
Sharks
Logan Couture, C (foot) – On injured reserve
Ben Smith, RW (head) – Out indefinitely
Raffi Torres, LW (suspension) – Suspended
Hot
Brad Marchand, LW, BOS – Marchand has been on a real goal scoring streak recently. After potting two goals Monday, he has a four game goal scoring streak, and a five game point scoring streak. Also, he has 10 PIM in his last four games, and Marchand is a player who is not shy about spending time in the penalty box. When he adds scoring on top of that, and he's also a plus-6 in his last five games, he's a great fantasy option.
Henrik Sedin, C, VAN – Henik has been dishing out the assists recently. He owes a lot of that to a four helper game against the Blackhawks, but he has six assists in his last four games, and two goals as well. That gives him 21 points in 22 games, as the dynamic Swedish duo of Daniel and Henrik keep going strong.
Cold
Niklas Kronwall, D, DET – Kronwall doesn't have a single goal this season, and he only has two assists in his last seven games. He's also a minus-5 in those seven games. Most concerningly, he only has one game in his last 10 with more than one shot on goal. If he's not shooting, he's not going to score, and one has to wonder if perhaps Kronwall's age, and physical style of play, is catching up with him.
Nikolaj Ehlers, LW, WPG – The teenaged rookie generated excitement when the season began, but he's very much slowed down recently. He has only one point, an assist, in his last 10 games. The talent is still there, but being a rookie, and being 19, is difficult in the NHL. Ehlers day is yet to come.
Recommended Pickup
Brock Nelson, C, NYI – Nelson was a hot pickup early last season, and while he cooled down, he still finished with 20 goals and 42 points in only his second season. However, there was reason to wonder how legit his performance was. Well, so far, he's looking good, as he has eight goals and 14 points in 21 games. He's not getting anything from the power-play, as opposed to last year, but if he keeps this up, perhaps that will change.
