This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
Around the Rink
There was an interesting bit of hockey news that came out recently, and it's not related to the NHL. The KHL has announced that, next season, they will be adding a team in Beijing. Yes, the second biggest professionally hockey league in the world has put down stakes in China.
Most people, at least in these United States, probably think of the KHL as that league where guys like Alexander Semin end up. The league is kind of an intriguing mystery, though, even if the level of play is somewhat marginal. The league is primarily made out of Russian teams, covering the vast expanse of the country, but they have a few other teams here and there. Jokerit Helsinki, longtime holder of the best logo in hockey, are in the KHL now, and there are teams from Kazakhstan, Belarus, Latvia, and some others.
However, the move into Europe didn't really pan out for the league. Money has always been tight in the KHL, and the league has been plagued by corner cutting and overall sketchiness. Lev Prague folded even though they had league record crowds last year. While hockey doesn't have much of a foothold in the country of China, they have a huge population, and plenty of money to pour into sports. Plus, Beijing is hosting the 2022 Winter Olympics, which means their hockey team will be involved, and China does not like to see their sports teams languish and flounder.
Will hockey take in Beijing? Will it lead to more KHL teams in China? Most importantly, can't Ilya Kovalchuk come back to the NHL? It was fun having him around.
Projected Goalie Starters (all times Eastern)
Senators (Craig Anderson) at Capitals (Braden Holtby), 7:00 PM
Penguins (Jeff Zatkoff) at Bruins (Tuukka Rask), 8:00 PM
For updates on the projected goalies later in the day, check out our Projected Goalies Grid.
Injury News For Teams Playing Wednesday
Senators
Clarke MacArthur, LW (concussion) – No timetable for return
Milan Michalek, LW (finger) – On injured reserve
Chris Phillips, D (back) – May retire soon
Capitals
Brooks Orpik, D (lower-body) – Will be out a long time
Penguins
Beau Bennett, RW (shoulder) – Expected to miss time
Marc-Andre Fleury, G (concussion) – Out 1-2 weeks
Kris Letang, D (undisclosed) – Will miss around two weeks
Bruins
Chris Kelly, RW (leg) – Out 6-8 months
Joonas Kemppainen, C (upper-body) – On injured reserve
David Pastrnak, LW (foot) – Skating, out indefinitely
Hot
Jeff Skinner, LW, CAR – Remember when Skinner seemed like one of the bright young things in hockey? He scored 31 goals as a rookie, and the sky looked to be the limit. While his stock has certainly gone down, he did score 33 goals two seasons ago and, at the moment, he seems like he could be hitting the 30-goal plateau again. Tuesday, Skinner picked up his second hat trick in three games, and he has a five game point streak. He has 14 goals in 31 games. Needless to say, that's a 30-goal pace.
Nikita Kucherov, RW, TAM – The "Triplets" have lost the luster they gained last year, with injury playing a part of that, but that doesn't mean a guy like Kucherov isn't still generating fantasy value. He lit the lamp and added an assist on Tuesday against Toronto, giving him six points in his last six games, including five goals. While his assist totals are down, he's actually on pace to score more goals than the 28 he has last year.
Cold
Tomas Hertl, C, SAN – Hertl missed Tuesday's game with a lower-body injury, but the Sharks didn't necessarily miss him. He only has two points, both assists, over his last six games, and he is a minus-6 in that time. On the season he does have 10 assists on the season, which is solid, but he only has three goals, and only one in his last nine games. Being banged up certainly isn't going to help him right the ship.
Alex Pietrangelo, D, STL – Pietrangelo isn't going to garner the Norris votes he has in the past with the way this season is going. He was held without a point against Tuesday, making that nine games in a row where he hasn't factored into the scoring. He's also a minus-4 in that time. He's still playing a ton of minutes, and his track record is impeccable, but, it has been a tough season for Pietrangelo so far.
Recommended Pickup
Valeri Nichushkin, RW, DAL – Nichushkin got preseason Calder buzz as a rookie, but he ended up being perceived as a disappointment, even though he scored 14 goals and 38 points as an 18-year-old. Last year was wiped out with injury, but now, finally, he's getting a chance to build some career momentum, and, oh yeah, he's still only 20. Nichushkin has 13 points in 29 games and is a plus-6. By no means is he a star, but the talent everybody saw is still there, and playing for Dallas gives him a great opportunity to make use of it.
