This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
Around the Rink
We know the Buffalo Sabres are bad. Like, really bad. We also know that's by design, and some of us are cool with that while others aren't. That's an argument for another day, though. This is about pointing out a potentially overlooked fact about the Sabres' awfulness this season.
We know that the Sabres have four fewer points than anybody else, a paltry 35 points in 54 games. Their minus-88 goal differential is more than 30 worse than any other team. They have 16 total wins, and a mere five on the road. This is all well and good, which is to say unwell and particularly poor. However, did you also know that Buffalo is 6-1 in shootouts? That's one of the better shootout records in the entire league.
Now, shootouts tend to be a crapshoot regressing toward a .500 record for every team, even the good ones. So the fact that such a lousy team has such a good shootout record is particularly fluky. In short, the Sabres have been bad, but if not for their unusual shootout luck, they'd be even worse. Silver linings and all that.
Projected Goalie Starters (all times Eastern)
Red Wings (Petr Mrazek*) at Penguins (Marc-Andre Fleury) 8:00
Canucks (Eddie Lack) at Blackhawks (Corey Crawford) 8:00
Capitals (Braden Holtby) at Sharks (Antti Niemi) 10:30
*Confirmed Starters
For updates on the projected goalies later in the day, check out our Projected Goalies Grid.
Injury News For Teams Playing Wednesday
Red Wings
Johan Franzen, RW (concussion) – No timetable for return.
Jimmy Howard, G (groin) – Will not play Wednesday.
Penguins
Blake Comeau, LW (wrist) – Will return Wednesday or Thursday.
Pascal Dupuis, RW (blood clot) – Out long term.
Christian Ehrhoff, D (concussion) – Out indefinitely.
Olli Maatta, D (shoulder) – Out for season.
Canucks
Kevin Bieksa, D (hand) – On injured reserve.
Nick Bonino, C (foot) – Unlikely to play Wednesday.
Frank Corrado, D (illness) – Out indefinitely.
Brad Richardson, C (ankle) – In walking boot.
Blackhawks
Trevor van Riemsdyk, D (knee) – Skating, but out indefinitely.
Kris Versteeg, RW (hand) – Likely to play Wednesday.
Capitals
John Erskine, D (neck) – Out indefinitely.
Dmitry Orlov, D (wrist) – May not play this season.
Sharks
Justin Braun, D (finger) – Out 4-6 weeks.
Mike Brown, RW (leg) – Not close to return.
Tye McGinn, LW (undisclosed) – On injured reserve.
Daniil Tarasov, RW (undisclosed) – On injured reserve.
Raffi Torres, LW (knee) – Out indefinitely.
Marc-Edouard Vlasic, D (upper-body) – On injured reserve.
Hot
Mats Zuccarello, RW, NYR – Zuccarello found the back of the net twice Tuesday against the Maple Leafs, which is nice in and of itself, but those two goals now gives Zuccarello a six game point scoring streak. Now, most of those points are assists, but those count, and he has a nice plus/minus as well. Zuccarello has proven he can play at this level, and excel, despite his size, and playing alongside Rick Nash can't hurt either.
Jonathan Huberdeau, C, FLA – Huberdeau tallied three helpers against the Ducks on Tuesday, giving his five assists in his last four games. He has no goals in that time, and he only has nine on the season, but he's already surpassed his scoring total from last season. The former third overall pick, Huberdeau looked promising his rookie year before tapering off a bit. However, he's still only 21, and maybe he will keep handing out the assists going forward.
Cold
Jeff Skinner, LW, CAR – Hey, remember when Jeff Skinner was a highly viewed prospect with a bright future? A guy that was in All-Star Games and stuff? Where did he go? Because this Skinner has zero points in his last 10 games, and 20 on the season. He's also a minus-4 in his last five games. At this point in the season, on this long of a cold streak, holding on to Skinner feels like pining for a past that may not return.
Zach Bogosian, D, WPG – Bogosian does play over 20 minutes a game, and he does have 10 penalty minutes from recent action. He also has zero points in his last 10 games and, until posting a plus-1 in his last game, he was on a six game streak of having a negative plus/minus rating. Things seem a little funky in Winnipeg right now. That's only a small part of the Bogosian concern, but there is plenty of other reason to not be interested at the moment.
Recommended Pickup
David Desharnais, C, MTL – Desharnais is on a bit of a tear, as a goal Tuesday gives him a five games point streak wherein he has tallied seven points. He's also a plus-9 in those games. Obviously, when picking up a player, you want more than a hot streak, but his overall numbers are now fairly solid. It'd be nice if Desharnais picked up more shots on goal, but he's worth a gamble, and is likely to be available in your league.
