This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
If you're not watching the Wild play, you might have missed how well the Mikko Koivu, Nino Niederreiter and Jason Zucker line have been playing. Through 10 games that trio has combined for nine goals and 16 assists.
It's not just the point though, it's the underlying numbers as well. They're taking 63.16% of the on-ice shot attempts when they're on the ice together (Corsi For percentage or CF%). That's the best CF% of any line in the NHL who has played at least 60 minutes together. It's early in the season still, but that's not insignificant when you're looking for depth value in your league.
They're getting the third most shot attempts per 60 minutes of even strength play of any line and they're suppressing shots better than any other line with just 38.52 shots attempts against per 60 minutes of even strength play. No other line is in the 30s.
While Koivu is widely owned, both on reputation and putting up 11 points in the first 10 games, Niederreiter and Zucker are out there in a lot of leagues. They're both valuable players who have a track record of putting up points with room to grow this year. But there's increased value in knowing how strong this line has been.
Projected Goalie Starters (all times Eastern)
For updates on the projected goalies later in the day, check our Projected Goalies Grid
Islanders (Jaroslav Halak) at Devils (Cory Schneider), 1:00 PM
Sharks (Martin Jones) at Stars (Antti Niemi), 3:00 PM
Predators (Pekka Rinne) at Kings (Jonathan Quick), 4:00 PM
Penguins (Marc-Andre Fleury) at Maple Leafs (Jonathan Bernier), 7:00 PM
Red Wings (Petr Mrazek) at Senators (Craig Anderson), 7:00 PM
Bruins (Jonas Gustavsson) at Lightning (Ben Bishop), 7:00 PM
Capitals (Philipp Grubauer) at Panthers (Roberto Luongo), 7:00 PM
Jets (Ondrej Pavelec) at Blue Jackets (Curtis McElhinney), 7:00 PM
Wild (Devan Dubnyk) at Blues (Jake Allen), 8:00 PM
Flames (Joni Ortio) at Oilers (Cam Talbot), 10:00 PM
Injury News For Teams Playing Saturday
New York Islanders
Thomas Hickey, D (lower body) - will miss at least a month
Ryan Strome, C (illness) - didn't practice Friday
Eric Boulton, LW (lower body) - is on injured reserve
New Jersey Devils
Tuomo Ruutu, LW (foot) - is out four to six weeks
Patrik Elias, LW (knee) - is skating on his own and making progress in his rehab, but still has no timetable for a return
San Jose Sharks
Raffi Torres, LW (suspension) - continues to serve his 41-game suspension
Logan Couture, C (foot) - is on IR
Dallas Stars
Brett Ritchie, RW (wrist) - has returned to the ice
Curtis McKenzie, LW (lower body) - is expected to be sidelined for the next couple weeks
Patrick Eaves, RW (lower body) - remains out
Travis Moen, LW (upper body) - is on IR
Los Angeles Kings
Matt Greene, D (upper body) - was placed on injured reserve last Friday
Dwight King, LW (foot) - could miss a couple weeks
Pittsburgh Penguins
Eric Fehr, RW (elbow) - is getting closer, but has no timetable for a return still
Bryan Rust, RW (arm) - remains out
Toronto Maple Leafs
Stephane Robidas, D (groin) - has no timetable to return to practice
Nick Spaling, C (undisclosed) - was placed on IR on Friday
Scott Harrington, D (upper body) - did not play Friday
Detroit Red Wings
Brad Richards, C (back) - is on IR
Pavel Datsyuk, C (ankle) - returned to practice but is not ready to return
Mike Green, D (upper body) - will miss a couple weeks
Kyle Quincey, D (concussion) - will be out for a bit
Johan Franzen, RW (concussion) - is out and unlikely to return soon
Ottawa Senators
Mike Hoffman, LW (lower body) - did not play Friday
Curtis Lazar, C (concussion) - is "progressing," but remains out of the Senators' lineup, and did not play Friday
Clarke MacArthur, LW (concussion) - is not ready to return to the lineup
Chris Phillips, D (back) - remains out
Boston Bruins
Dennis Seidenberg, D (back) - skated on Thursday
Joonas Kemppainen, C (undisclosed) - did not play Friday
Tampa Bay Lightning
Cedric Paquette, C (ankle) - is considered doubtful
Mitchell Stephens, C (foot) - is out indefinitely
Tyler Johnson, C (undisclosed) - is considered questionable for Saturday
Jonathan Drouin, C (undisclosed) - is doubtful for Saturday's game
Washington Capitals
Chris Brown, C (hand) - remains out
Florida Panthers
Aleksander Barkov, C (hand) - will miss a couple weeks, but won't require surgery
Jaromir Jagr, RW (hamstring) - missed Friday's game
Winnipeg Jets
Grant Clitsome, D (back) - will not play this season
Columbus Blue Jackets
Brandon Saad, LW (illness) - did not play Friday
Minnesota Wild
Justin Fontaine, RW (lower body) - took a knee-to-knee hit on Friday and is unlikely to play on Saturday
Tyler Graovac, C (lower body) - is not close to ready, it was reported on Friday
St. Louis Blues
Colton Parayko, D (undisclosed) - missed practice on Friday and is questionable for Saturday
Scottie Upshall, LW (undisclosed) - should return on Saturday
Paul Stastny, C (foot) - is out
Patrik Berglund, C (shoulde) - is on long-term injured reserve
Kevin Shattenkirk, D (upper body) - is questionable for Saturday
Jaden Schwartz, LW (ankle) will miss at least another couple months
Calgary Flames
Jonas Hiller, G (lower body) - will miss at least a week
Lance Bouma, C (broken fibula) - is out for a while
Micheal Ferland, LW (knee) - is on IR
Edmonton Oilers
Griffin Reinhart, D (undisclosed) - could return on Saturday
Rob Klinkhammer, LW (lower body) - has been placed on IR
Matt Hendricks, LW (foot) - could return in as few as 3-to-4 days in the best-case scenario
Jordan Eberle, RW (shoulder) - is on long-term injured reserve
Justin Schultz, D (back) - is out for a few weeks
Lauri Korpikoski, LW (head) - is out
Hot
Ryan O'Reilly, C, BUF — The 24-year-old center is coming into his own and has been about as hot as anyone in the league despite playing on a team that isn't renowned for their goal-scoring prowess. In the last five games he has three goals and seven assists with 12 shots. He's also played over 20 minutes in four of those five games.
Bobby Ryan, RW, OTT — Bobby Ryan's struggles have become nearly legendary. He was struggling to the point that Teemu Selannewas texting him pointers to snap out of the slump. Now, Ryan has two goals and two assists with a plus-1 rating and 14 shots in the last three games. Maybe there's hope that the slump has passed.
Cold
Daniel Winnik, C, TOR — With four points in his first four games and solid possession stats, Winnik looked like he could be a player with depth value. But since that run, he has no points and has only registered a shot in three of those five games. He's been inconsistent and just isn't producing.
Tyson Barrie, D, COL — Barrie's offensive skill is top level and he has the ability to really light things up from the blue line, but he hasn't shown that yet this year. Through seven games he has no goals and two assists. It's a disappointing start for a player that went pretty high in many drafts. The hardest thing about believing that he'll snap the slump is that the Avalanche have been really bad so far this year.
Recommended Pickup
Jason Zucker, RW, MIN — Like was discussed earlier, Zucker is having an incredible start to the season. His ownership levels are in the 30% range and that's crazy low for a guy who had the second highest even strength goal scoring rate in the NHL last year. In terms of points, he only posted five assists last year, which dragged his value down. This season, he already has six assists and has put up two goals and four assists in the last five games. He's also put up a plus-4 rating and 15 shots in that span. Zucker is on fire and has the potential to be more than a fill-in pick up.
