This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
Around the Rink
Connor McDavid is back! After missing 37 games with an injury, he has returned. It won't get the Edmonton Oilers into the playoffs, but it's exciting at least. Heading into the year, the general consensus was that McDavid, the most gushed over prospect since Sidney Crosby, would win the Calder. That's not going to happen now, unless Artemi Panarin suffers a long-term injury of his own (and here's hoping that doesn't happen). However, he could still find himself making a real impact.
There are, after Tuesday night's game, 31 games left in Edmonton's season. Before his injury, McDavid was averaging 0.92 points per game, the best rate of any rookie in the NHL. Now, on the one hand he has to shake off rust from his injury. On the other hand, the Oilers are playing better now, offensively, than they were early in the year. Jordan Eberle is healthy now. Leon Draisaitl really took off. All in all, maybe McDavid will break even, or get close to it. The supreme talent is still there.
Based on that, it seems likely that McDavid will at least get over 50 points. If he can do that, he'll end up in the top five in rookie points. For a kid who missed almost half the season, that wouldn't be too shabby. He won't get a Calder, but it would bode well for a future Art Ross.
(As I post this, Edmonton-Columbus is in the second period, and McDavid has a goal and an assist. So far, so good.)
Projected Goalie Starters (all times Eastern)
Sabres (Robin Lehner) at Canadiens (Ben Scrivens), 7:00 PM
Red Wings (Petr Mrazek*) at Lightning (Ben Bishop), 8:00 PM
Hurricanes (Eddie Lack) at Flames (Karri Ramo*), 9:30 PM
For updates on the projected goalies later in the day, check out our Projected Goalies Grid.
Injury News For Teams Playing Wednesday
Sabres
Nicolas Deslauriers, LW (lower-body) – Expected to return Wednesday
Tyler Ennis, LW (upper-body) – Return not imminent
Josh Gorges, D (upper-body) – Expected to return Wednesday
Cody McCormick, C (blood clots) – No timetable for return
Sam Reinhart, C (concussion) – Day-to-day
Canadiens
Paul Byron, C (lower-body) – On injured reserve
Daniel Carr, LW (knee) – Out three months
Carey Price, G (leg) – Could be out 3-4 weeks
Red Wings
Johan Franzen, RW (concussion) – On injured reserve
Niklas Kronwall, D (knee) – On long-term injured reserve
Drew Miller, LW (lower-body) – Out 4-6 months
Lightning
Joel Vermin, RW (hand) – Out two weeks
Hurricanes
Brett Pesce, D (lower-body) – On injured reserve
James Wisniewski, D (knee) – On injured reserve
Flames
Joe Colborne, C (undisclosed) – Day-to-day
Josh Jooris, C (undisclosed) – Day-to-day
Dennis Wideman, D (suspension) – Suspended indefinitely
Hot
Sidney Crosby, C, PIT – For the purposes of this particular article, "hot" means "had a great game Tuesday." Since it has been so long since these teams have been in action, it felt a little dubious to include games played over a week ago. The entire point is striking while the iron is, well, hot. Crosby had a huge game Tuesday, notching a hat trick and added an assist against the Senators. Remember when people were worried about his slow start? Well he has 20 goals now, and 25 assists. He's almost at a point a game pace again. And, for what it's worth, he was playing great before the All-Star break.
Jonathan Huberdeau, C, FLA – Huberdeau lit the lamp twice and added an assist versus the Capitals on Tuesday. Sure, Braden Holtby had the night off, but it was still a great game. This only gives Huberdeau 10 goals on the season, but he also has 27 assists, so his playmaking has been strong. He's been, perhaps, a bit disappointing for a former third overall pick, but he's also only 22. It would not be surprising to see him take his game to another level.
Cold
Zach Parise, LW, MIN – Parise picked up where he left off before the All-Star break, going scoring, and going minus-2 against the Islanders. He has one point in his last eight games, and two in his last 10. He's also a minus-8 in his last six games. Parise does have 17 goals on the year, so this isn't a long-term issue, but hopefully the break did him well. So far, though, that's not the case.
Craig Anderson, G, OTT – Anderson did post a shutout against the Rangers, but aside from that, three of his last four games have gone poorly. On Tuesday, he made 38 saves, but that came on 44 shots, when means he let in six goals. He's let in at least three goals in his three non-shutout games, and in one of those games he let in three goals on seven shots. Anderson has a sub-.900 save percentage in his last seven games, so Ottawa will have to hope he picks up the pace.
Recommended Pickup
Brian Campbell, D, FLA – When Campbell was brought into Florida, it was so he could be a veteran presence on a team that was rebuilding for a better day. Well, now that better day is here, and Campbell, while an older player, still has some spring in his step. Or, rather, in his skate. This season, Campbell has 19 points, he's a plus-16, and he's playing over 21 minutes a game. He's still a puck mover who plays a ton, and with better talent around him, and the Panthers have plenty of real talent now, that bodes well for his fantasy potential, even at his advanced (for an NHL player) age.
