This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
Anthony Duclair has been one of the most disappointing players in the league. After scoring 20 goals and 44 points last year, Duclair has skidded out of the gate with just a single goal and four points through the first 21 games of the season.
It's easy to throw the sophomore-slump tag at Duclair, but it isn't like an alien stole his talent. Radim Vrbata entered the fold and stole a lot of his offensive ice time. Last year, Duclair's three most common linemates at five-on-five were Martin Hanzal, Tobias Rieder and Max Domi. Vrbata's two most common five-on-five linemates this year are Hanzal and Domi.
Add inferior linemates to Duclair's average of just 13:26 of ice per game (14:23 in 2015-16), and you've got the recipe for an underwhelming campaign. On deep offensive teams, Duclair might have been able to overcome the short end of the stick, but Arizona is averaging just 2.33 goals per game.
Low-scoring teams don't offer much fantasy upside, and Vrbata's return to the desert cut into a chunk of Duclair's potential. Unless the sophomore earns a larger role, it's unlikely Duclair is fantasy relevant in most settings for the remainder of the season.
Featured Matchups
Stars (PP: 15, PK: 29) at Penguins (PP: 11, PK: 26), 7:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Kari Lehtonen (4-7-3, 3.28, .885), Marc-Andre Fleury (6-5-3, 3.38, .901)
Key Injuries:Ales Hemsky (hip), Jiri Hudler (illness), Johnny Oduya (lower body), Chris Kunitz (undisclosed), Derrick Pouliot (undisclosed),
The Penguins allowed five goals to the Islanders Wednesday, and now draw the offensively capable Stars on the wrong end of back-to-back games. Fleury has allowed three goals or more in six of his past seven appearances with just one win, a .892 save percentage and a 3.84 GAA. Still, after pacing the NHL in goals (3.23 per game) last year, Dallas' 2.54 tallies per night this season check out as the 16th-ranked offense. Fantasy owners would be remiss to overlook the impact multiple injuries had to the underwhelming start, though.
This game features plenty of star power, and the Penguins are averaging a league-leading 33.9 shots per game. This bout has the potential to be a high-event, fast-paced game, which is typically the perfect scenario for fantasy results. Pittsburgh paces the league in scoring chances per 60 minutes (25.85), and Dallas ranks eighth (21.55), after all. With the Stars as healthy as they've been all season, Dallas now has a top-heavy attack and should begin to improve offensively as a team going forward.
Lightning (PP: 3, PK: 12) at Blues (PP: 7, PK: 3), 8:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Ben Bishop (7-8-0, 3.04, .902), Jake Allen (11-3-3, 2.39, .911)
Key Injuries:Patrik Berglund (undisclosed), Alexander Steen (upper body), Ryan Callahan (lower body), Steven Stamkos (knee), Anton Stralman (upper body)
The Conference Finals losers from last year's playoffs face off Thursday, and the Lightning will look to snap a three-game losing streak at St. Louis. Unfortunately for Tampa Bay, the Blues are dominating on home ice with a 10-1-2 record, and Allen has won six straight starts with a .933 save percentage and owns a career 37-15-4 record, .924 save percentage and 1.95 GAA at the Scottrade Center. Bishop has also lost each of his past three starts with 12 goals allowed and a .878 save percentage. Still, you can never count out the Bolts.
Turning to the offensive stars in the game, Vladimir Tarasenko and Nikita Kucherov deserve mention among the top scorers in the league, and they're both entering their offensive primes. Over the past three years, Tarasenko and Kucherov rank fifth and sixth in points per 60 minutes among skaters with at least 3,000 minutes with 3.12 and 3.08 marks, respectively. Not only are they elite fantasy assets, their ability to drive possession and offense is equally impressive, especially considering their age. Anyone looking for the prototypical sniper of the modern NHL needs to look no further than Tarasenko and Kucherov.
Oilers (PP: 18, PK: 2) at Jets (PP: 24, PK: 23), 8:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Cam Talbot (11-9-2, 2.56, .917), Connor Hellebuyck (9-8-0, 2.54, .915)
Key Injuries:Brandon Davidson (shoulder), Andrew Ference (hip), Joel Armia (undisclosed), Marko Dano (upper body), Shawn Matthias (lower body), Tyler Myers (lower body), Mathieu Perreault (undisclosed), Nicolas Petan (lower body)
Two exciting teams with young superstars, this could easily be the most action-packed game in the NHL on Thursday. The Oilers need to provide Connor McDavid with some offensive support, though. With the superstar on the ice at five-on-five, Edmonton has outscored opponents 24-12, but without him on the ice, they've been outscored 32-25. Overall, McDavid has contributed on 31 of Edmonton's 70 goals. Second-center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has just 10 points -- three goals -- through 24 games, which is currently the lowest points-per-game mark (0.42) of his career by a significant margin.
Winnipeg has won consecutive home games to improve to 8-4 at the MTS Centre, and Hellebuyck also owns an impressive .937 save percentage and 1.92 goals against average with seven wins and two shutouts at home. Mark Scheifele and Patrik Laine have formed a formidable one-two punch with 13 goals each, and the Jets are getting healthier with Bryan Little returning Tuesday, and Perreault potentially back Thursday. Winnipeg could easily push Edmonton's losing streak to four games by limiting McDavid to a two-point night.
Other Matchups
Hurricanes (PP: 10, PK: 1) at Bruins (PP: 20, PK: 4), 7:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Cam Ward (7-7-3, 2.29, .915), Tuukka Rask (12-4-1, 1.64, .938)
Key Injuries:Zdeno Chara (lower body), John-Michael Liles (upper body), Eddie Lack (concussion), Jordan Staal (concussion)
The Bruins (54.14) and Hurricanes (53.2) rank first and fourth in Corsi for percentage at five-on-five, respectively, and Boston allow the fewest high-danger scoring chances per 60 minutes in the league (7.42). Ward has lost three straight games, so perhaps his sterling November run -- .935 save percentage and 1.74 GAA -- has started to fizzle.
Rangers (PP: 9, PK: 6) at Sabres (PP: 5, PK: 25), 7:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Henrik Lundqvist (11-6-1, 2.40, .916), Anders Nilsson (3-2-2, 2.20, .939)
Key Injuries:Zach Bogosian (knee), Tyler Ennis (groin), Dmitry Kulikov (back), Robin Lehner (hip), Pavel Buchnevich (back), Mika Zibanejad (leg)
Jack Eichel made an immediate impact Tuesday with two power-play points, and his return boosts the fantasy value of the entire Buffalo roster. New York paces the league in goal differential (plus-29), and the Rangers' 33 points lead the Metropolitan Division. Additionally, Lundqvist isn't at his best yet, either.
Islanders (PP: 28, PK: 22) at Capitals (PP: 19, PK: 18), 7:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Jaroslav Halak (3-6-4, 3.08, .904), Braden Holtby (10-5-1, 2.18, .920)
Key Injuries:Dennis Seidenberg (jaw), Matt Niskanen (lower body), T.J. Oshie (shoulder)
Dating back to last season, the Capitals are 37-11-4 at home with an average of just 2.19 goals allowed per game. The Islanders enter with an atrocious 1-6-1 road record and haven't won consecutive games since Oct. 21 and Oct. 23. This is also a back-to-back spot for New York. After allowing 10 goals through his past three outings (3.39 GAA), Holtby is in a ripe spot for a bounce-back outing.
Flyers (PP: 2, PK: 21) at Senators (PP: 26, PK: 13), 7:30 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Steve Mason (6-8-3, 2.96, .898), Mike Condon (0-0-0, 0.00, 1.000)
Key Injuries:Craig Anderson (personal), Clarke MacArthur (concussion), Marc Methot (lower body), Bobby Ryan (hand), (knee), Brandon Manning (concussion), Michal Neuvirth (lower body)
Amazingly, Ottawa is fourth in the Eastern Conference despite a minus-1 goal differential and the 28th-ranked offense (2.26 goals per game). Philadelphia, meanwhile, is scoring 3.08 goals per night, allowing 3.25 and currently outside of a playoff spot. Still, the Flyers enter Thursday with a two-game winning streak, and Mason is coming off a 45-save win.
Panthers (PP: 21, PK: 19) at Red Wings (PP: 17, PK: 20), 7:30 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Roberto Luongo (8-6-1, 2.11, .929), Petr Mrazek (6-5-2, 2.91, .905)
Key Injuries:Andreas Athanasiou (knee), Tyler Bertuzzi (ankle), Darren Helm (upper body), Jimmy Howard (groin), Alexey Marchenko (upper body), Brendan Smith (knee), Jonathan Huberdeau (lower body), Alex Petrovic (ankle)
Talk about a mediocre duo. The Panthers and Red Wings own identical records (11-10-2), the same goal differential (minus-2) and are both 5-4-1 over their past 10 games. Additionally, Florida has scored 58 goals and allowed 60 this year, whereas Detroit has 57 tallies and 59 against. Anthony Mantha warrants an add in most leagues, as he has five points -- three goals -- and 22 shots on net through eight games since being recalled.
Devils (PP: 25, PK: 9) at Blackhawks (PP: 16, PK: 30), 8:30 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Cory Schneider (8-6-3, 2.56, .914), Corey Crawford (11-6-2, 2.23, .928)
Key Injuries:Jonathan Toews (back), Trevor van Riemsdyk (arm), Beau Bennett (leg), Taylor Hall (knee)
Home ice has been kind to the Devils (7-0-2), but New Jersey has lost three consecutive games and own a 3-7-3 road record. Schneider has also allowed three goals or more in each of his past five starts with just a single win, a .874 save percentage and a 3.58 GAA. With or without Toews, the Blackhawks should continue their home-ice dominance (9-1-2) against the reeling Devils on Thursday.
Blue Jackets (PP: 1, PK: 11) at Avalanche (PP: 21, PK: 26), 9:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Sergei Bobrovsky (12-5-2, 2.09, .930), Semyon Varlamov (5-9-0, 3.08, .904)
Key Injuries:Matt Calvert (upper body), Gabriel Landeskog (lower body)
Through 21 games, the Blue Jackets have just five regulation losses and are averaging 3.19 goals per game, which is the second most in the league. Bobrovsky has been equally impressive with a 12-5-2 record, a .930 save percentage and a 2.09 GAA. The Avalanche are allowing fewer scoring chances this season (fifth-fewest 8.84 high-danger scoring chances per game), but they're scoring just 2.24 goals per game, which is 29th in the league.
Kings (PP: 27, PK: 17) at Coyotes (PP: 29, PK: 24), 9:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Jeff Zatkoff (0-3-0, 3.39, .875), Mike Smith (4-1-2, 2.57, .928)
Key Injuries:Louis Domingue (lower body), Oliver Ekman-Larsson (upper body), Brad Richardson (leg), Brayden McNabb (collarbone), Jonathan Quick (groin)
The Kings head to the desert on the wrong end of back-to-back games, but it likely shouldn't matter. Arizona is allowing the most scoring chances per 60 minutes in the league (25.07), and the Coyotes are scoring just 2.33 goals per game. It's not an ideal recipe against Los Angeles' league-leading 54.33 Corsi for percentage.
Ducks (PP: 6, PK: 16) at Canucks (PP: 23, PK: 5), 10:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:John Gibson (7-7-3, 2.52, .912), Ryan Miller (4-8-0, 2.78, .909)
Key Injuries:Simon Despres (head), Alexander Edler (finger), Jannik Hansen (ribs), Chris Tanev (lower body)
This is a tall test for Vancouver. The Canucks are 7-4-1 at home and have won three straight games. Anaheim is also in a potential letdown spot after a big win over the league-leading Canadiens on Tuesday. Despite arguably the worst roster in the league, and currently missing key cogs on defense, the Canucks have been defying the odds and are just three points out of a playoff spot. It's going to be a drastic free fall, though, right?
Recommended Pickup
Juuse Saros, G, NAS: The Predators have back-to-back home games this weekend against New Jersey and Philadelphia. Saros should grab one of those starts. Nashville also has two more back-to-back spots in December, and veteran Pekka Rinne has already dealt with two minor injuries/illnesses this season. The Predators caught fire in November with a 9-3-2 record, 3.29 goals for and just 1.93 against per game. Saros also owns a .965 save percentage and has allowed just two goals through his first two starts this year.
