This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
It's a much busier Wednesday than usual, on account of Thursday being Thanksgiving in the United States. So I'm going to cut right to the chase and get to the games.
Featured Matchups
Penguins (PP: 4, PK: 19) at Rangers (PP: 8, PK: 7), 7:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Marc-Andre Fleury (6-4-3, 3.19, .907), Henrik Lundqvist (9-5-1, 2.27, .918)
Key Injuries:Pavel Buchnevich (back), Mika Zibanejad (leg), Patric Hornqvist (concussion), Chris Kunitz (undisclosed), Derrick Pouliot (undisclosed), Daniel Sprong (shoulder)
To say the Rangers have been the best team in the NHL this season would be an understatement. Their plus-34 goal differential is far and away the best in the league. However, they've been dealt a real blow in the loss of Zibanejad, who will be out 6-8 weeks. He had 15 points and was playing 16:41 a night. This should lead to more playing time for Kevin Hayes and Brandon Pirri. Not that Hayes needs the minutes to have fantasy value. He's tied for the team lead in points with 18. However, in terms of attention-grabbing performances, Hayes can't match Michael Grabner. Grabner is playing 12:58 a night and has scored 12 goals. Ryan McDonagh and Brady Skjei have 24 combined assists and no goals. There's less to say about the Penguins, because all the usual guys are the best performers this season. If Matt Murray and his .945 save percentage start instead of Fleury, that changes the picture.
Blues (PP: 10, PK: 2) at Capitals (PP: 18, PK: 18), 7:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Carter Hutton (2-3-0, 2.77, .900), Braden Holtby (9-4-1, 1.99, .927)
Key Injuries:Alexander Steen (undisclosed), Lars Eller (upper body), T.J. Oshie (upper body)
While Hutton isn't good, he actually isn't a huge step down from Jake Allen, although Allen started last night and played well. Colton Parayko has two assists versus Boston last night. That gives him nine points, all assists. However, he's also second on the Blues with 55 shots. We've sort of forgotten about David Perron in recent years, but he has 12 points this season now. It'll be hard for St. Louis on the second night of a back-to-back to score against the Capitals. Nicklas Backstrom has gone on a tear recently, and he now leads the Capitals with 17 points. While John Carlson is considered the top defenseman for Washington, Matt Niskanen actually has more points, nine to seven. However, neither of them has a goal.
Blackhawks (PP: 14, PK: 30) at Sharks (PP: 21, PK: 4), 10:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Corey Crawford (9-5-2, 2.34, .921), Martin Jones (9-7-1, 2.17, .915)
Key Injuries:Trevor van Riemsdyk (arm), Tomas Hertl (knee), Melker Karlsson (ankle)
The Blackhawks just can't get their penalty kill working. At least it's not hurting Crawford's overall numbers. Jones just pitched a shutout, but it was against New Jersey. The Blackhawks are tougher competition. Richard Panik's hot start proved to be just that. He has zero points in his last 10 games. Marian Hossa remains an ageless wonder. He leads Chicago with 11 goals in 19 games. Duncan Keith has yet to score a goal, but he's taken 45 shots on net, and he's got 14 assists. Brent Burns no longer leads the Sharks in points, and Joe Pavelski now has 17 to Burns' 16. Joe Thornton has 11 assists, but he's only taken 16 shots on goal, so don't expect him to light the lamp much this season at this rate. On the other hand, Logan Couture, who has only five goals on 64 shots on net, should see an uptick in scoring at some point.
Other Matchups
Jets (PP: 22, PK: 20) at Wild (PP: 20, PK: 5), 7:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Connor Hellebuyck (7-6-0, 2.62, .911), Devan Dubnyk (7-6-1, 1.59, .949)
Key Injuries:Marco Scandella (ankle), Bryan Little (lower body), Shawn Matthias (lower body), Tyler Myers (lower body), Mathieu Perreault (undisclosed), Drew Stafford (upper body)
You might think of the Jets are being a good offensive team, but that's really just about their four top forwards, and also Dustin Byfuglien. If you try and go beyond Blake Wheeler and his 14 points, good luck. Minnesota is still getting by on defense, and also Dubnyk's great goaltending.
Red Wings (PP: 17, PK: 25) at Sabres (PP: 7, PK: 22), 7:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Jimmy Howard (4-5-0, 1.85, .940), Robin Lehner (5-7-2, 2.49, .920)
Key Injuries:Zach Bogosian (knee), Jack Eichel (ankle), Tyler Ennis (groin), Dmitry Kulikov (back), Ryan O'Reilly (oblique), Andreas Athanasiou (knee), Darren Helm (upper body), Tomas Jurco (back), Alexey Marchenko (upper body), Joe Vitale (concussion)
Both of these teams are really struggling this season, especially when it comes to scoring. The injuries to both teams aren't helping. They both have two goalies playing well. Expect a low scoring game, not there are a lot of Wings and Sabres you want to be using for your fantasy team right now.
Maple Leafs (PP: 9, PK: 10) at Devils (PP: 28, PK: 13), 7:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Jhonas Enroth (0-2-0, 4.40, .866), Cory Schneider (7-5-2, 2.27, .923)
Key Injuries:Michael Cammalleri (personal), Taylor Hall (knee), Kyle Palmieri (upper body), Joffrey Lupul (abdomen)
Toronto has a lot of offensive talent but can't stop anybody from scoring. The Devils are good at goal prevention but can't score especially if both Hall and Palmieri are out. Don't bet against Toronto's young guns entirely, but don't expect too much from, say, Travis Zajac and P.A. Parenteau in return.
Flames (PP: 30, PK: 29) at Blue Jackets (PP: 1, PK: 13), 7:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Brian Elliott (3-9-0, 3.43, .882), Sergei Bobrovsky (10-4-1, 2.19, .931)
Key Injuries:Johnny Gaudreau (finger), Kris Versteeg (groin)
This is a study in special teams contrasts. Chad Johnson might end up starting over Elliott, but his .911 save percentage is not terribly exciting. It's just not terrible. The Jackets have a lot of good, under-the-radar performers, but it's Nick Foligno and his 18 points that leads the team. Seth Jones is back for Columbus, which makes them even stronger.
Flyers (PP: 3, PK: 27) at Lightning (PP: 2, PK: 9), 7:30 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Anthony Stolarz, Ben Bishop (7-6-0, 2.80, .908)
Key Injuries:Michal Neuvirth (lower body), Steven Stamkos (knee), Anton Stralman (upper body)
Will Stolarz actually get his first NHL start? It would make sense, considering the Flyers played Tuesday night, and Steve Mason has been awful this season. You know who hasn't been terrible? Andrei Vasilevskiy. Now that he's qualified, his .953 save percentage leads the NHL. Could he possibly end up taking the starting job from Bishop? It's not inconceivable.
Stars (PP: 13, PK: 26) at Predators (PP: 6, PK: 13), 8:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Kari Lehtonen (4-5-3, 3.31, .889), Pekka Rinne (7-5-3, 2.04, .933)
Key Injuries:Ales Hemsky (hip), Jiri Hudler (illness), Mattias Janmark (knee), (lower body), Roman Josi (head)
You look at Nashville's power play, Dallas' penalty kill, and Lehtonen's numbers, and you get excited about the Predators' opportunity in this game. Not having Josi would hurt, but P.K. Subban has seven power-play points. John Klingberg was a healthy scratch in Dallas' last game. He'll likely be back, but will he get his season turned around?
Oilers (PP: 15, PK: 6) at Avalanche (PP: 16, PK: 24), 10:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Cam Talbot (10-7-1, 2.47, .920), Semyon Varlamov (5-8-0, 2.92, .907)
Key Injuries:Gabriel Landeskog (lower body), Mark Fayne (undisclosed), Andrew Ference (hip)
Varlamov's overall numbers are bad, but he hasn't let in more than two goals in four of his last five games. Neither Nathan MacKinnon nor Matt Duchene have a power-play goal, but Duchene has seven in 14 games, so you can't complain much. Connor McDavid has 24 points in 20 games. He is great at hockey.
Canucks (PP: 26, PK: 13) at Coyotes (PP: 24, PK: 28), 10:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Ryan Miller (2-7-0, 2.92, .899), Mike Smith (2-0-1, 2.59, .922)
Key Injuries:Alex Goligoski (illness), Brad Richardson (leg), Derek Dorsett (shoulder), Jannik Hansen (ribs), Chris Tanev (lower body)
Ugh. That's the one word for this game. There's nothing exciting about it. The goalies aren't very good. The power plays are bad. Anthony Duclair has not joined his fellow young Coyotes in having success this season. He's only got three points. Bo Horvat has six goals, but he also has a 21.4 shooting percentage.
Islanders (PP: 27, PK: 23) at Kings (PP: 25, PK: 21), 10:30 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Thomas Greiss (2-3-0, 2.71, .909), Peter Budaj (10-6-1, 2.11, .915)
Key Injuries:Marian Gaborik (foot), Anze Kopitar (upper body), Brayden McNabb (collarbone), Jonathan Quick (groin), Mikhail Grabovski (concussion), Dennis Seidenberg (jaw)
The Islanders played Anaheim on Tuesday, which means Greiss likely getting the start. He's not really a step down from Jaroslav Halak, but the Islanders have been struggling this season almost to a man. Only John Tavares and Brock Nelson have at least five goals and double-digit points. Jeff Carter has really been picking it up recently, and now he has 17 points. Meanwhile, Nic Dowd has 10 points in 18 games for the Kings. He's a 26-year-old who came into this season with five games of NHL experience, so don't expect too much.
Recommended Pickup
Viktor Arvidsson, RW, NAS – Arvidsson is quietly enjoying a breakout season in Nashville. While the Predators got some attention for trading for P.K. Subban, apparently it didn't bring enough of a spotlight to get people noticing Arvidsson. In 18 games, he's almost already surpassed his career numbers with six goals and five assists. Now, this may make you think "This guy is a fluke." However, don't be so sure. Arvidsson has taken 58 shots on goal. He's truly involved in the offense, and he's playing almost 15 minutes a night. This guy looks like he has truly emerged as a top six forward for the Predators.
