This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
Around the Rink
The most important thing to remember about the NHL season right now is that no team has played more than four games. Put away your Jump To Conclusions Mat; don't frantically shop Henrik Lundqvist or Matt Duchene or other "underperforming" stars when they start slow, and don't jump Johnny Boychuk into your top-10 list of defensemen. The beginning of the year is full of statistical noise, and we all know it going in, but then we watch the games and we get caught up in how good this guy looks now or how miserable this star's been, and we want to make rash moves. Pascal Dupuis and Eric Nystrom have more points (so far!) than Patrick Kane. So don't make rash moves.
Anyway, I'm done lecturing you now. You knew all this stuff anyway.
One of my favorite one-look-judgment stats for fantasy players is shots on goal. Shooting skills may vary, but generally speaking, if a guy's getting a lot of shots through toward the net, my feeling has been that he's going to be rewarded in the long run. In that vein, there are some players who have performed poorly in the early going – at least in terms of points – but have been active in the offensive zone, putting pucks on net, suggesting better times are to come. A few names that particularly stick out for me: James Neal (no points, minus-2, 11 shots in two games), Dustin Byfuglien (one goal, no assists, 14 shots in three games) and Ryan O'Reilly (no points, minus-3, 10 shots in three games). Neal and Byfuglien especially are interesting buy-lows if you have a trigger-happy owner in your league, as it's natural to wonder whether Neal can succeed in Nashville and whether Byfuglien can be a major producer as a full-time forward. (I think they can on both counts.)
Alright, now I'm done lecturing.
Projected Goalie Starters (all times Eastern)
Islanders (Jaroslav Halak) at Rangers (Henrik Lundqvist), 7:00
Ducks (John Gibson) at Flyers (Steve Mason), 7:00
Sharks (Antti Niemi) at Capitals (Braden Holtby), 7:00
Stars (Kari Lehtonen) at Blue Jackets (Sergei Bobrovsky), 7:00
Sabres (Jhonas Enroth) at Hurricanes (Cam Ward), 7:30
Devils (Cory Schneider) at Lightning (Evgeni Nabokov), 7:30
Avalanche (Semyon Varlamov) at Maple Leafs (Jonathan Bernier), 7:30
Flames (Karri Ramo) at Predators (Pekka Rinne), 8:00
Oilers (Ben Scrivens) at Kings (Jonathan Quick), 10:30
For updates on the projected goalies later in the day, check out our Projected Goalies Grid.
Injury News For Teams Playing Tuesday
Islanders
Calvin de Haan, D (upper body) – Could return as soon as Thursday
Michael Grabner, RW (sports hernia) – Out 4-6 weeks following last week's surgery
Rangers
Rick Nash, LW (personal) – Left Sunday's game due to birth of child; should be back for Tuesday
Mats Zuccarello, RW (shoulder) – Couldn't go Sunday, but this seems a short-term ailment
Jesper Fast, RW (arm) – Played Sunday despite reports he wouldn't; should be in Tuesday
Dan Boyle, D (hand) – Out 4-6 weeks still
Sharks
Mike Brown, RW (hand) – Left Saturday's game with injury on shot block
Capitals
Jay Beagle, RW (upper body) – Expected back this week
Tom Wilson, RW (leg) – Out at least one more game
Stars
Valeri Nichushkin, LW (groin/hip) – Left Monday's practice early; iffy for Tuesday
Blue Jackets
Ryan Murray, D (knee) – Practicing, but no return date yet
Brandon Dubinsky, C (abdomen) – Out five-plus weeks still following surgery
Boone Jenner, LW (hand) – Out another four weeks
Sabres
Marcus Foligno, LW (undisclosed) – Couldn't go Monday; seems questionable for Tuesday
Jake McCabe, D (undisclosed) – Coming up on end of one-week timeline set last week
Hurricanes
Eric Staal, C (upper body) – No concussion, but ruled out for Tuesday
Jeff Skinner, LW (concussion) – Could be back as soon as Thursday
Patrick Dwyer, RW (lower body) – Won't go Tuesday; no timetable
Devils
None
Lightning
Jonathan Drouin, C (thumb) – Didn't go again Monday; no word on Tuesday
Avalanche
Jesse Winchester, LW (concussion) – Not skating yet
Maple Leafs
David Booth, LW (lower body) – Out another two weeks yet
Flames
Jiri Hudler, RW (illness) – Back at practice; should be good to go
David Jones, RW (lower body) – Didn't practice Monday
Sam Bennett, LW (shoulder) – Having surgery this week; out 4-6 months
Predators
Viktor Stalberg, LW (lower body) – Practicing fully; seems possible for Tuesday
Oilers
Jordan Eberle, RW (undisclosed) – Day-to-day; could play Tuesday
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, C (undisclosed) – Ditto
Darnell Nurse, D (undisclosed) – Ditto again
Teddy Purcell, RW (undisclosed) – Ditto again, seriously
Kings
Jake Muzzin, D (undisclosed) – Nearing a return, but still needs clearance
Trevor Lewis, C (upper body) – Didn't play Saturday or Sunday; no word on Tuesday
Hot
Victor Hedman, D, TB – Who's leading the NHL in points (for now)? It's Hedman, who's off to a fast start in his attempt to build on his breakout 2013-14 campaign. He's scored three goals and dished out four assists in four games, with the latest hotness a four-point evening against the Habs on Monday. He won't keep up this inhuman pace, but with a healthy Steven Stamkos around, Hedman could very well improve upon last year's 55-point total and join the elite of the elite on defense.
Rick Nash, LW, NYR – Maybe all Nash needed was a fresh start and a new season, and maybe a new kid, too. His first child was born Sunday, and Nash celebrated by scoring his fourth goal in three games prior to leaving to be with his wife and newborn. Especially with Derek Stepan injured, the offense-starved Rangers truly need the 30-year-old Nash, who scored 30-plus goals in seven separate seasons with Columbus, to get back to that level in his third year on Broadway.
Cold
Alex Goligoski, D, DAL – Heavy ice time has resulted in no production so far for Goligoski, who's gone minus-5 with no points and just a single shot on goal through two games for the Stars, who have been outscored 7-3 so far. We all know Goli's better than that, as he's coming off his second career 40-plus-point campaign. But it'd sure be nice to see him shooting more.
Andrew Ladd, LW, WPG – I could pick plenty of forwards for this list, with small sample sizes making lots of good players look bad, but it's quite surprising how slow Ladd had started the year. A 54-point scorer who finished plus-8 last season, Ladd has just an assist, a minus-4 rating and six shots on goal through three games. But again, sample sizes. I'd buy low if he was offered.
Recommended Pickup
Sami Vatanen, D, ANA – A long-time favorite of mine, the 23-year-old Vatanen has started the year with three assists in three games, and though his ice time is still a little low for him to sustain that success, Vatanen may well be the Ducks' most offensively gifted defenseman – it's between him and Cam Fowler. The 2009 fourth-round pick has historically been a killer in the Finnish league (42 points in 49 games in his final season there, 2011-12) and the AHL (52 points in 70 career games), and although he's a little undersized for an NHL blueliner, his elite speed and puck-moving skills should win him plentiful power-play time, and that adds up to nice fantasy production.
