This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
It begins tonight.
Ryan Johansen will be in Predators gold as they visit Colorado while Seth Jones will be decked in navy and red as the Blue Jackets visit Carolina. It's going to be an interesting day for the two expansion era franchises, both who addressed their most glaring franchise needs in one fell swoop.
The Preds get that elite No. 1 center they've always wanted. The BJ's get that No. 1 defenseman they've always wanted. But will it pan out that way? It'll be impossible to decide who won the deal until years down the road.
At least on Friday everyone will get their first taste. How will Johansen respond now that he doesn't have John Tortorella breathing down his neck? And now that he has skilled wingers like Filip Forsberg and James Neal, how much damage offensively can he do? How will playing with proven vets like Mike Fisher and Shea Weber change Johansen?
For Columbus, is Jones ready to be the No. 1 guy? Just how good is he without Weber and Roman Josi taking all the toughest minutes? And how will he respond to Tortorella? Can he help elevate Jack Johnson's game?
Stay tuned.
Projected Goalie Starters (all times Eastern)
For updates on the projected goalies later in the day, check our Projected Goalies Grid
Bruins (Tuukka Rask) at Devils (Cory Schneider), 7:00 PM
Blue Jackets (Joonas Korpisalo) at Hurricanes (Cam Ward), 7:00 PM
Sabres (Linus Ullmark) at Blackhawks (Corey Crawford), 8:30 PM
Predators (Pekka Rinne) at Avalanche (Semyon Varlamov), 9:00 PM
Lightning (Ben Bishop) at Oilers (Cam Talbot), 9:00 PM
Blues (Jake Allen) at Ducks (John Gibson), 10:00 PM
Injury News For Teams Playing Friday
Boston Bruins
Chris Kelly, LW (fractured femur) – no return date set.
David Krejci, C (upper body) – will not play.
Adam McQuaid, D (upper body) – will not play; placed on injured reserve.
Brad Marchand, LW (suspension) – will not play; serving final game of three-game suspension.
New Jersey Devils
John Moore, D (lower body) – suffered injury Wednesday; questionable.
David Schlemko, D (lower body) – did not play Wednesday; questionable.
Tyler Kennedy, LW (upper body) – did not play Wednesday; questionable.
Jacob Josefson, C (lower body) – will not play; placed on injured reserve.
Patrik Elias, LW (knee) – no return date set.
Michael Cammalleri, LW (upper body) – no return date set.
Columbus Blue Jackets
Markus Hannikainen, RW (shoulder) – skated Thursday; questionable.
Matt Calvert, LW (sprained knee) – out four weeks.
Sergei Bobrovsky, G (groin) – no return date set.
David Clarkson, RW (upper body) – no return date set; placed on injured reserve.
Curtis McElhinney, G (ankle) – no return date set; placed on injured reserve.
Carolina Hurricanes
Victor Rask, C (upper body) – suffered injury Wednesday and did not return; questionable.
Phil Di Giuseppe, LW (concussion) – no return date set.
Nathan Gerbe, LW (lower body) – no return date set.
James Wisniewski, D (torn ACL) – out indefinitely.
Buffalo Sabres
Cody McCormick, C (blood clots) – no timetable for return.
Tyler Ennis, LW (upper body) – no return date set.
Nicolas Deslauriers, LW (lower body) – no return date set.
Robin Lehner, G (high ankle sprain) – on conditioning assignment in AHL.
Mark Pysyk, D (foot) – on conditioning assignment in AHL.
Chicago Blackhawks
Marcus Kruger, C (wrist) – no return date set; placed on injured reserve.
Nashville Predators
Gabriel Bourque, LW (upper body) – did not play Tuesday; questionable.
Colorado Avalanche
Brad Stuart, D (leg) – no timetable for return.
Erik Johnson, D (lower body) – no return date set.
Jesse Winchester, LW (concussion) – no return date set.
Ben Street, C (chest) – no return date set.
Reto Berra, G (ankle) – no return date set.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Ryan Callahan, RW (lower body) – practiced Thursday; questionable.
Edmonton Oilers
Oscar Klefbom, D (finger) – no return date set.
Andrew Ference, D (undisclosed) – no return date set.
Nail Yakupov, RW (ankle) – will travel on road trip; no return date set.
Iiro Pakarinen, RW (undisclosed) – participated in practice; no return date set.
Connor McDavid, C (collarbone) – took line rushes Wednesday; no return date set.
St. Louis Blues
Jaden Schwartz, LW (ankle) – no return date set.
Steve Ott, C (hamstring) – out three months.
Anaheim Ducks
Cam Fowler, D (sprained knee) – out 3-5 months.
Simon Despres, D (concussion) – no timetable for return.
John Gibson, G (lower body) – practiced Thursday; game-time decision.
Hot
Kris Letang, D, PIT – Mike Sullivan seems to have breathed a little life into Letang, who has nine points in his past four games. The Penguins still can't string wins together consistently, but he's working his way back to elite status again.
Matt Duchene, C, COL – The lone Avs representative for the upcoming NHL All-Star Game is certainly playing like one with three goals in his past five games. It's still bizarre how much his ice time fluctuates from game to game, playing less than 18 minutes in five straight games before climbing to 22:06 against St. Louis on Wednesday.
Cold
Claude Giroux, C, PHI – He broke a slump with his first goal in six goals, but has gone cold again with zero points in his past three games. The constant knock against Giroux is that he's not nearly as effective 5-on-5 as he is on the power play, where he's an absolute killer, and it's kind of showing so far. It's not lack of effort, but maybe he needs a little help (looking at you, Jakub) and is just shy of being in that elite tier.
Radim Vrbata, RW, VAN – His stock has been in decline for most of the season, and the aging sniper hasn't scored since Dec. 18 or registered a point in five straight games. Though he still fires a lot of shots on net, it's unlikely he'll score 30 goals this season.
Recommended Pickup
Marcus Johansson, C, WSH – The Caps found their No. 2 center in Evgeny Kuznetsov, and now they might've found their third center with Johansson, who is filling in for Jay Beagle (hand surgery) even though Johansson's barely played center the last few seasons. He has three points in two games and 26 points on the season and the addition of Mike Richards, who Barry Trotz said will start on the fourth line, shouldn't dampen Johansson's production. He's got some offensive talent and he's worth adding on the Eastern Conference's best team.
