This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
Around the Rink
The NHL world, or at least the teams that are likely to be awful this year, are all aflutter about Connor MacDavid. MacDavid is considered an elite prospect, the kind worth being apathetic about winning for. As such, these teams, and more likely their fan bases, were alarmed when they found out MacDavid is now out indefinitely with a hand injury. What's worth pointing out though, is how MacDavid injured his hand. Namely, he injured it in a fight.
Needless to say, that's stupid. Fighting in hockey, as it currently stands, is ridiculous, but it is particularly foolhardy for a player such as MacDavid to engage in such tomfoolery. It's a bad idea simply based on the fact that a five minute penalty really hurts his team, given how valuable he is. Any opponent would gladly take him sitting in a box for a good chunk of time. The added chance of injury, obviously, is what made it even more foolish.
MacDavid, if he wants to act in the best interest of his team, and in the best interest of his future, should avoid fighting. It can only add badly for him. He probably gets plenty of garbage from dudes trying to get under his skin, or trying to make names for themselves. The vast majority of them will never play at a level higher than the OHL. MacDavid is going to make millions playing in the NHL. They have nothing to lose, he does. Hopefully he keeps that in mind once he returns from injury. For himself, and for hockey fans everywhere, but especially hockey fans in Buffalo.
Projected Goalie Starters (all times Eastern)
Bruins (Tuukka Rask) at Maple Leafs (Jonathan Bernier) 8:00
Kings (Jonathan Quick) at Ducks (Frederik Andersen) 10:30
*Confirmed Starters
For updates on the projected goalies later in the day, check out our Projected Goalies Grid.
Injury News For Teams Playing Wednesday
Bruins
Zdeno Chara, D (knee) – Return date unknown.
David Krejci, C (lower-body) – Will not play Wednesday.
Kevan Miller, D (upper-body) – May play Wednesday.
David Warsofsky, D (groin) – Placed on IR.
Maple Leafs
Carter Ashton, RW (suspension) – Suspended for 20 games.
David Booth, LW (foot) – Week-to-week.
Brandon Kozun, RW (ankle) – Likely out until December.
Joffrey Lupul, LW (hand) – May return next week.
Daniel Winnik, LW (head) – Practiced Tuesday, may play Wednesday.
Kings
Robyn Regehr, D (undisclosed) – Status unknown, did not play Saturday.
Slava Voynov, D (suspension) – Suspended indefinitely.
Ducks
Francois Beauchemin, D (illness) – Status unknown due to nature of illness.
Mark Fistric, D (back) – Day-to-day.
Cam Fowler, D (lower-body) – Questionable for Wednesday.
John Gibson, G (groin) – Expected to miss six weeks.
Ben Lovejoy, D (finger) – Out 6-8 weeks.
Kyle Palmieri, RW (ankle) – Nearing a return, now considered day-to-day.
Corey Perry, RW (illness) – Same illness as Beauchemin, same situation.
Sheldon Souray, D (wrist) – Likely out for season.
Hot
Marcus Johansson, RW, WAS – Johansson added two goals to his tally Tuesday against the Columbus Blue Jackets whilst putting eight shots on goal. This gives Johansson eight goals on the season, and 12 points in total. While he didn't have any points in the game prior, he has six points in the four games prior. He's not Alex Ovechkin, but there is room for more scorers on this team, and the Capitals seem deeper than in the recent pass. That can only help players like Johansson excel.
Jori Lehtera, C, STL – The 26-year-old Finn Lehtera is a late arriver to the NHL, this is his rookie season, but he's taken to it quite quickly. Lehtera notched his first career hat trick last night, admittedly against the lowly Buffalo Sabres, but this doesn't feel like a fluke. He now has six goals and 14 points in 14 games, and he's on a five-game point streak. Lehtera is already in his prime, and he doesn't seem to be having any problems taking to the NHL. He's also a plus-10, which is a nice bonus.
Cold
Paul Stastny, C, STL – The good news: Stastny is back from injury. The bad news: So far, he has zero points and is a minus-4 in those games. He only has three shots on goal as well, and those all came in one game. Now, he may still be shaking off some rust, and there was a reason he got that big free agent contract this offseason. However, for now, it seems like owners will need to play a waiting game with Stastny, hoping he finally picks up some points.
Brian Campbell, D, FLA – Campbell's cold streak has lasted basically all season, but he's been particularly poor in recent games. He has exactly one point, an assist, in his last 10 games. In his last four games, he's a minus-5. He's playing a ton of minutes, but beyond that, he's doing nothing this season. He has three points, all helpers, on the year. That's not great.
Recommended Pickup
Elias Lindholm, C, CAR – The Hurricanes aren't good, but when teams aren't good, they tend to let young promising players play, and that can yield fantasy fruit. As a rookie last year, just after he was drafted fifth overall, Lindholm had nine goals and 21 points in 58 games. That's not great, but 18-year-olds don't tend to do much better in the NHL. This year, he's picked up his play, and he already has five goals in 14 games this season. He has 29 shots on goal, and he's playing on the power-play now too. Lindholm may be a couple years away from really making some noise in this league, but he can still have some fantasy value this season.
