This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
Around the Rink
The Minnesota Wild made a big trade yesterday, sending a third round pick in 2015 to the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for goaltender Devan Dubnyk. Many are down on Dubnyk after a pretty miserable season last year where he posted a .891 Sv% between Edmonton and Nashville. His solid save percentage in other seasons was masked some by being on a miserable Edmonto team.
You might balk when I saw "Devan Dubnyk" and "big trade" in the same sentence, but this move could have large fantasy implications. The Wild are allowing the fourth fewest shots per game and have largely been undone by having the league's worst goaltending. Putting a goaltender in who could even give a league-average save percentage would be a big upgrade for the team and could drop a starting goaltender onto waivers at the mid-point of the season. If Dubnyk plays well, it could make a huge difference for many owners.
Dubnyk ranks 14th in the NHL in 5-on-5 Sv% among goaltenders who have played at least 300 minutes this season with a .929. That's out of 59 goaltenders. The Wild's current goaltenders? Darcy Kuemper ranks 49th with a .903 5-on-5 Sv% and Niklas Backstrom ranks 57th with a .886 5-on-5 Sv%.
How big is the gulf between Dubnyk and the other two this season? Take a look at the chart below. The coloring represents low-danger save percentage, the goaltenders' Sv% on shots that come from low danger areas like the points and the goal line. Sizing is based on the goaltenders' Sv% on high danger shots, the area right around the net, "home plate."
If you include the last five seasons into those stats, little changes. Kuemper hasn't played many games, so his stats just rise a little, while Backstrom surpasses him. But Dubnyk remains superior in most metrics, with a stronger adjusted save percentage while facing far more shots.
Dubnyk could be a great pick-up in your league if you need a little help in net. He's got the opportunity to play behind a solid defense in a situation where he'll be the starter. However, use caution in your deployment. The Wild face Buffalo on Thursday and Arizona on Saturday, which may seem like great match-ups, but the Wild's defense is in rough shape right now. Ryan Suter has been suspended for two games, Marco Scandella and Justin Falk were placed on IR yesterday, and Keith Ballard is likely out for the season.
The group remaining isn't awful, but it has plenty of holes and it could give Dubnyk some troubles as he adjusts to a new team. But if you're in need, you'll likely have to grab him right away.
Projected Goalie Starters (all times Eastern)
For updates on the projected goalies later in the day, check our Projected Goalies Grid
New York Rangers (Cam Talbot) at Boston Bruins (Tuukka Rask), 7:00 PM
Minnesota Wild (Niklas Backstrom) at Buffalo Sabres (Jhonas Enroth), 7:00 PM
Vancouver Canucks (Ryan Miller) at Philadelphia Flyers (Ray Emery), 7:00 PM
Montreal Canadiens (Dustin Tokarski) at Ottawa Senators (Craig Anderson), 7:30 PM
Edmonton Oilers (Ben Scrivens) at Tampa Bay Lightning (Ben Bishop), 7:30 PM
Colorado Avalanche (Semyon Varlamov) at Florida Panthers (Roberto Luongo), 7:30 PM
Detroit Red Wings (Petr Mrazek) at St. Louis Blues (Brian Elliott), 8:00 PM
Winnipeg Jets (Michael Hutchinson) at Dallas Stars (Anders Lindback), 8:30 PM
Calgary Flames (Joni Ortio) at Arizona Coyotes (Mike Smith), 9:00 PM
Toronto Maple Leafs (James Reimer) at San Jose Sharks (Antti Niemi), 10:30 PM
Injury News For Teams Playing Thursday
New York Rangers
Derek Stepan, C - (upper body) won't play Thursday.
Boston Bruins
Simon Gagne, LW - (personal) will not return to the Bruins this season.
Minnesota Wild
Keith Ballard, D - (concussion) is unlikely to return this season.
Marco Scandella, D - (head) was placed on IR Wednesday.
Justin Falk, D - (lower body) was placed on IR Wednesday.
Mikael Granlund, C - (wrist) has started skating again, but is weeks from a return.
Darcy Kuemper, G - (lower body) resumed skating Monday, but isn't ready to return to the team yet.
Buffalo Sabres
Marcus Foligno, LW - (finger) will miss a month or two following surgery.
Cody McCormick, C - (blood clot) is out indefinitely.
Brian Gionta, RW - (concussion) was placed on IR Tuesday.
Vancouver Canucks
Dan Hamhuis, D - (groin) may be ready to return on Friday.
Ryan Miller, G - (illness) indicated Wednesday that he is feeling better and hopes to play Thursday against the Flyers.
Nick Bonino, C - (undisclosed) missed practice Wednesday.
Chris Tanev, D - (undisclosed) missed practice Wednesday.
Philadelphia Flyers
Scott Laughton, C - (upper body) suffered an injury in Tuesday's game.
Shayne Gostisbehere, D - (knee) remains out.
Braydon Coburn, D - (foot) is expected to miss four weeks.
Nicklas Grossmann, D - (upper body) was placed on IR Sunday.
Steve Mason, G - (lower body) could miss two weeks.
Montreal Canadiens
All clear for the Habs.
Ottawa Senators
Mark Borowiecki, D - (leg) remains out.
Chris Neil, RW - (knee) has resumed skating and could return soon.
Zack Smith, C - (wrist) is expected to miss multiple months.
Edmonton Oilers
Tyler Pitlick, RW - (spleen) will miss the remainder of the season.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Tyler Johnson, C - (lower body) did not play Tuesday.
Radko Gudas, D - (knee) was placed on IR Sunday.
Victor Hedman, D - (lower body) did not play Tuesday.
Colorado Avalanche
Jamie McGinn, LW - (back) will miss the remainder of the season.
Jesse Winchester, LW - (concussion) has resumed practicing.
Ryan Wilson, D - (shoulder) will miss the remainder of the season.
Patrick Bordeleau, LW - (knee) will be out a few more weeks at least.
Florida Panthers
Shawn Thornton, LW - (groin) has skated, but will not return Thursday.
Detroit Red Wings
Jimmy Howard, G - (groin) will be out for a bit.
Jakub Kindl, D - (elbow) has returned to practice.
Johan Franzen, RW - (upper body) is on IR.
Jonas Gustavsson, G - (shoulder) has returned to practice.
Tomas Jurco, RW - (back) remains out.
St. Louis Blues
Chris Porter, LW - (lower body) is on IR.
Martin Brodeur, G - (personal) the team has given Brodeur a one week leave of absence.
Steve Ott, C - (illness) missed practice Wednesday.
Winnipeg Jets
Grant Clitsome, D - (upper body) was placed on IR last week.
Jacob Trouba, D - (upper body) has been out since mid-December.
Dallas Stars
Valeri Nichushkin, LW - (hip) remains out since early season surgery.
Patrik Nemeth, D - (arm) is likely to miss the remainder of the season.
Patrick Eaves, RW - (ankle) remains out.
Calgary Flames
Josh Jooris, C - (undisclosed) skated with the rest of the injured Flames during Tuesday's practice.
Sam Bennett, LW - (shoulder) has resumed skating.
Karri Ramo, G - (upper body) will travel with the team to Arizona for Thursday's game.
Arizona Coyotes
Martin Hanzal, C - (upper body) is slated to play Thursda.
Brandon Gormley, D - (lower body) the team will move him to IR.
Shane Doan, RW - (undisclosed) missed practice Wednesday and is doubtful for Thursday's game.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Joffrey Lupul, LW -(lower body) will miss another three weeks.
Peter Holland, C - (upper body) is on IR.
Leo Komarov, LW - (shoulder) did not play Wednesday.
San Jose Sharks
Mirco Mueller, D - (wrist) will not play.
Raffi Torres, LW - (knee) doesn't appear to be close to a return.
Mike Brown, RW - (leg) will be out another few weeks.
Hot
Braden Holtby, G, WSH -- Holtby is 7-0-2 in his last nine starts, over which he allowed four goals once and three goals twice. Most notably he has two shutouts and a .943 Sv% over that stretch. Back-up goaltender Justin Peters has posted some terrible numbers this season with a .872 over his seven starts this season. He's been bad enough that coach Barry Trotz hasn't started him since November 29. Between Peters' struggles and Holtby's hot play, Holtby's going to be getting a lot of action in the second half of the season.
Max Pacioretty, LW, MTL -- Pacioretty put up two goals, including the game-winner, last night. That extends his goal streak to five games with six goals and an assist over that stretch. It also includes a plus-4 rating, four penalty minutes, and an average of 5.2 shots per game. Pacioretty is getting it done for owners across categories.
Cold
Matt Nieto, LW, SJS -- After posting 10 goals and 14 assists through 66 games in his rookie season, drafters would have been reasonable to think Nieto was a good pickup in his sophomore season. Nieto has shown some solid defensive play, but the offensive numbers have not met, let alone surpassed, his rookie production. Nieto is without a point in nine games and the goals before that followed on the heels of a 22-game goalless streak after starting the season with a goal and two assists in the first three games. Ownership on Nieto has plummeted and he's probably not worth picking up until his snaps out of this slump. The talent is there, but he needs to show it again.
Andre Burakovsky, LW, WSH -- The rookie winger had the kind of hot start to the year that made owners take a risk on him. He posted two goals and three assists in the first four games of the season. Even his three goals and seven assists through his first 13 games seemed roster-able in many leagues. Things have taken a turn for the worse with Burakovsky. He has just one goal and one assist in his last 12 games. Worse yet, he's getting decent ice time but not showing signs of pulling out of his slump. He has just eight shots in those 12 games. Ownership on Burakovsky is dropping fast, as it should be. Burakovsky is cold and owners might benefit from digging around the waiver wire a bit.
Recommended Pickup
Devan Dubnyk, G, MIN -- See the intro to this column.
