This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
Around the Rink
Once the team you root for is removed for the NHL playoffs, or before the playoffs, if you are, say, a Boston Bruins fan, or before the season if you are a Buffalo Sabres fan, you need to find a new rooting interest. Sure, you can just watch the hockey, but there is still probably a result you are more intrigued by than others. For example, is there anything really enthusing about the prospects of the Anaheim Ducks hoisting the Cup? Teemu Selanne isn't on the team anymore, you know?
However, at this point, what I am most hoping to see is the Washington Capitals taking on the Minnesota Wild for the Cup. The reason should be clear; neither of these teams has won it all. The Minnesota Wild, one of the league's newer teams, has never made it to the Stanley Cup Final, and even the Minnesota North Stars never won before heading off to Dallas. The Washington Capitals made the finals in 1998, before getting swept by Detroit, which was a delightful time for a Wings fan such as myself.
Now, this is obviously a bit of a pipe dream now. The Capitals are up 2-1 in their series and are looking very strong with Braden Holtby's play in net, but the Wild are playing the superior Chicago Blackhawks, and they are behind three games to none, so their winning the series would qualify as a minor miracle. As such, my dream is of the pipe variety, but what other point is there to dreaming?
Projected Goalie Starters (all times Eastern)
Canadiens (Carey Price*) at Lightning (Ben Bishop*) 7:00
Rangers (Henrik Lundqvist*) at Capitals (Braden Holtby*) 7:30
*Confirmed Starters
For updates on the projected goalies later in the day, check out our Projected Goalies Grid.
Injury News For Teams Playing Wednesday
Canadiens
Nathan Beaulieu, D (upper-body) – Out Wednesday.
David Desharnais, C (illness) – Day-to-day.
Lightning
Cedric Paquette, C (undisclosed) – Practiced Tuesday, may play Wednesday.
Rangers
Mats Zuccarello, RW (upper-body) – Out for series.
Capitals
John Erskine, D (neck) – Out indefinitely.
Eric Fehr, RW (upper-body) – Will not play Wednesday.
Dmitry Orlov, D (wrist) – Out indefinitely.
Hot
Ryan Getzlaf, C, ANA – The Ducks lost in overtime to the Flames on Tuesday, but Getzlaf continued to tear Calgary apart. With his two assists in Game 3, Getzlaf now has eight points in three games in this series. Now, nobody is going to be surprised that Getzlaf is playing well. He's a great player. However, when your options are so limited, as they are at this point in the season, knowing which stars are hot still matters.
Cold
Jason Pominville, RW, MIN – The Wild are on the verge of elimination, and if they are going to stave it off, players like Pominville will need to pick it up. He has zero points in the three games of this series, and only one point in his last five games. Pominville doesn't have much time left to turn it around. In fact, in a few days, his season could be over.
Recommended Value Play
Ondrej Palat, LW, TAM – Tyler Johnson is having a great playoffs, Steve Stamkos just broke out, and many a Lightning player is having a good postseason. Palat has not really been one of them thus far. He only has a goal and two assists through nine games, which is far from impressive. However, these numbers undersell Palat's skill level. Last year, he scored 23 goals, had 59 points, and was a whopping plus-32. This year he only scored 16 goals, but he had 63 points and was plus-31, even though he only played in 75 games. It seems unlikely Palat will fly so low under the radar all postseason long. Perhaps this is the game where he will make his mark.
