This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
We've talked a fair amount about the Penguins lately because of all the fantasy-ready players they have, a coaching change and them being on the fantasy-relevant side of the season's first trade involving roster players.
The Pens were shutout on Wednesday in Mike Sullivan's second game as bench boss. But don't read too much into the final scores of his first two games. Even without Marc-Andre Fleury, Kris Letang, Nick Bonino and Beau Bennett they've controlled play in both games and have shown some growing pains with a new power play system.
But that's fine. They're controlling play and the goals are going to come.
Here's an event chart of shot attempts in Wednesday's game. Some of Pittsburgh's climb (they're the black line) late in the game is due to score effects (Boston playing defensive and Pittsburgh playing a higher risk game). Nonetheless, Pittsburgh is pushing play.
It's not wins and it doesn't put points on your team when you're rostering Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin or Phil Kessel and they don't score. But it does mean you should stick with them for now. There are adjustments being made, but the Pens are getting chances and the flood gates will open.
Projected Goalie Starters (all times Eastern)
For updates on the projected goalies later in the day, check our Projected Goalies Grid
Ducks (John Gibson) at Sabres (Chad Johnson), 7:00 PM
Panthers (Roberto Luongo) at Devils (Cory Schneider), 7:00 PM
Canucks (Ryan Miller) at Flyers (Michal Neuvirth), 7:00 PM
Sharks (Martin Jones) at Maple Leafs (Garret Sparks), 7:30 PM
Kings (Jonathan Quick) at Canadiens (Dustin Tokarski), 7:30 PM
Predators (Pekka Rinne) at Blues (Jake Allen), 8:00 PM
Rangers (Henrik Lundqvist) at Wild (Devan Dubnyk), 8:00 PM
Oilers (Anders Nilsson) at Blackhawks (Corey Crawford), 8:30 PM
Flames (Karri Ramo) at Stars (Antti Niemi), 8:30 PM
Islanders (Jaroslav Halak) at Avalanche (Semyon Varlamov), 9:00 PM
Blue Jackets (Curtis McElhinney) at Coyotes (Anders Lindback), 9:00 PM
Injury News For Teams Playing Thursday
Anaheim Ducks
Simon Despres, D (concussion) - remains out of the lineup
Nate Thompson, C (suspension) - continues to serve a suspension
Jiri Sekac, RW (ankle) - is on IR
Buffalo Sabres
Tyler Ennis, LW - skated with the team this week
Robin Lehner, G (ankle) - is skating again
Mark Pysyk, D (lower body) - is considered week-to-week
Marcus Foligno, LW (upper body) - is out
Cody McCormick, C (blood clots) - will not return any time soon
Florida Panthers
Steve Kampfer, D (lower body) - is on IR
Nick Bjugstad, C (upper body) - remains out for the road trip
Alex Petrovic, D (foot) - started skating again
Derek MacKenzie, C (knee) - has returned to Florida
New Jersey Devils
Travis Zajac, C (upper body) - is skating again, but did not play Tuesday
Bobby Farnham, LW (upper body) - is on injured reserve
Tuomo Ruutu, LW (foot) - is expected back "any day now"
Vancouver Canucks
Dan Hamhuis, D (face) - will miss a couple months
Luca Sbisa, D (hand) - will miss upwards of another week
Jake Virtanen, LW (hip) - has been loaned to Canada for the World Junior Championship
Brandon Sutter, C (abdomen) - will be out for a while following surgery
Philadelphia Flyers
Luke Schenn, D (lower body) - will miss another week or so
Mark Streit, D (groin) - is closing in on a return
Sam Gagner, C (concussion) - is close to a return
Vincent Lecavalier, C (back) - is considered day-to-day, but has been out of the lineup for a while
San Jose Sharks
Raffi Torres, LW (suspension) - remains out
Logan Couture, C (thigh) - did not travel with the team for their road trip
Ben Smith, RW (concussion) - is technically on IR, but just finished a conditioning stint in the AHL
Tomas Hertl, LW (lower body) - is a game-time decision for Thursday
Toronto Maple Leafs
James Reimer, G (groin) - skated Wednesday
Stephane Robidas, D (knee) - has no timeline for a return
Los Angeles Kings
Matt Greene, D (upper body) - was placed on long-term IR this week
Dwight King, LW (foot) - skated on his own again
Trevor Lewis, C (upper body) - was moved to IR Monday
Kyle Clifford, LW (upper body) - is on IR
Montreal Canadiens
Devante Smith-Pelly, RW (lower body) - has done a morning skate, but won't fully rejoin practice for a week
Brendan Gallagher, RW (fingers) - skated Monday for the first time, but isn't ready to return
Carey Price, G (leg) - will miss about another month
Nashville Predators
Mike Fisher, C (lower body) - will miss another week
Colin Wilson, LW (lower body) - is questionable for Thursday
Gabriel Bourque, LW (lower body) - is on IR
St. Louis Blues
Jaden Schwartz, LW (ankle) - isn't close to a return
Steve Ott, C (hamstring) - will miss a few months
Patrik Berglund, C (shoulder) - remains on long-term IR, but skated this week
New York Rangers
Kevin Klein, D (oblique) - will not play Thursday
Dan Girardi, D (knee) - will not travel with the team, missing Thursday's game
Derek Stepan, C (ribs) - will not play Thursday
Minnesota Wild
Healthy for the first time all season
Edmonton Oilers
Oscar Klefbom, D (finger) - was placed on IR Wednesday
Nail Yakupov, RW (ankle) - could be approaching a return soon
Iiro Pakarinen, RW (undisclosed) - left Tuesday's game after blocking a shot
Connor McDavid, C (shoulder) - is out until January
Benoit Pouliot, LW (lower body) - is close, but didn't play Tuesday
Rob Klinkhammer, LW (ankle) - re-injured his ankle in Tuesday's game
Chicago Blackhawks
Healthy
Calgary Flames
Michael Frolik, LW (upper body) - returned to Calgary and is out indefinitely
Lance Bouma, C (leg) - will not play on the team's current road trip
Dallas Stars
Healthy
New York Islanders
Jean-Francois Berube, G (lower body) - is on IR
Colorado Avalanche
Ben Street, C (chest) - is on IR
Brad Stuart, D (back) - hasn't recovered from his injury yet
Jesse Winchester, LW (concussion) - remains out
Columbus Blue Jackets
Rene Bourque, LW (undisclosed) - is still out
Cody Goloubef, D (jaw) - will miss another handful of weeks
Sergei Bobrovsky, G (groin) - is out
Markus Hannikainen, RW (shoulder) - is out a couple months
Arizona Coyotes
Joe Vitale, C (fractured orbital bone) - is still out
Martin Hanzal, C (lower body) - has resumed skating
Mike Smith, G (core) - had surgery on Tuesday
Hot
Erik Karlsson, D, OTT — The Swedish dynamo is working himself into the Hart conversation. He added an assist to his league-leading total of 28 in Wednesday's loss. The assist came on the power play and sees him climb to three points in the last two games. He's easily the most dynamic defenseman in fantasy this season.
Gabriel Landeskog, LW, COL — He's been back in the lineup just two games, but he doesn't appear to be slowed by injury at all. He has a goal, two assists, a plus-3 rating, four shots and a pair of penalty minutes since his return. If he's on his game, there's a high ceiling on his play with him playing on a dynamic line that features Matt Duchene, who has been one of the hottest players in the league over the last month.
Cold
Andrei Markov, D, MTL — Not only has Markov been struggling, he's been removed from the team's top pairing with P.K. Subban. That almost instantly lowers his value. He has no goals over the last 15 games with just four assists and a minus-3 rating.
Steven Stamkos, C, TBL — Stammergeddon is in full effect. Unfortunately for owners, Stammergeddon is all about his contract negotiations and not his production. He's got just two goals in his last 14 games and is in the midst of a 10-game drought. Stamkos generally takes a lot of shots, so it's concerning that he's only taken more than two shots twice during that drought.
Recommended Pickup
Ryan Spooner, C, BOS — If you are looking for a low cost fill-in or are in a deep keeper league, Spooner has some value and has been on a tear lately. No matter that Wednesday's goal was an empty-netter, he has three goals and three assists in his last five games. Additionally, he has a plus-2 rating, two power play goals, just over two shots per game and an average of two hits per game in that stretch.
