This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
Around the League
Danny DeKeyser played the hero last night, scoring the overtime winner that helped complete Detroit's comeback against Arizona. With the win, Detroit moves within four points of Florida, who followed up a testy 3-2 loss in Vancouver with an embarrassing 6-0 loss in Calgary, and all of a sudden the team that won 12 straight games doesn't seem so tough anymore. Florida has a 98 percent chance of making the playoffs, according to sportsclubstats.com, but they'll have to fend off as many as five teams for the division crown.
Carolina's 4-1 win over St. Louis puts them four points behind the Rangers for third place in the Metro, a surprising development considering how awful everyone expected Carolina to be. The win certainly makes the season much more exciting for Carolina, but on the other hand, things are starting to look a little bleak for St. Louis. Fourth-place Minnesota now sits just five points behind St. Louis with four games in hand, while Nashville has made it known they're willing to do whatever it takes to win. The good news is that the Pacific Division reeks of dead fish, which means the West's two wild card entries will likely come from the Central Division (again).
San Jose's 2-1 shootout win over Edmonton moves them two points ahead of Vancouver for third place with two games in hand. The Sharks have won four straight games and should continue to climb upwards. Realistically, the Canucks' playoff hopes aren't very good – just 22 percent – but it still remains to be seen if they're going to be sellers. Waiving Chris Higgins was a hint, but not a strong enough indicator. The Canucks will really start to think about next season when Radim Vrbata's name enters the rumor mill.
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 Sabres (Robin Lehner), 7:00 PM
Blackhawks (Scott Darling) at Maple Leafs (James Reimer), 7:00 PM
Canucks (Jacob Markstrom) at Hurricanes (Cam Ward), 7:00 PM
Penguins (Marc-Andre Fleury) at Lightning (Ben Bishop), 7:30 PM
Jets (Michael Hutchinson) at Wild (Devan Dubnyk), 8:00 PM
Stars (Antti Niemi) at Ducks (John Gibson), 10:00 PM
Injury News For Teams Playing Friday
Boston Bruins
Chris Kelly, RW (fractured femur) – likely out for the season.
David Krejci, C (upper body) – no return date set.
Adam McQuaid, D (upper body) – no return date set.
David Pastrnak, LW (upper body) – did not play Wednesday; questionable.
Buffalo Sabres
Tyler Ennis, LW (upper body) – no return date set.
Nicolas Deslauriers, LW (lower body) – no return date set.
Cody McCormick, C (blood clots) – out indefinitely.
Chicago Blackhawks
Marcus Kruger, C (wrist) – no return date set.
Erik Gustafsson, D (lower body) – did not play Thursday; questionable.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Stephane Robidas, D (knee) – no timetable for return.
James van Riemsdyk, LW (left foot) – out 6-to-8 weeks.
Nick Spaling, C (upper body) – skated Tuesday; game-time decision.
Vancouver Canucks
Dan Hamhuis, D (face) – out for another month.
Jannik Hansen, RW (upper body) – did not play Thursday; no return date set.
Luca Sbisa, D (hand) – did not play Thursday; no return date set.
Brandon Sutter, C (abdomen) – no return date set but will likely return on current road trip.
Carolina Hurricanes
Nathan Gerbe, LW (lower body) – skated Wednesday; no return date set.
Phil Di Giuseppe, LW (concussion) – no timetable for return.
James Wisniewski, D (torn ACL) – likely out for the season.
Pittsburgh Penguins
Nick Bonino, C (broken hand) – out one month.
Beau Bennett, RW (upper body) – out 2-to-3 weeks.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Mostly sunshine and rainbows.
Winnipeg Jets
Grant Clitsome, D (back) – out for the season.
Ondrej Pavelec, G (knee) – skated Wednesday; no return date set.
Mark Scheifele, C (lower body) – no return date set.
Minnesota Wild
Ryan Carter, LW (hand) – will not play this weekend.
Zac Dalpe, C (torn labrum) – out five months.
Dallas Stars
Devin Shore, C (shoulder surgery) – out for the season.
Anaheim Ducks
Simon Despres, D (concussion) – practiced Saturday; no return date set.
Cam Fowler, D (sprained knee) – out 3-to-5 weeks.
Hot
Oliver Ekman-Larsson, D, ARI – OEL helped the Coyotes to a 2-0 lead Thursday against Detroit with his 13th goal of the season, bringing his four-game total to three goals and four assists. The bad news is that Arizona blew the lead and lost in overtime, but still sit in second place in the Pacific Division with 49 points. It's the only division that has just one team over 50 points.
Ryan Johansen, C, NSH – The Predators have lost five straight but they can't blame the lack of scoring now. With a three-point effort Thursday against Winnipeg, Johansen now has six points in four games with the Predators and seems to have found good chemistry with James Neal and Kevin Fiala, one of the team's top offensive prospects.
Cold
Henrik Zetterberg, C, DET – The Red Wings captain failed to register a point in his third straight game Thursday, and now has just one assist in his past four games and three points in his past nine games. Usual line mate Gustav Nyquist has had a tough season as well, and it's not a coincidence the pair have struggled together.
Kevin Shattenkirk, D, STL – With rumors swirling around that the Blues may deal Shattenkirk, his recent play hasn't really helped his stock, scoring just one assist in his past five games. He has 26 points on the season and missed time due to injury, which has undoubtedly affected his play, but there have been no clear signs of a turnaround for the Blues. They've lost seven of their past 10 games.
Recommended Pickups
Kevin Fiala, LW, NSH – If you want slick offensive upside, look no further. The 11th overall pick in the 2014 draft, Fiala was considered an elite offensive player, a game-breaking winger the team hasn't had since the days of Steve Sullivan and Paul Kariya. The organization is so confident in Fiala's abilities he was placed on the top line with Johansen and James Neal immediately, and he promptly scored his first NHL goal 59 seconds into the first period. His defensive play will cause Peter Laviolette to throw tantrums, but the kid has 41 points in 67 career AHL games already and he's ready to do some damage in the NHL.
