This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
You look at the league leaders in scoring and there you see Connor McDavid. This does not feel like a fluke. He could win the Art Ross this season and nobody would bat an eye. Among the goal leaders so far is Auston Matthews. The rookie may not be able to keep it up, but he looks good. Patrick Laine has impressed as well. It would not be surprising if in, say, three seasons they are the three best players in the NHL. Of course, what's notable about that is that they all play for Canadian teams. Hockey is still king in Canada, but it has been decades since a team north of the border has won a Cup, and they recently had to deal with every single Canadian team missing the playoffs. Combine the bright futures of McDavid, Matthews, and Laine with the continuous murmurings of the NHL returning to Quebec, and Canada could be on top of the hockey world once again before we know it.
Featured Matchups
Canucks (PP: 28, PK: 15) at Canadiens (PP: 13, PK: 4), 7:30 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Ryan Miller (1-3-0, 1.74, .939), Carey Price (5-0-0, 1.40, .954)
Key Injuries:Chris Tanev (undisclosed)
Montreal doesn't have a loss in regular yet, Price is playing amazingly, and Vancouver is last in goals per game. If you were thinking of playing any Canucks players, you might want to think twice if you can avoid it. Both Sedin twins have five points, and Bo Horvat does have four goals, but that's on only 12 shots. Miller is doing his best to try and keep the Canucks competitive, but in his last two starts Vancouver has been shut out. Shea Weber leads the Habs with 10 points, but a lot of people seem interested in Alexander Radulov right now. Perhaps because of his history of mercurialness, but he does have seven points this season (and 18 PIM, if you are in a league where that matters). Tomas Plekanec has no goals, but he's taken 20 shots on net, so that should change soon.
Red Wings (PP: 16, PK: 14) at Flyers (PP: 3, PK: 24), 8:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Petr Mrazek (4-3-0, 2.94, .910), Steve Mason (2-4-1, 3.46, .878)
Key Injuries:Tomas Jurco (back), Niklas Kronwall (knee), Thomas Vanek (lower body), Joe Vitale (concussion), Michael Del Zotto (lower body), Michael Raffl (abdomen)
While Montreal-Vancouver does not seem likely to provide us with much offense, this game could be different. After a hot streak, Mrazek gave up four goals on 10 shots in 25 minutes in his last game. Meanwhile, Jimmy Howard has been great. Mrazek could find himself on a short leash, or even moving to being the "1A" in this arrangement. Vanek still leads the Wings in points, even though he's missed three games. Justin Abdelkader, Henrik Zetterberg, and Tomas Tatar have two goals combined. The Flyers has really struggled at goal prevention, mostly owing to the fact Mason has actually been better than Michal Neuvirth so far. Fortunately, their offense has looked much better. Claude Giroux, Wayne Simmonds, and Jakub Voracek are all averaging a point-per-game. Brandon Manning has as many points (seven) as Shayne Gostisbehere, which is interesting.
Penguins (PP: 4, PK: 18) at Ducks (PP: 17, PK: 13), 10:30 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Matt Murray, John Gibson (3-3-2, 2.55, .907)
Key Injuries:Jonathan Bernier (upper body), Simon Despres (head), Hampus Lindholm (personal), Rickard Rakell (abdomen), Nate Thompson (achilles), Kris Letang (upper body), Derrick Pouliot (undisclosed), Conor Sheary (eye), Daniel Sprong (shoulder)
The Ducks are the only team playing Wednesday that also played on Tuesday. With Bernier dealing with an injury, Anaheim may have no choice but to play Gibson in back-to-back games. Unless they want to play Dustin Tokarski in net. Either way, Pittsburgh should be happy. Sidney Crosby has five points in three games, if you were worried about rust at all. However, his return has not really bolstered the Penguins' secondary scoring. Chris Kunitz, Nick Bonino, and Carl Hagelin have combined for one goal. Cam Fowler and Sami Vatanen are both averaging over 23 minutes a game. They are both really good, and Fowler is off to a hot start, but the Ducks could really use Lindholm back on the ice. Murray, who has missed the whole season to this point with a hand injury, will be making his debut. This makes the Penguins' goalie situation quite interesting, but also messy from a fantasy perspective.
Recommended Pickup
Marcus Johansson, C, WAS – The Capitals have gotten off to a bit of a slow start offensively, but not Johansson. He currently leads the team with 11 points, with four of those coming on the power play. The 26-year-old has at least 44 points in his last three seasons. When the season ends, Johansson won't be topping Washington's statsheet, but you don't need that to help your fantasy team the rest of the way, or even for a little while.
