This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
Around the Rink
Now that every team, but Florida and Carolina, has played at least 10 games let's take the opportunity to at some early season surprises – both good and bad.
It's no big surprise to see names like Crosby, Malkin, Perry, and Seguin among the top 10 in scoring, but who would have guessed Jacob Voracek or Tyler Johnson would themselves in such rarefied territory? Voracek has already produced 16 points (more than a quarter of his total from last year) and is tied for the league lead with 13 assists. Johnson, who earned a Calder nomination with 50 points a year ago, has equalled Voracek in assists and once his shooting percentage evens out should get back to the 25-goal plateau just like he (almost) did last year. A bit further down the list, Brock Nelson, Vladimir Tarasenko, Radim Vrbata, Nikita Kucherov, and Nick Foligno are off to unexpectedly good starts.
The off-season move of Barry Trotz to Washington has, as some predicted, had a negative effect on Alex Ovechkin's output, but while five goals and two assists is not outstanding it really isn't that bad as he asjusts to a new system. And hey, he is only minus-2, so that should prove something to someone out there that cares. When Minnesota ponied up for Thomas Vanek, one suspects they weren't betting on one goal through the first month of the season. Perhaps more remarkably, Vanek has fewer shots (16) on net than Joe Thornton (24).
Between the pipes Jonathan Quick seems determined to prove the naysayers wrong and show he is an "elite" goalie, as evidenced by his .942 save percentage. Semyon Varlamov (.934) and Pekka Rinne (.927) are both repeating their elite showings from the past. And veteran keepers Roberto Luongo (.926) and Jonas Hiller (.941) show they have something left despite being relegated to new outposts far from the hunt for Lord Stanley's cup. Meanwhile Henrik Lundqvist (.891) and Tuukka Rask (.899) seem bent on demonstrating that fluky streaks can happen to the best of us, while Mike Smith (.866) and Steve Mason (.878) are showing us who they always have been.
Many of these performances are not destined to turn into trends, as top performers from the past are likely to be the ones whose names we see at the top of these lists at the end of the year, while those without the track record will fall toward their historical averages. Still, keep an eye out to spot the breakouts as they are happening and capitalize on the guy that no one else thinks will keep it up.
Now, onto the preview of Sunday's games.
Projected Goalie Starters (all times Eastern)
For updates on the projected goalies later in the day, check out our Projected Goalies Grid.
Detroit Red Wings (Jimmy Howard*) at Buffalo Sabres (Michal Neuvirth), 5:00 PM
Los Angeles Kings (Jonathan Quick) at Carolina Hurricanes (Anton Khudobin), 5:00 PM
Calgary Flames (Jonas Hiller) at Montreal Canadiens (Carey Price), 7:00 PM
Arizona Coyotes (Mike Smith) at Washington Capitals (Justin Peters*), 7:00 PM
Anaheim Ducks (Frederik Andersen) at Colorado Avalanche (Reto Berra), 8:00 PM
Winnipeg Jets (Ondrej Pavelec) at Chicago Blackhawks (Antti Raanta), 9:00 PM
Nashville Predators (Pekka Rinne) at Vancouver Canucks (Ryan Miller), 9:30 PM
*Confirmed Starters
Injury News For Teams Playing Wednesday
Detroit Red Wings
Stephen Weiss, C - Weiss (lower body) was placed on injured reserve Friday, MLive.com's Ansar Khan reports. (10/31/2014)
Kyle Quincey, D - Quincey has been diagnosed with an ankle injury, Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News reports. (10/31/2014)
Johan Franzen, RW - Franzen (groin) expects to be back in the lineup for Sunday's game, MLive's Ansar Khan reports. (10/31/2014)
Buffalo Sabres
Patrick Kaleta, RW - Although he is not ready for games yet, Kaleta has been practicing with the Sabres, WGR 550 Sports Radio reports. (10/22/2014)
Matt Hackett, G - Hackett (knee) took part in Wednesday's practice, John Vogl of the Buffalo News reports. (10/29/2014)
Los Angeles Kings
Marian Gaborik, RW - Gaborik (undisclosed) took part in practice Wednesday, but seems unlikely to play Thursday, LA Kings Insider reports. (10/30/2014)
Anze Kopitar, C - Kopitar (upper body) hopes to return to the lineup Sunday against the Hurricanes, Lisa Dillman of the Los Angeles Times reports. (10/31/2014)
Slava Voynov, D - Voynov isn't expected to hear any new information this week on the status of his domestic violence charge, Lisa Dillman of the Los Angeles Times reports. (10/28/2014)
Carolina Hurricanes
Patrick Dwyer, RW - Coach Bill Peters said Dwyer (lower body) is expected to return over the weekend. (10/30/2014)
Calgary Flames
Matt Stajan, C - Stajan (knee) was placed on injured reserve Wednesday, Pat Steinberg of Sportsnet 960 The FANreports. (10/29/2014)
Mason Raymond, LW - In addition to placing Raymond (upper body) on injured reserve Tuesday, the Flames downgraded the forward's status from day-to-day to week-to-week, Pat Steinberg of Sportsnet.ca reports. (10/28/2014)
Mikael Backlund, C - Backlund was placed on injured reserve Thursday and is considered week-to-week with an abdominal issue, Randy Sportak of the Calgary Sun reports. (10/30/2014)
Joe Colborne, C - Colborne (upper body) isn't expected to play Friday against the Predators, Kristen Odland of the Calgary Herald reports. (10/31/2014)
Michael Ferland, LW - Ferland was removed from Friday's game against the Predators with an upper-body injury and will not return. (10/31/2014)
Arizona Coyotes
David Moss, RW - Moss was placed on injured reserve Sunday, Sarah McLellan of the Arizona Republic reports. (10/26/2014)
Washington Capitals
Edward Pasquale, G - Pasquale recently underwent an operation on his hip and is out indefinitely, Alex Prewitt of the Washington Post reports. (10/28/2014)
Dmitry Orlov, D - Coach Barry Trotz suggested Friday that Orlov (wrist) may not be able to return until the end of November, Alex Prewitt of the Washington Post reports. (10/31/2014)
Aaron Volpatti, LW - Volpatti (neck) is expected to be assigned to AHL Hershey on a conditioning assignment, Alex Prewitt of the Washington Post reports. (10/31/2014)
Brooks Laich, C - Laich (upper body) didn't practice Friday and appears unlikely to suit up Saturday versus the Lightning, Alex Prewitt of the Washington Post reports. (10/31/2014)
Anaheim Ducks
Bryan Allen, D - Allen (lower body) was sent to AHL Norfolk on a conditioning assignment, Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register reports. (10/30/2014)
Mark Fistric, D - Fistric is day-to-day with a lower-back injury, Helene Elliot of the LA Times reports. (10/31/2014)
Ben Lovejoy, D - Lovejoy is expected to miss the next six-to-eight weeks with a fractured finger. The Ducks have placed him on injured reserve. (10/27/2014)
Shea Theodore, D - Theodore (elbow) will begin a rehab assignment at AHL Norfolk on Friday, Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register reports. (10/30/2014)
Colorado Avalanche
Jesse Winchester, LW - Winchester appears to have suffered a setback in his recovery from a concussion, Mike Chambers of the Denver Post reports. (10/30/2014)
Winnipeg Jets
Anthony Peluso, RW - Peluso (upper body) was placed on injured reserve Thursday. (10/30/2014)
Chicago Blackhawks
Daniel Carcillo, LW - Coach Joel Quenneville announced Sunday that Carcillo will likely miss four weeks, ESPN Chicago reports. (10/26/2014)
Nashville Predators
Calle Jarnkrok, C - Jarnkrok has been ruled out of Wednesday's game against the Oilers due to an upper-body injury, Eric Stromgren of The Tennessean reports. (10/29/2014)
Vancouver Canucks
Alex Burrows, RW - The NHL has suspended Burrows for three games following his hit to Alexei Emelin's head on Thursday, Brad Ziemer of the Vancouver Sun reports. (10/31/2014)
Ryan Stanton, D - Stanton (lower body) will not play Thursday against the Canadiens, Jason Botchford of the Vancouver Province reports. (10/30/2014)
Hot
Gustav Nyquist, RW – Nyquist had a huge breakout last year with 28 goals and 48 points in 57 games. This season has been a bit up-and-down so far with a four-game goal streak, followed by a four-game goalless streak, before scoring three times in his last two. Nyquist has a really high shooting percentage that will come down over the seaon, but he is putting enough pucks on net that he should get close to his production from a year ago. Nyquist is owned in most fantasy leagues and while you may have missed the chance to "buy low" he is still worth kicking the tires on to see if there is a discount from an owner doubting his ability to repeat his performance.
Dennis Wideman, D – Wideman has be a good fantasy value over the years, but has barely cracked the 20-point plateau the past two years and is only owned in half of leagues right now. In his first 11 games this year, however, he has seven points already, including three on the power play. Health will play a part in whether Wideman can get back over 30 points or more, but he is seeing healthy power play time this year for the Flames so his value should be safe.
Cold
Martin St. Louis, RW – After starting the season with four points in his first four games, St. Louis has just two points, a minus-4 rating, and just seven shots in five games. He has just 13 shots overall and while playmaking is his thing he is also no longer lining up with Rick Nash, leaving him trying to make do with far inferior talent. St. Louis has been a dynamic player in the past, but at age 39 his star is only going to fade further.
Ben Bishop, G – Bishop was a revelation in his first season as a starter in Tampa posting 37 wins and a .924 save percentage. Lately though, his game is off – in four of his last five starts he has given up three goals and saved fewer than 90% of the shots he has faced. The good news is that his teammates are keeping the shots down, giving up more than 30 shots only once in those five starts. Bishop will right the ship soon enough, so owners should just ride out this rough patch.
Recommended Pickup
Jake Allen, G – Allen is the Blues' top prospect and one of the best goaltending prospects around. He is currently blocked by Brian Elliott for the starting role, but it wont' take a home plate collision to get this understudy on stage. Allen has made three starts, posting two wins and a 1.34 GAA to go along with a sterling .944 save percentage. While Elliott has been good in his seven starts (19.3 GAA and .919 save percentage), Allen is the long game. He is five years younger with a strong resume in the minors and Elliott has never been able to hang onto a starting job in the NHL. Allen is a must own in any keeper or dynasty league and a good flier in redraft leagues to take over this job at some point.
