This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
Around the Rink
As recently as a week ago Tuesday, Chris was recommending Evander Kane as a pickup after a disappointing season to that point. What a strange week and a half it's been.
Kane has been an enigma to be sure, but this week's drama and his uncertain future are a surprise nevertheless. We will skip the recap of what led to his shoulder surgery Saturday, but if you need one check out Arctic Ice Hockey who did a great job covering it. The Jets talented left-winger had a 30-goal, 57-point season as a 20 year-old in 2011-12 and looked like a budding superstar. He hasn't cracked the 20-goal plateau since and missed nearly 20 games last year and now will play just 37 games this season. But, that said, he has been productive while just not finding the back of the net. TSN Hockey Analytics noted Kane's shot rate per 60 minutes played. Back over at Arctic Ice Hockey they point out that Kane took more tough assignments than the Jets' other left-wingers while maintaining decent puck possession numbers.
The question now turns to Kane's future in Winnipeg. While most speculation suggests the Jets won't keep their young winger it's less obvious whether they move him before the trade deadline or in the off-season, perhaps about the NHL draft. Given Kane's age and the Jets' legitimate playoff hopes, in the short-term speculation will focus on the teams that are out of the playoff race and could send veterans to Winnipeg to help their drive to the postseason. Look for Buffalo, Edmonton, Ottawa, Columbus, Arizona, and Philly to be mentioned. If this situation lasts beyond the trade deadline, it puts almost every team in the mix. Of course, while it seems improbable, don't discount the possibility that fences can be mended in the Jets' dressing room and Kane goes nowhere. Stranger things have happened in professional sports.
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.
Chicago Blackhawks (Corey Crawford*) at St. Louis Blues (Brian Elliott*), 12:30 PM
Nashville Predators (Carter Hutton) at Florida Panthers (Roberto Luongo), 3:00 PM
Philadelphia Flyers (Steve Mason) at Washington Capitals (Braden Holtby), 3:00 PM
New York Islanders (Jaroslav Halak) at Buffalo Sabres (Michal Neuvirth), 5:00 PM
Anaheim Ducks (Frederik Andersen) at Tampa Bay Lightning (Andrei Vasilevskiy), 5:00 PM
Dallas Stars (Kari Lehtonen) at New York Rangers (Cam Talbot), 5:00 PM
Colorado Avalanche (Semyon Varlamov*) at Winnipeg Jets (Michael Hutchinson), 6:00 PM
Montreal Canadiens (Dustin Tokarski) at Boston Bruins (Tuukka Rask), 7:30 PM
*Confirmed Starters
Injury News For Teams Playing Wednesday
Chicago Blackhawks
Kris Versteeg, RW - Versteeg (hand) will likely return for Wednesday's game against Vancouver or Friday's game against New Jersey, Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune reports. (2/6/2015)
Stephen Johns, D - Johns, who is considered one of the top Blackhawks' top prospects at AHL Rockford, suffered a knee injury on Monday and is expected to miss two-to-three weeks, ESPN Chicago reports. (1/24/2015)
Trevor van Riemsdyk, D - Van Riemsdyk skated on his own Tuesday, ESPN Chicago reports. (2/3/2015)
St. Louis Blues
Jori Lehtera, C - Coach Ken Hitchcock indicated Friday that Lehtera was making progress with his recovery from a concussion, Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. "We're hopeful that Lehtera has another good day," Hitchcock said. "He's had some good days. The last couple days, he's had some real good days." (2/6/2015)
Kevin Shattenkirk, D - Shattenkirk (abdominal surgery) was placed on injured reserve Wednesday. (2/4/2015)
Chris Porter, LW - Coach Ken Hitchcock said Friday that Porter (ankle) is fully recovered from his injury, Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. "He's a full go. He's doing everything," Hitchcock said. "We're hopeful when we get back and skate [Saturday] that he'll join the whole group." (2/6/2015)
Nashville Predators
Colin Wilson, LW - Wilson suffered an upper-body injury in the first period of Saturday's game against the Rangers and will not return. (2/7/2015)
Ryan Ellis, D - Ellis (lower body) skated on his own before Tuesday's morning session, NHL.com's Thomas Willis reports. (2/3/2015)
Florida Panthers
Willie Mitchell, D - Mitchell (upper body) is unlikely to play Sunday against the Predators, Jameson Olive of FOX Sports Florida reports. (2/7/2015)
Sean Bergenheim, LW - Bergenheim (flu) is likely to miss Sunday's game against the Predators, Jameson Cooper of FOX Sports Florida reports. (2/7/2015)
Philadelphia Flyers
Kimmo Timonen, D - Timonen (blood clots), who skated with the Flyers on Friday, believes he is at least two weeks away from returning to game action, Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. (2/6/2015)
Braydon Coburn, D - Coburn (broken foot) took part in Saturday's practice, Randy Miller of the Newark Star-Ledger reports. (2/7/2015)
Zac Rinaldo, LW - Rinaldo has been suspended for eight games by the NHL Department of Player Safety for boarding and charging Kris Letang in Tuesday's game against the Penguins. (1/26/2015)
Michael Raffl, LW - Raffl (pneumonia) is not likely to travel with the Flyers for their four-game trip beginning Sunday in Washington and ending Feb. 15 in Buffalo, Randy Miller of the Newark Star-Ledger reports. (2/7/2015)
Shayne Gostisbehere, D - Flyers general manger Ron Hextall said Wednesday that he expects Gostisbehere (knee) to resume playing at some point in February, Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. (1/28/2015)
Washington Capitals
Mike Green, D - Green was a late scratch Friday due to a lower-body injury and is considered day-to-day. (2/6/2015)
Dmitry Orlov, D - The Capitals remain uncertain about what they will do about Orlov (wrist) this season, indicating that "nothing is off the table, including a second procedure", Alex Prewitt of The Washington Post reports. (1/30/2015)
New York Islanders
Kyle Okposo, RW - The upper-body injury that Okposo suffered was a detached retina in his eye, reports ESPN New York. (2/3/2015)
Cal Clutterbuck, RW - Clutterbuck left the game Saturday with an upper body injury, according to Newsday's Arthur Staple. (2/7/2015)
Eric Boulton, LW - Boulton (lower body) has been placed on injured reserve retroactive to Jan. 17, Newsday's Arthur Staple reports. (1/27/2015)
Buffalo Sabres
Marcus Foligno, LW - Foligno (hand) was a full participant during Saturday's morning session and is getting close to a return, Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News reports. (2/7/2015)
Mikhail Grigorenko, C - Grigorenko (knee) is expected to miss the next two weeks, Kevin Oklobzija of the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle reports. (2/3/2015)
Anaheim Ducks
Ryan Getzlaf, C - Getzlaf (lower body) will miss Friday's game against the Capitals, Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register reports. (2/6/2015)
Tampa Bay Lightning
Matt Carle, D - Carle (hip) was moved to injured reserve Saturday, according to the official NHL media site. (1/31/2015)
Michael Blunden, RW - Blunden is expected to require season-ending knee surgery, Erik Erlendsson of the Tampa Tribune reports. (2/4/2015)
Jason Garrison, D - Garrison (lower body) will not play in Saturday's game against the Kings and is considered questionable to suit up Sunday against the Ducks, Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times reports. (2/7/2015)
Dallas Stars
Travis Moen, LW - The Stars placed Moen on injured reserve Thursday with a lower body injury. (2/5/2015)
Rich Peverley, C - Peverley (chest) remains without a return timetable, Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News reports. (1/27/2015)
Patrik Nemeth, D - Stars general manager Jim Nill said Friday that Nemeth (arm) is three-to-six weeks away from a return, NHL.com's Mark Stepneski reports. (2/6/2015)
Valeri Nichushkin, LW - Stars general manager Jim Nill said Friday that Nichushkin (hip) is three-to-six weeks away from a return, NHL.com's Mark Stepneski reports. (2/6/2015)
New York Rangers
Jesper Fast, RW - Fast was diagnosed with a sprained knee after leaving Saturday's game against the Predators, Andrew Gross of the Bergen Record reports. (2/7/2015)
Derek Stepan, C - Coach Alain Vigneault said that he expects to have Stepan (flu) available for Sunday's game against the Stars, Andrew Gross of The Record reports. (2/7/2015)
Henrik Lundqvist, G - The Rangers confirmed Friday that Lundqvist (neck) is dealing with a "vascular incident" stemming from the puck to the throat he took last week, Mike Brehm of USA Today reports. The team expects him to miss at least three weeks. (2/6/2015)
Colorado Avalanche
Erik Johnson, D - Coach Patrick Roy said Johnson (knee) has been swimming and performing light activities in the gym during his rehab process, Mike Chambers of the Denver Post reports. (2/7/2015)
Jamie McGinn, LW - Coach Patrick Roy acknowledged Tuesday that McGinn (back) will miss the remainder of the season, Mike Chambers of the Denver Post reports. (1/28/2015)
Jesse Winchester, LW - Coach Patrick Roy suggested Tuesday that the Avalanche could shut Winchester (concussion) down for the remainder of the season, Mike Chambers of the Denver Post reports. "He's not doing well," Roy said of the injured winger. (1/28/2015)
Tyson Barrie, D - Barrie (hip pointer) has been ruled out for Saturday's game against the Wild, Mike Chambers of the Denver Post reports. (2/7/2015)
Borna Rendulic, RW - Rendulic (broken leg) could be out until March, Mike Chambers of the Denver Post reports. (1/28/2015)
Winnipeg Jets
Evander Kane, LW - Kane underwent successful shoulder surgery Saturday, Sara Orlesky of TSN reports. (2/7/2015)
Matt Halischuk, RW - Halischuk's injury is a lower-body ailment, and coach Paul Maurice said he expects the forward to be "out a while." (1/31/2015)
Jay Harrison, D - Harrison (upper body) skated in a non-contact jersey Thursday, Brian Munz of TSN 1290 Winnipeg reports. (2/5/2015)
Montreal Canadiens
P.A. Parenteau, RW - Parenteau (concussion) said he will resume skating this week, the Montreal Gazette reports. (2/3/2015)
Brandon Prust, LW - Prust (illness) participated in the Habs' morning skate, but his status for Saturday's game against the Devils remains unknown, Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports reports. (2/7/2015)
Boston Bruins
Marc Savard, C - The Bruins are expected to place Savard (concussion) on Long-Term Injured Reserve, Fluto Shinzawa of the Boston Globe reports. (7/6/2013)
Hot
Alex Ovechkin, LW – It's a bit cliché to talk about superstars like Ovechkin, but when guys of his caliber (and there are very few) get hot it is something special. The Great 8 has 13 points in his past 10 games, including 10 goals, giving him 32 on the season. In that stretch, the NHL's leader in shots on goal had three games with more than eight shots and 53 in total across those 10 games.
Keith Yandle, D – Yandle is widely expected to be traded by the Coyotes before the trade deadline and he is making himself an attractive option with his play of late. Yandle had seven assists, including five on the power play, in his last five games heading into Saturday's action. A successful power play is critical in the playoffs and Yandle would improve almost any team's work on with the man advantage, moving to a contender could be a nice boost to his fantasy appeal.
Cold
Marian Hossa, RW – At age 36, Hossa, who has been a remarkably consistent scorer in his career, appears to be slowing down a bit. He has just 34 points in 52 games and hasn't registered a point in five games with just one goal and assist in his past eight. He is driving the puck to the net at a reduced rate in this five game slide with just six shots on net. It's tough to bet against Hossa, but now might be the time to see if someone will still pay for the name.
Alex Pietrangelo, D – With teammate Kevin Shattenkirk down due to an abdominal injury, it was reasonable to think that Pietrangelo would step up and fill some of the offensive void. Pietrangelo hasn't picked it up yet as he hasn't registered a point in his past four games, while also going minus-3 (albeit all in Friday's blowout loss to Columbus). He will turn it around, but this hasn't been a good stretch for the young blueliner.
Recommended Pickup
John Klingberg, D – Klingberg is making a Calder Trophy case as Rookie of the Year with 25 points, including six on the man advantage, in 37 games since being recalled from the AHL, yet somehow the 22 year-old Swede is owned in just 41% of Yahoo leagues. This is unacceptable, so go out and grab him wherever you can!
