This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
Happy Thanksgiving Canada!
Whether you're north of the border or south, the NHL's return is reason to give thanks wherever you're reading today's notes.
If hockey's rookie crop bears fruit anywhere close to baseball's then we're all in for a treat in 2015-16. Between the big boys like Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel and lesser-publicized names like Artemi Panarin and Daniel Sprong, the stage is set for plenty of breakouts and drama.
Some teams seem to provide storylines all by themselves. This year it's Toronto with Mike Babcock, San Jose naming its captain with old geezers like Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau on the roster, even 43-year-old Jaromir Jagr says he's bringing back his mullet.
In Pittsburgh, the addition of Phil Kessel has dominated hockey talk. The Penguins have searched for a star winger to skate with Sidney Crosby since Marian Hossa's one-and-done season. Through two games, Kessel has notched one goal while Crosby has yet to even register a shot. So far, coach Mike Johnston has more questions than answers.
Let's take a look at some of these dilemmas.
The defense is under-manned. Kris Letang is the top gun but he skated 28-plus minutes Thursday and led the team again Saturday. Olli Maatta is coming off shoulder surgery, cancer and the mumps while Ian Cole is serving as a top-four blueliner for the first time in his career – and those are the good parts.
Special teams are another area off to a slow start. The Pens lost Martin, Craig Adams, Brandon Sutter, Nick Spaling, among others since last season and seem to be holding open tryouts on the penalty kill.
Coach Johnston split up Crosby and Evgeni Malkin for Game 1 with poor results on the power play. After Saturday's game, Malkin said he would prefer to play with Crosby and Kessel on the top unit. Johnston insists that having two separate units is better than one super unit, so it will be interesting to see how this plays out (we all know who wins power struggles -- it's rarely the coach).
Pittsburgh plays its next five games at home, giving the team a chance to get its house in order. Sprong figures to skate with Crosby and/or Malkin at some point before the organization decides whether to keep him around. First-year Russian Sergei Plotnikov looks more comfortable on the third line with Nick Bonino and Beau Bennett than he does with Malkin and Patric Hornqvist. David Perron has gone from top-six to fourth line to third line to Malkin's line all in a week. Veteran defenseman Rob Scuderi has looked horrible in the first two games but moving his $3 million-plus contract won't be easy.
Surprisingly, the subject of goalie Marc-Andre Fleury has barely bounced off the radar. He's played well in the early going but has little to show for his effort. Eventually either the team's defense will get better in front of him or he'll cool off or both.
Every team has its problems and 25 glorious weeks to figure them out.
Projected Goalie Starters (all times Eastern)
For updates on the projected goalies later in the day, check our Projected Goalies Grid
Tampa Bay Lightning (Ben Bishop) at Boston Bruins (Tuukka Rask), 1:00 PM Winnipeg Jets (Ondrej Pavelec) at New York Islanders (Jaroslav Halak), 1:00 PM
Columbus Blue Jackets (Sergei Bobrovsky) at Buffalo Sabres (Chad Johnson), 3:00 PM
Florida Panthers (Roberto Luongo) at Philadelphia Flyers (Michal Neuvirth), 7:00 PM
Vancouver Canucks (Ryan Miller) at Anaheim Ducks (Frederik Andersen), 10:00 PM
Injury News For Teams Playing Monday
Tampa Bay Lightning
Andrei Vasilevskiy, G - Vasilevskiy (vascular surgery for blood clot) worked out on the ice Monday with goalie coach Frantz Jean, who fired shots from close range, reports Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times. He is returning from surgery performed a month ago. (10/5/2015)
Cedric Paquette, C - Paquette (leg) will not play in Saturday's game against the Sabres, reports Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times. (10/10/2015)
Ben Thomas, D - Thomas is getting closer to full participation, Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times reports. (9/17/2015)
Mattias Ohlund, D - Ohlund (knee) was placed on long-term injured reserve Tuesday, the Tampa Bay Times reports. (10/2/2013)
Boston Bruins
Dennis Seidenberg, D - Seidenberg (back) is slated to miss approximately the next six weeks worth of action. (10/8/2015)
Brad Marchand, LW - Coach Claude Julien confirmed Sunday that Marchand suffered a concussion Saturday against Montreal. (10/11/2015)
Noel Acciari, C - Acciari is day-to-day with a minor (undisclosed) injury, Mark Divver of The Providence Journal reports. (10/3/2015)
Andrew Cherniwchan, C - Cherniwchan is expected to miss a couple of weeks with a lower-body injury, Mark Divver of The Providence Journal reports. (10/5/2015)
Seth Griffith, RW - Griffith (knee) has resumed skating, the Boston Herald reports. (10/8/2015)
Linus Arnesson, D - Arnesson is day-to-day with a minor injury, Mark Divver of The Providence Journal reports. (10/3/2015)
Ben Sexton, C - Sexton is day-to-day with a minor injury, Mark Divver of The Providence Journal reports. (10/3/2015)
Zdeno Chara, D - Chara (upper body) is "questionable" to play Monday against the Lightning, per coach Claude Julien. (10/11/2015)
Winnipeg Jets
Grant Clitsome, D - Clitsome did not pass his pre-training camp physical and, as a result, will not play for the Jets this season, Ed Tait of the Winnipeg Free Press reports. (9/19/2015)
New York Islanders
Jaroslav Halak, G - Halak (upper body) will sit out of Friday's season opener against the Blackhawks. (10/9/2015)
Thomas Hickey, D - Hickey (upper body) was placed on IR on Friday, reports Newsday. (10/2/2015)
Columbus Blue Jackets
David Clarkson, RW - Clarkson is day-to-day with a lower-body injury and will not play Friday against the Rangers, Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch reports. (10/8/2015)
Alexander Wennberg, C - Wennberg suffered a concussion in Friday's game against the Rangers, Rob Mixer of the Blue Jackets reports. (10/9/2015)
Josh Anderson, RW - Anderson reportedly will undergo surgery Friday to repair a small orbital fracture which is expected to keep him out four weeks. (10/2/2015)
Buffalo Sabres
Brendan Guhle, D - Guhle returned to practice Sunday. (10/11/2015)
Bob Sanguinetti, D - Sanguinetti (undisclosed) was placed on injured reserve Tuesday, John Vogl of the Buffalo News reports. (10/6/2015)
Patrick Kaleta, RW - Kaleta (lower body) was released from his PTO with the Sabres on Friday, Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald reports. (10/2/2015)
Zach Bogosian, D - Bogosian (lower body) was placed on IR on Tuesday, John Vogl of the Buffalo News reports. (10/6/2015)
Robin Lehner, G - Lehner is dealing with a high ankle sprain and will miss 6-to-10 weeks, Bill Hoppe of NHL.com reports. (10/11/2015)
Brian Gionta, RW - Gionta is hoping to play Monday against Columbus. (10/11/2015)
Cody McCormick, C - McCormick (illness) was placed on injured resereve Tuesday, John Vogl of the Buffalo News reports. (10/6/2015)
Florida Panthers
Marc Savard, C - The Panthers acquired Savard's (concussion) contract Wednesday along with forward Reilly Smith in a deal that sent Jimmy Hayes to the Bruins, TSN.ca reports. (7/1/2015)
Cold
Jonathan Quick: Fantasy owners who drafted Quick early are probably wondering what in the name of Rogie Vachon is going on. That he has allowed nine goals through two games, including three shorties, probably speaks to the entire Kings lineup than it does to the goalie. Last season Quick came off wrist issues and started slowly, posting a 17-15-10 mark with a .909 save percentage, only to finish 19-8-3 with a .929 save percentage. Nobody ever wants to see his or her fantasy guy struggle but it's more likely than not to happen – even if your first name is Rogatien.
Matt Irwin: The defenseman headed into the season as a fantasy sleeper on such sites as NHL.com. Two games and a minus-5 later, Irwin finds himself looking for a job. Looking for production on the Bruins' blue line is likely fool's gold, though I admit to owning Zdeno Chara in one of my four leagues. It might be an even worse year than expected for goalie Tuukka Rash unless Chara drinks from the fountain of youth and stays healthy.
Recommended Pickup
Martin Jones: If Jones isn't owned in your league, pick him up. He's transitioned from the Kings' backup to San Jose's starter with ease. The 25-year-old has a strong team in front of him and has bought additional cache with his strong start. Alex Stalock was thought to be a contender for the No. 1 job a year ago but played uninspired hockey. There's always a chance Stalock could step up and play role reversal with Jones but for now fantasy owners need to keep up with the Joneses.
