This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
Around the Rink
Pekka Rinne missed most of last season after a hip injury that required surgery. In the 24 games following his return he was not up to his usual standard posting a 2.77 goals against and .902 save percentage – well below his career averages of 2.35 goals against and .920 save percentage. There were a lot of legitimate questions about how he would play this year at age 32. Turns out he is still awesome, unfourtunately he hurt his knee Tuesday and will miss three to five weeks.
Rinne posted the best numbers of his career before the injury – a 1.96 goals against and .931 save percentage – and was arguably the leading candidate for the Vezina trophy. Now, not only will he lose time while healing up, but he'll also have to prove himself healthy again.
Nashville had also been carried to the top of the Central Division on the back of Rinne's play. How backups Carter Hutton and Marek Mazanec play will determine if they can hold off Chicago and St. Louis. Rinne's injury is going to hurt fantasy owners and his team.
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.
New York Rangers (Henrik Lundqvist*) at Pittsburgh Penguins (Marc-Andre Fleury*), 12:30 PM
Dallas Stars (Kari Lehtonen) at Chicago Blackhawks (Corey Crawford*), 6:00 PM
Arizona Coyotes (Mike Smith) at Winnipeg Jets (Ondrej Pavelec), 7:00 PM
Buffalo Sabres (Jhonas Enroth) at Detroit Red Wings (Petr Mrazek*), 8:00 PM
*Confirmed Starters
Injury News For Teams Playing Wednesday
Pittsburgh Penguins
Olli Maatta, D - Maataa will undergo shoulder surgery Wednesday, ending his season. (1/13/2015)
Dallas Stars
Trevor Daley, D - Daley (undisclosed) has been ruled out for Saturday's game against the Capitals, Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News reports. (1/17/2015)
Patrick Eaves, RW - Eaves (ankle) should be ready to return to action in about a week, Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News reports. (1/15/2015)
Brett Ritchie, RW - Ritchie (undisclosed) was placed on injured reserve Saturday, Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News reports. (1/17/2015)
Arizona Coyotes
Shane Doan, RW - Doan (lower body) will miss Saturday's game against the Wild, Michael Russo of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. (1/17/2015)
Brandon Gormley, D - Gormley (lower body) was officially placed on injured reserve Thursday, Sarah McLellan of the Arizona Republic reports. (1/15/2015)
Winnipeg Jets
Jacob Trouba, D - Trouba (upper body) skated with the team Thursday morning, Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun reports. (1/15/2015)
Mathieu Perreault, C - Perreault appears to have avoided any fractures after taking a cross-check to the upper-body area in Friday's win over the Blackhawks, but he's still likely to miss "some games," Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports reports. (1/17/2015)
Buffalo Sabres
Brian Gionta, RW - Gionta (concussion) will miss both of the Sabres' final two games before the All-Star break. (1/17/2015)
Cody McCormick, C - McCormick was placed on injured reserve Monday due to the blood clot in his leg. (1/13/2015)
Mike Weber, D - Weber (undisclosed) is expected to miss the Sabres' next two games Saturday and Sunday, Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald reports. (1/17/2015)
Detroit Red Wings
Tomas Jurco, RW - General manager Ken Holland said Friday that Jurco (back) wouldn't return until after the All-Star break, MLive.com's Ansar Khan reports. (1/16/2015)
Jonas Gustavsson, G - Gustavsson (shoulder) has been able to practice for the last few weeks, but isn't projected to return until shortly after the NHL All-Star break, MLive.com's Ansar Khan reports. (1/16/2015)
Jimmy Howard, G - Howard (groin) is targeting a return to action at some point between Jan. 31 and Feb. 7, MLive.com's Ansar Khan reports. (1/16/2015)
Jakub Kindl, D - General manager Ken Holland said Friday that Kindl (elbow) won't return to active duty until after the All-Star break, MLive.com's Ansar Khan reports. (1/16/2015)
Johan Franzen, RW - Franzen (upper body) has been limited to off-ice workouts since landing on injured reserve, MLive.com's Ansar Khan reports. (1/16/2015)
Hot
David Backes, C – It seems like all of the Blues are rolling right now and their captain is no exception. With two assists Saturday against the Leafs, Backes extended his scoring streak to six games and has recorded 13 points. His line with Alexnader Steen and T.J. Oshie has now produced 46 points in their 11 games. The scoring binge has put Backes back on track offensively and on pace for more than 55 points.
Joni Ortio, G – Ortio made his NHL debut last year, but was unimpressive. He did however excel to a 2.33 goals against and .926 save percentage in 37 games in the AHL. With Karri Ramo hurt, and Jonas Hiller, Ortio has received a couple of starts in a row, posted a shutout, and will start again Saturday as the Flames ride the hot hand. Ultimately, this is Hiller's job, especially as long as the Flames have a shot to contend, but the 23 year-old Ortio can help his future (and maybe take over the backup role) with strong performances.
Cold
Kari Lehtonen, G – Lehtonen is not having a particularly good season and his recent play has been pretty awful. In three of his last four games Lehtonen has allowed more than three goals, and in the one he didn't he was pulled after letting in two of the first five shots he faced. Lehtonen has had some streaks of hot play this year, including right before this recent poor stretch, but his inconsistency has left him with subpar numbers – a 2.95 goals against and .904 save percentage.
Phil Kessel, LW – Changing coaches hasn't done much to change the fate of the Leafs, but it does seem to have affected Kessel who ran his pointless streak to four games by getting shutout by the Blues in a loss. Worse, the sniper managed just two shots against St. Louis and has just 10 shots in his four games without a point. If Phil Kessel isn't shooting, he's not going to be of much use.
Recommended Pickup
Zach Bogosian, D – Bogosian has always felt like a disappointment since he was the third overall pick in 2008, but he is having a strong season at age 24. After missing a month with a lower body injury (speculation says it was a broken foot), the Jets defenseman has three goals, five points, and a plus-7 rating in six games. While his d-mate Dustin Byfuglien is almost universally owned, Bogosian is in single digits in most formats and should be grabbed while he is playing well.
