This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
San Jose has been a tricky beast to figure out. They were mediocre early in the year. Slumps and injuries had many of the team's top performers not meeting expectations.
But when you start to sift through their roster, this side of goaltending, they've become a fantasy goldmine.
Logan Couture has been great since returning from injury. The points haven't always followed — he didn't score Wednesday night despite being the best player on the ice — but he's looked very good in the 24 games since his return with eight goals, 12 assists and an average of nearly three shots per game.
Tomas Hertl has reversed his slow start and was a fantastic value play for a little while there. Now his price has caught up with his play. He has four goals and two assists in his last six games.
Joe Thornton has the most points in the NHL since Dec. 15 (that's Sidney Crosby's fantastic run and Patrick Kane's career year in the rearview).
35-year-old Joel Ward is on pace to have the most productive season of his career.
At age 30 Brent Burns is on pace for the most productive season of his career as well. His 257 shots is already a career-high and he finished third among league defensemen in shots in each of the last two seasons with 245.
Marc-Edouard Vlasic is just two points shy of his career-high.
Rookie Joonas Donskoi is on pace to hit 39 points.
The disappointments in terms of fantasy are few. Patrick Marleau's production continues to slide as he ages, but that's not entirely unexpected (despite Thornton, Ward, Burns and Joe Pavelski seeming to get better in their 30s). Tommy Wingels and Matt Nieto haven't met raised expectations for their production, but Wingels is still a hit machine and neither were projected to become a top play.
It's a pretty fantastic assemblage of fantasy producers and they aren't getting enough credit for how solid they've been.
Projected Goalie Starters (all times Eastern)
For updates on the projected goalies later in the day, check our Projected Goalies Grid
Wild (Devan Dubnyk) at Flyers (Michal Neuvirth), 7:00 PM
Devils (Cory Schneider) at Blue Jackets (Joonas Korpisalo), 7:00 PM
Hurricanes (Cam Ward) at Maple Leafs (Jonathan Bernier), 7:30 PM
Coyotes (Louis Domingue) at Panthers (Roberto Luongo), 7:30 PM
Rangers (Henrik Lundqvist) at Blues (Jake Allen), 8:00 PM
Predators (Pekka Rinne) at Blackhawks (Corey Crawford), 8:00 PM
Jets (Ondrej Pavelec) at Stars (Kari Lehtonen), 8:30 PM
Islanders (Jaroslav Halak) at Flames (Jonas Hiller), 9:00 PM
Senators (Craig Anderson) at Canucks (Ryan Miller), 10:00 PM
Oilers (Cam Talbot) at Kings (Jonathan Quick), 10:30 PM
Injury News For Teams Playing Thursday
Minnesota Wild
Zach Parise, LW (upper body) - won't join the team on their current road trip
Jason Zucker, LW (concussion) - isn't joining the team on the road trip as well
Jonas Brodin, D (broken foot) - hopes to start skating again in the next few days
Philadelphia Flyers
Jordan Weal, C (upper body) - remains out
Claude Giroux, C (upper body) - has been ruled out of Thursday's game
Michael Del Zotto, D (wrist) - is expected to miss the rest of the season
New Jersey Devils
Patrik Elias, LW (knee) - has done light skating
Michael Cammalleri, LW (hand) - will miss the next two games
Jiri Tlusty, LW (wrist) - is expected to miss the rest of the season
Stefan Matteau, LW (face) - is on IR
Columbus Blue Jackets
Jared Boll, RW (throat) - remains questionable
Sergei Bobrovsky, G (groin) - remains out
David Clarkson, RW (upper body) - has been skating, but isn't ready to return
Carolina Hurricanes
James Wisniewski, D (knee) - has hit the ice again, but isn't close to a return
Toronto Maple Leafs
Matt Hunwick, D (undisclosed) - didn't play Tuesday
Stephane Robidas, D (knee) - is without a timetable
James van Riemsdyk, LW (foot) - is on IR
Tyler Bozak, C (head) - skated Tuesday; remains questionable
Jared Cowen, D (hip) - remains on IR
Leo Komarov, LW (suspended) - continues to serve a three-game suspension
Joffrey Lupul, LW (middle body) - remains out
Milan Michalek, LW (finger) - remains out
Arizona Coyotes
Anders Lindback, G (Achilles) - is likely to miss the remainder of the season
Boyd Gordon, C (upper body) - has returned to practice, but isn't taking contact
Mike Smith, G (lower body) - is traveling with the team, but his return date is uncertain
Joe Vitale, C (concussion) - will not play again this season
Florida Panthers
Brandon Pirri, C (ankle) - is on IR
Dave Bolland, C (lower body) - remains out
Erik Gudbranson, D (upper body) - is likely to rejoin the lineup Thursday
Quinton Howden, LW(upper body) - is expected to miss another week
Jonathan Huberdeau, LW (upper body) - has been ruled out Thursday
Aleksander Barkov, C (upper body) - is likely to play Thursday
Willie Mitchell, D (undisclosed) - has been ruled out of Thursday's game
New York Rangers
Rick Nash, LW (leg) - is considered week-to-week
Marc Staal, D (lower body) - didn't play Tuesday
Ryan McDonagh, D(head) - didn't play Tuesday, but could return Thursday
St. Louis Blues
Brian Elliott, G (lower body) - will miss the next four weeks
Alex Pietrangelo, D (knee) - could return Saturday or Sunday
Ryan Reaves, RW (suspension) - is serving a three-game suspension
Alexander Steen, LW (upper body) - will still be on the sidelines Thursday
Steve Ott, C (hamstring) - remains out
Nashville Predators
Eric Nystrom, LW (foot) - is on IR
Shea Weber, D (lower body) - didn't play Tuesday
Chicago Blackhawks
Marcus Kruger, C (wrist) - isn't expected back soon
Marian Hossa, RW (lower body) - will miss "some time"
Winnipeg Jets
Bryan Little, C (head) - missed Tuesday's game
Mark Stuart, D (hand) - will miss weeks more time
Dallas Stars
Patrick Eaves, RW (illeness) - was unavailable Tuesday
Travis Moen, LW (lower body) - missed Tuesday's game
New York Islanders
Eric Boulton, LW (undisclosed) - remains on IR
Mikhail Grabovski, C (upper body) - did not play Tuesday
Calvin de Haan, D (lower body) - the team hopes he'll get back on the ice during the current road trip
Adam Pelech, D (upper body) - may be done for the rest of the season
Calgary Flames
Ladislav Smid, D (upper body) - remains on IR
Karri Ramo, G (ACL) - is done for the season
Dennis Wideman, D (suspension) - continues to serve a suspension
Kris Russell, D (lower body) - will not play Thursday
Ottawa Senators
Chris Phillips, D (back) - is not close to making his season debut
Clarke MacArthur, LW (concussion) - is traveling with the team, but isn't expected to be available during the current road trip
Vancouver Canucks
Alexander Edler, D (fractured fibula) - is expected to miss at least another month
Brandon Sutter, C (jaw) - remains out
Matt Bartkowski, D (elbow) - is considered day-to-day
Linden Vey, C (undisclosed) - didn't play Sunday and is questionable
Radim Vrbata, RW (undisclosed) - is expected to miss a week
Edmonton Oilers
Andrew Ference, D (hip) - will miss the remainder of the season following surgery
Eric Gryba, D (knee) - is out "long-term"
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, C (hand) - skated Wednesday wearing a brace
Oscar Klefbom, D (infection) - should return in March
Los Angeles Kings
Jordan Nolan, RW (undisclosed) - has skated with the team, but isn't expected back Thursday
Marian Gaborik, RW (knee) - is considered a "long-term" absence
Matt Greene, D (shoulder) - is out for the season
Hot
Jarome Iginla, RW, COL — The Rocky Mountains' Father Time is riding a five-game point streak and has points in nine of his last 10 games. He also has two seven-shot games in that span. While he's never won the big one, he's been a good player in big-game situations. Playing Iginla during this weekend's Stadium Series game in Colorado may not be a bad idea.
Brendan Gallagher, RW, MTL — He's re-asserted how incredibly valuable he is to the Habs recently. With four goals and two assists in his last seven games, as well as an average of 3.9 shots per game, he's been close to a sure thing. Throw in four penalty minutes and a plus-3 rating and he's a very good play right now.
Cold
Nicklas Backstrom, C, WSH — With just a single assist and no goals in his last five games, Backstrom has not been exceptionally productive. In that time he also has a minus-4 rating and just four shots. It's not been pretty, but on the other hand he's Nicklas Backstrom. Would you be surprised if he put up three points in his next game and never looked back?
Recommended Pickup
David Pastrnak, RW, BOS — We expected great things from Pastrnak in his sophomore season, and the road has been a little rockier than expected. Nonetheless, he's looked good in 2016. He has four points in his last two games and fired seven shots on net in just 14:33 of ice time in Wednesday's win over Pittsburgh. Since the World Junior Championship, Pastrnak has pulled together some decent production, scoring six goals and 14 points in 20 games. He appears to be trending upward as the Bruins hit the stretch run, just like he did last season.
