Fantasy buzz: Miller to debut; Schneider nearing return

All season long, NHL.com's fantasy hockey staff will have you covered with daily lineup news, production trends and injury notes from around the League. We will identify how these developments affect fantasy owners in year-long (Yahoo) and daily (DraftKings) formats.

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Projected lineups

Kucherov unlikely for Lightning; Miller to debut

Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov could miss their game against the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday (7 p.m. ET; TVAS, SUN, MSG-B, NHL.TV) because of an upper-body injury.
Kucherov (1st in Yahoo) leads the NHL in scoring with 82 points (33 goals, 49 assists) and has played in each of Tampa Bay's 63 games. He was on the ice Wednesday, a potential sign that his injury may not be serious, but is unlikely to play against the Sabres.
Lightning forward J.T. Miller, who was acquired from the New York Rangers on Monday, is expected to debut against Buffalo.
Miller (C/LW/RW, 43 percent owned, 181st in Yahoo) had 56 points (22 goals, 34 assists) last season with the Rangers and ranked second behind Pavel Buchnevich (2.52) in points per 60 minutes (2.29) this season prior to the trade despite playing mostly in a secondary role. Miller has 12 points (five goals, seven assists) in 14 career games against Buffalo.
Miller is value pick in DraftKings ($4,900) and stackable with new linemates Tyler Johnson ($5,300) and/or Chris Kunitz ($3,600). Johnson, who left Tampa Bay's game Monday with an undisclosed injury but returned, was on the ice for practice Wednesday and is expected to play. If Kucherov does not play, Steven Stamkos (C, $7,500) will play wing on a line with Brayden Point and Alex Killorn.

Tuch takes place of injured Neal for Golden Knights; Tatar debuts on third line

Vegas Golden Knights forward James Neal did not play against the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday because of an upper-body injury. Neal (139th in Yahoo) is day to day.
Alex Tuch (RW, 3 percent owned, 234th in Yahoo) took Neal's spot on a line with Erik Haula and David Perron, playing 17:22 (4:32 on power play) on Tuesday. Forward Tomas Tatar (LW/RW, 24 percent, 227th in Yahoo), acquired from the Detroit Red Wings on Monday, made his Vegas debut Tuesday on the third line with Cody Eakin and Tomas Hyka. Tatar had four shots on goal in 12:38 (2:55 on power play).
Fantasy owners should monitor the lineup and power-play placement of Tuch and Tatar in all formats for as long as Neal is sidelined.

Schneider plays well in AHL start, nearing return for Devils

New Jersey Devils goaltender Cory Schneider stopped 19 of 20 shots faced in a win for Binghamton of the American Hockey League on Tuesday.
Schneider (77 percent owned, 282nd in Yahoo) has not played since Jan. 23 because of a lower-body injury but is likely to rejoin New Jersey this week after his AHL conditioning stint. He is expected to back up Keith Kinkaid against the Florida Panthers on Thursday, and could play on the second leg of New Jersey's back-to-back set against the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday.
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