This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
Around The Rink
Mark Arcobello might be on his fourth NHL team in 2014-15, but he'll also be looking for his fourth goal in five games for Arizona on Monday night in New Jersey. Aside from more obvious starts such as Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Antoine Vermette, Arcobello provides fantasy owners with a low-cost player who's widely available in fantasy leagues. The Devils' Adam Henrique is a safe pick Monday. He's got points in each of his last three tilts. For those willing to go off the grid, Adam Larsson might be ripe for the taking. Larsson tallied a combined four assists Friday and Saturday, good for one more point than he'd scored in his previous 10.
Tomas Jurco makes for a longshot pick Monday against Anaheim. Jurco has one goal and four hits in two career games versus the Ducks and snapped a five-game pointless streak Saturday with an assist. For those looking to go the more conventional route, Pavel Datsyuk has 39 points (16G, 23A) in 39 games lifetime against Anaheim. Kyle Palmieri has no track record playing against Detroit, but he does have a three-game point streak (1G, 2A) and registered seven shots on goal Friday against Calgary. Ryan Getzlaf has better career numbers versus the Wings than does Corey Perry. Getzlaf 36 points in 32 cotests and scored two goals in his last matchup against Detroit.
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Shout out to the 1980 USA Men's Olympics hockey champions. I remember watching the game as a 14-year-old Pittsburgh Penguins fan. The Pens had drafted Mark Johnson and I was keeping tabs on him to see how he might fare in Pittsburgh (and this was before fantasy hockey). He had a great Olympics series and scored two goals against the Soviet Union. While he never reached elite status in the NHL, I think American sports fans are pretty happy with what he did for his country. Interestingly, his father, Badger Bob, would go on to coach the Penguins to their first Stanley Cup championship in 1990-91.
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Tis the season – a Jordan Staal-to-Pittsburgh trade rumor surfaced Saturday in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Call me crazy, but seven years at $6 million per season for a player who's never established himself as anything more than a very good two-way, third-line center doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me, especially in a cap world. There are plenty of pro's and con's to trades like this one – get ready for the annual onslaught with the NHL trade deadline exactly one week from today.
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The NHL.com website rolled out an updated statistics page showing some of the analytics made popular on other sites. The league should be applauded for moving into the new area. I can still remember paying $20 per season to the NHL back in the late 1990s just to have the same box scores and game summaries that are now listed for free.
Hot
Martin St. Louis: From Jan. 27 to Feb. 12, the New York Rangers scored 29 goals in nine games. St. Louis tallied a single solitary assist during that stretch. As infuriating as that can be to fantasy owners, there's usually a reason for the slump. Whether it's an unreported injury, lineup shuffling, whatever, the good ones typically figure things out. Counting Sunday's game, St. Louis has scored four goals and three assists in his last five games. The soon-to-be 40-year-old is more of a complementary player at this stage of his career, but he can still help poolies.
Patric Hornqvist: Horny is playing his best hockey since October and it's no coincidence that he's been reunited with Sidney Crosby. It's taken him some time to find his game since returning in late January from a month-long absence, but he's ready to go right now. "I'm good enough, I'm smart enough and doggone it, people like me". Fantasy owners figure to really like Hornqvist the rest of the way. He scored three goals and four points in two weekend games and is primed for a stretch run.
Cold
Corey Crawford: It's been a tale of two seasons for Crawford, pre-concert and post-concert. Booed off the ice by the home fans Sunday, has been the model of inconsistency since injuring a foot while missing a step at a concert in December. While that was one small step for Crawford, it was one giant leap into the dumpster for fantasy owners. To note, the Chicago goalie went 12-5-1 with GAA's of 1.66 (October) and 1.93 (November) during the season's first two months. Post concert, Crawford has compiled monthly goals-against marks of 3.22, 2.71 and 2.32. The 2.32 mark for February imploded following his four-goal, 14-shot decimation Sunday in just over half the game before his being thankfully yanked. Crawford was never nor ever will be an elite goalie, but he's really yanked poolie's chains in recent months. The Blackhawks also demoted backup goalie, Antti Raanta, on Sunday, giving fantasy value to the recalled Scott Darling.
David Krejci: He suffered a knee injury which could keep him out for an indefinite period of time. Krejci was already struggling with just two points in eight February contests before getting hurt. Ryan Spooner took his place in the lineup Sunday against Chicago. Krejci's loss could have a ripple effect on others, such as Milan Lucic, though Lucic scored Sunday. Boston is fighting for its playoff life and losing Krejci does nothing to help the situation.
Recommended Pickup
Nathan MacKinnon: It finally looks like the MacKinnon train is ready to roll. Toot, toot. MacKinnon potted a hat trick Sunday. The Colorado forward also blocked three shots and finished with four takeaways. MacKinnon is fully engaged in his game right now and so should you be. He's scored seven points (3G, 4A) in his last six contests and offers the ability to sustain this level of success indefinitely.
