This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
Around the Rink
When Pavel Datsyuk finally got his season under way Nov. 13, he picked up only three points in his first 10 games. Was this the start of the end for Datsyuk? It seemed like a reasonable question. After all, the Russian wizard was coming off an injury at age 37. Datsyuk has since answered that question with an emphatic "no." The forward has collected three goals and 12 points in 14 games.
Fantasy owners have gotten unexpectedly good returns from New Jersey's Lee Stempniak. With 29 points in 38 games, his .72 points-per-game scoring pace is the best of 11 NHL seasons. Will it continue? Probably not. He has 16 points in 20 home games thus far in 2015-16, however, and sets up nicely for a Monday play.
It's not often a player with no points and a minus-2 rating is named a game's No. 3 star, but that's exactly what happened to Erik Karlsson on Sunday night – on the road in Chicago, no less. Karlsson finished last among three top players taken in the 2008 draft (including Steven Stamkos and Drew Doughty) in a small, informal Twitter poll.
Interesting, 56% of people would still take #Stamkos over #Doughty Personally, I'd take Doughty all day long pic.twitter.com/MNKruYgNm3
— Ian Esplen (@IanEsplen) January 2, 2016Welcome back Patrik Berglund, who made his season debut for the Blues on Saturday. Berglund's career path reminds me of Kevin Seitzer's baseball path. Seitzer amassed two hundred-plus hits as a rookie, only to see his numbers fall off over the course of his career. Berglund burst onto the season with 47 points in 76 games – including a career-best 22 power-play points – way back in 2008-09. His numbers have fallen off and a trade might be best to jumpstart his career. He's got to stay healthy, but he's still only 27 years of age.
Carolina defender, Brett Pesce, just went through a run of seven points in 11 games. The rookie has followed that up with three straight pointless efforts, so perhaps his run is over. Fantasy owners scraping the barrel for blueliners might still want to take a chance on the 21-year-old, third-round pick from 2013. Pesce probably can be plucked off most waiver wires, making his cost reasonable.
Andrej Sekera makes for an interesting blue-line choice Monday. Sekera broke out for the Hurricanes in 2013-14 after a number of indistinguishable seasons in Buffalo. Sekera went from 25 points in 106 games over his last two years with the Sabres to 44 points in 74 games with Carolina. Sekera would like nothing better than to prove the 'Canes wrong for trading him.
Welcome back Tyler Toffoli. After a hot start, Toffoli took a few weeks off from scoring – he totaled two points in 10 games from Nov. 22 to Dec. 10. Since then, he's found his way back with seven goals and 10 points in his last nine. The recent surge is especially encouraging because Toffoli started among the league leaders in points in 2014-15 but was unable to sustain his pace.
The Avalanche will host Los Angeles on Monday. Goalie Semyon Varlamov has fallen on tough times recently, going winless in his last four games. He was pulled against Calgary on Saturday. What's curious about his slump is that he's made his last six starts at home. For the season, Varlamov holds a 6-6-3 record at home, including a 3.35 GAA and .889 save percentage. He's done better against the Kings (5-4-1), posting a career 2.07 GAA and .927 save percentage but it might be best to steer clear of Varly.
Phoenix goalie Louis Domingue has played better than incumbent Anders Lindback. While that's not saying much, he has served as capable netminder, compiling a 3-2-2 record with a 2.57 GAA and .923 save percentage. The Coyotes aren't tied to Domingue, so if he has a bad game or two, they'll likely go back to Lindback. But in the meantime, he's doing alright.
The Canucks need Bo Horvat to have a strong second half. He presented as a useable fantasy option as a rookie last year, when he had a seven-point, 11-game stretch. Horvat could do that again in 2015-16 but thus far he's been a fantasy dud with two goals, 10 points and a minus-17 rating in 39 contests.
Projected Goalie Starters (all times Eastern)
For updates on the projected goalies later in the day, check our Projected Goalies Grid
Detroit Red Wings (Petr Mrazek) at New Jersey Devils (Cory Schneider), 7:00 PM
Ottawa Senators (Andrew Hammond) at St. Louis Blues (Brian Elliott), 8:00 PM
Los Angeles Kings (Jonathan Quick) at Colorado Avalanche (Semyon Varlamov), 9:00 PM
Carolina Hurricanes (Cam Ward) at Edmonton Oilers (Cam Talbot), 9:00 PM
Arizona Coyotes (Louis Domingue) at Vancouver Canucks (Ryan Miller), 10:00 PM
Injury News For Teams Playing Monday
Detroit Red Wings
Kyle Quincey, D - Quincey (ankle) hopes to rejoin the lineup for Thursday's game against the Sharks.
Johan Franzen, RW - Franzen (concussion) is on long-term injured reserve Thursday.
Teemu Pulkkinen, RW - Pulkkinen (shoulder) will be out the next two-to-three weeks.
Tomas Jurco, RW - Jurco (upper body) did not play Saturday afternoon against the Sabres (1/2/2016)
Drew Miller, LW - Miller (jaw) is currently listed on injured reserve.
New Jersey Devils
Jacob Josefson, C - Josefson is on injured reserve with a lower-body injury.
Ryane Clowe, LW - Clowe (concussion) will be forced to retire due to risks stemming from his concussion history.
Patrik Elias, LW - Elias (knee) isn't ready to return yet and will be held out for "a little bit."
Michael Cammalleri, LW - Cammalleri (upper body) skated on his own Sunday morning.
Ottawa Senators
Chris Phillips, D - Phillips is not making much progress in his attempt to return from offseason back surgery and his career may be coming to an end.
Milan Michalek, LW - Michalek (finger) is on injured reserve.
Clarke MacArthur, LW - MacArthur (concussion) traveled with Ottawa on their most recent road trip.
Cody Ceci, D - Ceci (upper body) is considered week-to-week.
St. Louis Blues
Jaden Schwartz, LW - Schwartz (ankle) resumed skating Sunday, but is still expected to return after the All-Star break.
Steve Ott, C - Ott will miss two more months due to hamstring injuries.
Los Angeles Kings
Jeff Carter, C - Carter traveled with the team to Colorado ahead of Monday's contest with the Avalanche.
Matt Greene, D - Greene (upper body) is on long-term injured reserve.
Kyle Clifford, LW - Clifford (upper body), who has been sidelined since Dec. 6, does not appear to be nearing a return.
Colorado Avalanche
Ben Street, C - Street (chest) is on injured reserve.
Brad Stuart, D - Stuart (back) is close to returning, per Avalanche coach Patrick Roy.
Reto Berra, G - Berra (ankle) is currently listed on injured reserve.
Jesse Winchester, LW - Winchester (concussion) is on injured reserve.
Carolina Hurricanes
James Wisniewski, D - Wisniewski is expected to be sidelined four more months after undergoing surgery on his left knee to repair a torn ACL.
Nathan Gerbe, LW - Gerbe (lower body) joined the team on the ice Wednesday.
Phil Di Giuseppe, LW - Di Giusseppe left Saturday's game with an upper-body injury.
Edmonton Oilers
Iiro Pakarinen, RW - Pakarinen (undisclosed) did not play Saturday.
Connor McDavid, C - McDavid (collarbone) returned to practice Friday.
Oscar Klefbom, D - Klefbom's finger injury will keep him out Monday.
Nail Yakupov, RW - Yakupov (ankle) joined the Oilers on the ice Thursday.
Andrew Ference, D - Ference (undisclosed) is on injured reserved.
Arizona Coyotes
Boyd Gordon, C - Gordon (head) could return to the lineup Monday against the Canucks.
Zbynek Michalek, D - Michalek is considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury he suffered in Saturday's game against the Oilers.
Mike Smith, G - Smith underwent surgery to correct a core muscle injury that will keep him out for 6-to-8 more weeks
Martin Hanzal, C - Hanzal (lower body) could return to the lineup Monday against the Canucks.
Joe Vitale, C - Vitale is sidelined with a fractured orbital bone.
Dylan Reese, D - The Coyotes said that Reese (Achilles) suffered a severed Achilles tendon and is out indefinitely.
Vancouver Canucks
Sven Baertschi, LW - Coach Willie Desjardins indicated Thursday that Baertschi (upper body) doesn't have a timetable for return.
Brandon Prust, LW - Prust (undisclosed) is questionable for Monday's tilt with Arizona.
Brandon Sutter, C - Sutter (abdomen) could rejoin the Canucks in the second week of January.
Luca Sbisa, D - Sbisa (hand) is out Monday.
Dan Hamhuis, D - Hamhuis (face) is expected to miss another month.
Ryan Miller, G - Miller (muscle cramps) is expected to resume skating this week.
Hot
Kris Letang, D, PIT – Letang missed two weeks in December to injury, only to score two goals and eight points in four games since returning. He may be the worst point man in the NHL to compile as many points on the man advantage as he does. He rarely puts the puck on net and his passes handcuff teammates more often than not. That said, the team does so much better when he plays. Letang and Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin have an unspoken understanding with each other – when they're on, there are few better trios in the NHL. Right now, they're on. The coaching change has breathed new life into the offense. GM Jim Rutherford recently asked Letang to change his game so he doesn't leave himself vulnerable to the many big hits he takes – don't think opponents don't go out of their way to get under the skin of Pittsburgh's No. 1 defenseman. Letang said he doesn't see him changing his game, which is good in the short-run from a fantasy perspective. The downside is that it's only a matter of time until he misses game action due to his next unforeseen injury.
Leo Komarov, LW, TOR – In addition to being a decent scorer, this guy is just downright nasty. Komarov ranks second in the NHL with 169 hits. Aside from players not named Alexander Ovechkin, he has the most points amongst the top 25 leading hitters in the league with 27 (15G, 12A) -- Ovie only has seven more points than Komarov. The Toronto forward has seven points on the power play, including three in the last six games. Leagues using plus-minus as a category always have to offer "buyer beware" disclaimers when it comes to Leafs' players, but Komarov holds a plus-4 rating.
Cold
Martin Jones, G, SAN – Jones is trending down with higher monthly goals-against averages and higher save percentages. In October he compiled a 5-3 record with a 1.74 GAA and .938 save percentage. Despite winning seven of 10 decisions in November, his peripherals – 2.45 GAA, .914 save percentage – continued to slide. December saw Jones go 4-5-2 with a 3.06 GAA and .889 save percentage. He gave up three goals on 20 shots Saturday before pulled in his first 2016 calendar start. The good thing is, all the Sharks have in reserve is Alex Stalock – who flopped last season in his big shot and hasn't been better this year. In other words, Jones fantasy owners need not panic – yet. If he doesn't right the ship in January, however, it wouldn't be surprising to see San Jose test the trade waters. Remember, Jones has already started 31 games in 2015-16 and he started 34 games, combined, in his first two NHL campaigns -- he could be tiring due to the heavy workload.
Recommended Pickup
Patric Hornqvist, RW, PIT – One of many Pittsburgh skaters whose stock is on the rise with the change of coaches, Hornqvist (8G, 8A) is a proven 20-goal scorer – he's netted at least 20 goals in every one of his five full NHL seasons. He's got three goals and three assists in his last six games, including three power-play points (2G, 1A). Hornqvist is only 48 percent owned in Yahoo! Leagues, so fantasy owners looking to invest in the Pens' offense without much of an outlay might consider the player who went last overall (230th) in the 2005 draft. Hornqvist also ranks second on Pittsburgh with 118 shots.
