This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
Around the Rink
Congratulations Alexander Ovechkin! Ovie notched his 500th NHL goal (and 501) Sunday night in just his 801st NHL game. He's the best pure goal scorer since Mario Lemieux in this writer's opinion.
This building just erupted 🌋! #CapsSens#Ovi500https://t.co/GxCUwVUQGg
— Washington Capitals (@washcaps) January 11, 2016*****
Forced storylines
Artemi Panarin isn't as good as he's playing. No one really knew what to expect from Panarin when he arrived in Chicago from the KHL over the summer. Everyone believes he'll cool off at some point, a good number of folks figured it would've already happened. It hasn't. How much longer will his production continue? His season reminds me a lot of Nikita Kucherov with Tampa Bay last season. Good depth all around him, winning team. The young guys who aren't being counted on to be "the guy" are the ones who seem to succeed. With Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and Duncan Keith around, Panarin can continue in his role as the Bread Man rising to the occasion.
Sidney Crosby is finished. Okay, the sane hockey enthusiast knows better than to say the Kid is washed up. There is considerable talk, though, that his best days are behind him. That, of course, is a more reasonable question. Crosby probably peaked in the 2010-11 campaign when he scored 66 points in 41 games before suffering a concussion at the Winter Classic (and another concussion versus Tampa Bay shortly thereafter). What lies ahead for the 8/7/87 born centerman? The change in coaching from Mike Johnston to Mike Sullivan seems to have done wonders for Crosby and the Pittsburgh offense. Crosby is averaging a point per game under the former Bruins head coach. Is Crosby a coach killer? Pittsburgh kept coach Dan Bylsma about two years longer than I would have after his team was swept by Boston in the Eastern Conference finals several seasons ago. Mike Johnston? He was the team's reported eighth choice to coach the Penguins and should've been fired after the team needed to beat Buffalo just to back into the postseason last year in the final regular-season game. Crosby is a lot of things but coach killer isn't one of them.
Tampa Bay needs to trade Jonathan Drouin. Plenty of young players struggle without getting traded or requesting a trade. The agent, Allan Walsh, has now cast a bad name over his client by making the situation about as public as it can be. It makes me wonder whose interest he's most concerned with. The third overall pick of the 2013 draft, Drouin should put his head down, do his work in Syracuse and work his way back to the NHL. Right now he looks like a selfish player and that's not a good tag to hold, especially for a 20-year-old.
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Business Insider listed the most popular team for each of the states in the United States. The graphic (click here) was generated by the company "Vivid Seat" ticket sales, which lends only so much credibility. Guess which team leads in popularity in seven different states. If you guessed the Colorado Avalanche, you're right. I'm not so sure how much relevance the graphic holds, but now you can tell your Penguins friends that the Flyers are the most popular team in Pennsylvania and see what they say.
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Five Fun with Numbers Notes
-- Defenseman Brent Burns ranked second in the NHL on Sunday with 173 shots. He is the only defender among the top 15 players in the shots on goal category.
-- Washington's Marcus Johannson is tied for the second-most in game-winning goals with six. He has only 10 goals overall.
-- Is Joe Pavelski getting better with age? When Pavelski potted 41 goals in 2013-14 at age 29, it was looked upon as a fluke in some circles because he never scored more than 31 goals in seven seasons. He scored 37 times last season and already has 21 at the halfway point this year. Maybe it's time to give him credit where credit's due.
-- With nine goals and 31 points in 42 games, Roman Josi is having a heck of a campaign for the Predators. He also ranks third with 111 blocked shots. I'm not so sure that's a good thing though. I like my offensive defensemen to stay out of harms way and let guys like Tanner Glass give themselves up for the good of the game.
-- Goalie Ben Bishop only has 16 wins but features a 2.06 GAA. That's quite the change for Bishop, whose career goals-against mark is 2.32.
Projected Goalie Starters (all times Eastern)
For updates on the projected goalies later in the day, check our Projected Goalies Grid
Boston Bruins (Tuukka Rask) at New York Rangers (Henrik Lundqvist), 7:00 PM
San Jose Sharks (Martin Jones) at Calgary Flames (Karri Ramo), 9:00 PM
Florida Panthers (Roberto Luongo) at Vancouver Canucks (Jacob Markstrom), 10:00 PM
Detroit Red Wings (Jimmy Howard) at Los Angeles Kings (Jonathan Quick), 10:30 PM
Injury News For Teams Playing Monday
Boston Bruins
Chris Kelly, RW - Kelly will miss with a broken leg.
David Krejci, C - Krejci (upper body) won't play Monday.
Adam McQuaid, D - McQuaid (upper body) on injured reserve.
San Jose Sharks
Dainius Zubrus, RW - Zubrus (upper body) missed Saturday's game.
Raffi Torres, LW - Torres had "a procedure" on his oft-injured knee. He's out Monday.
Calgary Flames
Jiri Hudler, RW - Hudler (lower body) isn't expected back until at least Jan. 16.
Michael Frolik, LW - Frolik (upper body) just cleared for contact but isn't expected to play Monday.
Jon Gillies, G - Out Monday after undergoing hip surgery.
Florida Panthers
Dave Bolland, C - Bolland (lower body) will sit out through the All-Star break.
Steve Kampfer, D - Kampfer (lower body) is close to returning.
Vancouver Canucks
Jannik Hansen, RW - Hansen (upper body) is on injured reserve.
Brandon Sutter, C - Sutter (abdomen) is close to returning but will likely miss Monday.
Luca Sbisa, D - Sbisa (hand) will join the Canucks on the team's upcoming road trip after practicing Sunday.
Dan Hamhuis, D - Hamhuis (face) is a month away from returning to the lineup.
Chris Higgins, LW - Higgins is no longer with the Canucks, and won't play as the team explores options trading him.
Detroit Red Wings
Kyle Quincey, D - Quincey (ankle) will return to the lineup against the Kings on Monday.
Johan Franzen, RW - Franzen (concussion) is on long-term injured reserve.
Teemu Pulkkinen, RW - Pulkkinen (shoulder) will miss Monday.
Los Angeles Kings
Kyle Clifford, LW - Clifford (upper body) was on the ice following the morning skate Thursday and is close to returning.
Matt Greene, D - Greene (shoulder) has been ruled out of the remainder of the season.
Hot
Jason Chimera, LW, WAS -- Who knows if Chimera's offensive output will continue. I quit asking several weeks ago and have been enjoying his surprising production in a deep fantasy league. On Sunday, the 36-year-old assisted on Alexander Ovechkin's 500th goal on the power play. It wouldn't be wise to count on Chimera for more than .50 points per game – let alone his three-assist bonanza against Ottawa – but surprises like him put smiles on fantasy owner faces. Chimera has 12 goals and 25 points in 42 contests.
Jordan Staal, C, CAR -- Is Staal worth the 10-year, $60-million deal he signed with the Hurricanes several years ago? Nope. It was thought that when he moved south from Pittsburgh to Carolina he would rise up from a third-line centerman to produce offense at a top-6 clip. That hasn't happened, but he does have a goal and an assist in each of his last three games. For that reason alone Staal lands on the hot list.
Cold
Victor Hedman, D, TAM – Hedman scored one goal, two assists and compiled a plus-3 rating Saturday to help fantasy owners. Prior to that, the blueliner totaled eight points in his previous 29 games. Only the rare players plods along with consistent production, but Hedman's dry spell hit desert-like futility before the most recent game. Poolies are accustomed to worrying about injuries with him but not droughts. It remains to be seen whether he's back on track after a big Saturday.
Recommended Pickup
Mark Streit, D, PHI: Streit presents an interesting case for fantasy owners. He has a long history of offensive production, but his best days are behind him. After missing time with injury, Streit tallied his first assist in five games Saturday. With Shayne Gostibehere day-to-day, the Flyers might lean on the 38-year-old a bit more. If nothing else, they'll be looking to improve his trade value. Streit collected three assists in his last game against the Bruins, Philadelphia's next opponent. Plus, the team plays four of its next seven games at home. Streit is only owned in 38 percent of Yahoo! leagues, mak
