This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
Around The Rink
With most teams having about 10 games left in the regular season, fantasy squads looking for an advantage should consider loading up with players on teams fighting for playoff spots. Players from bubble teams figure to be good bets. The ancient Shane Doan has played well recently – he's designed for the playoffs at this point in his career, but he's paving the way for Phoenix.
Point production, in general, will likely be more random over a shorter period of time. Fantasy isn't always about having the best players, sometimes it's more about matchups. Checking the numbers of how a player does against a particular team is more important now than ever.
May the ice be fresh for you from here on in.
Daily Puck Info for 3/24/2014
Projected Goalie Starters (all times Eastern)
For updates on the projected goalies later in the day, check our Projected Goalies Grid
Phoenix Coyotes (Mike Smith) at New York Rangers (Henrik Lundqvist), 7:00 PM
Los Angeles Kings (Jonathan Quick) at Philadelphia Flyers (Steve Mason), 7:00 PM
Montreal Canadiens (Peter Budaj) at Boston Bruins (Tuukka Rask), 7:30 PM
Ottawa Senators (Craig Anderson) at Tampa Bay Lightning (Ben Bishop), 7:30 PM
Winnipeg Jets (Ondrej Pavelec) at Dallas Stars (Kari Lehtonen), 8:30 PM
San Jose Sharks (Antti Niemi) at Calgary Flames (Karri Ramo), 9:00 PM
Injury News For Teams Playing Monday
Phoenix Coyotes
David Schlemko, D - Schlemko (lower body) returned to Phoenix on Monday and is expected to miss the final three games of the team's road trip, Sarah McLellan of the Arizona Republic reports. (3/10/2014)
New York Rangers
John Moore, D - Moore has been diagnosed with a concussion. (3/22/2014)
Derek Dorsett, RW - Dorsett (illness) will not play Saturday vs. the Devils. (3/22/2014)
Los Angeles Kings
Dustin Brown, RW - Kings coach Darryl Sutter said Saturday that he assumes Brown (upper body) will travel on the Kings' upcoming three-game road trip, LAKingsInsider.com's Jon Rosen reports. (3/22/2014)
Philadelphia Flyers
Steve Downie, RW - Downie is day-to-day with an upper-body injury, the Flyers' official site reports. (3/23/2014)
Marc-Andre Bourdon, D - Bourdon has suffered a setback in his recovery from concussion issues and is out indefinitely for AHL Adirondack, Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. (2/22/2014)
Chris Pronger, D - Flyers GM Paul Holmgren openly acknowledged Tuesday that Pronger's career is over due to his concussion issues, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. "I'll say it; Chris is never going to play again," Holmgren said. "I have no problems saying it." (10/15/2013)
Montreal Canadiens
Josh Gorges, D - Gorges underwent surgery on his fractured left hand Monday and is expected to miss four weeks. (3/10/2014)
Brandon Prust, LW - Prust (upper body) will miss the remainder of the 2013-14 season, Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports reports. (3/21/2014)
Lars Eller, LW - Eller left Saturday's game with a lower-body injury and will not return, Dave Stubbs of the Montreal Gazette reports. (3/22/2014)
Mac Bennett, D - Bennett suffered an upper-body injury in a game against Penn State last week and is listed as week-to-week for Michigan, the Montreal Gazette reports. (3/1/2014)
Tim Bozon, LW - Bozon is in a medically induced coma in a Saskatoon hospital and fighting for his life after being diagnosed with bacterial meningitis on March 1, reports the Calgary Sun. (3/8/2014)
Boston Bruins
Marc Savard, C - The Bruins are expected to place Savard (concussion) on Long-Term Injured Reserve, Fluto Shinzawa of the Boston Globe reports. (7/6/2013)
Dennis Seidenberg, D - Head coach Claude Julien didn't rule out Seidenburg (lower body) returning if the Bruins make a deep run in the playoffs, Joe Haggerty of CSN New England reports. (3/21/2014)
Adam McQuaid, D - The Bruins will shut down McQuaid (groin/hip) for the next two-to-three weeks. (3/5/2014)
Ottawa Senators
Nathan Lawson, G - Lawson is day-to-day with a lower-body injury, Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun reports. (3/19/2014)
Craig Anderson, G - Anderson (undisclosed) will likely miss at least the Sens' next two games, Wayne Scanlan of the Ottawa Citizen reports. (3/22/2014)
Bobby Ryan, RW - Ryan did not take the ice with his team for practice on Sunday, Wayne Scanlan of the Ottawa Citizen reports. (3/23/2014)
Tampa Bay Lightning
Brian Lee, D - Lee (knee) is still only doing off-ice workouts. (11/9/2013)
Mattias Ohlund, D - Ohlund (knee) was placed on long-term injured reserve Tuesday, the Tampa Bay Times reports. (10/2/2013)
Slater Koekkoek, D - Koekkoek has undergone season-ending surgery on his right shoulder, but will be ready for training camp in September, reports the Tampa Tribune. "In listening to the doctors, there's no reason Slater can't go on to have a good, long, healthy career," Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman said of the big defender who has now undergone three shoulder surgeries. (3/21/2014)
Winnipeg Jets
Ondrej Pavelec, G - Pavelec (lower body) won't be available for Monday's game against the Stars, Tim Campbell of the Winnipeg Free Press reports. (3/23/2014)
Chris Thorburn, RW - Thornburn is out indefinitely with a fractured talus, according to Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun. (3/16/2014)
James Wright, C - Coach Paul Maurice said that Wright is dealing with an ankle sprain and will be out indefinitely. (3/3/2014)
Grant Clitsome, D - Clitsome has undergone season-ending back surgery, Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun reports. (1/17/2014)
Mark Scheifele, C - Coach Paul Maurice said Scheifele (knee) has recovered as anticipated thus far. (3/14/2014)
John Albert, C - Albert (upper body) was sent down to AHL St. John's on Saturday. (3/22/2014)
Dallas Stars
Rich Peverley, RW - Peverley underwent successful surgery to correct an abnormal heart rhythm on Tuesday. (3/19/2014)
Erik Cole, RW - Cole (upper-body) did not take part in the Stars' morning skate Sunday, NHL.com's Mark Stepneski reports. (3/23/2014)
San Jose Sharks
Tomas Hertl, C - Hertl (knee) has started to pick up the pace of his workouts, but is not skating at close to full speed yet, CSN Bay Area's Kevin Kurz reports. (3/19/2014)
Brad Stuart, D - Stuart (upper body) will not return to the lineup on Saturday as had been earlier speculated, according to the Mercury News. (3/22/2014)
Raffi Torres, LW - Torres (soreness) will sit again on Saturday with the Capitals in town, according to the Mercury News. (3/22/2014)
Calgary Flames
Dennis Wideman, D - Coach Bob Hartley said Wideman's (upper body) rehab program has been shut down, making him unlikely to return this season. (3/20/2014)
David Jones, RW - Jones (upper body) will miss the next three-to-four weeks, Pat Steinberg of Sportsnet 960 The Fan reports. (3/4/2014)
Markus Granlund, C - Granlund (shoulder) should be able to get a few games in before the end of the season, the Calgary Herald reports. (3/21/2014)
Michael Ferland, LW - Ferland underwent knee surgery Saturday and is expected to miss the rest of the season, Pat Steinberg of Sportsnet 960 The Fan reports. (1/18/2014)
Patrick Sieloff, D - After missing the first half of the season with a staph infection, Sieloff has been cleared for off-ice activities, the Calgary Sun reports. (1/17/2014)
Hot
Kevin Bieksa: Bieksa led all NHL defensemen with four power-play assists in the last two weeks. Add 19 hits and eight blocked shots and he becomes living proof that there is fantasy worthiness in Vancouver after all.
T.J Brodie: The Calgary defender has six assists in his last games and is a plus-10 over that time span. With 27 points in 71 games, Brodie is close to doubling his career high in points (he's scored 14 points in each of his first two NHL seasons). He's owned in one percent of Yahoo! leagues.
Milan Lucic: Lucic is third in the league among forwards with 28 hits the last two weeks. Add two goals and five assists and it's easy to see why he's rolling like the entire Boston squad. The combination of 21 goals, 53 points, 78 PIM and 212 hits is difficult to match, aside from David Backes.
Cold
Seth Jones: The fourth overall pick in the 2013 draft left Sunday's game with concussion-like symptoms. The rigors of the long season appeared to catch up to Popeye's son, as he had just three points and a minus-7 rating in his last 16 contests. The Predators would do well to sit him out for as long as necessary and take a cautious approach with the stud defensive prospect.
Pekka Rinne: This is more to see if you're really paying attention. Prior to Sunday, Rinne was 2-5 with a 3.25 GAA and .889 save percentage in March. So what did he do Sunday? He shut out the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Chicago Blackhawks, stopping all 29 shots. Rinne's fantasy stock has fallen from the top tier into the middle of the pack. He could present a nice buy-low opportunity in fantasy pools next season.
Dany Heatley: Heatley was a bottom-rung sleeper pickup about a month ago when he strung together a five-game point streak. He's slipped back into oblivion, however, with just two helpers in his last 12 tilts and two shots on goal in his last eight. To think that Heatley once had back-to-back seasons of 103 and 105 points, respectively, for the Ottawa Senators in 2005-06 and 2006-07.
Recommended Pickup:
Sami Vatanen: The Ducks defenseman has dynasty value but he also figures to contribute with Cam Fowler likely out for the rest of the regular season. Vatanen added an assist Sunday and saw 1:26 TOI power-play time, second among Anaheim blueliners.
