This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
Around the Rink
I caught some of the Sweden-Finland World Junior Championship game over the Christmas break. These two countries have no love lost between them. This game, like other WJC matchups, seems like the baseball equivalent of the Futures Game. In addition to watching top talent for the love of the game, there's plenty of scouting to be gleaned. Determining which players represent future fodder for my keeper fantasy team is always a fun reason to watch, especially with the NHL on hiatus. Patriotism isn't as big a deal to me as it is to others when it comes to the WJC. This is a glorious time to scout young star talent.
The Ukrainian-born Dmytro Timashov, who plays for Sweden, carried the play against Finland. He notched two goals and adding an assist while hitting a cross-bar. I'll be keeping tabs on his progress as the Toronto Maple Leafs' 2015 5th round draft choice.
For whatever reason, American Kyle Palmieri's WJC performance in 2010 and 2011 stuck with me. I kept tabs on him over the years and when he became available in my keeper league this past offseason I scooped him up. That move is paying off handsomely right now.
For those looking at WJC players drafted by the 28 NHL teams – Pittsburgh and Montreal have no prospects participating in the tourney – please check out fellow Daily Puck writer Dustin Nelson's rundown here.
Projected Goalie Starters (all times Eastern)
For updates on the projected goalies later in the day, check our Projected Goalies Grid
Washington Capitals (Braden Holtby) at Buffalo Sabres (Linus Ullmark), 7:00 PM
Montreal Canadiens (Mike Condon) at Tampa Bay Lightning (Ben Bishop), 7:30 PM
New York Rangers (Henrik Lundqvist) at Nashville Predators (Pekka Rinne), 8:00 PM
Detroit Red Wings (Petr Mrazek) at Minnesota Wild (Devan Dubnyk), 8:00 PM
Los Angeles Kings (Jonathan Quick) at Vancouver Canucks (Ryan Miller), 10:00 PM
Colorado Avalanche (Reto Berra) at San Jose Sharks (Martin Jones), 10:30 PM
Injury News For Teams Playing Monday
Washington Capitals
Brooks Orpik, D - Orpik (lower body) was not on the ice for the Saturday morning skate.
Jakub Vrana, RW - Vrana underwent successful wrist surgery Wednesday morning, adding that he will require 2-to-3 months before returning to "full hockey activities."
Buffalo Sabres
Cody McCormick, C - McCormick (blood clots), who is only taking light practice with teammates on the injured reserve, still has no timetable for return.
Matt Moulson, LW - Moulson missed practice Sunday due to an illness.
Evander Kane, LW - Kane, who missed practice for personal reasons, is the subject in the investigation of an alleged incident that occurred early Sunday morning.
Robin Lehner, G - Lehner (ankle) could return to practice soon.
Mark Pysyk, D - Sabres coach Dan Blysma considers Pysyk week-to-week with his lower-body injury.
Montreal Canadiens
Carey Price, G - Price (leg) will miss at least two more weeks but will not require surgery.
Tom Gilbert, D - Gilbert (lower body) will miss the rest of the road trip, which puts him out until Jan. 6 at the earliest.
Brendan Gallagher, RW - Gallagher (finger) looked good while taking shots on goalies Saturday morning.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Tyler Johnson, C - Johnson (undisclosed) practiced in a regular jersey Sunday, and is expected back before the end of the week.
Ondrej Palat, LW - Palat (ankle) was wearing a grey non-contact uniform at practice Sunday and has been ruled out for Monday's game against the Canadiens.
Jonathan Drouin, C - Drouin (lower body) wore a non-contact jersey at practice Sunday, but is expected back at some point this week.
Yanni Gourde, LW - Gourde (finger) did not suit up for Saturday's game against the Blue Jackets.
Joel Vermin, RW - Vermin underwent hand surgery Thursday and is expected to miss 4-to-6 weeks.
Mitchell Stephens, C - Stephens (foot) is part of Team Canada's IIHF junior selection camp. He has five goals and six points in seven games this season while missing time with a broken foot.
Mattias Ohlund, D - Ohlund (knee) is on long-term injured reserve Tuesday.
Brian Boyle, C - Boyle (upper body) is expected to return before the Lightning's current homestand ends on Jan. 2.
New York Rangers
Kevin Klein, D - Klein (oblique) is expected to rejoin the lineup Monday against the Predators
Dan Girardi, D - Girardi (knee) practiced Sunday and should return to the lineup Monday against the Predators.
Antti Raanta, G - Raanta (head) will likely be available for Monday's game against the Predators, Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News reports.
Nashville Predators
Gabriel Bourque, LW - Bourque (lower body) is on injured reserve.
Mike Fisher, C - Fisher (lower body) is hopeful to return for Monday's contest with the Rangers.
Detroit Red Wings
Kyle Quincey, D - Quincey (ankle) is expected to rejoin the lineup in early January.
Johan Franzen, RW - Franzen (concussion) is on long-term injured reserve.
Teemu Pulkkinen, RW - Pulkkinen (shoulder) will be out the next 4-to-6 weeks.
Dylan Larkin, LW - Larkin (undisclosed) is expected to miss Monday's game against the Wild, Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press reports.
Jonathan Ericsson, D - Ericsson (upper body) isn't expected to be ready for Monday's game against the Wild.
Drew Miller, LW - Miller (jaw) will undergo surgery Saturday and be out for three more weeks.
Minnesota Wild
Zac Dalpe, C - Dalpe underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left hip and has been given a recovery timetable of four more months.
Ryan Carter, LW - Carter did not play in Saturday's loss to Pittsburgh due to a lower body injury.
Los Angeles Kings
Jeff Carter, C - Carter (upper body) is considered day-to-day, and will rejoin the team on its upcoming road trip.
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.
Dwight King, LW - King (foot) returned to practice, but won't return until after the new year.
Vancouver Canucks
Alex Burrows, RW - Burrows was not in the lineup for Saturday's game against the Oilers.
Brandon Sutter, C - Sutter (abdomen) could rejoin the Canucks in the second week of January.
Luca Sbisa, D - Sbisa (hand) is expected to be sidelined for another week.
Dan Hamhuis, D - Hamhuis (face) is expected to miss at least another month.
Ryan Miller, G - Miller (muscle cramps) will not be available Saturday evening against the Oilers, Steve Ewen of The Province reports. Canucks coach Willie Desjardins estimates that Miller will be out for another week. "Miller's a little longer than we thought," said Desjardins. "I thought he'd be close to being ready to go. He's maybe a week."
Chris Higgins, LW - Higgins (undisclosed) did not play Saturday against the Oilers.
Colorado Avalanche
Brad Stuart, D - Stuart is out due to some back issues.
Nate Guenin, D - Guenin is dealing with a possible concussion and has been ruled out.
Reto Berra, G - Berra (ankle) will be out for approximately 10 days.
Jesse Winchester, LW - Winchester (concussion) is on injured reserve.
Ben Street, C - Street (chest) has been placed on injured reserve.
San Jose Sharks
Logan Couture, C - Couture (thigh) skated Sunday, but exited practice early and remains without a timetable for return.
Raffi Torres, LW - Torres had "a procedure" on his often injured knee and it's not clear if he'll be healthy when his suspension is over.
Hot
Benoit Pouliot, LW, EDM – Pouliot potted a pair of goals Sunday night with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jordan Eberle assisting on both scores. The fourth overall pick in 2005, Pouliot was off to a good start serving as a linemate to Connor McDavid. McDavid subsequently got hurt and Pouliot nursed his own injury for several weeks. It appears he's back and while there's no need to rush out and pick him up, keep in mind that he figures to see time with the rookie prodigy when the rookie prodigy returns (sometime in January).
Steven Stamkos, C, TAM – Stamkos collected three power-play points in a six-minute span during the second period of Saturday's win over Columbus. Granted, the competition wasn't elite but when was the last time Stamkos put up numbers like that? There's little doubt his future is weighing on him, but he's scored five of his season's 16 goals in the last four games. Tampa Bay will need him if it intends to get back into the Eastern Conference playoff mix.
Cold
Jori Lehtera, C, STL – Lehtera compiled 44 points in 75 games as a rookie in 2014-15. It looked as though he would build upon the impressive freshman campaign when he scored eight points in 11 October contests. Unfortunately, that hasn't happened for the Finnish forward. Lehtera has stumbled with two goals and five points in 27 November and December games. His recent performance is filled with too many empty performances – the kind that sinks fantasy teams.
Chris Kunitz, LW, PIT – With eight points in five mid-December games, he had his run -- but now he's done. Kunitz has tallied a sole assist in his last seven contests and even his hits have fallen off (he's totaled 14 hits in seven games). The forward continues to play with Sidney Crosby, so there's a chance that he picks ups the occasional point as a top-six forward, but Kunitz is best suited for a bottom-six role.
Recommended Pickup
Tyler Johnson, C, TAM – Johnson has missed the last two-plus weeks with an undisclosed injury but could return in the coming week. He scored four goals and 11 points in 23 contests before getting hurt, but it's hard to forget last season when he notched 72 points in 77 games. Even if he doesn't approach that point-per-game rate, fantasy owners could do a lot worse trolling the waiver wire. Ondrej Palat (ankle) is another injured Lightning player who is expected back soon and could help your team, though his upside is a tad lower than Johnson's.
