This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
Around the Rink
Colorado travels to Brooklyn on Monday. The Avs hold a 6-7 road mark, surprisingly better than their home record of 3-6-1. The team's offense seems to be a better bet than goaltending in the Mile High city. Matt Duchene and Gabriel Landeskog both collected three points Saturday against Winnipeg and make for good picks Monday. Duchene has 16 of his season's 22 points in his last nine games while Landeskog is currently riding a five-game point streak with two goals and eight points.
New York has scored only 12 goals in its last five contests but sets up for a big night against the Avs. Frans Nielsen is producing at his 2013-14 clip, when he totaled a career-best 58 points. Nielsen has potted nine goals and 18 points in 24 games, including eight points (4G, 4A) in his last seven. What else can be said about John Tavares? With 11 goals and 21 points in 21 games, the 2009 No. 1 overall pick is on pace for his third straight point-per-game campaign. He's one of the few money guys in the league right now. Tavares' 53.9 faceoff percentage win rate is also the best in his seven NHL years, for fantasy owners who use draws as a counting category.
The jury is out on whether the 'Canes are catching the Rangers at a really good time or a really bad one. New York was blanked by Philly on Saturday and allowed four or more goals in three of four tilts prior to the Flyers' loss. By the same token, Henrik Lundqvist shut out Carolina the last time the teams met at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 10. Defenseman Justin Faulk leads the Hurricanes with eight goals and 18 points. Remarkably, all eight of his scores have come on the power play, which ties him with the Stars' Jamie Benn for the league lead. Victor Rask leads Carolina with a 14-percent shooting mark on seven goals. Rask has been a trendy pickup, a player who has lit up fantasy radars recently.
Mats Zuccarello has gone scoreless in his last four but still leads the Rangers with 21 points (10G, 11A) in 24 games. Zuccarello's 22.7 shooting percentage won't last, but the European import is already over halfway to breaking his career high of 19 goals. Rick Nash scored one goal and assisted on a second in New York's most recent win over Carolina. He's averaging a point per game in his last 10 tilts with seven goals and three assists.
It's possible Monday could prove productive for Edmonton fantasy owners. The Oilers travel to Toronto, which has lost three straight. Jordan Eberle and Taylor Hall have seen good success against the Leafs. Eberle has seven goals and 12 points in eight career contests, including a three-point effort the last time the teams met. Eberle is off to a slow start with just three goals through 11 games, but an opponent like the Leafs could be the perfect tonic for his slump. Hall was held pointless in three straight before tallying an assist and six shots Saturday in Pittsburgh. He leads the Oilers with 25 points in 24 tilts and has three goals and seven points in five career meetings with Toronto. Teddy Purcell has nine points in his last 10 and looks to be a decent cheap pickup for Monday.
Coach Mike Babcock continues to try every trick in the book with goalie Jonathan Bernier, but nothing seems to work. He's now 0-8-1 with a 3.28 GAA and .888 save percentage. If he plays Monday, then fantasy owners need to consider strongly choosing Edmonton players, though the game is in Toronto. While it might be in the Leafs' best interests to consider trading Dion Phaneuf, the defender does have 14 points in 23 games. Last year he compiled 29 points in 70 contests, so he's halfway to his point total in one-third of the games played.
Vancouver travels to Anaheim on Monday for the first time since serving as the Ducks' opponent for their home opener on Oct. 12. The Canucks won that game, 2-1, in a shootout. Ryan Miller stopped 28 of 29 shots. Radim Vrbata has a decent track record against Anaheim, with 13 goals and 35 points in 50 career games. Vrbata has also been hot lately, with three goals and six points in six games. Four of those points have come courtesy of the power play.
Despite a dreadful start, the Ducks are just four points behind Vancouver in the standings. Defender Cam Fowler has six of his 10 points in the last six games. Fellow blueliner Sami Vatanen has 10 points in his last 10. For his career, Vatanen has collected nine points in 10 contests versus Vancouver.
Projected Goalie Starters (all times Eastern)
For updates on the projected goalies later in the day, check our Projected Goalies Grid
Colorado Avalanche (Semyon Varlamov) at New York Islanders (Jaroslav Halak), 7:00 PM
Carolina Hurricanes (Cam Ward) at New York Rangers (Henrik Lundqvist), 7:00 PM
Edmonton Oilers (Anders Nilsson) at Toronto Maple Leafs (Garret Sparks), 7:30 PM
Vancouver Canucks (Ryan Miller) at Anaheim Ducks (Frederik Andersen), 10:00 PM
Injury News For Teams Playing Monday
Colorado Avalanche
Alex Tanguay, LW - Tanguay (knee) skated Tuesday, Terry Frei of the Denver Post reports. (11/25/2015)
Brad Stuart, D - Stuart has returned to Denver due to some back issues, Drew Spevak of ESPN Denver reports. (11/12/2015)
Jesse Winchester, LW - Winchester (concussion) has been placed on injured reserve, Marc Moser of AltitudeTV reports. (10/6/2015)
Ben Street, C - Street (chest) has been placed on injured reserve, TVA Sports reports. (11/23/2015)
John Mitchell, C - Mitchell (oblique) remains day-to-day, Terry Frei of The Denver Post reports. (11/25/2015)
New York Islanders
Jean-Francois Berube, G - Berube (lower body) was placed on injured reserve Saturday. (11/28/2015)
Kirill Petrov, RW - Petrov will be out of action for at least the next month with a broken foot, reports Newsday's Arthur Staple. (11/5/2015)
Eric Boulton, LW - Boulton (lower body) will be out for Tuesday night's contest against the Sharks, Kevin Kurz of CSNBayArea.com reports. (11/10/2015)
Carolina Hurricanes
James Wisniewski, D - Wisniewski is expected to be sidelined six months after undergoing surgery on his left knee Friday to repair the torn ACL he suffered in Thursday's 2-1 loss to the Predators, NHL.com's Michael Smith reports. (10/9/2015)
Nathan Gerbe, LW - Gerbe (lower body) has been placed on injured reserve and will miss 4-to-6 weeks. (11/24/2015)
New York Rangers
Derek Stepan, C - Stepan sustained broken ribs in Friday afternoon's 4-3 loss to the Bruins and is out indefinitely, per Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault. (11/27/2015)
Edmonton Oilers
Rob Klinkhammer, LW - Klinkhammer (lower body) was placed on injured reserve Wednesday. (10/28/2015)
Nail Yakupov, RW - Yakupov will miss 2-4 weeks with an ankle sprain. (11/26/2015)
Dillon Simpson, D - The Oilers signed Simpson to a three-year, entry-level contract Tuesday, reports the Edmonton Journal. (4/23/2014)
Connor McDavid, C - McDavid (shoulder) is healing faster than expected, and he could be back in the Oilers lineup in mid-to-late January, SportsNet's Mark Spector reports. (11/26/2015)
Toronto Maple Leafs
Joffrey Lupul, LW - Lupul will miss Monday's game against the Oilers due to some nagging injuries, Jonas Siegel of TSN 1050 reports. (11/29/2015)
Stephane Robidas, D - Robidas (knee) still hasn't resumed skating, and remains without a definitive timetable to return to practice, Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun reports. (11/17/2015)
James Reimer, G - Reimer is back on the ice during Sunday's morning skate, Mark Masters of TSN reports. (11/29/2015)
Vancouver Canucks
Brandon Sutter, C - Sutter has been diagnosed with an abdominal strain and will be re-evaluated in two weeks. (11/21/2015)
Ben Hutton, D - Hutton (lower body) returned to practice Sunday but remains without a timetable to return. (11/29/2015)
Anaheim Ducks
Simon Despres, D - Ducks general manager Bob Murray told reporters Saturday that Despres is dealing with a concussion, Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register reports. (11/14/2015)
Frederik Andersen, G - Andersen is still dealing with the flu and that prevented him from traveling to Arizona for Wednesday's contest against the Coyotes, NHL.com's Jerry Brown reports. (11/25/2015)
Jiri Sekac, RW - Sekac (ankle) took part in some solo skating before practice Sunday, Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register reports. (11/29/2015)
Nate Thompson, C - Thompson (shoulder) was able to take contact Monday but isn't ready to return to game action, Curtis Zupke of NHL.com reports. (11/23/2015)
Hot
Braden Holtby, G, WASH – He's won seven starts and holds a 15-4 mark. His peripherals support his strong play. Holtby boasts a 1.95 GAA and .926 save percentage. The 26-year-old hasn't even entered the prime playing years for goalies, which must be a little scary for the Metropolitan Division. Holtby started 72 games last year and is on pace for another max-usage season. Washington would do well to rest him more frequently but it's hard to put weapon on the bench.
Alex Galchenyuk, C, MON – Galchenyuk appears and disappears more often than a magician. Right now, however, his outstanding play would make David Copperfield proud. The center has five goals and seven points in his last five games. Prior to that, he scored 11 points in 20 games. With Brendan Gallagher out with two fractured fingers, the Canadiens will look toward Galchenyuk and company to pick up some of the slack.
Cold
Ryan Murphy, D, CAR – A highly-touted offensive defenseman, Murphy tallied four assists in 17 games before the team shipped him to the AHL on Thursday. Admittedly, he hasn't been healthy since suffering a concussion in mid November, but now he'll likely have to wait his turn for an injury to strike before getting another shot. Mega-prospect Noah Hanifin has made his debut, further clouding Murphy's immediate future.
Colin Wilson, LW, NASH – He has only three assists in his last 16 games. For the season, Wilson has scored only one goal in 23 games – this after potting 20 goals in 2014-15. Cutting the forward right now might turn out to be selling low, but it's got to be awfully tempting. Deciding whether he's simply going through an extended slow start or reverting back to a 30-point player isn't an easy call.
Recommended Pickup
Ryan Strome, C, NYI – Strome spent the last three weeks in the AHL after an unimpressive start. He returned Friday and scored a goal, then added an assist Saturday. The 22-year-old totaled 50 points for New York in 2014-15 and has the potential to help fantasy owners again. At the very least he's worth keeping an eye on as he makes his way back into the NHL.
