This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
Around the Rink
Defensemen Anton Stralman and Jason Garrison have each put up some big numbers with Victor Hedman sidelined since the sixth game of the regular season. Hedman returned Saturday, playing a season-low 19:55 TOI as the team eased him back into action. Tampa Bay went 13-5-1 without the big Swede, but make no mistake, Hedman will make his fantasy mark soon enough – he finished plus-2 with three shots against Ottawa. Right now, the Lightning offer an embarrassing surplus of offensive forward riches and Hedman – who totaled five power-play points in five games before getting hurt – is there to take full advantage. One note of caution, Stralman and Garrison fantasy owners thinking of unloading either defender might be wise to make sure Hedman is fully healthy before selling, as wrists can be tricky injuries.
I'm not a fan of Alexander Semin and I thought former Hurricanes GM, Jim Rutherford, was crazy to give him a five-year, $35 million deal before the 2013-14 campaign. Currently, Semin has yet to score a goal in Carolina's first 18 games, contributing with just five assists. That said, he's still getting chances. When he scores one goal, look for the points to come in bunches. I would consider targeting him right now, because when he gets that first marker, fantasy owners who've kept him this long probably won't be looking to sell.
There was no way I was going to get "Crawford'd" on Saturday by Logan Couture. Let me explain. Over the past couple weeks, Chicago goalie Corey Crawford was supposed to sit out for a pair of games he ended up starting. One of those games turned out to be a shutout and the other was a win. On Saturday, reports had Couture sitting out the team's morning skate, speculating that he might have the mumps. Fortunately, I kept him in the lineup and he potted a pair of goals, including a shortie.
Jakub Voracek, whew. I targeted him in the one league he was unprotected but missed out on him – I know, nobody cares about my fantasy teams. Anyhow, as Rotowire's Brady Trettenero pointed out on his Twitter timeline @BradyTrett on Saturday, Voracek has picked up a point in all 19 games Philly has scored (they've been shut out the other four times). The trade which turned out to be Sean Couturier and Voracek for Jeff Carter didn't turn out so well for the Blue Jackets.
Projected Goalie Starters (all times Eastern)
For updates on the projected goalies later in the day, check our Projected Goalies Grid
Tampa Bay Lightning (Ben Bishop) at New York Rangers (Henrik Lundqvist), 7:00 PM
Florida Panthers (Al Montoya) at Columbus Blue Jackets (Sergei Bobrovsky), 7:00 PM
Montreal Canadiens (Carey Price) at Colorado Avalanche (Calvin Pickard), 9:00 PM
Arizona Coyotes (Mike Smith) at Edmonton Oilers (Viktor Fasth), 9:30 PM
Boston Bruins (Tuukka Rask) at Anaheim Ducks (Frederik Andersen), 10:00 PM
Injury News For Teams Playing Monday
Tampa Bay Lightning
Michael Blunden, RW - The Lightning reassigned Blunden to AHL Syracuse on Monday, Erik Erlendsson of the Tampa Tribune reports. (10/27/2014)
Mattias Ohlund, D - Ohlund (knee) was placed on long-term injured reserve Tuesday, the Tampa Bay Times reports. (10/2/2013)
New York Rangers
Dan Boyle, D - Boyle will not play Saturday due to a bout with the flu, Pat Leonard of the New York Daily News reports. (11/29/2014)
Tanner Glass, LW - Glass has been diagnosed with the mumps and will not play Saturday. (11/29/2014)
Chris Kreider, LW - Kreider won't play Saturday due to the death of his grandfather, Jim Cerny of the Rangers' official site reports. (11/28/2014)
Brady Skjei, D - Skjei suffered a lower-body injury while playing for the University of Minnesota last week and he is expected to be sidelined for at least a few weeks. (11/7/2014)
Florida Panthers
Roberto Luongo, G - Luongo (upper body) will travel with the team to Columbus on Monday, Harvey Fialkov of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports. (11/30/2014)
Scottie Upshall, LW - Upshall (leg) was placed on injured reserve Thursday. (11/27/2014)
Jussi Jokinen, LW - Jokinen (illness) is expected to travel with the team for their game against Columbus on Monday, Harvey Fialkov of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports. (11/30/2014)
Dave Bolland, C - Bolland (groin) will travel with the team to Columbus, but won't play Monday, George Richards of the Miami Herald reports. (11/30/2014)
Columbus Blue Jackets
Brandon Dubinsky, C - Although he's been ruled out for this weekend's games, Dubinsky (abdominal surgery) looked strong on his skates during an optional team workout on Wednesday, the Columbus Dispatch reports. (11/27/2014)
Artem Anisimov, C - Anisimov will miss Monday's game against the Panthers. (11/30/2014)
Cody Goloubef, D - Goloubef (leg) skated with full gear Thursday, Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch reports. (11/28/2014)
Mark Letestu, C - Letestu (groin) returned to the ice Monday morning at the Jackets' practice facility, NHL.com's Rob Mixer reports. (11/25/2014)
Ryan Murray, D - Murray had another MRI on Tuesday, which revealed no structural damage to his knee and will not require surgery, Aaron Portzline of The Columbus Dispatch reports. (11/12/2014)
Nathan Horton, RW - Horton is bracing for the possibility of career-ending surgery to rectify his degenerative spinal condition, Jimmy Hascup of USA Today reports. (11/13/2014)
Fedor Tyutin, D - Tyutin was diagnosed with a left knee sprain and will miss four to six weeks, Shawn Mitchell of the Columbus Dispatch reports. The Blue Jackets have placed him on injured reserve. (11/15/2014)
Montreal Canadiens
Michael Bournival, C - Bournival (shoulder) skated with his teammates at Friday's morning session. (11/28/2014)
Colorado Avalanche
Patrick Bordeleau, LW - Bordeleau was placed on injured reserve Wednesday, Mike Chambers of the Denver Post reports. (10/8/2014)
Dennis Everberg, RW - Everberg (shoulder) was placed on injured reserve Friday. (11/21/2014)
Brad Stuart, D - The Avs are considering Stuart (hamstring) day-to-day at this point. (11/22/2014)
Semyon Varlamov, G - Calvin Pickard will start Monday as Varlamov needs more time to get to full speed from a groin injury, the Denver Post reports. (11/30/2014)
Jamie McGinn, LW - McGinn will be evaluated by doctors Sunday to determine if he will require back surgery. (11/30/2014)
Jesse Winchester, LW - Winchester appears to have suffered a setback in his recovery from a concussion, Mike Chambers of the Denver Post reports. (10/30/2014)
Ryan Wilson, D - Wilson will undergo surgery on his ailing shoulder and miss the remainder of the season. (11/18/2014)
John Mitchell, C - Mitchell is doubtful to return to Saturday's game against the Stars after suffering a leg injury. (11/29/2014)
Arizona Coyotes
Brandon Gormley, D - Gormley (lower body) still isn't practicing, Sarah McLellan of the Arizona Republic reports. (11/28/2014)
Brendan Perlini, LW - Perlini broke a bone in his right hand and will be out indefinitely, Sarah McLellan of the Arizona Republic reports. (9/21/2014)
David Moss, RW - Moss (upper body) will travel with the team to Edmonton but is doubtful to play Monday, Sarah McLellan of the Arizona Republic reports. (11/30/2014)
Edmonton Oilers
Matt Hendricks, LW - X-rays taken on Hendricks' injured leg came back negative. (11/27/2014)
Benoit Pouliot, LW - Pouliot (foot) was placed on injured reserve Wednesday. (11/26/2014)
Boston Bruins
Zdeno Chara, D - Chara (knee) will not travel on the Bruins' upcoming road trip. (11/28/2014)
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)
David Warsofsky, D - Warsofsky (groin) participated in practice Saturday. (11/29/2014)
David Krejci, C - Krejci (groin) will not travel on the Bruins' upcoming road trip, Fluto Shinzawa of the Boston Globe reports. (11/29/2014)
Adam McQuaid, D - McQuaid (thumb) was placed on injured reserve Thursday. (11/21/2014)
Kevan Miller, D - Miller (unspecified issue) returned to practice Sunday. (11/30/2014)
Anaheim Ducks
Clayton Stoner, D - Stoner (illness) was placed on injured reserve Friday. (11/28/2014)
Ben Lovejoy, D - Lovejoy is expected to miss the next six-to-eight weeks with a fractured finger. The Ducks have placed him on injured reserve. (10/27/2014)
John Gibson, G - Gibson has been diagnosed with a groin injury, but has avoided any kind of tear, Curtis Zupke of NHL.com reports. (11/5/2014)
Stefan Noesen, C - The Ducks announced Noesen is dealing with an Achilles injury and is expected to be sidelined for four months, Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register reports. (10/22/2014)
Sheldon Souray, D - GM Bob Murray said Souray's career remains in jeopardy as a result of his season-ending wrist procedure in January, NHL.com's Curtis Zupke reports. (9/1/2014)
Francois Beauchemin, D - Beauchemin has been diagnosed with a broken finger and will miss four-to-six weeks. (11/28/2014)
Dany Heatley, LW - Heatley was placed on injured reserve Friday with a groin injury, Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register reports. (11/14/2014)
Jason LaBarbera, G - LaBarbera is considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury, Eric Stephens of the Los Angeles Times reports. (11/30/2014)
Mark Fistric, D - Fistric (back) practiced with the team Saturday, Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register reports. (11/22/2014)
Hot
Matt Niskanen: Nisky has a goal and four points in his last four games for the Capitals. He's also registered 10 shots on goal during the span – his highest four-game stretch of the year. Washington has $40.25 million reasons to acclimate the blueliner into its system, and Barry Trotz-led teams have often looked favorably upon defenders in fantasy.
Alex Stalock: How can a player coming off IR following minor knee surgery qualify as hot? First, Antti Niemi. Second, the Sharks play seven of their next nine games at home. San Jose might finally get Stalock back in a platoon with Niemi, as fantasy owners had hoped when drafting him before the start of the season. If the Sharks trusted Troy Grosenick, he might have seen more starts with Stalock out. He didn't, but Stalock will.
Stephen Weiss: Before Sunday's point-free, minus-2 performance, Weiss compiled five points (3G, 2A) in four games after making his season debut with the Red Wings. You're excused if you've taken a wait-and-see attitude on Weiss – there's always a chance that groin could go any day. In the meantime, he's finally showing Detroit what he can do and it's not bad. Weiss already has more points than he did two years ago (four in 17 gms) or last season (four in 26). Fantasy owners would be wise to give Weiss a look, considering he put up 57 points in 80 games for a bad Panthers team in 2011-12.
Cold
Tyler Toffoli: The Kings' forward has five points in his last 13 games and while that's better production than Anze Kopitar (seven points in last 13 games), it's a drop-off from his sizzling start. Certainly, it wasn't reasonable to expect Toffoli to hum along at his 14-point, 11-game pace to open the season, but fantasy owners have taken a hit since then. Tanner Pearson is an even better example. Pearson scored nine points in his first eight games, but has just three points in 16 contests since.
James Neal: Nealer has zero goals or assists on the Predators' last 21 goals, a span of six games since Nov. 18. For a player likely drafted in the first three rounds, his 14 points in 23 games qualifies as a disappointment, as do his meager two power-play points (in 72:30 PP TOI). He still has three years left at $5 million per season. It wouldn't be shocking to see Nashville consider offers on him if his uneven play continues.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson: The Coyotes defenseman has picked up two points in his last 13 games and holds a minus-6 rating over his last five contests. Ekman-Larsson was bound to cool off after recording eight points in his first 11 tilts, but Arizona relies on him for better offensive production. He remains an upper-echelon blueliner – he recorded 44 points in 80 games as a 22-year-old in 2013-14 – but he's searching the desert for his game right now. Five of the 'Yotes next seven games are at home, so perhaps he'll straighten things out.
Recommended Pickup
Tom Wilson: He's more of a keeper league stash than anything else. That said, Wilson is playing with Alexander Ovechkin and has spent more on-ice time with Nicklas Backstrom than any other Caps' player in 2013-14. The 20-year-old is far from a finished product, but that's part of his allure. Even if his point production is inconsistent, he can help fantasy owners with penalty minutes – (27 PIM in the last three games) and hits (42 hits in 13 contests overall). Washington accelerated Wilson's learning curve by starting him in 95 NHL games and only two games in the AHL. Depending on when things click, he could turn into a huge fantasy weapon a la Milan Lucic.
