This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
Around the Rink
There was lots of action Saturday, including some match ups with playoff implications, games between Cup contenders, and another entry in the Stadium Series.
The Capitals kept up their recent hot streak with a 3-2 win over the Metropolitan division-leading Islanders, which brought them four points back of the Isles and helped them stay a point ahead of the Pens for third in the division.
The Panthers lost a tough one to the Senators 4-1 that kept them from leapfrogging the Bruins into a playoff spot. The young Panthers will need to learn to take advantage of match ups with weaker competition to get where they want to go. There are no nights off in the playoffs.
The Stars, also chasing a playoff spot and doing so without their best player, got clipped by the Red Wings 7-6 due in part to a controversial game-tying goal by Pavel Datsyuk that looked like a Mike Weber, D - Weber (upper body) will out of the lineup for the foreseeable future after leaving Friday's game, reports The Buffalo News. (2/21/2015)
Patrick Kaleta, RW - Kaleta, who is slated to undergo minor surgery, is expected to miss four-to-six weeks, NHL.com reports. (2/16/2015)
Evander Kane, LW - Kane, who had been nagged by a shoulder injury all season before undergoing surgery last week, is looking forward to a fresh start with Buffalo, ESPN.com reports. (2/12/2015)
Vancouver Canucks
Alexander Edler, D - Edler (upper body) was placed on injured reserve Thursday. (2/19/2015)
Alex Burrows, RW - Burrows (lower body) won't play Friday against the Devils. (2/20/2015)
Nick Bonino, C - Coach Willie Desjardins expects Bonino (foot) to play some time during the Canucks' upcoming five-game road trip. (2/18/2015)
Chris Tanev, D - Tanev (undisclosed) didn't travel with the rest of the team to New York for the beginning of the Canucks' five-game road trip, Brad Ziemer of the Vancouver Sun reports. (2/17/2015)
Frank Corrado, D - Corrado is dealing with an upper-body injury and will miss the next 2-to-3 weeks, Brad Ziemer of the Vancouver Sun reports. (2/12/2015)
New York Islanders
Kyle Okposo, RW - Okposo (eye) still isn't skating, reports Newsday. (2/15/2015)
Mikhail Grabovski, C - Grabovski (upper body) was placed on injured reserve Friday. According to Newsday's Arthur Staple, Grabovski is dealing with a concussion. (2/20/2015)
Casey Cizikas, C - Cizikas (lower body) was officially placed on injured reserve Wednesday, retroactive to Feb. 16. (2/18/2015)
Florida Panthers
Willie Mitchell, D - Mitchell (upper body) will not play in Saturday's game against the Senators, Craig Davis of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reports. (2/21/2015)
Dmitry Kulikov, D - Kulikov was handed a four-game suspension by the league Monday for his hit on the Stars' Tyler Seguin in Friday's loss, George Richards of the Miami Herald reports. (2/16/2015)
Brandon Pirri, C - Pirri (upper body) was placed on injured reserve Saturday, retroactive to Feb. 10, Jameson C. Olive of FOX Sports Florida reports. (2/14/2015)
Pittsburgh Penguins
Christian Ehrhoff, D - Ehrhoff (concussion) took contact in Friday's practice, Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. (2/20/2015)
Tampa Bay Lightning
Radko Gudas, D - Gudas (knee) is no longer using crutches, but is without a timetable for a return, Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times reports. (2/18/2015)
Matt Carle, D - Carle (hip) participated in drills for the first time since undergoing abdominal surgery in January, Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times reports. (2/16/2015)
Colorado Avalanche
Erik Johnson, D - Coach Patrick Roy said Johnson (knee) has been swimming and performing light activities in the gym during his rehab process, Mike Chambers of the Denver Post reports. (2/7/2015)
Patrick Bordeleau, LW - Bordeleau (knee) was on the ice for Tuesday's optional skate, Terry Frei of the Denver Post reports. (2/10/2015)
Columbus Blue Jackets
Sergei Bobrovsky, G - Bobrovsky (groin) should be back next week, Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports reports. (2/20/2015)
Boone Jenner, LW - Jenner has resumed light skating in recent days, Shawn Mitchell of the Columbus Dispatch reports. (2/21/2015)
New York Rangers
Jesper Fast, RW - Coach Alain Vigneault noted that Fast (sprained right knee) should resume skating "within the next week," Andrew Gross of The Record reports. (2/19/2015)
Henrik Lundqvist, G - Lundqvist was on the ice Wednesday for the first time since being placed on injured reserve last week, Sean Hartnett of WFAN Sports Radio reports. (2/18/2015)
Dallas Stars
Patrick Eaves, RW - Coach Lindy Ruff said Eaves didn't sustain any fractures to his skull after taking a wrist shot to the head in Friday's win over the Panthers, but the forward remains under the concussion protocol, Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News reports. (2/14/2015)
Travis Moen, LW - Moen (upper body) was placed on injured reserve on Wednesday, retroactive to Feb. 17. (2/18/2015)
Tyler Seguin, C - Seguin (knee) could be forced to miss as much as eight weeks depending on his progress in rehab, Renaud Lavoie of TVA reports. (2/16/2015)
Patrik Nemeth, D - Nemeth (arm) was reassigned to AHL Texas on Thursday, nhl.com reports. (2/19/2015)
Valeri Nichushkin, LW - Nichushkin (hip) met with his doctor in New York last Friday and was told he would need another 4-to-6 weeks of recovery before he could play in a game, Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News reports. (2/18/2015)
Minnesota Wild
Jared Spurgeon, D - Spurgeon (face) will be unavailable for Friday's game against the Oilers, Michael Russo of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. (2/19/2015)
Keith Ballard, D - Ballard (concussion) skated with the team Sunday. (2/15/2015)
Hot
Jamie Benn, C – It was natural to wonder how Benn would react when his teammate and fellow superstar Tyler Seguin went down for 6-8 weeks with a lower body injury. They had been inseparable since Seguin was traded to Dallas and raised each other's play to new heights. So far the returns are outrageously good – Benn had three goals, on a hat trick, and three assists in three games after Seguin went down, then he added a Gordie Howe hat trick (a goal, an assist, and a fight) Saturday against the Red Wings. The Stars' captain is trying to carry his team to the playoffs and could do the same for yours.
Gabriel Landeskog, LW – If you need goals, Landeskog is as hot a goal scorer as you're going to find – he has found the net in five straight games and has six points in that span. He has also added some nice periphery stats with 17 shots and nine hits. Like some of his teammates, Landeskog's numbers are off of last season's pace with just 15 goals and 37 points in 59 games, but his hot recent streak should ensure he gets over the 20-goal and 50-point humps again.
Cold
Sidney Crosby, C – It's rare to include Crosby in this part of a column, but the truth is he's been ice cold of late. He had just two goals and a minus-3 rating in six games heading into Saturday's match up with the Blues. He added an assist and was minus-2 in that contest. There is not really anything to say about this given that Crosby has 58 points in 54 games and you won't like part with him, but obviously you need some patience right now.
Claude Giroux, C – Giroux is another superstar who seems out of place on a cold list, but despite 55 points in 58 games and a plus-2 rating on the season he too is slumping right now. Giroux has gone four straight without a point, including Saturday's contest, and just three points (all assists) in his last 10 games while posting a minus-4 rating. Giroux has proven himself a durable and consistent scorer, so wait out this down spell; it will turn around soon.
Recommended Pickup
Anders Lee, C – Playing alongside a superstar of the caliber of John Tavares will help anyone and Lee is certainly taking advantage. In his past six games Lee has three goals, and nine points with a plus-6 rating. He has also put 25 shots on net, lending some confidence he will sustain a strong offensive profile, and added 22 hits showing value across the board in league that reward a broad spectrum of play. Lee is owned in just 40% of leagues, which is way too low as long as he mans the wing on Tavares' line.
