This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
Around the Rink
Monday was a day for the goal-scorers around the league, with several players adding a few precious seconds to their highlight reels by making goalies look absolutely silly.
Case in point: Cam Fowler's utter devastation of Antti Niemi after a perfect Ryan Getzlaf pass found him wide open in the slot. Sure, he fell over while celebrating – so make sure you keep watching after the goal for a good laugh – but the combination of those hands and the willingness to push up into the offensive zone shows why Fowler's one of the more highly regarded young defenders in the league.
That's a more impressive goal than any of the trio from Johnny Gaudreau's natural hat trick, which singlehandedly pulled the Flames back from a 3-0 deficit and led them to an overtime win. But that's no slight to the high-flying rookie. He opened his act with a nice and dirty rebound goal – a perfect shot right over Jonathan Quick's glove on a power play. Then, he came around right in front of the net and completely fooled the Kings' netminder with a five-hole goal, the best of the trio. And finally, a little bit of luck never hurts, as Gaudreau got an assist from Kings defender Drew Doughty on the game-tying marker with the Calgary net empty on the other end.
And finally, the piece de resistance. I present to you: Aleksander Barkov in the shootout.
Marc-Andre Fleury never knew what hit him.
Projected Goalie Starters (all times Eastern)
Predators (Carter Hutton) at Bruins (Tuukka Rask), 7:00 PM
Hurricanes (Cam Ward) at Devils (Cory Schneider), 7:00 PM
Canadiens (Carey Price) at Islanders (Jaroslav Halak), 7:00 PM
Capitals (Justin Peters) at Rangers (Henrik Lundqvist), 7:00 PM
Flyers (Ray Emery) at Wild (Darcy Kuemper), 7:00 PM
Maple Leafs (Jonathan Bernier) at Stars (Kari Lehtonen), 7:00 PM
Sabres (Jhonas Enroth) at Red Wings (Petr Mrazek), 7:30 PM
Penguins (Marc-Andre Fleury) at Lightning (Andrei Vasilevskiy), 7:30 PM
Coyotes (Devan Dubnyk) at Oilers (Ben Scrivens), 8:00 PM
Blues (Jake Allen) at Avalanche (Calvin Pickard), 8:00 PM
Jets (Michael Hutchinson) at Blackhawks (Corey Crawford), 8:30 PM
For updates on the projected goalies later in the day, check out our Projected Goalies Grid.
Injury News For Teams Playing Tuesday
Nashville Predators
Anton Volchenkov, D (lower body) – Didn't play Monday
Paul Gaustad, C (lower body) – Hit IR Friday; no timetable offered
James Neal, RW (illness) – No mumps; possible for Tuesday
Boston Bruins
Adam McQuaid, D (thumb) – Out about another month yet
Simon Gagne, LW (personal) – Still away with father battling cancer
Carolina Hurricanes
Alexander Semin, LW (undisclosed) – Didn't practice Monday after first game back from IR
Andrej Nestrasil, C (upper body) – No timetable for return from IR
Jordan Staal, C (leg) – Aiming to return at end of December
Jiri Tlusty, LW (upper body) – Has missed five straight, but should be close
New Jersey Devils
Jacob Josefson, C (groin) – Seems a possibility for Tuesday
Damon Severson, D (ankle) – Hit IR Thursday; expected out about a month yet
Michael Cammalleri, LW (lower body) – Practiced Monday; could play Tuesday
Ryane Clowe, LW (head) – Remains out "long term" with no timetable
Dainius Zubrus, RW (leg) – Skating; Tuesday return posssible
Bryce Salvador, D (lower body) – Still not skating
Montreal Canadiens
Bryan Allen, D (illness) – Recovered, but still not activated
New York Islanders
Michael Grabner, RW (lower body) – Hit IR last week; should be a short-term stint
Brian Strait, D (personal) – Remains away from the team
Washington Capitals
Dmitry Orlov, D (wrist) – Progress has been slow
Aaron Volpatti, LW (neck) – Playing in AHL rehab games
New York Rangers
Lee Stempniak, RW (illness) – Mumps confirmed; stay away!
Philadelphia Flyers
Ryan White, RW (chest) – Expected to go on AHL conditioning stint this week
Steve Mason, G (upper body) – Visited a back specialist Monday
Zac Rinaldo, LW (upper body) – Could be available Tuesday
Minnesota Wild
Mikael Granlund, C (illness) – Didn't practice Monday; Tuesday status questionable
Keith Ballard, D (concussion) – Remains out indefinitely
Josh Harding, G (illness) – Hasn't returned to AHL practice since MS acted up Dec. 6
Toronto Maple Leafs
Leo Komarov, LW (concussion) – Skating, but out into January
Dallas Stars
Valeri Nichushkin, LW (hip) – Remains out into March
Patrick Eaves, RW (ankle) – Out another 2-6 weeks; quite a wide timetable
Buffalo Sabres
Marcus Foligno, LW (hand) – Injured Sunday; could be out a couple months
Michal Neuvirth, G (illness) – Didn't start Sunday due to illness; no final word on Tuesday starter
Mike Weber, D (knee) – Targeting Tuesday return
Matt Moulson, LW (illness) – Didn't go Sunday, but possible for Tuesday
Patrick Kaleta, RW (illness) – Left Saturday's game; no updates
Torrey Mitchell, RW (foot) – Hit IR Sunday
Tyler Myers, D (lower body) – Sat out Sunday; Tuesday uncertain
Tyson Strachan, D (lower body) – Placed on IR Sunday
Brian Gionta, RW (head) – Sounds highly questionable for Tuesday
Cody McCormick, C (lower body) – Hit IR Sunday, but potentially available Tuesday
Detroit Red Wings
Jimmy Howard, G (groin) – Left practice early Monday
Jonas Gustavsson, G (shoulder) – Doing conditioning work, but still no timetable
Stephen Weiss, C (sholder) – Expected to return Tuesday
Pittsburgh Penguins
Beau Bennett, RW (knee/illness) – Mumpy; no word on return date
Robert Bortuzzo, D (upper body) – Negative for mumps; no word on Tuesday status
Olli Maatta, D (upper body) – Has mumps as well as upper-body injury
Zach Sill, RW (upper body) – Out about another week
Pascal Dupuis, RW (blood clot) – Skating, but remains out pretty much all year
Paul Martin, D (undisclosed) – Hit IR Saturday; no clarification or timetable
Christian Ehrhoff, D (lower body) – Also hit IR Saturday; could return after Xmas break
Blake Comeau, LW (undisclosed) – Left Monday's game
Steve Downie, RW (illness) – Didn't play Monday; getting tested for mumps
Craig Adams, RW (undisclosed) – Placed on IR Monday
Thomas Greiss, G (illness) – Unavailable Monday; awaiting results of mumps testing
Brandon Sutter, C (illness) – Didn't play Monday; awaiting results of mumps test
Tampa Bay Lightning
Ben Bishop, G (lower body) – Sounds highly unlikely for Tuesday
Jason Garrison, D (undisclosed) – Left Saturday's game; could play Tuesday
Arizona Coyotes
Lauri Korpikoski, LW (lower body) – Hit IR Monday; no timetable, but could return quickly
Edmonton Oilers
Benoit Pouliot, LW (foot) – Out into January
Nikita Nikitin, D (back) – Back to skating with team Saturday; possible for Tuesday
St. Louis Blues
Brian Elliott, G (knee) – Practicing; looking at early-January return
Carl Gunnarsson, D (concussion) – Getting close; Tuesday seems possible
Jaden Schwartz, LW (foot) – Placed on IR last week; out at least into early January
Colorado Avalanche
Jesse Winchester, LW (concussion) – Back at practice; no word on Tuesday
Semyon Varlamov, G (groin) – Back to practice Saturday, but won't be back Tuesday
Jamie McGinn, LW (back) – Probably out for the year
Winnipeg Jets
Mark Stuart, D (lower body) – Out 'til February
Toby Enstrom, D (lower body) – Won't resume skating until early January
Zach Bogosian, D (lower body) – Unlikely to skate until the middle of January
Jacob Trouba, D (upper body) – Hit IR Thursday; out into February
Chicago Blackhawks
Trevor van Riemsdyk, D (knee) – Out into March following surgery
Brad Richards, C (upper body) – Didn't go Sunday; check back for Tuesday status
Hot
Shea Weber, D, NAS – While Weber's still producing about at the level we expect from him, it's been a bit of a streaky campaign for the high-flying blueliner. He's in a hot one now, though, having ripped off six assists in his last five games to go with a plus-3 rating and four PIM – this after a four-game skid without a point. Weber does remain without a goal for more than a month, having last scored on Nov. 20, but he keeps putting pucks on net, so it's just a matter of time before he blasts his seventh goal of the year.
Nicklas Backstrom, C, WAS – Not known for his goal-scoring prowess, Backstrom has been on a surprising binge over the last five games, having tallied six goals, including a Dec. 13 hat trick and a four-point game Saturday – more than doubling his season total in the process. He's scored all those goals on just 14 shots; that's a spectacularly high scoring rate for Backstrom, whose calling card has pretty much always been his piles of assists. He also has five of those in the last seven games, so he hasn't forgotten how to pass, and with 36 points in 33 games, he remains on pace for his best season since 2009-10's career-high 33-goal, 101-point explosion. And with 11 goals in 33 games this year, it looks like he'll easily clear 20 goals for the first time since that huge campaign.
Cold
David Krejci, C, BOS – It's been tough going for Krejci this season, as he's appeared in just 14 games due to a recurring groin injury. Although he's back now and appears to be healthy, his first three games since returning have yielded zero points, and he's gone minus-1 in all three with seven total shots on goal. Krejci will surely get it together, as he can always be relied upon to provide solid fantasy production, but it looks like he may need a bit more time to get comfortable out on the ice.
Anton Stralman, D, TB – Stralman started things off red-hot this year, recording two goals and 10 points in the Lightning's first 14 games, but things have slowed down considerably since. He's gone five games without a point, has just a singular assist over his last 11 contests, and just four points (all assists) overall in 21 games since he scored his second goal. Throughout all this, he's largely continued seeing consistent time on the Tampa power play, but it's worth noting that Stralman was limited to a season-low 18:33 of ice time and only 16 seconds on the power play in Saturday's game against the Isles. Meanwhile, fellow blueliner Mark Barberio saw his minutes spike and picked up an assist. Stralman is a nice player, but he's not a star or even a top-line defender, which the Lightning are gradually learning.
Recommended Pickup
Joel Armia, RW, BUF – With Marcus Foligno heading to IR, the time is finally right for Armia, who would have been promoted when the Sabres suffered forward injuries earlier this year if not for an injury of his own. The 16th overall pick in 2011, Armia had a slow start to his career in North America last year, averaging just a point every other game over 54 contests for AHL Rochester. But he's built on last year's impressive playoff performance (three goals and three assists in five games) by making adjustments this season, and all his stats have been better – he's equaled last season's goal total (seven) in just 21 games, and with 16 points in that span, his production as a whole is way up. He's also compiled 33 PIM – an enticing statistic to fantasy owners, as the Finn could start out as Foligno's direct replacement in terms of role, meaning he'll play third-line minutes and be expected to dish out some toughness.
