This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
Around the Rink
Opportunistic fantasy owners may want to take a gander at Tuesday evening's Ducks-Oilers game, a contest that comes with potential for noteworthy fireworks. Anaheim just won a 6-4 game Monday night, and though John Gibson is your currently projected Tuesday starter, his continuing upper-body woes may mean the team rolls out Frederik Andersen again. If he does get the start, it'll be his third in four days; if not, it means the Ducks will be starting Gibson coming off the injury or uninspiring third-stringer Anton Khudobin – a good situation no matter how you slice it for the Oilers' skaters. Meanwhile, Edmonton's expected to roll the inconsistent and occasionally blowup-prone Cam Talbot against the Ducks' surging offense. It's a good recipe for goal-scoring, and Connor McDavid's DFS prices still don't line up with his talent level.
We find another interesting situation in Columbus, where Joonas Korpisalo is slated to make his 10th consecutive start Tuesday against the visiting Bruins, who own the NHL's third-most-prolific offense. The Finnish rookie played well in a tough shootout loss in Boston in late January, but the Jackets are asking for it by giving him such a huge workload, while likely opposing starter Tuukka Rask has given up five goals in two of his last three outings. If Patrice Bergeron (undisclosed) can't go, it'll be good news for Korpisalo and the Jackets, though, so much of this game's formula hinges on the availability of Boston's '1A' center.
Finally, it's worth picking on a Kings team that's dealing with the double whammy of playing on the East Coast with starting goalie Jonathan Quick (lower body) ailing; he may not be available Tuesday, and even if he is, it wouldn't be a surprise to see him held out against Washington's high-flying offense. Backup Jhonas Enroth isn't used to such challenging assignments, making all the top Caps particularly appealing plays on this particular evening.
Projected Goalie Starters (all times Eastern)
Flyers (Steve Mason) at Devils (Cory Schneider), 7:00 PM
Kings (Jhonas Enroth) at Capitals (Braden Holtby), 7:00 PM
Jets (Ondrej Pavelec) at Hurricanes (Eddie Lack), 7:00 PM
Bruins (Tuukka Rask) at Blue Jackets (Joonas Korpisalo), 7:00 PM
Sabres (Robin Lehner) at Senators (Craig Anderson), 7:30 PM
Sharks (Martin Jones) at Lightning (Ben Bishop), 7:30 PM
Stars (Kari Lehtonen) at Blues (Brian Elliott), 8:00 PM
Ducks (John Gibson) at Oilers (Cam Talbot), 9:00 PM
For updates on projected goalies later in the day, check our Projected Goalies Grid.
Injury News for Teams Playing Tuesday
Philadelphia Flyers
Sean Couturier, C (lower body) – Out another two or three weeks
Michael Del Zotto, D (upper body) – Will miss a matter of weeks
New Jersey Devils
Jon Merrill, D (arm) – Could be available Tuesday
Patrik Elias, LW (knee) – Skating, but still not practicing
Michael Cammalleri, LW (hand) – Wasn't able to return over weekend; Tuesday unclear
Jiri Tlusty, LW (upper body) – Out another couple months yet
Los Angeles Kings
Marian Gaborik, RW (knee) – Could miss rest of regular season
Matt Greene, D (shoulder) – Done for regular season
Jonathan Quick, G (lower body) – Practicing, but Tuesday status unclear
Washington Capitals
Jay Beagle, C (hand) – Skating, but not practicing
Brooks Orpik, D (lower body) – Could return as soon as Tuesday
Winnipeg Jets
Mark Stuart, D (hand) – Out 4-to-6 weeks
Carolina Hurricanes
Justin Faulk, D (leg) – No decision yet on Tuesday game status
James Wisniewski, D (knee) – Rehab continues, but still unlikely to return this year
Cam Ward, G (leg) – Skated before practice Monday after leaving Saturday's game early
Boston Bruins
Patrice Bergeron, C (undisclosed) – Has missed two; Tuesday status unclear
Adam McQuaid, D (upper body) – Practicing with team, but not taking contact
Malcolm Subban, G (throat) – Underwent successful surgery last week
Columbus Blue Jackets
David Clarkson, RW (upper body) – Out a while
Jared Boll, RW (neck) – Remains unavailable; timeline unclear
Sergei Bobrovsky, G (groin) – Rehab going slow; out into March
Buffalo Sabres
Cody McCormick, C (blood clots) – No timetable
Tyler Ennis, LW (upper body) – Return still not close
Evander Kane, LW (suspension) – Suspended by team at least for Tuesday
Daniel Catenacci, LW (head) – No timeline offered
Ottawa Senators
David Dziurzynski, LW (undisclosed) – No timetable for return
Mark Borowiecki, D (upper body) – Injury sounds minor; absence should be short
Mika Zibanejad, C (illness) – Didn't practice Monday
Clarke MacArthur, LW (concussion) – Targeting return at end of month
San Jose Sharks
Brenden Dillon, D (upper body) – Likely to be back in lineup Tuesday
Tampa Bay Lightning
Jason Garrison, D (lower body) – Out a few weeks at least
Dallas Stars
Travis Moen, LW (lower body) – Hit IR over weekend
Jason Spezza, C (upper body) – Likely to return either Thursday or Saturday
St. Louis Blues
Steve Ott, C (hamstrings) – About one month to go
Alex Pietrangelo, D (knee) – Will be reevaluated in two weeks
Jake Allen, G (knee) – Practicing a little, but return still not quite imminent
Anaheim Ducks
John Gibson, G (upper body) – Couldn't go Monday; Tuesday status unclear
Shawn Horcoff, C (suspension) – Remains suspended into March
Clayton Stoner, D (hip) – Practicing; could return relatively soon
Chris Stewart, RW (jaw) – Out 4-to-8 weeks
Edmonton Oilers
Teddy Purcell, RW (undisclosed) – Might not be able to go Tuesday
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, C (hand) – Out into March after surgery
Oscar Klefbom, D (infection) – Starting to approach return to lineup
Andrew Ference, D (hip) – Season-ending surgery
Hot
John Tavares, C, NYI – By mid-December, Isles fans and fantasy owners had to be panicking a little. After the star pivot missed the scoresheet for the seventh time in eight games Dec. 19, he was sitting on an uninspiring 23 points to go with a minus-3 rating in 31 games. A little five-game surge came and went after that, and by the time Tavares played in his 42nd game, his scoring pace was actually even a tad lower. But a two-point game against the Sens back on Jan. 22 seemed to wake him up, and it sparked a white-hot stretch in which Tavares has looked like the superstar we know and love, as he's compiled a simply nasty 15 points in his last 10 games. Maybe he was dealing with a nagging injury earlier; maybe it can be written off to inconsistency among his linemates. Either way, he's officially back.
Brian Elliott, G, STL – The Blues had to be feeling the, um, blues after Jake Allen went down with a knee injury, but Elliott – who's generally been accustomed to splitting the workload in net – has started 14 consecutive games, with Tuesday's tilt against Dallas set to be No. 15. That's not an inspiring matchup, but it's awfully hard to ignore the sick numbers he's put up over this stretch – a 9-3-2 record beautifully accompanied by a 1.72 GAA and .946 save percentage. He's given up one or zero goals in six of the last nine, so Elliott's about as hot as a goalie gets without playing for one of the league's elite teams. It's worth noting that he's had a lot of soft matchups, but he's also beaten the Kings, Wings, Penguins, Bolts and Panthers in this stretch.
Cold
Pekka Rinne, G, NAS – Once more, we must bemoan the results of the man who once upon a time (not so long ago) was in the conversation for the best goalie in the league. The Finnish veteran has lost three of his last four games, giving up 16 goals in the process, and he's now sitting on a .902 save mark for the year – well below the .916 averaged across the league this season (an all-time high in the modern era). Backup netminder Carter Hutton's helped the team pick up three points in the last two games by shutting out Florida and losing to Dallas in overtime, and with numbers far shinier than Rinne's, he could make a play for increased starts down the stretch.
Recommended Pickup
Mathew Dumba, D, MIN – It's time fantasy owners got wise to Dumba, who's seen a huge spike in ice time recently on the heels of a hot stretch in the points column. He's only exceeded 20 minutes in seven contests this season, with the last three games accounting for, well, three of those occasions. And while he's been held off the scoresheet twice in a row after a five-game point streak, Dumba still fired eight shots on goal in those two games and is seeing absolutely massive power-play minutes. The 21-year-old has offensive talent by the boatload and is finally getting a chance to put it on display, so fantasy owners would be wise to take notice. The return of Jared Spurgeon from injury Monday didn't make a noticeable impact on Dumba's minutes.
