Tuesday Daily Puck: Nash Reaching Equilibrium

Tuesday Daily Puck: Nash Reaching Equilibrium

This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.

Around the Rink

The Jets' hiring of Paul Maurice paid instant dividends Monday, as Winnipeg overcame an early deficit to score five unanswered goals in a win over the Coyotes. With that, the Jets end a five-game losing streak and salvage some hope for the future, at least until their next game.

Meanwhile, the Coyotes have lost five of six games since the calendar turned to 2014, and if you take out their 6-0 romp over the simply awful Flames, they've been outscored 21-8 in that span. You know things aren't pretty when even adding in a 6-0 win still leaves you with a minus-7 goal differential over six games.

The sun is starting to come up, so let's move on to Tuesday's action.

Projected Goalie Starters (all times Eastern)

For updates on the projected goalies later in the day, check our Projected Goalies Grid.

Maple Leafs (Jonathan Bernier) at Bruins (Tuukka Rask), 7:00
Lightning (Ben Bishop) at Rangers (Henrik Lundqvist), 7:00
Sharks (Antti Niemi) at Capitals (Braden Holtby), 7:00
Flyers (Steve Mason) at Sabres (Ryan Miller), 7:30
Devils (Martin Brodeur) at Canadiens (Carey Price), 7:30
Islanders (Kevin Poulin) at Panthers (Tim Thomas), 7:30
Avalanche (Semyon Varlamov) at Blackhawks (Corey Crawford), 8:00
Coyotes (Thomas Greiss) at Blues (Jaroslav Halak), 8:00
Flames (Karri Ramo) at Predators

Around the Rink

The Jets' hiring of Paul Maurice paid instant dividends Monday, as Winnipeg overcame an early deficit to score five unanswered goals in a win over the Coyotes. With that, the Jets end a five-game losing streak and salvage some hope for the future, at least until their next game.

Meanwhile, the Coyotes have lost five of six games since the calendar turned to 2014, and if you take out their 6-0 romp over the simply awful Flames, they've been outscored 21-8 in that span. You know things aren't pretty when even adding in a 6-0 win still leaves you with a minus-7 goal differential over six games.

The sun is starting to come up, so let's move on to Tuesday's action.

Projected Goalie Starters (all times Eastern)

For updates on the projected goalies later in the day, check our Projected Goalies Grid.

Maple Leafs (Jonathan Bernier) at Bruins (Tuukka Rask), 7:00
Lightning (Ben Bishop) at Rangers (Henrik Lundqvist), 7:00
Sharks (Antti Niemi) at Capitals (Braden Holtby), 7:00
Flyers (Steve Mason) at Sabres (Ryan Miller), 7:30
Devils (Martin Brodeur) at Canadiens (Carey Price), 7:30
Islanders (Kevin Poulin) at Panthers (Tim Thomas), 7:30
Avalanche (Semyon Varlamov) at Blackhawks (Corey Crawford), 8:00
Coyotes (Thomas Greiss) at Blues (Jaroslav Halak), 8:00
Flames (Karri Ramo) at Predators (Marek Mazanec), 8:00
Senators (Robin Lehner) at Wild (Darcy Kuemper), 8:00
Oilers (Ilya Bryzgalov) at Stars (Kari Lehtonen), 8:30

Injury News for Teams Playing Tuesday

Toronto Maple Leafs
Dave Bolland, C (ankle) – Wearing a special skating boot; could practice by weekend
Trevor Smith, LW (hand) – Just started skating

Boston Bruins
Jordan Caron, RW (back) – Scratched Saturday
Dougie Hamilton, D (undisclosed) – Didn't practice Monday
Dennis Seidenberg, D (knee) – Out for the year
Chris Kelly, C (leg) – Skating, but not close to returning yet

Tampa Bay Lightning
Steven Stamkos, C (leg) – Accelerating rehab; pre-Olympic return looking increasingly realistic
Keith Aulie, D (hand) – Practicing without contact
Sami Salo, D (ankle) – No structural damage; day-to-day

New York Rangers
Derek Dorsett, RW (leg) – Out through the Olympics, most likely

San Jose Sharks
Martin Havlat, RW (lower body) – Has been out since Dec. 21; no word on return
Raffi Torres, LW (knee) – Making progress, but still not close
Logan Couture, C (hand) – Out about three weeks yet following surgery
Matt Irwin, D (upper body) – Didn't go Saturday
Tomas Hertl, C (knee) – Out long-term; wide variety of timetables speculated on

Washington Capitals
Jack Hillen, D (leg) – Still 2-4 months away

Philadelphia Flyers
Zac Rinaldo, LW (ankle) – Hit IR on Friday; out about six weeks
Matt Read, RW (concussion) – Expected back in the lineup Tuesday

Buffalo Sabres
Cody McCormick, C (finger) – Non-contact practice participant Monday
Drew Stafford, RW (upper body) – Day-to-day, though he's still on IR
Kevin Porter, C (leg) – Still not practicing
Tyler Myers, D (suspension) – Eligible to return Tuesday

New Jersey Devils
Patrik Elias, LW (upper body) – Progressing; could join team on current road swing
Peter Harrold, D (foot) – Skating; no timetable, though
Jacob Josefson, C (illness) – Should be getting well by now
Damien Brunner, C (knee) – Improving, but not skating

Montreal Canadiens
Alex Galchenyuk, C (hand) – Out about five more weeks
Davis Drewiske, D (shoulder) – Skating on his own
Ryan White, RW (upper body) – Skated before practice Monday

New York Islanders
Evgeni Nabokov, G (lower body) – Skated briefly Sunday morning
Lubomir Visnovsky, D (concussion) – Still no return timetable
Radek Martinek, D (back) – Still no timetable

Florida Panthers
Jesse Winchester, LW (hand) – Should be within a week or so of returning
Dylan Olsen, D (upper body) – Has missed four straight; no timetable announced
Alex Petrovic, D (upper body) – Not traveling with team

Colorado Avalanche
Jean-Sebastien Giguere, G (back) – Dealing with spasms; replacement backup recalled
Alex Tanguay, LW (knee) – Practicing without contact
P.A. Parenteau, RW (knee) – Out through Olympics
Paul Stastny, C (leg) – Injured Saturday; keep an eye out for status updates
Nate Guenin, D (ankle) – Placed on IR retroactive to Jan. 4
David Van der Gulik, RW (undisclosed) – Placed on injured reserve retroactive to Jan. 10
Nick Holden, D (personal) – Didn't play Saturday

Chicago Blackhawks
Nikolai Khabibulin, G (shoulder) – Out for the year with rotator cuff surgery

Phoenix Coyotes
Zbynek Michalek, D (lower body) – Participated in morning skate Monday, but didn't play
Mike Ribeiro, C (lower body) – Injured during Monday's game

St. Louis Blues
Alexander Steen, C (concussion) – Practicing fully, but no timetable
Maxim Lapierre, C (lower body) – Injured Friday; not skating yet
Roman Polak, D (ankle) – Practiced in full Monday, so he's getting close

Calgary Flames
Kris Russell, D (knee) – Skating on his own currently
David Jones, RW (eye) – Still not skating
Michael Cammalleri, C (concussion) – Out at least Tuesday, and likely longer
Curtis Glencross, LW (ankle) – Out another five weeks
Blair Jones, C (knee) – Out indefinitely

Nashville Predators
Pekka Rinne, G (hip) – Just starting on weight-bearing exercises

Ottawa Senators
Chris Neil, RW (lower body) – Game-time decision Tuesday

Minnesota Wild
Zach Parise (foot) – Close to skating
Josh Harding, G (illness) – Feeling better; should get back soon
Jared Spurgeon, D (lower body) – Out through the Olympics, likely
Mikko Koivu, C (ankle) – Out another three weeks

Edmonton Oilers
Corey Potter, D (groin) – Has missed eight straight
Philip Larsen, D (illness) – Has missed 11 games; still doesn't seem close to returning
Curtis Hamilton, LW (knee) – Out 5-6 weeks

Dallas Stars
Aaron Rome, D (undisclosed) – Didn't go Sunday

Hot

Charlie Coyle, C, MIN – Though Coyle's seen his ice time drop to under 15 minutes in each of the last two games, he's started to find his stride offensively anyway, with two goals Saturday and two assists Sunday. Though it's been a slow season so far for the sophomore pivot, he's looking good alongside Dany Heatley and Jason Zucker on the Wild's second line. In keeper formats, Coyle is almost certainly already owned, but deeper yearly leaguers should look into him as well.

Rick Nash, LW, NYR – The Rangers have been waiting all year, but finally they're seeing signs of life from Nash, who's been noticeably more active on the ice and more involved on the forecheck, the result of which has been offensive production. He's scored four goals in as many games, and though his season stat line is still a disappointing 20 points in 30 contests, Nash is starting to look like his powerful old self. It looks like he's finally shaking off the cobwebs after being invisible on the ice for much of December.

Darcy Kuemper, G, MIN – It's only two games, but Kuemper is building some momentum in Minnesota. He shut down the Kings last week, then shut out Nashville on Sunday, which was enough to earn him the starting nod Tuesday. If he has a good showing against the Sens, things are going to start looking awfully interesting when Josh Harding is able to return from his illness. Niklas Backstrom has been quite mediocre in goal this year, but the Wild likely won't cut bait on him with Harding's health never a guarantee, so Kuemper may return to the minors yet. Even if he does, though, his future remains bright.

Cold

Oilers goalies – Ilya Bryzgalov hasn't allowed fewer than three goals since Dec. 23; Devan Dubnyk has allowed 13 goals in his last three starts. There's no winning in fantasy with either of these train wrecks. Start your Dallas skaters in daily formats Tuesday.

Nick Leddy, D, CHI – Before last season, Leddy looked on the verge of turning into a perennial 40-point threat; 96 games later, he's totaled 37 points, and though his 19 points and plus-9 rating are admirable considering his lack of ice time. Leddy's been particularly useless lately, with just a single solitary assist over his last nine contests. He's skating just 16:28 per game on the third pairing for Chicago, making him a very speculative play right now. His long-term upside remains high, though.

Bobby Ryan, RW, OTT – One of the most notable Olympic snubs, Ryan appears not to have found much extra motivation in his disappointment. He's managed a single assist in four games since the U.S. roster was announced, and hasn't found twine since Dec. 28. Still, he's in the midst of a strong first campaign in an Ottawa sweater, having totaled 37 points and a plus-10 rating in 46 games.

Recommended Pickup
Calvin de Haan, D, NYI – Scoreless in his first 18 NHL games, de Haan has found his offensive touch as well as consistent ice time lately, as he's recorded the first six points of his NHL career – not to mention a plus-4 rating – in the last four games. The 12th overall pick in 2009, de Haan has been a disappointing performer in the AHL, but he's a slick passer and there's not much he needs to do to produce other than feed the puck to John Tavares and Kyle Okposo, which is just what he's been doing of late. He's now skated more than 20 minutes in six straight games; the only thing missing from the formula is power-play time, as he's skated only 22 seconds in total with the man advantage in those six contests. The widely available 22-year-old could be a nice difference-maker, especially in deeper leagues.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Andrew Fiorentino
Managing hockey editor, talent wrangler, football columnist, FSWA's 2015 fantasy hockey writer of the year. Twitter: @akfiorentino
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