This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
Around the Rink
For just two games being on the schedule, Monday evening turned out to be quite the eventful one.
First, the Rangers set a season high in goals by scoring all five of theirs in the third period, stunning Darcy Kuemper – who entered with a 0.80 GAA – and the Wild with a comeback from down 3-0. Kuemper simply doesn't struggle like this typically, and you wouldn't expect him to do so against a Rangers team that isn't extremely gifted on offense. He'd given up just four goals in five games before giving up five goals in his sixth game (and hey, if that was a bit quirkier, it'd almost sound like a Dr. Seuss sentence). It was odd enough that Henrik Lundqvist gave up four goals of his own – including at least one that made him very unhappy with himself. For his part, Lundqvist has yet to get it going this year, but October's never been his finest month.
And then in the only other game of the night, the suddenly red-hot Oilers – losers of their first five games, but now winners of four in a row – shut out the Canadiens, the top team in the Eastern Conference. In perhaps the most bizarre story of all, Edmonton is actually playing some defense and getting some goaltending! After giving up 24 regulation goals in their first five games, the Oil have stunningly settled things down against a series of strong opponents (with the exception of Carolina... sorry, 'Canes), allowing just seven goals over the course of their winning streak. Ben Scrivens is actually a legit netminder, if the Oil can give him some help – but that's been their biggest problem for years, and four games aren't enough to consider this a real turnaround.
It all goes to show you that the NHL's about as predictable as the bounce of the puck. Last week's bums are this week's heroes.
Anyway, Monday's in the past now. Let's look to the future: Tuesday.
Projected Goalie Starters (all times Eastern)
Senators (Robin Lehner) at Blue Jackets (Curtis McElhinney), 7:00
Wild (Niklas Backstrom) at Briuns (Tuukka Rask), 7:00
Devils (Cory Schneider) at Penguins (Marc-Andre Fleury), 7:00
Kings (Jonathan Quick) at Flyers (Ray Emery), 7:00
Jets (Ondrej Pavelec) at Islanders (Jaroslav Halak), 7:00
Coyotes (Mike Smith) at Lightning (Ben Bishop), 7:30
Sabres (Michal Neuvirth) at Leafs (Jonathan Bernier), 7:30
Ducks (Frederik Andersen) at Blackhawks (Corey Crawford), 8:30
Blues (Brian Elliott) at Stars (Kari Lehtonen), 8:30
Canadiens (Carey Price) at Flames (Jonas Hiller), 9:00
Sharks (Antti Niemi) at Avalanche (Semyon Varlamov), 9:00
Hurricanes (Cam Ward) at Canucks (Ryan Miller), 10:00
For updates on the projected goalies later in the day, check out our Projected Goalies Grid.
Injury News For Teams Playing Tuesday
Ottawa Senators
Marc Methot, D (back) – Not expected to travel on upcoming road trip
Columbus Blue Jackets
Sergei Bobrovsky, G (finger) -- Placed on IR Tuesday Matt Calvert, LW (undisclosed) – Placed on IR Monday
Cam Atkinson, RW (eye) – Took part in Monday's optional team skate
Boone Jenner, LW (hand) – Practiced with the team Monday
Nathan Horton, RW (back) – Doesn't sound like he'll play this year
Brandon Dubinsky, C (abdomen) – Out about another three weeks
Nick Foligno, LW (neck) – Hoping to be cleared for Tuesday's game
Minnesota Wild
Keith Ballard, D (illness) – Not traveling with the team
Christian Folin, D (illness) – Also not traveling
Boston Bruins
Kevan Miller, D (shoulder) – Making progress, but no timetable
Zdeno Chara, D (knee) – Out a month-plus
New Jersey Devils
Martin Havlat, RW (undisclosed) – Didn't practice Monday
Michael Cammalleri, LW (jaw) Day-to-day; Tuesday status uncertain
Jordin Tootoo, RW (foot) – On IR, but day-to-day with bone bruise
Pittsburgh Penguins
Beau Bennett, RW (leg) – Not close to returning
Olli Maatta, D (neck) – Out four weeks with surgery to remove a thyroid tumor – scary
Los Angeles Kings
Marian Gaborik, RW (undisclosed) – Skating on his own, but no ETA still
Anze Kopitar, C (upper body) – Traveling with the team for Tuesday's game
Trevor Lewis, C (upper body) – Limited practice participant over weekend
Philadelphia Flyers
Andrew MacDonald, D (lower body) – Out about four weeks
Braydon Coburn, D (lower body) – Placed on IR Friday; out four weeks too
Vincent Lecavalier, C (foot) – Could be back Thursday
Winnipeg Jets
Evander Kane, LW (knee) – Progressing well, but return still not imminent
Anthony Peluso, RW (upper body) – Has missed three straight; no word on return
New York Islanders
Michael Grabner, RW (hernia) – Could start skating this week
Josh Bailey, LW (hand) – Could return to the lineup sooner than expected,
Travis Hamonic, D (upper body) – Unlikely to return Tuesday
Arizona Coyotes
Martin Hanzal, C (lower body) – Expected back in there Tuesday
David Moss, RW (upper body) – Placed on injured reserve Sunday
Tampa Bay Lightning
Victor Hedman, D (hand) – Out at least three more weeks
Brett Connolly, RW (lower body) – Week-to-week
Alex Killorn, C (upper body) – Placed on IR Saturday, but could return Tuesday
J.T. Brown, RW (upper body) – Didn't go Saturday, but could be back Tuesday
Ryan Callahan, RW (lower body) – Moved to injured reserve Saturday
Buffalo Sabres
Patrick Kaleta, RW (face) – Practicing with team, but not ready for game action
Toronto Maple Leafs
Brandon Kozun, RW (ankle) – Out a month-plus still
David Booth, LW (foot) – Still not close to returning
Anaheim Ducks
Bryan Allen, D (lower body) – Practiced with the team Monday
Dany Heatley, LW (groin) – Also practiced Monday
Ben Lovejoy, D (finger) – Out 6-8 weeks
Kyle Palmieri, RW (ankle) – Still not skating
Patrick Maroon, LW (knee) – Out another 2-3 weeks at least with sprained MCL
Hampus Lindholm, D (illness) – Didn't practice Monday
Chicago Blackhawks
Corey Crawford, G (upper body) – Could return as soon as Tuesday; check back
Daniel Carcillo, LW (knee) – Will likely miss four weeks
St. Louis Blues
Vladimir Tarasenko, RW (illness) – Questionable for Tuesday's game against the Stars
Ryan Reaves, RW (illness) – Could play Tuesday
Paul Stastny, C (upper body) – Limited, non-contact practice Monday
Dallas Stars
Sergei Gonchar, D (ankle) – Not expected to return this week
Valeri Nichushkin, LW (groin) Also not expected to return this week
Patrik Nemeth, D (arm) – Out for the year
Montreal Canadiens
None
Calgary Flames
Mason Raymond, LW (upper body) – Day-to-day; Tuesday status uncertain
San Jose Sharks
John Scott, LW (suspension) – Two-game ban for Sunday hijinks
Tyler Kennedy, LW (upper body) – Sent on AHL conditioning stint
Colorado Avalanche
Jesse Winchester, LW (concussion) – Doubtful for Tuesday's game
Ryan Wilson, D (shoulder) – Out into the first half of November
Carolina Hurricanes
Jordan Staal, C (leg) – Expected back in late December or January
Nathan Gerbe, LW (lower body) – Still not taking contact in practice
Vancouver Canucks
Ryan Stanton, D (lower body) – Participated in morning skate Sunday
Bo Horvat, C (shoulder) – Currently on AHL conditioning assignment
Hot
Tyler Toffoli, RW, LA – We knew this was shaping up to be a breakout season for Toffoli, but it might be even better than expected. After Sunday's four-point performance, he's now racked up four goals, eight assists and a plus-11 rating over eight games, generally looking like one of the best players in the league on one of the best lines in the league with Jeff Carter and Tanner Pearson. And he's done all this while averaging just 14 minutes of ice time, so even with the fact that luck will balance him out a little, the Kings are sure to find him extra minutes moving forward, which should help him keep up a high scoring rate. I've long believed that Toffoli is one day going to become one of the better players in the game, and it appears that time is arriving even sooner than expected.
Tyler Johnson, C, TB – It's the attack of the Tylers! Johnson, riding a six-game assist streak, is showing the world why the Bolts were okay with dealing away Martin St. Louis at the deadline last year, as the similarly bite-sized and undrafted sparkplug has actually broken out at a younger age than St. Louis did. Marty never cleared 50 points in the NHL 'til his 70-point breakout as a 27-year-old in 2002-03; Johnson already has a 50-point campaign in his pocket at age 24 last year, and he's on nearly a point-per-game pace to start this season. There's no reason he shouldn't more or less keep up this scoring rate, considering his strong minutes and the fact that he's increased his shooting rate to an average of nearly three per game – he's on pace for 237 shots. But he only has one goal – that should change soon.
Cold
Cam Ward, G, CAR – If there's ever a goalie to avoid like the plague in fantasy, this is the one. A one-time stalwart, Ward's failed to achieve so much as a .900 save percentage in his first three games this year, which isn't so different from last year, when he finished with an .898 save mark. The 'Canes are probably the worst team in hockey right now, which hardly helps, but at least fellow netminder Anton Khudobin's been merely bad – Ward's stats are simply horrifying. It's certainly not all his fault, but unless he gets traded out of town, that doesn't really matter. He's still on a high-paying contract, which is gonna be tough to move.
Nazem Kadri, C, TOR – Since scoring twice in the first three games of the year, Kadri's gone into a bit of a tailspin, going without a point in five straight contests. And in two of those games, he saw his ice time curtailed significantly, twice skating less than 14 minutes and putting one combined shot on goal in those two games. His minutes rebounded Saturday against Boston, at least, as he was back to 18:14 in that one. Super-talented, but also inconsistent, Kadri's a strong buy-low candidate while he's slumping.
Recommended Pickup
Ryan Ellis, D, NSH – Perhaps because he's a little undersized and perhaps because he plays in Nashville, Ellis has gotten fairly little hype in fantasy circles in general, and this year is no exception. That's odd, because he's a former No. 11 overall pick who had a 100-point junior season as a defenseman, and he managed 27 points and a plus-9 rating last year despite averaging a miserly 16:04 of ice time. Ellis has seen his responsibilities increase a bit this season, as his ATOI has jumped by more than three minutes to 19:09 and his power-play time is up also, to 2:30 per game, and he's answered with a goal and four assists through eight games in the early going. He's a useful fantasy defender right now, and if someone ahead of him on the depth chart gets hurt (or Seth Jones continues being nigh-useless), Ellis could do a ton more damage with extra minutes.
