This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
Around the Rink
When the Lightning signed Anton Stralman this offseason, I took it as one of those overpays that some teams make based on a big playoff performance and positional need. Five years and $22 million for a guy coming off a 13-point campaign?
It didn't make any sense to me – not even as a Rangers fan who'd watched how valuable Stralman proved to be over the course of their run to the Stanley Cup Finals. After all, he'd been effective, but often invisible in the regular season. His plus-9 rating was strong, but just seventh-best on the team. He put just 104 shots on goal, averaged less than one hit per game, and had even fewer blocked shots. In short, he was just the kind of quietly effective defenseman you want at a team-friendly price to fill out your blue-line corps. But as a big-ticket free agent, a guy expected to carry a major load after having averaged less than 20 minutes of ice time in four consecutive NHL seasons? I just couldn't see it.
Well, I was wrong. Stralman has flourished in his new environs, thanks in no small part to the hand injury suffered by Victor Hedman that threw a lot of fresh minutes into the pool split by the rest of the Bolts' defenders. The Swedish veteran's averaging a career-best 22:37 on the ice and is poised to blow away his high-water marks in pretty much every category. With a goal and eight assists in the season's first 12 games, he's far ahead of any scoring pace on his resume. His plus-13 (!) rating is just one off his career-best plus-14, set in the lockout-shortened campaign two years ago. He's putting shots on goal at a career-high pace. He's collected his first power-play point in three seasons and is seeing regular time on the man advantage. Oh, and he's even averaging more than a hit per game. What the heck's gotten into this guy? I don't know, but the ex-Blueshirt trio of Stralman, Ryan Callahan and Brian Boyle has unquestionably been a major key to Tampa's Eastern Conference-leading 8-3-1 start.
But the Lightning aren't playing on Tuesday, so let's take a look at who is.
Projected Goalie Starters (all times Eastern)
Panthers (Roberto Luongo) at Bruins (Tuukka Rask), 7:00 PM
Oilers (Ben Scrivens) at Flyers (Steve Mason), 7:00 PM
Flames (Jonas Hiller) at Capitals (Braden Holtby), 7:00 PM
Hurricanes (Cam Ward) at Blue Jackets (Curtis McElhinney), 7:00 PM
Blues (Jake Allen) at Devils (Cory Schneider), 7:30 PM
Blackhawks (Corey Crawford) at Canadiens (Carey Price), 7:30 PM
Red Wings (Jimmy Howard) at Senators (Craig Anderson), 7:30 PM
Penguins (Marc-Andre Fleury) at Wild (Darcy Kuemper), 8:00 PM
Predators (Pekka Rinne) at Jets (Ondrej Pavelec), 8:00 PM
Kings (Jonathan Quick) at Stars (Kari Lehtonen), 8:30 PM
Canucks (Ryan Miller) at Avalanche (Semyon Varlamov), 9:00 PM
Maple Leafs (Jonathan Bernier) at Coyotes (Mike Smith), 9:00 PM
For updates on the projected goalies later in the day, check out our Projected Goalies Grid.
Injury News For Teams Playing Tuesday
Florida Panthers
Sean Bergenheim, LW (lower body) – Didn't play Saturday
Dave Bolland, C (lower body) – Placed on IR Friday
Aleksander Barkov, C (lower body) – Couldn't go Saturday after being hurt Thursday
Brandon Pirri, C (concussion) – Placed on injured reserve Friday
Jonathan Huberdeau, LW (illness) – Couldn't go Saturday
Boston Bruins
Torey Krug, D (finger) – Out about another week or two at least
Kevan Miller, D (upper body) – Skated at Monday's practice
David Krejci, C (undisclosed) – Day-to-day, and that's all we know
Zdeno Chara, D (knee) – Still out until at least end of month
Edmonton Oilers
Andrew Ference, D (suspension) – Out the next three games
Luke Gazdic, LW (shoulder) – On AHL conditioning assignment
Taylor Hall, LW (knee) – Placed on IR Sunday; out 2-4 weeks
Nikita Nikitin, D (back) – Back at practice Monday; could return Tuesday
Philadelphia Flyers
Braydon Coburn, D (lower body) – Ahead of schedule; no official timetable though
Andrew MacDonald, D (lower body) – Expected out 'til end of the month
Calgary Flames
Matt Stajan, C (knee) – Out into December
Mason Raymond, LW (upper body) – Remains week-to-week
Mikael Backlund, C (abdomen) – Also week to-week
Joe Colborne, C (wrist) – Placed on IR Sunday
Michael Ferland, LW (concussion) – Concussion confirmed Sunday; no timetable
Washington Capitals
Dmitry Orlov, D (wrist) – May not be able to return until the end of November
Aaron Volpatti, LW (neck) – Supposed to go on conditioning assignment, but hasn't yet
Brooks Laich, C (upper body) – Has missed six straight; Tuesday uncertain
John Erskine, D (neck) – Out into December at least following surgery
Carolina Hurricanes
Jordan Staal, C (leg) – Out another 2-3 months still
Columbus Blue Jackets
Artem Anisimov, C (concussion) – Placed on IR Monday
Cody Goloubef, D (leg) – Also placed on IR Monday
Mark Letestu, C (groin) – Out a matter of weeks yet
Matt Calvert, LW (upper body) – Practiced fully Monday; expected back Tuesday
Corey Tropp, RW (illness) – Couldn't go Saturday
Sergei Bobrovsky, G (finger) – Starting to approach originally estimated return date
Boone Jenner, LW (hand) – Practiced fully Monday
James Wisniewski, D (finger) – On IR at least through the weekend
Brandon Dubinsky, C (abdomen) – Skating, but still a couple weeks away
St. Louis Blues
T.J. Oshie, RW (concussion) – Placed on IR Monday
Paul Stastny, C (upper body) – Full in morning skate; on track for weekend activation
New Jersey Devils
Martin Havlat, RW (lower body) – Possible for end of week
Michael Cammalleri, LW (neck) – Expects to be back soon
Jordin Tootoo, RW (foot) – Practiced Monday; day-to-day, but likely out Tuesday
Chicago Blackhawks
Daniel Carcillo, LW (knee) – Out 'til end of month
Detroit Red Wings
Stephen Weiss, C (lower body) – Shifted back to IR; no firm timetable
Kyle Quincey, D (ankle) – Practiced with the team Monday
Ottawa Senators
Marc Methot, D (back) – Still lacks target return date
Mark Borowiecki, (undisclosed) – Did not practice Monday
Pittsburgh Penguins
Beau Bennett, RW (knee) – Headed to AHL for rehab assignment
Olli Maatta, D (neck) – Saturday is last game before thyroid surgery
Minnesota Wild
Jared Spurgeon, D (shoulder) – No timetable currently
Matt Cooke, LW (lower body) – Has missed two straight; no word on Tuesday
Keith Ballard, D (illness) – Practiced with the team Monday
Josh Harding, G (foot) – Taking shots, but a long ways from returning
Ryan Carter, C (lower body) – Practiced on Monday
Nashville Predators
Anton Volchenkov, D (suspension) – Three more games on suspension
Calle Jarnkrok, C (upper body) – Out three straight; no word on Tuesday
Winnipeg Jets
Anthony Peluso, RW (upper body) – On IR with no timetable, but should return soon?
Los Angeles Kings
Slava Voynov, D (suspension) – Still in limbo
Jordan Nolan, RW (suspension) – Tuesday will be second game of two-game ban
Dallas Stars
Sergei Gonchar, D (ankle) Questionable for Tuesday
Ales Hemsky, RW (upper body) – Hurt Saturday; expected back Tuesday
Valeri Nichushkin, LW (groin) – Practiced Monday; seems like he could be back Tuesday
Vancouver Canucks
Kevin Bieksa, D (eye) – Day-to-day; no fracture from puck to face
Alex Burrows, RW (suspension) – Tuesday wraps up three-game ban
Tom Sestito, LW (lower body) – Out indefinitely
Colorado Avalanche
Jesse Winchester, LW (concussion) – Had a setback; no timetable
Ryan Wilson, D (shoulder) – Should be within about a week of returning
Toronto Maple Leafs
Joffrey Lupul, LW (hand) – Placed on IR on Monday
David Booth, LW (foot) – Skating, but not close to returning
Brandon Kozun, RW (ankle) – Out into December
Arizona Coyotes
David Moss, RW (upper body) – Remains week-to-week on IR
Hot
Mark Giordano, D, CGY – I've already sung the praises of Giordano's partner on the blue line, T.J. Brodie, this year, so it's only fair that I give the crafty vet his own shout-out. Coming off a career year, the 31-year-old has surprised by actually playing even better in the early going this season. He's only failed to record a point four times in 13 games, and has been a particularly steady producer recently, racking up two goals and five total points to go with a plus-5 rating over his last five contests. A power-play regular, he's exceeded five minutes with the man advantage twice in the last three. And if your league counts blocked shots, you've got to feel pretty ecstatic about his whopping 40 already on the year.
Jonas Hiller, G, CGY – Yep, these Flames sure are hot. If there's one thing fantasy owners didn't expect to get out of Hiller this year, it's wins. Mediocre and unable to keep his grip on the No. 1 job with the Ducks, the Swiss netminder arrived in Calgary with little fanfare, but has been a revelation in the early going, and particularly recently. Over the last six games, he's 5-0-1 and has allowed a grand total of eight goals. Meanwhile, Karri Ramo's been only so-so, meaning that Hiller should continue to draw plenty of starts even if his sparkling numbers regress toward his career norms.
Cold
Jaroslav Halak, G, NYI – After starting the year hot with three straight wins, Halak remembered that he plays for the Islanders and has thus fallen into a tailspin. He's dropped four consecutive starts, giving up 14 goals in that span while desperately missing the high-flying offense the Isles showed in the first week of the season. The best news for Halak, though, is that Chad Johnson has been worse if anything, as the only good start he's delivered in the early going is an Oct. 23 revenge victory against his old Bruins mates.
P.A. Parenteau, RW, MON – Another guy who got off to a hot start – five points in the first five games of the year – Parenteau is also another guy who's fallen into a deep slump. He's gone without a point in seven consecutive games – though at least he has a shootout winner to show for that span – and has been near-invisible on the ice recently. The last four games have been particularly brutal, as he's totaled just two shots on goal and one hit over that time despite skating very heavy minutes in two of those contests. He saw his ice time cut drastically Sunday – just 11:05, well off his season average of 15:28 – as the inconsistent Canadiens mixed things up in search of more offense. The points will come for Parenteau, but his first season with Les Habs is not off to a strong start.
Recommended Pickup
Johnny Gaudreau, LW, CGY – It's a Calgary-a-palooza in this article today, huh? The kid they call Johnny Hockey got off to a quiet start, but has since gotten on track – and as a result, his responsibilities have expanded dramatically over the last couple weeks. The 21-year-old Gaudreau has a three-game point streak going and has tallied up all eight of his points on the season over the last seven games. Best of all, he remains pretty widely available despite what should by all rights be a massive amount of hype. The biggest issue Gaudreau has is that he's very small – but that certainly hasn't bothered him in the NHL so far, and it likely won't bother you either unless your fantasy league counts hits – he has exactly zero this year. While it's questionable whether he can avoid the injury bug due to his size, he's got the elusiveness to do so, just as Martin St. Louis has throughout his career. (Sigh, there I go comparing players to St. Louis again. I just can't help myself.)
