This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
Around the Rink
So, the Islanders are pretty good now, huh? After beating the Penguins 4-1 on Sunday and downing the Flyers 1-0 in a shootout Monday, the Isles are now tied with Pittsburgh at the top of the Metropolitan Division. Only the Canadiens have more points (33), and they've played the most games in the league.
What's the secret?
Well, a healthy John Tavares helps, even though he really hasn't fully hit his stride yet. But the Isles have had Tavares and his coconspirator Kyle Okposo for years, and it hasn't propelled them to the playoffs (yeah, I just said "playoffs" in November).
As much as I want to give credit to Ryan Strome, Brock Nelson and the other breakout scorers, the real gains for the Isles have been on defense and in goal. The upgrade to Jaroslav Halak has yielded huge dividends, as Halak's looked like a new man in net, particularly recently. And a big part of that has been the upgrades to the blue-line corps – the acquisitions of Johnny Boychuk and Nick Leddy pushed Travis Hamonic and Calvin de Haan to the second defensive pairing, where they fit a lot better. Meanwhile, Boychuk has been a huge boost to the power play, and he and Leddy have gone a combined plus-15 while skating the heaviest minutes for the Isles.
So, congratulations, fellow RotoWirer and noted Isles fan George Kurtz. Your team is finally good again. Now trade the Rangers some defensemen, will you?
Let's talk Tuesday.
Projected Goalie Starters (all times Eastern)
Jets (Ondrej Pavelec) at Blue Jackets (Sergei Bobrovsky), 7:00 PM
Senators (Robin Lehner) at Blues (Brian Elliott), 8:00 PM
Kings (Jonathan Quick) at Predators (Pekka Rinne), 8:00 PM
Oilers (Ben Scrivens) at Stars (Kari Lehtonen), 8:30 PM
Avalanche (Reto Berra) at Coyotes (Mike Smith), 9:00 PM
Devils (Cory Schneider) at Canucks (Ryan Miller), 10:00 PM
Flames (Jonas Hiller) at Ducks (Frederik Andersen), 10:00 PM
For updates on the projected goalies later in the day, check out our Projected Goalies Grid.
Injury News For Teams Playing Tuesday
Columbus Blue Jackets
Fedor Tyutin, D (knee) – Out another several weeks yet
Brandon Dubinsky, C (abdomen) – Skated Monday for first time since setback
Mark Letestu, C (groin) – Skated Monday
Ryan Murray, D (knee) – Supposed to be nearing a return, but not much news
Ottawa Senators
Marc Methot, D (back) – Skating with the team, but no word on return
Chris Phillips, D (undisclosed) – Didn't play Saturday; Tuesday status unknown
St. Louis Blues
Jay Bouwmeester, D (lower body) – Iron-man streak ended Sunday
Los Angeles Kings
Alec Martinez, D (finger) – Practiced with the team Monday
Slava Voynov, D (suspension) – Situation uncertain after felony charge
Nashville Predators
Mike Fisher, C (Achilles) – Practicing fully now
Viktor Stalberg, LW (knee) – Still week-to-week on IR
Edmonton Oilers
Benoit Pouliot, LW (broken foot) – Out 5-6 weeks
Dallas Stars
Valeri Nichushkin, LW (hip) – Out into March
Colorado Avalanche
Brad Stuart, D (hamstring) – Day-to-day, so could play Tuesday
Ryan Wilson, D (shoulder) – Done for the year
John Mitchell, C (leg) – Sat out Saturday
Semyon Varlamov, G (groin) – Has missed two straight; projected to stay out Tuesday
Jamie McGinn, LW (back) – Hit IR on Friday; no set return date
Dennis Everberg, RW (shoulder) – Placed on IR on Friday; out multiple weeks
Arizona Coyotes
David Moss, RW (upper body) – Hoping to return to practice this week
Brandon Gormley, D (lower body) – Progressing; timeline has him back around weekend
Martin Hanzal, C (lower body) – Could return Tuesday
New Jersey Devils
Bryce Salvador, D (lower body) – Projected to miss the rest of the month
Ryane Clowe, LW (head) – Career potentially in jeopardy
Jon Merrill, D (arm) – Nearing a return; Tuesday?
Vancouver Canucks
Alex Burrows, RW (upper body) – Skated in practice on Monday
Tom Sestito, LW (lower body) – Remains out indefinitely
Dan Hamhuis, D (lower body) – Didn't practice Monday
Calgary Flames
Mason Raymond, LW (upper body) – Skating, but no word on return
David Jones, RW (upper body) – Practicing; nearing a return
Mikael Backlund, C (abdomen) – Skating on his own, but needs more conditioning
Joe Colborne, C (wrist) – Skating, but not practicing
Matt Stajan, C (knee) – Also skating, but not practicing
Anaheim Ducks
Mark Fistric, D (back) – Practiced Saturday; approaching a return
Dany Heatley, LW (groin) – No set timeline for return from IR
Ben Lovejoy, D (finger) Out about another 2-4 weeks
John Gibson, G (groin) – Projected out into late December
William Karlsson, C (illness) – Sent to AHL on Monday
Clayton Stoner, D (illness) – Didn't play Sunday; Tuesday status unknown
Hot
Jaroslav Halak, G, NYI – Okay, so I gave Halak a shout-out at the top here, but with the way he's been playing, he deserves two. The guy has been simply aflame over his last seven games, posting save marks of .921 or better while winning each and every single one. He has more wins in that span than four teams (Buffalo, Carolina, Columbus and Edmonton) have to show for the whole year. And he's done it against quality competition, delivering wins against the Sharks, Lightning, Pens and Flyers over the course of the streak. He's got quite the renaissance going on with this upstart Islander team.
Jannik Hansen, RW, VAN – Out of nowhere and despite sporadic ice time, Hansen's gone on a three-game goal-scoring binge, capped by a hat trick Sunday against Chicago. Five goals on seven shots – not a bad little run. Hansen now has eight goals to show for the season, which is already halfway to his career-high 16, set back in 2011-12. But he remains stuck in bottom-six ice time, and that doesn't appear set to change based on this little hot streak. He'll need to do even more to make real gains.
Cold
Corey Perry, RW, ANA – Perry's managed just a lonely assist and a minus-5 rating in four games since returning from the illness that continues to circulate around the league. And yet he's still pulling nearly a point-per-game pace. Sure, he won't reach 80 games for the first time since 2008-09 (not counting the lockout-shortened year), but Perry should bounce back in no time and get back to putting pucks in goals, which he did 11 times in his first 13 games this year before getting derailed by the mumps.
Jonathan Drouin, LW, TB – It's been a struggle lately for Drouin, who has just one point in his last five games and hasn't scored a goal since Oct. 24, when he potted his only one of the season so far. A warm start, particularly in the assists category, has given way to sharply reduced ice time and even a healthy scratch for the exciting youngster. Clearly, he has some growing to do, and the Bolts are going to make him do it in their bottom six until he proves that he belongs on a more premier line.
Recommended Pickup
Kris Versteeg, RW, CHI – What's gotten into this guy? Oh, right, he gets to play next to Patrick Kane now. After missing the start of the season with an injury and skating third-line ice time upon his return, Versteeg has settled into a second-line role alongside Kane and Brad Richards, and the points have been flowing. He's got a four-game point streak and a stunning 13 points (plus 11 bonus PIM and a plus-5 rating) over his last 12 games. And he's still widely available; time to change that.
