This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
Around the Rink
A couple weeks ago, most of the teams in the NHL had relatively stable netminding situations – an established starter, a reliable rotation, or the kind of general awfulness you can expect from the bottom-tier teams. But that's been changing with rapidity recently.
Devan Dubnyk's relocation has altered the nature of things in Minnesota, where Darcy Kuemper was struggling when healthy and Niklas Backstrom simply looks finished. Now Mike Smith is an unchallenged starter in Arizona again, which is just terrifying, with a guy you never heard of (Michael Lee, who wasn't even good in the ECHL) backing him up. Good luck with that, guys.
Over in Calgary, the 23-year-old Joni Ortio, recently called up from the AHL, has started four straight games over Jonas Hiller, while Karri Ramo's lingering on IR wondering if he'll have a job once he's ready to return from his upper-body injury. And in Carolina, Anton Khudobin – banished to the bench essentially all season – has suddenly won four consecutive games (three of them starts), while an ineffective Cam Ward has watched from the bench.
Back north in Detroit, Petr Mrazek's taken over a short-term starting gig with Jimmy Howard and Jhonas Enroth both sidelined, while Rob Zepp has been seeing plentiful action (five consecutive appearances!) for a Flyers team without Steve Mason.
That's a lot of turnover for a couple weeks.
Meanwhile, Henrik Lundqvist and Tuukka Rask, two star goalies who've been having down seasons, have been rocketing upward recently. The King has corrected his stats to normal levels already; Rask has a longer journey ahead of him to do the same, but he's making good progress. They'll both look to keep it going Tuesday.
Projected Goalie Starters (all times Eastern)
Senators (Craig Anderson) at Rangers (Henrik Lundqvist), 7:00 PM
Oilers (Ben Scrivens) at Capitals (Braden Holtby), 7:00 PM
Penguins (Marc-Andre Fleury) at Flyers (Rob Zepp), 7:30 PM
Predators (Carter Hutton) at Canadiens (Carey Price), 7:30 PM
Wild (Devan Dubnyk) at Red Wings (Petr Mrazek), 7:30 PM
Canucks (Eddie Lack) at Lightning (Ben Bishop), 7:30 PM
Coyotes (Mike Smith) at Blackhawks (Antti Raanta), 8:30 PM
Bruins (Tuukka Rask) at Stars (Kari Lehtonen), 8:30 PM
For updates on the projected goalies later in the day, check out our Projected Goalies Grid.
Injury News For Teams Playing Tuesday
Ottawa Senators
Zack Smith, C (wrist) – Been skating recently
Mark Borowiecki, D (leg) – Skating on his own
New York Rangers
Tanner Glass, LW (upper body) – Not playing Tuesday
Edmonton Oilers
Tyler Pitlick, RW (spleen) – Done for the season
Washington Capitals
Nate Schmidt, D (shoulder) – Out 6-8 weeks
Dmitry Orlov, D (wrist) – May need second surgery
Aaron Volpatti, LW (neck) – Healthy, but lingering on IR
Pittsburgh Penguins
Patric Hornqvist, RW (lower body) – Out into early February
Olli Maatta, D (shoulder) – Season over following surgery
Pascal Dupuis, RW (blood clot) – Traveling with team, but remains out long-term
Blake Comeau, LW (wrist) – Like Hornqvist, out into early February
Philadelphia Flyers
Nicklas Grossmann, D (upper body) – Expected back at beginning of February
Kimmo Timonen, D (blood clots) – Lungs are clear, but legs are not
Nick Schultz, D (upper body) – Won't play Tuesday
Carlo Colaiacovo, D (upper body) – Questionable to play Tuesday
Braydon Coburn, D (lower body) – Placed on IR Saturday
Scott Laughton, C (upper body) – Didn't play Saturday; doesn't seem likely for Tuesday
Steve Mason, G (lower body) – Should return after All-Star break
Nashville Predators
Eric Nystrom, LW (upper body) – Eligible to return anytime, but lingering on IR
Pekka Rinne, G (lower body) – Has a sprained knee; remains out into early February
Ryan Ellis, D (lower body) – Expected back around end of month
Montreal Canadiens
P.A. Parenteau, RW (concussion) – Most recent one unrelated to one from earlier this month
Carey Price, G (upper body) – Practiced Monday; appears likely for Tuesday
Minnesota Wild
Keith Ballard, D (concussion) – Weighing retirement
Justin Falk, D (lower body) – On IR; no timeline offered
Mikael Granlund, C (wrist) – Could return Tuesday
Josh Harding, G (illness) – Still ot playing in AHL due to MS
Detroit Red Wings
Jakub Kindl, D (elbow) – Won't be back 'til after break
Johan Franzen, RW (upper body) – Limited to working out off the ice
Jonas Gustavsson, G (shoulder) – Practicing; aiming at post-break return
Tomas Jurco, RW (back) – Won't return 'til after the break
Jimmy Howard, G (groin) – Targeting a return in the first week of February
Vancouver Canucks
Brad Richardson, C (soreness) – Didn't play Monday
Tampa Bay Lightning
Radko Gudas, D (knee) – Out for the regular season
Matt Carle, D (hip) – Out 6-8 weeks
Arizona Coyotes
Zbynek Michalek, D (upper body) – Didn't go Sunday
Mikkel Boedker, LW (upper body) – Hit IR Monday
Brandon Gormley, D (lower body) – Activated from IR Monday; could be back Tuesday
Chicago Blackhawks
Trevor van Riemsdyk, D (knee) – Considered ahead of schedule
Kris Versteeg, RW (hand) – Expected back in early February
Daniel Carcillo, LW (suspension) – Six-game ban; one down, five to go
Boston Bruins
Simon Gagne, LW (personal) – Won't return to team this season
Brad Marchand, LW (suspension) – Eligible to return Wednesday
Dallas Stars
Brett Ritchie, RW (undisclosed) – Expected back post-break
Valeri Nichushkin, LW (hip) – Remains out into March
Trevor Daley, D (undisclosed) – Might not be ready immediately post-break
Patrick Eaves, RW (ankle) – Expected to return this week
Hot
Cory Schneider, G, NJD – With a successful trio of West Coast games in his back pocket and four wins in his six starts since the turn of the calendar, Schneider's on what passes for a hot streak by his standards right now. He's been fairly unimpeachable in terms of statistics this year, but January has been his best month, with a 4-1-1 record, 2.07 GAA and .931 save mark representing across-the-board improvement by the goalie and the team in front of him alike. It's hard to project the Devils to stay hot with their offensive struggles this year, but if they can, Schneider's enormous workload means he'll be in line for a huge jump in fantasy value.
Kris Letang, D, PIT – After getting derailed by injury in early December, then going on a cold streak that lasted into the new year, Letang is finally starting to round into midseason form. He's got points in four straight games, with a power-play assist in each of those contests and seven points (a goal and six assists) overall. The ol' plus-minus has been suffering a tad (minus-4 over the last two) because he's been less effective at even strength than on the man advantage, but that's a hit we're collectively willing to take if the point production's there. The only note of concern is that he's only managed five shots on goal over these four games -- a meager total. But hey, six points.
Cold
Jhonas Enroth, G, BUF – Remember Enroth's hot streak from mid-late November into mid-December, in which he won nine out of 11 games? That already feels like a long, long time ago. Amazingly, that streak's accounted for all but two of his wins in his 31 appearances (29 starts) this year. The Sabres haven't won a game since late December, and Enroth has been a prime culprit -- he's dropped six consecutive starts, and in those games he's allowed a spectacular 30 goals. Yes. Thirty of them. Including 18 in his last three. Run. Run far away.
Tyler Bozak, C, TOR -- A core contributor on the Leafs' top line with Phil Kessel and James van Riemsdyk, Bozak was expected to build on last year's 49 points in 58 games, but instead he's going backward, especially recently. Over the last 10 games, he's been held off the scoresheet nine times, and he has a sickening minus-9 rating, helped out by Monday's minus-4 against the Hurricanes. He doesn't appear to face much of a displacement threat from Nazem Kadri, so Bozak will have every opportunity to work his way out of this, but he'll have to turn on the jets very soon if he wants to clock his first 60-point season. The trade winds are swirling, which might mean a change of scenery that could help – or hurt – his fantasy value.
Recommended Pickup
Mikael Backlund, C, CGY – At the start of 2015, Backlund hadn't done much to excite fantasy owners about his career prospects. Sure, he has first-round pedigree, but last year's 39 points didn't seem to portend a huge breakout, and he spent much of the first half of this campaign on IR. But since returning, he's been dynamic, having ripped off a five-game point streak that came to an end Monday (though at least he chipped in a couple PIM in that one), and with his prime position as the Flames' top center, he's got the opportunity to keep banging 'em in. Now let's see some more power-play production – he's seeing decent time there, but has just one man-advantage point all year.
