This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
Boxing Day is the best. You've got holiday leftovers in the fridge. A box of cookies in on the counter. No work (I hope).
There are World Junior Championship games all day, including an awesome U.S. vs. Canada opener, a shootout between the Czech Republic and Russia and Sweden showing off their high-end talent in a blowout against Switzerland.
I get to confuse my in-laws by chanting U-S-A! in the living room in the middle of the day and telling them how kids like Auston Matthews and Jesse Puljujarvi are super exciting or that Joel Eriksson Ek could be the future face of the Minnesota Wild.
Then you can end the day with the return of the NHL and the return of fantasy hockey.
Boxing Day is the best. Or, at least, it's better than the 12 hours of A Christmas Story that I watched yesterday.
Projected Goalie Starters (all times Eastern)
For updates on the projected goalies later in the day, check our Projected Goalies Grid
Sabres (Chad Johnson) at Bruins (Jonas Gustavsson), 7:00 PM
Blue Jackets (Joonas Korpisalo) at Lightning (Ben Bishop), 7:00 PM
Canadiens (Mike Condon) at Capitals (Braden Holtby), 7:00 PM
Devils (Cory Schneider) at Hurricanes (Cam Ward), 7:00 PM
Stars (Antti Niemi) at Blues (Jake Allen), 8:00 PM
Red Wings (Petr Mrazek) at Predators (Pekka Rinne), 8:00 PM
Penguins (Matt Murray) at Wild (Devan Dubnyk), 8:00 PM
Kings (Jonathan Quick) at Coyotes (Anders Lindback), 9:00 PM
Oilers (Anders Nilsson) at Canucks (Jacob Markstrom), 10:00 PM
Injury News For Teams Playing Saturday
Buffalo Sabres
Robin Lehner, G (ankle) - is still nursing his way back from injury
Mark Pysyk, D (lower body) - is still considered week-to-week
Marcus Foligno, LW (upper body) - is out Saturday
Cody McCormick, C (blood clots) - remains out and is unlikely to be back soon
Boston Bruins
Maxime Talbot, C (suspension) - remains out, finishing a two-game suspension
Chris Kelly, RW (fractured femur) - is out for the season
David Pastrnak, LW (foot) - remains in the AHL coming back from injury
Joonas Kemppainen, C (upper body) - remains on IR
Columbus Blue Jackets
Nick Foligno, LW (undisclosed) - has not had his status updated
Cody Goloubef, D (jaw) - is still out
David Savard, D (ankle) - remains out
Sergei Bobrovsky, G (groin) - expected to return Saturday, but is still considered day-to-day
Markus Hannikainen, RW (shoulder) - is expected to miss at least a month
Tampa Bay Lightning
Joel Vermin, RW (hand) - underwent surgery this month and is expected to miss up to two months
Tyler Johnson, C (undisclosed) - is day-to-day
Ondrej Palat, LW (ankle) - has skated in practice, is questionable
J.T. Brown, RW (undisclosed) - is questionable
Jonathan Drouin, C (lower body) - is questionable
Yanni Gourde, LW (upper body) - is questionable
Brian Boyle, C (upper body) - is questionable
Montreal Canadiens
Carey Price, G (leg) - isn't joining the team on their road trip
Tom Gilbert, D (lower body) - is expected to miss the team's five-game road trip, including the Winter Classic
Brendan Gallagher, RW (finger) - is also missing the the team's road trip
Washington Capitals
Brooks Orpik, D (lower body) - wasn't a part of Saturday's morning skate
New Jersey Devils
Patrik Elias, LW (knee) - may not
Bobby Farnham, LW (upper body) - is still out
Carolina Hurricanes
Nathan Gerbe, LW (lower body) - is still on IR
James Wisniewski, D (ACL) - is out
Dallas Stars
Healthy
St. Louis Blues
Steve Ott, C (hamstring) - is expected to miss a couple more months
Kyle Brodziak, C (undisclosed) - participated in morning skate
Patrik Berglund, C (shoulder) - remains on long-term injured reserve
Jaden Schwartz, LW(ankle) - remains out
Detroit Red Wings
Kyle Quincey, D (ankle) - is expected to be out until early January
Johan Franzen, RW (concussion) - won't be back any time soon
Jonathan Ericsson, D (upper body) - is expected to still be out
Drew Miller, LW (jaw) - is out
Teemu Pulkkinen, RW (shoulder) - is out
Nashville Predators
Gabriel Bourque, LW (lower body) - is on IR
Mike Fisher, C (lower body) - has been skating, but remains day-to-day
Pittsburgh Penguins
Beau Bennett, RW (upper body) - remains out
Marc-Andre Fleury, G (concussion) - will not play Saturday
Sidney Crosby, C (lower body) - GM Rutherford says that he expects Crosby to return Saturday
Kris Letang, D (undisclosed) - is expected to return on Saturday
Minnesota Wild
Chris Porter, LW (lower body) - is expected to play Saturday
Ryan Carter, RW (undisclosed) - is likely to be out on Saturday
Los Angeles Kings
Matt Greene, D (upper body) - is on long-term IR
Dwight King, LW (foot) - is expected to be back in the near future, but is unlikely for Saturday
Kyle Clifford, LW (undisclosed) - is unlikely
Arizona Coyotes
Martin Hanzal, C (undisclosed) - is questionable
Joe Vitale, C (fractured orbital bone) - though he's past his initial timetable, is still out
Zbynek Michalek, D (lower body) - is unlikely to return Tuesday
Mike Smith, G (core muscle) - will miss significant time
Nicklas Grossmann, D (upper body) - was injured in the team's final game before the break
Edmonton Oilers
Andrew Ference, D (undisclosed) - is out
Rob Klinkhammer, LW (ankle) - aggravated his injury in his return and is questionable to return
Oscar Klefbom, D (finger) - could return Saturday
Nail Yakupov, RW (ankle) - could be back soon
Brandon Davidson, D (upper body) - could return soon
Connor McDavid, C (shoulder) - won't return until after the All-Star break at the earliest
Vancouver Canucks
Dan Hamhuis, D (face) - will miss upwards of a month
Ryan Miller, G (cramps) - has been ruled out Saturday
Chris Higgins, LW (undisclosed) - has been ruled out
Brandon Sutter, C (abdomen - is expected back the second week of January
Luca Sbisa, D (hand) - is creeping toward a return
Hot
Vladimir Tarasenko, RW, STL — In a season where Patrick Kane is stealing headlines, we're talking about slumps with superstars like Steven Stamkos and Sidney Crosby, Jaromir Jagr is setting new records and we're seeing the continued rise of Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn, it's easy to overlook Tarasenko. We know he's a star, but other storylines are burying his rise. He comes off the break with a seven-game point streak going, over which he's posted six goals and five assists. He's a superstar.
Brad Richards, C, DET — Richards had a very slow start to his career in Detroit, but he's been solid in recent games. He's put up two goals and four points with a plus-2 rating over the last five games. He's also put up 18 shots in those five games.
Cold
Ryan Getzlaf, C, ANA — Anyone ion a keeper league that drafted Ryan Getzlaf has to hope the reset button has been pushed. Getzlaf has just a single goal in 29 games and it was an empty netter. 19 assists doesn't look bad, but it's hard to feel good about that production when he can't get a goal in the net. the team isn't making it any easier on him either. The Ducks are scoring the fewest goals per game of any team in the NHL.
Sidney Crosby, C, PIT — He's expected to return from a minor lower-body injury on Saturday. He skated in the morning on a line with Chris Kunitz and David Perron and needs to find his rhythm in a hurry for the struggling Pens. He hasn't scored a goal in seven games and has just two points over the last five games.
Recommended Pickup
Kyle Palmieri, RW, NJD — Palmieri has been a key piece of the Devils unexpected success. Funny that the Ducks moved on from him, because his 14 goals and 27 points on the season would be some gratefully welcomed production in Anaheim. Through 12 games in December, Palmieri has six goals and 10 points.
