This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
Around the League
Happy New Year!
The NHL kicked off the 2015 calendar year with a memorable Winter Classic game, thanks to Troy Brouwer's game-winner with 12.9 seconds remaining to give the Capitals a 3-2 triumph over the Blackhawks in front of their home crowd at Nationals Park.
Wearing some sweet maroon threads for the Winter Classic, the Caps nearly blew a 2-0 lead when Brandon Saad tied the game at 2-2 early in the second period. With Joel Quenneville behind the bench and a roster replete with Stanley Cup-winning experience, combined with the Caps' penchant for being unable to close out games, it seemed like the Hawks would come out on top yet again. With the win, the Caps leapfrogged the Rangers into sole position of third place in the Metro Division while the Blackhawks maintain a perilous one-point lead over Nashville in the Central.
Whether or not this Caps team under Barry Trotz is more resilient than Bruce Boudreau's can't be determined until the playoffs, but this hard-fought win surely must've meant something. The Caps need some more scoring help from their forwards outside of Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom. Marcus Johansson and Troy Brouwer have combined for just 39 points, one more than Backstrom alone. The 29-year-old Ovechkin, who can no longer power his way through defenses like he once did, has 32 points in 37 games, and at this pace will finish at under a point-per-game pace for just the second time in his career.
In Vancouver, Justin Williams and Jarret Stoll scored 53 seconds apart late in the third period as the Kings came from behind to win 3-2. Ryan Miller was a difference maker stopping 37 of 40 shots, and it was the Canucks' pitiful offense that failed him, generating just 16 shots. After jumping out to a 2-0 lead, the Canucks just couldn't close out the game and fall into a three-way tie with the Sharks and Flames for third place in the Pacific while the Kings move to second place.
The game was quite indicative of everything that's been suspected so far: Darryl Sutter's teams play relentless hockey whether they're up 6-0 or down 6-0, and the Canucks' lack of elite depth on forward and defense showed that they're still a second-tier team. Case in point, Drew Doughty was named the game's first star with four shots on goal and 30:03 in ice time while Alexander Edler led the Canucks with 24:19 and just one shot on goal.
Notes for Friday:
- Roberto Luongo is a must-play as the Panthers visit Buffalo. He's a career 12-6-2 against them with a 1.84 GAA and .940 save percentage. The Sabres are banged up and have only one reliable scoring line with Tyler Ennis, Matt Moulson and Latvian legend Zemgus Girgensons.
- Carey Price will make his 400th start as the Habs visit New Jersey. The Devils are 2-6-3 in their past 11 games and even more banged up than the Sabres. Things are tense in New Jersey with an unwieldy co-coaches system and Lou Lamoriello watching like a hawk. This should be an easy win for Price and the Habs.
- The Lightning will be at a disadvantage if Ben Bishop can't go, but the Pens are without the services of many of their key players. This could be a potential preview of the Eastern Conference Final. They're clearly the two best teams in the East, when healthy.
- Carolina's scored just five goals in their past five games, which bodes well for Steve Mason, who is quietly having a pretty good season. There's still tons of room for improvement, but he's been their best since arriving from Columbus and poised to have a solid game. Jordan Staal made his season debut then sat out the next game for precautionary reasons so he should be ready for tonight. He won't be a big difference maker, though.
- Darcy Kuemper will either stonewall the Leafs or look like a sieve. At least that's what his performances this season seem to suggest. (Safer to just sit Kuemper). The Wild will miss Mikael Granlund's presence down the middle and Mike Yeo could find himself on the hot seat if the Wild fall further out of the playoff race. Under Yeo the team has improved, but hasn't taken that big leap forward yet.
- What better team than the Oilers for the Avalanche to right the ship? One of the league's worst defensive teams should provide an offensive boon for the Avs' struggling stars, including Nathan MacKinnon, Ryan O'Reilly and Matt Duchene. The game will certainly be fast-paced but give the edge to the Avs on offense, defense, goaltending and coaching.
- The Flames will be blocking a lot of shots against the Isles, who feature a bevy of offensive weapons. The Isles are very aggressive and the Flames don't back down, which makes for an exciting matchup. Johnny Gaudreau is the only regular to not have taken a penalty this season. Jaroslav Halak is a bit of a risky play this game if only because the pesky Flames never seem to go away.
- Jake Allen's struggles (more below) has paved the way for Martin Brodeur to be the Blues' No. 1 goalie and has already been confirmed to start against Anaheim, who are finally closer to full strength with Corey Perry back. Just as how the Bolts-Pens game could be a playoff preview, this tilt could foreshadow a Western Conference Finals matchup.
Projected Goalie Starters (all times Eastern)
For updates on the projected goalies later in the day, check our Projected Goalies Grid
Florida Panthers (Roberto Luongo) at Buffalo Sabres (Jhonas Enroth), 7:00 PM
Montreal Canadiens (Carey Price*) at New Jersey Devils (Cory Schneider), 7:00 PM
Tampa Bay Lightning (Ben Bishop) at Pittsburgh Penguins (Marc-Andre Fleury), 7:00 PM
Philadelphia Flyers (Steve Mason) at Carolina Hurricanes (Cam Ward), 7:00 PM
Toronto Maple Leafs (Jonathan Bernier) at Minnesota Wild (Darcy Kuemper), 8:00 PM
Edmonton Oilers (Ben Scrivens) at Colorado Avalanche (Semyon Varlamov), 9:00 PM
New York Islanders (Jaroslav Halak) at Calgary Flames (Jonas Hiller), 9:00 PM
St. Louis Blues (Martin Brodeur*) at Anaheim Ducks (Frederik Andersen), 10:00 PM
Injury News For Teams Playing Friday
Florida Panthers
Shawn Thornton, LW (groin) – no return date set.
Tomas Kopecky, RW (undisclosed) – did not play Tuesday; doubtful.
Buffalo Sabres
Tyler Myers, D (lower body) – game-time decision; questionable.
Rasmus Ristolainen, D (illness) – game-time decision; probable.
Marcus Foligno, LW (finger) – expected to miss a month.
Brian Gionta, RW (head) – no return date set.
Torrey Mitchell, LW (foot) – no timetable for return.
New Jersey Devils
Patrik Elias, LW (illness) – did not play Wednesday; questionable.
Martin Havlat, RW (illness) – did not play Wednesday; questionable.
Michael Ryder, RW (illness) – game-time decision; questionable.
Jacob Josefson, C (illness) – no return date set.
Bryce Salvador, D (lower body) – no timetable for return.
Scott Clemmensen, G (illness) – no timetable for return.
Steve Bernier, RW (hip) – no timetable for return.
Ryane Clowe, LW (illness) – no timetable for return.
Stephen Gionta, LW (hand) – no timetable for return.
Damon Severson, D (ankle) – no timetable for return.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Jason Garrison, D (undisclosed) – no return date set.
Ben Bishop, G (lower body) – did not play Wednesday; questionable.
Radko Gudas, D (undisclosed) – did not play Wednesday; questionable.
Pittsburgh Penguins
Pascal Dupuis, RW (blood clot) – out indefinitely.
Zach Sill, RW (upper body) – did not practice Thursday; questionable.
Paul Martin, D (undisclosed) – did not practice Thursday; questionable.
Evgeni Malkin, C (personal) – did not practice Thursday; probable.
Steve Downie, RW (illness) – game-time decision; probable.
Patric Hornqvist, RW (lower body) – no return date set.
Olli Maatta, D (upper body) – no return date set.
Blake Comeau, LW (wrist) – no return date set.
Philadelphia Flyers
Kimmo Timonen, D (blood clot) – out indefinitely.
Zac Rinaldo, RW (upper body) – did not play Tuesday; questionable.
Carolina Hurricanes
Andrej Nestrasil, C (upper body) – no return date set.
John-Michael Liles, D (illness) – no return date set.
Alexander Semin, RW (upper body) – did not play Wednesday; doubtful.
Jordan Staal, C (leg) – did not play Wednesday; questionable.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Peter Holland, C (upper body) – no timetable for return.
Joffrey Lupul, LW (lower body) – no return date set.
Richard Panik, RW (head) – no return date set.
Minnesota Wild
Mikael Granlund, C (wrist) – will miss four weeks.
Jason Zucker, LW (illness) – game-time decision; questionable.
Jonas Brodin, D (upper body) – game-time decision; questionable.
Keith Ballard, D (head) – no timetable for return.
Josh Harding, G (illness) – no timetable for return.
Edmonton Oilers
Benoit Pouliot, LW (foot) – game-time decision; probable.
Keith Aulie, D (suspension) – will not play.
Tyler Pitlick, RW (lacerated spleen) – no timetable for return.
Colorado Avalanche
Patrick Bordeleau, LW (fractured kneecap) – out 8-10 weeks.
Ben Street, C (hand) – no timetable for return.
Jesse Winchester, LW (concussion) – no return date set.
Ryan Wilson, D (shoulder surgery) – out for the season.
Jamie McGinn, LW (back) – out indefinitely.
New York Islanders
Brian Strait, D (personal) – no return date set.
Matt Carkner, D (back) – out for the season.
Calgary Flames
Mikael Backlund, C (abdomen) – no timetable for return.
Sam Bennett, LW (shoulder) – no return date set.
Ladislav Smid, D (upper body) – no return date set.
St. Louis Blues
Chris Porter, LW (lower body) – no timetable for return.
Carl Gunnarsson, D (head) – game-time decision; probable.
Jaden Schwartz, LW (foot) – game-time decision; doubtful.
Anaheim Ducks
Stefan Noesen, RW (Achilles) – no timetable for return.
Eric Brewer, D (foot) – no timetable for return.
Kyle Palmieri, RW – (shoulder) – no return date set.
Sheldon Souray, D (wrist) – out for the season.
Hot
Kari Lehtonen, G, Stars – Lehtonen won seven games in December, including three straight to cap off the month and a brilliant 31-save shutout on New Year's Eve. The Finnish goalie has had his fair share of troubles and he's still a streaky goalie, but there's no doubt he's trending up.
Andrew Ladd, LW, Jets – A versatile player who steps up when his team needs him most, Ladd will have his work cut out for him with Evander Kane sidelined until February. The Jets captain has 29 points to the lead the team and six points in his past four games after a four-game pointless streak. He's an all-round fantasy asset at a position that's pretty thin.
Cold
Jake Allen, G, Blues – The Blues lost four straight before posting a 3-0 win over Colorado on Dec. 29 and Allen was the loser in three of those games, allowing a total of 12 goals. He's being groomed as the starter of the future, but right now he hasn't been very sharp and is losing the starting job to Brodeur, who has already been confirmed as the starter tonight.
Matt Duchene, C, Avalanche – He was supposed to be the Avs' No. 1 center but the former third overall pick has just one assist in his past eight games. It's been a tough season for the 23-year-old who has just 21 points in 37 games after scoring 70 in 71 games last year. The Avs were due for a huge regression, but few thought it'd be Duchene and his five years of experience. It seems like for every two good seasons he has one poor season.
Recommended Pickup
Ryan Strome, C/RW, Islanders – It's unlikely Strome will have another four-point outburst like he did against Winnipeg on Dec. 31, but you can't deny the kid is supremely talented. The former fifth overall pick has 27 points in 37 games this season with an impressive plus-13 rating. He's shooting below the league average at just 8.5 percent, which means there's plenty of room for improvement. His ice time will be limited on a pretty deep Isles squad, but then again, he's surrounded by talent and doesn't have the pressure of carrying the team's offense. He's available in most leagues and a good bet for a good second half.
