This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
Many players around the league were thankful for some busted slumps as the NHL returned to game action with a league-record tying eight overtime frames on Friday.
After scoring two goals in the season's first four games, Filip Forsberg fell off the face of the earth, going 17 games without a goal. He got the scoring going for Nashville on Friday, shaking the monkey off his back. If he's able to turn that into some momentum, he instantly becomes a player to watch on waivers.
Michael Del Zotto had a similar monkey cast aside Friday. For a defenseman who is touted as an offensive presence, he went the season's first 22 games without a goal. He'll need to pick up the production at large to really feel better about his game -- he has just four points -- but he did tally his first of the year in an overtime win against Nashville.
The best part for Del Zotto is probably that he put it in doing exactly what Philadelphia wants him to do: joining the rush and activating from the blue line into the offensive game.
Highly praised rookie Nikolaj Ehlers has had a slump going as well, and that's not something he's used to after going on a 33-game point streak in juniors last year and posting 37 goals and 63 assists through 57 games. He went 14 games without a goal and six games without a point before putting a breakaway goal past Devan Dubnyk last night.
And 22-year-old forward Ryan Strome has had a rough go in his third season. He's back in the NHL as of Friday after spending most of the month with AHL Bridgeport. He scored on Friday, ending a nine-game span in the NHL without a goal and a five-game stretch without a point.
He bounced around a bit and a got a little time with John Tavares, but spent most of the game playing with Nikolay Kulemin and Mikhail Grabovski. He'll have to earn his way back into a top spot, but potting a third period goal that started a rally to force overtime was a good first step.
Projected Goalie Starters (all times Eastern)
For updates on the projected goalies later in the day, check our Projected Goalies Grid
Flyers (Michal Neuvirth) at Rangers (Antti Raanta), 1:30 PM
Capitals (Philipp Grubauer) at Maple Leafs (James Reimer), 7:00 PM
Devils (Cory Schneider) at Canadiens (Mike Condon), 7:00 PM
Islanders (Thomas Greiss) at Lightning (Andrei Vasilevskiy), 7:00 PM
Oilers (Cam Talbot) at Penguins (Jeff Zatkoff), 7:00 PM
Blue Jackets (Curtis McElhinney) at Blues (Jake Allen), 8:00 PM
Sabres (Linus Ullmark) at Predators (Pekka Rinne), 8:00 PM
Stars (Kari Lehtonen) at Wild (Darcy Kuemper), 8:00 PM
Jets (Michael Hutchinson) at Avalanche (Semyon Varlamov), 10:00 PM
Senators (Craig Anderson) at Coyotes (Anders Lindback), 10:00 PM
Flames (Jonas Hiller) at Sharks (Martin Jones), 10:00 PM
Blackhawks (Scott Darling) at Kings (Jonathan Quick), 10:30 PM
Injury News For Teams Playing Saturday
Philadelphia Flyers
R.J. Umberger, LW (lower body) - is closing in on a return
Mark Streit, D (pelvis) - is on long-term injured reserve
Ryan White, RW (shoulder) - skated Wednesday, but hasn't returned to play
Sam Gagner, C (upper body) - is expected to be out through the weekend
New York Rangers
Derek Stepan, C (ribs) - is out indefinitely
Washington Capitals
Jakub Vrana, RW (wrist) - will be out months following surgery
Brooks Orpik, D (lower body) - is without a timetable for return
Toronto Maple Leafs
Stephane Robidas, D (knee) - still hasn't resumed skating
New Jersey Devils
Jiri Tlusty, LW (shoulder) - was placed on IR Friday
David Schlemko, D (lower body) - could have possibly returned, but missed Friday's game to be at the birth of his child
Tuomo Ruutu, LW (foot) - remains out
Montreal Canadiens
Alexander Semin, LW (undisclosed) - is out
Carey Price, G (leg) - will miss the next month of play
Michael Bournival, C (concussion) - remains out
Brendan Gallagher, RW (hand) - had surgery on Monday and will miss significant time
Torrey Mitchell, C (lower body) - is still out
New York Islanders
Eric Boulton, LW (lower body) - has been out for most of the month
Thomas Hickey, D (leg) - is traveling with the team and hoping to a return soon
Kirill Petrov, RW (broken foot) - has not has his situation updated, but based on his original timeline could be back in the not too distant future
Tampa Bay Lightning
Tyler Johnson, C (undisclosed) - played his second game since injury Friday, but left the game after one shift
Ondrej Palat, LW (lower body) - is still out
Jonathan Drouin, C (undisclosed) - doesn't have a timeline, but missed Friday's game
Cedric Paquette, C (undisclosed) - did not play Friday
Mitchell Stephens, C (foot) - is out indefinitely
Edmonton Oilers
Justin Schultz, D (back) - is expected back on Saturday
Rob Klinkhammer, LW (lower body) - has been on IR since late October
Nail Yakupov, RW (ankle) - will miss a few weeks
Connor McDavid, C (shoulder) - could be back as soon as mid-January
Pittsburgh Penguins
Bryan Rust, RW (arm) - has skated, but isn't likely to play on Saturday
Olli Maatta, D (upper body) - is progressing, but won't play Saturday
Columbus Blue Jackets
Fedor Tyutin, D (nose) - remains out
Rene Bourque, LW (undisclosed) - is out
David Clarkson, RW (lower body) - has been on injured reserve most of the month
Jared Boll, RW (foot) - was injured blocking a shot
Cody Goloubef, D (jaw) - will miss another five weeks or so
St. Louis Blues
Jaden Schwartz, LW (ankle) - will miss a good stretch
Patrik Berglund, C (shoulder) - remains on long-term injured reserve
Buffalo Sabres
Cody McCormick, C (illness) - has been out the entire season
Mike Weber, D (knee) - was said to be ready for Friday's game, but did not play
Tyler Ennis, LW (upper body) - missed Friday's game
Robin Lehner, G (ankle) - is still in a walking boot
Mark Pysyk, D (lower body) - missed Friday's game
Nashville Predators
Miikka Salomaki, RW- went on IR Thursday
Gabriel Bourque, LW (upper body) - was injured in Friday's game
Petter Granberg, D (Achilles) - is close to a return
Paul Gaustad, C (upper body) - missed Friday's game
Dallas Stars
Kari Lehtonen, G (upper body) - is on IR
Travis Moen, LW (upper body) - appears ready to go, but has been a healthy scratch lately
Minnesota Wild
Tyler Graovac, C (hernia) - isn't ready ot return
Marco Scandella, D (lower body) - isn't likely play this weekend
Jordan Schroeder, C (illness) - sat out of Friday's game
Justin Fontaine, RW (knee) - is expected to return soon
Winnipeg Jets
Ondrej Pavelec, G (knee) - could be out until January
Colorado Avalanche
Ben Street, C (chest) - is on IR
Jesse Winchester, LW (concussion) - has missed the entire season
John Mitchell, C (oblique) - remains day-to-day
Alex Tanguay, LW (knee) - has resumed skating
Brad Stuart, D (back) - is out
Ottawa Senators
Chris Phillips, D (back) - hasn't yet been able to return
Clarke MacArthur, LW (concussion) - remains out
Patrick Wiercioch, D (upper body) - has skated in optional practices despite being on IR
Andrew Hammond, G (head) - was placed on IR this week
Arizona Coyotes
Joe Vitale, C (fractured orbital bone) - remains on
Steve Downie, RW (upper body) - has been on IR for about a week
Shane Doan, RW (lower body) - did not play Friday
Calgary Flames
Lance Bouma, C (leg) - is still out
San Jose Sharks
Justin Braun, D (infected elbow) - expects to return soon
Ben Smith, RW (head) - has skated again
Raffi Torres, LW (suspension) - is still serving his half-season suspension
Logan Couture, C (foot) - took in a full practice after Thanksgiving
Chicago Blackhawks
healthy
Los Angeles Kings
Matt Greene, D (upper body) - doesn't have a timetable for his return
Dwight King, LW (foot) - hasn't resumed skating
Hot
Radim Vrbata, RW, VAN — After a slow start to the season, Vrbata stretched his current point streak to four games. He has three goals and three assists over the last six games. His shot totals have been trending in the right direction as well, even if he was held without a shot for the first time on the season Friday.
David Krejci, C, BOS — Krejci was one of the hottest players in the NHL to start the season, had a short slow stretch and is now returning to form, scoring two goals and five assists in the last seven games. He also has a plus-3 rating, an average of two shots per game and only fell below 20 minutes of ice time once in that stretch.
Cold
Chris Kunitz, LW, PIT — Kunitz's struggles continued Friday, contributing just a single shot and playing only 13:37, his second lowest total of the season. Considering that he has no assists and just three goals, it's not surprising that Friday's 13:37 is emblematic of where his ice time has been headed recently. He also averaged 2.3 shots per game last season and 2.8 the season before. This year he's at just 1.8 shots per game.
T.J. Brodie, D, CGY — Brodie averaged over a half point per game last season and is just under that this year, trending down. He has only put up one goal and no assists in his last five games with a minus-4 rating. Despite getting some big minutes, Brodie is averaging just one shot per game in that stretch.
Recommended Pickup
Rasmus Ristolainen, D, BUF — It may take a little time to adjust to this idea, but a Buffalo Sabres defenseman isn't necessarily poison any longer. The Sabres have struggles still, but they're no longer that historically bad squad of the last few seasons. The 21-year-old defenseman had a slow start to the season, but has been creating some respectable production, particularly since the start of the month. Over the last 10 games, Ristolainen has three goals and six assists with 27 shots, 13 hits and 15 blocked shots. He also has a plus-4 rating over that stretch. That's right. Buffalo Sabres defenseman. Plus rating. It's happening. To boot, he hasn't fallen under 20 minutes of play once this season
