Sunday Daily Puck: Getting Back to Goals

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Updated on December 27, 2015 3:30PM EST

Around the Rink

Coming off of the Christmas break, most player will have received some well-deserved rest, but almost all will likely have a tough time finding their legs early on in games. With this in mind, you can expect to see more high-scoring affairs than usual. Yesterday, there was a 6-3 game (Buffalo vs. Boston), a 5-2 game (Columbus vs. Tampa Bay), and a 4-3 game (Los Angeles vs. Arizona).

As a result, one can expect to see some offensive outbursts in Sunday's games, which could be a huge boon to fantasy lineups. I recommend looking at players in the Boston vs. Ottawa, Toronto vs. Islanders, and Carolina vs. Chicago games, as these could end up as high-scoring tilts.

Projected Goalie Starters (all times Eastern)

Bruins (Tuukka Rask) vs. Senators (Craig Anderson), 5:00 PM
Blue Jackets (Curtis McElhinney) vs. Panthers (Roberto Luongo), 6:00 PM
Maple Leafs (Jonathan Bernier) vs. Islanders (Thomas Greiss), 6:00 PM
Blues (Brian Elliot) vs. Stars (Antti Niemi), 6:00 PM
Hurricanes (Eddie Lack) vs. Blackhawks (Corey Crawford), 7:00 PM
Penguins (Jeff Zatkoff) vs. Jets (Connor Hellebuyck), 8:00 PM
Coyotes (Louis Domingue) vs. Avalanche (Semyon Varlamov), 8:00 PM
Flyers (Steve Mason) vs. Ducks (Frederik Andersen), 8:00 PM
Oilers (Anders Nilsson) vs. Flames (Karri Ramo), 9:00 PM

For updates on the projected goalies later in the day, check out our Projected Goalies Grid.

Injury News for Teams Playing Today

Boston Bruins
Chris Kelly, C (leg) - likely out for the season
Joonas Kemppainen, C (upper body) - on injured reserve
Torey Krug, D (undisclosed) - left Saturday's game and did not return

Ottawa Senators
Cody Ceci, D (upper body) - status is week-to-week
Curtis Lazar, C (lower body) - out Sunday
Clarke MacArthur, LW (concussion) - traveled with the team on their most recent road trip
Milan Michalek, LW (finger) - remains on injured reserve
Chris Phillips, D (back) - likely out for the season

Columbus Blue Jackets
Sergei Bobrovsky, G (groin) - expected to return soon
Nick Foligno, LW (undisclosed) - status is unclear
Cody Goloubef, D (jaw) - could return after New Year's
Markus Hannikainen, RW (shoulder) - out another month
David Savard, D (ankle) - expected to miss three more weeks

Florida Panthers
Nick Bjugstad, C (upper body) - will miss Sunday's game
Dave Bolland, C (illness) - status is unclear
Steve Kampfer, D (lower body) - remains on injured reserve

Toronto Maple Leafs
Matt Hunwick, D (illness) - set to return Sunday
James Reimer, G (groin) - could return soon
Stephane Robidas, D (knee) - yet to skate
Nick Spaling, C (upper body) - expected to miss an extended period of time
Garret Sparks, G (leg) - without a timetable for his return

New York Islanders
Jaroslav Halak, G (upper body) - placed on injured reserve Sunday

St. Louis Blues
Patrik Berglund, C (shoulder) - remains on long-term injured reserve
Kyle Brodziak, C (undisclosed) - status unclear for Sunday
Steve Ott, C (hamstring) - out another two months
Jaden Schwartz, LW (ankle) - could return next month

Dallas Stars
No injuries

Carolina Hurricanes
Nathan Gerbe, LW (lower body) - could return in the next two weeks
James Wisniewski, D (knee) - could return in April

Chicago Blackhawks
Marian Hossa, RW (upper body) - took part in Sunday's morning skate
Marcus Kruger, C (wrist) - out until April

Pittsburgh Penguins
Beau Bennett, RW (upper body) - out three-to-five weeks
Marc-Andre Fleury, G (concussion) - remains on injured reserve

Winnipeg Jets
Grant Clitsome, D (back) - out for the season
Ondrej Pavelec, G (knee) - could return next month
Mark Scheifele, C (concussion) - out indefinitely

Arizona Coyotes
Martin Hanzal, C (lower body) - status unclear for Sunday
Mike Smith, G (lower body) - out until February
Joe Vitale, C (upper body) - could return in within the next week

Colorado Avalanche
Reto Berra, G (ankle) - out for a little more than a week
Nate Guenin, D (head) - likely out for Sunday
Ben Street, C (chest) - remains on injured reserve
Jesse Winchester, LW (concussion) - out indefinitely

Philadelphia Flyers
Sam Gagner, C (upper body) - status unclear
Vincent Lecavalier, C (back) - continues to skate
Mark Streit, D (groin) - out Sunday

Anaheim Ducks
Simon Despres, D (concussion) - out indefinitely

Edmonton Oilers
Brandon Davidson, D (ribs) - status unclear for Sunday
Andrew Ference, D (hip) - remains on injured reserve
Oscar Klefbom, D (finger) - also on injured reserve
Rob Klinkhammer, LW (ankle) - status unclear for Sunday
Connor McDavid, C (shoulder) - likely out until after the All-Star break
Nail Yakupov, RW (ankle) - should be returning in the near future

Calgary Flames
Michael Frolik, LW (upper body) - expected to miss multiple weeks

Hot

Justin Faulk, D, CAR - He's been a productive defenseman since scoring 32 points in 76 games as a 21-year old in 2013-14, but he's taken his game to another level this year. Faulk is on pace to score 30 goals and 68 points in 2015-16, well above his previous career highs of 15 goals and 49 points (which he recorded last year). Faulk is doing most of his damage on the power play, where he has scored 12 of his 13 goals. Over his last nine games, Faulk has registered 11 points.

Patrick Sharp, RW, DAL - The three-time Stanley Cup champion had a difficult time adjusting to life in Dallas, going the first eight games of the season without a goal. However, Sharp has really picked it up since then, scoring 25 points in 28 games, including a current four-game point streak.

Cold

Brett Connolly, RW, BOS - The sixth-overall pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft hasn't scored a goal since Nov. 27 and hasn't registered a point since Dec. 4 (spans of 12 and 10 games, respectively). Despite all of this, Connolly remains on Boston's top line alongside Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand. The fact that he's still failing to produce playing with teammates of Bergeron and Marchand's caliber shows just how poor Connolly's performances have been.

Recommended Pickup

Shayne Gostisbehere, D, PHI - The Union College product has been nothing short of amazing since being recalled Nov. 14, scoring 14 points in 18 for a struggling Flyers team. Gostisbehere is an elite skater and makes good decisions on whether or not to jump into the rush, rarely exposing his team defensively at the expense of offense.

The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire.