The Daily Puck: Cold Caps

The DAILY PUCK for December 13, 2010
by Ben Rauscher, RotoWire Writer

Around The Rink

-- What is happening to the Capitals recently? Sunday night saw them spanked in New York as the host Rangers scored a touchdown and pitch a shutout. Henrik Lundqvist with another tremendous performance between the pipes; this time with 31 saves for his fifth shutout of the season.

-- Frustration for star Alexander Ovechkin who dropped the gloves with Brandon Dubinsky. Judges awarded the fight to BD who landed some overhead rights before AO wrestled him to the ice. It should be noted that Ovechkin left the game in the third after being hit with a puck, but the game was already well out of reach.

-- Offensively, the Rags were lead by Ryan Callahan who had a pair of goals, while defenseman Marc Staal tallied shorthanded (his fifth goal of the year) and added a helper.

-- Semyon Varlamov allowed all seven goals on 20 Ranger shots. Hmmm... Michal Neuvirth anyone?

-- Roberto Luongo nearly records his third shutout of the season, but rookie Jordan Eberle scores with five seconds left in the game to ruin a solid all around performance by the Canucks.

-- Henrik and Daniel Sedin both with two points in the 2-1 win over the division rival Oilers in Edmonton... funny enough its Hank with the goal, a power-play marker, and Dank with a pair of helpers.

-- HUGE night for Corey Perry who scored in each period for his first career hat trick (I had to double check that because it didn't seem right that this former first rounder hasn't had one before). Perry also had two assists to give him five points on the night; the second time he has accomplished this feat in his career. Goals were scored 19 seconds into the first period, on a second-period penalty shot and finally on a third-period power play.

-- So where Perry goes, so do Ryan Getzlaf and Bobby Ryan who both had three-point nights.

-- 113,411 spectators for the Big Chill at the Big House, an outdoor game between Michigan and Michigan State. This sets a world record for attendance for a hockey game and is a record for any game played in Michigan. Who says hockey is an unpopular sport in the US?

HOT

Magnus Paajarvi may have had his five-game point streak snapped Sunday, but the kid has really hit his stride with a goal and five assists over this span.

But, ahem ... some guy named Sidney Crosby has an 18-game point streak and has stamped himself atop the league as the best player in the game right now.

Offensively, there isn't any one player in particular benefiting from Crosby's streak, but between the pipes Mac-Andre Fleury has really stepped it up. Fleury is riding a personal 11-game win streak - hope fantasy owners bought low on this guy back when he was 3-6-1.

Marc Staal has two goals and three assists in six December games.

COLD

On the flipside of the Staal family, Eric Staal hasn't recorded a point in his four games this Christmas month.
With one goal and one assist over his last 10 games, Chris Pronger is firmly planted on the cold list.

Also from the blue line, Mike Green's lone assist over his last 10 cannot be good for those that invested a first-round pick on him. Injuries may have a major part to his only producing 14 points in 25 games.

After missing nearly a month, Martin Brodeur hasn't been able to find the win column in two attempts. He is now on a personal four-game losing streak.

Recommended Pickup

Both Joffrey Lupul and Marco Sturm return from injuries and will play an important offensive role with their respective clubs. Lupul is already shaking off the rust of nearly a year off due to back issues, but Sturm will need some time to get acclimated to his new team. Both offer some in-season help to struggling fantasy teams.

Monday Game Information

Los Angeles @ Detroit, 7:30pm EST

Kings:
Probable starter - Jonathan Quick

Injuries
Willie Mitchell - Probable; cleared to resume playing after missing a little over four weeks with a fractured wrist.
Scott Parse - Out; unlikely to be back on the ice until sometime in February.
Marco Sturm - Questionable; unlikely to play Monday, partly due to the recent trade issues, but mostly because he is unfamiliar with the Kings system. Expect him later in this Kings' road trip.

Red Wings:
Probable starter - Jimmy Howard

Injuries
Mike Modano - Out indefinitely with a wicked wrist injury.

Atlanta @ Ottawa, 7:30pm EST

Thrashers:
Probable starter - Ondrej Pavelec

Injuries
None

Senators:
Probable starter - Brian Elliot

Injuries
None

NY Islanders @ Nashville, 8:00pm EST

Islanders:
Probable starter - Rick DiPietro

Injuries
Bruno Gervais - Out; hasn't been in the liuneup after fracturing cheek in last month.
Trent Hunter -Out; knee injury has him on IR for at least a couple months.
Mike Mottau - Out; eye injury will see him sit for a few weeks.
Kyle Okposo - Out, skating in full gear and hearing good things, but no firm timetable for his return.

Predators:
Probable starter - Anders Lindback

Injuries
Pekka Rinne - Out; knee surgery will sideline the Preds' starter until the New Year.
Matthew Lombardi - Out; concussion will keep him out indefinitely.

Columbus @ Calgary, 9:00pm EST

Blue Jackets:
Probable starter - Steve Mason

Injuries
Kristian Huselius - Questionable; his return from the dreaded high-ankle sprain is now on a day-to-day basis. If he is available on the waiver wire, make a pre-emptive pickup for this 60-point player.

Flames:
Probable starter - Miikka Kiprusoff

Injuries
Steve Staois - Out; shoulder injury will sideline the light-scoring blueliner indefinitely.
Daymond Langkow - Out; no news on any sort of return from a major pain in the neck.

Chicago @ Colorado, 9:00pm EST

Blackhawks:
Probable starter - Corey Crawford

Injuries
Marian Hossa - Out; lower-body injury to keep him off skates until the New Year.
Patrick Kane - Out; a leg injury suffered against the Flames will put the star in the press box for about three weeks.

Avalanche:
Probable starter - Craig Anderson

Injuries
Kyle Cumiskey - Out; hasn't skated since suffering concussion in October. No return timetable.
TJ Galiardi - Out; expected back soon.
Peter Mueller - Out; concussion makes his return this season questionable, he's had no recent progress.
Chris Stewart - Out; a broken hand will keep him out until sometime in January.

Dallas @ San Jose, 10:30pm EST

Stars:
Probable starter - Andrew Raycroft

Injuries
Kari Lehtonen - Out; it seems that with the team (and Andrew Raycroft) playing so well, there is little reason to rush the injury-prone Lehtonen back into action.
Toby Petersen - Out; hit by a Mike Green slap shot and currently sitting on IR.
Marc Fistric - Out; groin issues keeping him out of skates, but no timetable for return.

Sharks:
Probable starter - Antti Niemi

Injuries
Devin Setoguchi - Out; unknown injury forcing him to miss time (and maybe the net too?)

**For complete starting goalie details, please visit the GOALIE GRID.