This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
Around the Rink
Often at this point in the season it's nearly impossible to find a replacement goaltender who is going to play enough games to be worthwhile, let alone perform well enough to get you out of the cellar of your league. With a bevy of goaltenders watching games from the press box, including Henrik Lundqvist, Roberto Luongo, Al Montoya, Robin Lehner, and Ryan Miller, a few goaltenders have jumped to the front of the herd and have become viable fill-in options for your team.
Let's start with Andrew Hammond in Ottawa. He's just nine games into his NHL career and is hardly a budding young man at 27, but he's proven himself well enough to be worth a look if you need a stop-gap. He's started seven games since Ottawa had to call upon him with both Lehner and Craig Anderson out and he's gone 6-0-1 since taking the reins. That's a span that includes two road back-to-backs, through which he allowed a grand total of three goals. He has a .957 Sv% and has been absolutely fantastic for the Sens. He's also the first goaltender to ever post shutouts in a road back-to-back against the Kings and Ducks.
Eddie Lack has taken over in Vancouver in tandem with Jacob Markstrom. Markstrom was tagged as a future elite NHL goaltender once upon a time, but he's been elite everywhere but the NHL. He's been astounding in the AHL this season with a 1.95 GAA, second best in the league, and a .932 Sv%, third best in the league. He got his first NHL start of the season on Tuesday night and played a grand total of 7:45, getting pulled after allowing three goals for a .250 Sv% and a 22.50 GAA.
Lack is the guy to own in Vancouver right now, but he hasn't looked great either, allowing a total of 12 goals in his last four appearances, which includes the relief job on Tuesday after Markstrom got pulled. Lack has decent numbers on the year and can do the job, but his recent performances haven't been inspiring.
In Florida, Dan Ellis is taking over until either Luongo or Montoya can return. Luongo doesn't yet have a timetable and Montoya is expects to miss "weeks," according to the team. Ellis hasn't played in the NHL this year, but had a pretty rough season last year split between the Panthers and the Stars. In six total games for the Panthers last year he allowed 27 goals with a Sv% of .836.
One option that's a little sunnier than Lack or Ellis has been Cam Talbot, though it may already be too late to scoop him up in many leagues. Talbot was middle-of-the-road most of the season, but has been solid for the Rangers since Lundqvist went out. He hasn't dropped below a .900 Sv% in his last six starts and has four shutouts on the year. If he's still available in your league, he's worth a look and may be in the net longer than Lack or Ellis.
Of all the options, Hammond is the highest risk, but intrigues me the most (and not just because of his excellent Hamburglar mask). He's on a hot streak and is playing well enough that he may continue to get the net even after Anderson is ready to return. The big risk with: Anderson is ready to return. He didn't play on Wednesday not, but he could be ready at any moment. Hammond is playing well enough to keep the net, but his leash will be short.
Projected Goalie Starters (all times Eastern)
For updates on the projected goalies later in the day, check our Projected Goalies Grid
Calgary Flames (Karri Ramo) at Boston Bruins (Tuukka Rask), 7:00 PM
St. Louis Blues (Brian Elliott) at Philadelphia Flyers (Steve Mason), 7:00 PM
Minnesota Wild (Devan Dubnyk) at Washington Capitals (Braden Holtby), 7:00 PM
Toronto Maple Leafs (Jonathan Bernier) at Tampa Bay Lightning (Ben Bishop), 7:30 PM
Dallas Stars (Kari Lehtonen) at Florida Panthers (Dan Ellis), 7:30 PM
New York Islanders (Jaroslav Halak) at Nashville Predators (Pekka Rinne), 8:00 PM
Vancouver Canucks (Eddie Lack) at Arizona Coyotes (Mike Smith), 9:00 PM
Montreal Canadiens (Dustin Tokarski) at Los Angeles Kings (Jonathan Quick), 10:30 PM
Injury News For Teams Playing Thursday
Calgary Flames
Matt Stajan, C - (personal) is expected to re-join the team Wednesday after the birth of his child.
Ladislav Smid, D - (upper body) has resumed skating.
Mark Giordano, D - (bicep) will miss the rest of the season.
Paul Byron, C - (lower body) isn't expected to return in the near future.
Joni Ortio, G - (lower body) will miss 6-8 weeks.
Boston Bruins
Brett Connolly, RW - (finger) broke his finger in practice and will be out until the playoffs.
Kevan Miller, D - (shoulder) was transferred to long-term injured reserve Thursday.
David Krejci, C - (knee) was transferred to long-term injured reserve Thursday.
Gregory Campbell, C - (upper body) took light contact at practice Wednesday, but is doubtful for Thursday's game.
St. Louis Blues
Zbynek Michalek, D - (concussion) has been exercising.
Kevin Shattenkirk, D - (abdomen) is considered unlikely to return until late March.
Philadelphia Flyers
Radko Gudas, D - (knee) is set to start skating in a few weeks.
Shayne Gostisbehere, D - (knee) could return soon, but it won't be on Thursday.
Nicklas Grossmann, D - (upper body) is doubtful.
Minnesota Wild
Matt Cooke, LW - (sports hernia) has been able to skate for the last week, but won't be back Thursday.
Keith Ballard, D - (concussion) is unlikely to play this season.
Ryan Carter, C - (shoulder) skated on his own Tuesday.
Marco Scandella, D - (undisclosed) experienced a setback and could miss the next week.
Nate Prosser, D - (illness) left Tuesday's game after taking an IV prior to the game. He's questionable for Thursday.
Jason Zucker, LW - (broken clavicle) is out for the season.
Jared Spurgeon, D - (head) did morning skate on Tuesday and could play on Thursday.
Washington Capitals
Nate Schmidt, D - (shoulder) said his fracture has completely healed, but he still needs to strengthen the surrounding muscles.
Edward Pasquale, G - (hip) is out indefinitely.
Dmitry Orlov, D - (wrist) is without a timetable for a return.
Michael Latta, C - (upper body) was injured in Tuesday's game and is questionable for Thursday.
John Erskine, D - (neck) remains out.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Nathan Horton, RW - (back) is out for the season.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Matt Carle, D - (abdomen) won't return on Thursday.
Michael Blunden, RW - (knee) is out for the season.
Dallas Stars
Trevor Daley, D - (knee) could be out "for weeks," according to the team.
Travis Moen, LW - (upper body) is not progressing from his injury as quickly as the Stars anticipated.
Tyler Seguin, C - (knee) resumed light skating on his own after Saturday's practice.
Valeri Nichushkin, LW - (hip) could return in mid-March.
Florida Panthers
Nick Bjugstad, C - (undisclosed) left Tuesday's game after being struck by the puck, but it appears to be minor. He could play on Thursday.
Roberto Luongo, G - is slated to undergo a CT scan on his shoulder/collarbone area.
Willie Mitchell, D - (upper body) should return on Thursday.
Al Montoya, G - (groin) is likely to miss significant time.
Dave Bolland, C - (upper body) has been skating and is very close to making his return.
New York Islanders
Eric Boulton, LW - (lower body) remains in IR.
Kyle Okposo, RW - (eye) remains out.
Mikhail Grabovski, C - (concussion) remains out.
Tyler Kennedy, LW - (upper body) was sent back to New York Wednesday to visit with team doctors.
Casey Cizikas, C - (lower body) will likely return on Thursday.
Nashville Predators
Ryan Ellis, D - (lower body) is questionable.
Eric Nystrom, LW - (lower body) left Tuesday's game and his status is uncertain for Thursday.
Anton Volchenkov, D - (lower body) has rejoined the team.
Vancouver Canucks
Brad Richardson, C - (ankle) resumed skating last week.
Kevin Bieksa, D - (hand) will be out at least another week.
Alex Burrows, RW - (groin) has skated, but remains out.
Alexander Edler, D - (upper body) was a full participant in Monday's practice.
Ryan Miller, G - (knee) will miss 4-6 weeks.
Zack Kassian, RW - (illness) missed Tuesday's game.
Chris Tanev, D - (concussion) appears to have suffered a setback in the recovery process.
Arizona Coyotes
Martin Hanzal, C - (back) is out for the season.
Mikkel Boedker, LW - (ruptured spleen) is out for the season.
Montreal Canadiens
Alexei Emelin, D - (shoulder) skated with the Canadiens on Monday.
Los Angeles Kings
Tanner Pearson, LW - (leg) is unlikely to play this season.
Alec Martinez, D - (concussion) is hoping to resume skating at the end of the week.
Slava Voynov, D - (criminal case) remains out as he goes through the legal system for charges of domestic violence.
Hot
Patrick Marleau, LW, SJS -- Marleau had a very rough stretch this season that might have had some owners looking for a trade or just jumping ship all together. Now, the 35-year-old winger is bouncing back and starting to look a little more like his usual self. He's on a four-game point streak and has four goals and two assists over his last six games. It's been a slow run up to a hot streak, but looking back as far as January 15 you see that he's been starting to pull things together. In the 21 games since then he has posted eight goals and 12 assists while averaging 2.95 shots per game. In the 14 games prior to that point he had no goals, one assist, and an average of 2.35 shots per game. Things are trending in the right direction for Marleau.
Bobby Ryan, RW, OTT -- Ryan is sharing in the riches of the Senators' recent hot streak. He's posted three goals and three assists over the last six games with an average of 3.83 shots per game. Ryan is a big part of the Senators recent success and there's every reason to believe that he'll keep going on like this.
Cold
Justin Williams, RW, LAK -- Mr. Game 7 is having a tough time being Mr. Game 63. Over the last 11 games he has one goal and one assist. He's not producing in many categories for owners right now with just two penalty minutes over that stretch and an average of 1.27 shots per game.
Shane Doan, RW, ARI -- Doan has been called loyal and a good soldier for the Coyotes, but with the Coyotes losing all their talent -- they've lost Mikkel Boedker and Martin Hanzal to injury; they've lost Devan Dubnyk, Antoine Vermette, Zbynek Michalek, and Keith Yandle to trade -- Doan isn't about to get much help getting out of his current slump. He's posted just one assist and no goals over the last ten games with a minus-7 rating.
Recommended Pickup
Matt Dumba, D, MIN -- The Wild's rookie defenseman is finally hitting his groove. He's been tagged as a top flight offensive defenseman and he's making that happen. He's been just under 20 minutes per game and has taken on a larger role with Marco Scandella and Jared Spurgeon out of the lineup (and not Nate Prosser is a question mark with illness). He has four goals over the last seven games with a plus-7 rating and an average of three shots per game. He's got developing to do and he isn't going to light the world on fire, but he's a viable replacement option in some formats.
