This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
Around the Rink
File this one under "things you don't see every day": The guy ranked second in the NHL in save percentage just got sent down to the minors.
I hope you did a proper double take there.
Yes, with the return of Semyon Varlamov from his latest groin issue, the Avs sent Calvin Pickard back to AHL Lake Erie despite the spectacular numbers he posted in goal while Varly remained absent. And no number is more spectacular than his .934 save mark – equivalent to that of Pekka Rinne – over 14 games this year. Perhaps the only thing more surprising than the extraordinary play Pickard delivered for the Avs is how bad the team in front of him has been all year long, no matter who's in the net. Despite that sparkling save mark and a closely matched 2.21 GAA, Pickard lost more games than he won (6-6-2) while starting for the Avs, and with the number of shots that he saw – he exits stage left having seen 30-plus shots in nine of his 11 starts, including 40-plus three times – maybe Lake Erie doesn't seem like such a bad place after all. After all, the lake freezes in the winter – could be fun to skate on?
Here's a time-lapse video of Lake Erie freezing over while Pickard is stuck there, with eerie-yet-fitting Donkey Kong music for company:
Oh, sorry, you probably wanted to watch some hockey video. How about Sidney Crosby finally scoring on a backhand, top-shelf flick for just his second goal in the last 13 mumps-free games?
He may be lagging a little ("just" 38 points in 33 games … trade the bum, am I right?), but that's a nice little reminder that Sid The Kid's still the best even though he's not a kid anymore.
Tuesday time!
Projected Goalie Starters (all times Eastern)
Canadiens (Dustin Tokarski) at Panthers (Roberto Luongo), 7:30 PM
Blues (Jake Allen) at Predators (Pekka Rinne), 8:00 PM
Kings (Martin Jones) at Oilers (Ben Scrivens), 9:30 PM
Canucks (Ryan Miller) at Sharks (Antti Niemi), 10:00 PM
For updates on the projected goalies later in the day, check out our Projected Goalies Grid.
Injury News For Teams Playing Tuesday
Florida Panthers
Shawn Thornton, LW (groin) – Hasn't started skating post-break as expeted
St. Louis Blues
Chris Porter, LW (lower body) – Injury suffered Monday appears to be serious
Brian Elliott, G (knee) – Medically cleared; availability TBA
Carl Gunnarsson, D (concussion) – Skated with the team Saturday
Jaden Schwartz, LW (foot) – Could resume skating in the next few days
Nashville Predators
Matt Cullen, C (undisclosed) – Sat out Monday; no word on Tuesday
Anton Volchenkov, D (lower body) – Will not be available for Tuesday's game
Los Angeles Kings
Slava Voynov, D (suspension) – Will stand trial for felony charge; nearing suspension record
Robyn Regehr, D (hand) – Out another week or two
Marian Gaborik, RW (illness) – Didn't go Monday; no word on whether it's mumps
Edmonton Oilers
Benoit Pouliot, LW (foot) – Should return sometime in the first half of January
Leon Draisaitl, C (illness) – No word on Tuesday status or type of illness
Vancouver Canucks
Dan Hamhuis, D (leg/groin) – Remains at least a week away from returning
Zack Kassian, RW (finger) – Skating; could return shortly after New Year
San Jose Sharks
Matthew Nieto, LW (ankle) – Said he's ready to play
Mike Brown, RW (leg) – Out 5-7 weeks yet
John Scott, LW (suspension) – Three more games on ban
Tyler Kennedy, LW (shoulder) – Skated before Christmas, but not close to return
Raffi Torres, LW (knee) – Remains out long-term
Hot
Colin Wilson, LW, NSH – If it seems like Wilson's been around forever, it's because he has. The former No. 7 overall pick is in his sixth year in the league, and he's still only 25 years old for almost another 10 months. Yet he's never had the huge breakout fantasy owners have been looking for on a Predators team that never seems to have much scoring depth. However, the former Boston University star is in the midst of his best season yet, as he's on pace to blow away his career goal and point marks, and he's currently carrying a career-high plus-14 rating. (It doesn't hurt that he has Pekka Rinne in goal to keep that rating straight.) Things have been particularly good lately, as Wilson's gone through about as explosive a stretch as he's seen in his NHL career. He's hit the scoresheet in four consecutive games, racking up four goals, three assists and a plus-6 rating in that span. A fixture on the second line and the power play (despite uninspiring man-advantage results – just two points on the year), perhaps Wilson is finally turning the corner. Perhaps.
Jonas Hiller, G, CGY – For a while there, Hiller was yielding a lot of starts to Karri Ramo, but that hasn't been the case recently, as the wheat and chaff have separated in Calgary. Hiller's now won three straight, including Monday's game against the defending Stanley Cup champs, but far more impressive is his streak of seven consecutive appearances with a save mark of .905 or better (and .929 or better in five of those). The Flames' play has been inconsistent, so piles of wins won't be easy to come by for the Swiss minder, but he looks to be reliable for surprisingly solid ratios. If he keeps up his current .919 save mark and 2.29 GAA, he'll easily turn in his best season among the last four.
Cold
Michal Jordan, D, CAR – As it turns out, this guy's nothing like the Michael Jordan I remember in Carolina. Must be that missing E. In 15 games with the 'Canes this year, the former fourth-round pick – who put up a respectable seven points in 15 contests for AHL Charlotte – has no points. The more you know.
Patrick Marleau, LW, SJ – On a more serious note, what the heck has happened to Marleau? His goal scoring has dried up very suddenly – just seven all year, and though his way-lower-than-average shooting percentage suggests there should be a resurgence, his shots per game are also down noticeably, from 3.48 last year and to just 2.35 this season, easily his worst average in the last seven years. Things have been especially brutal lately – the 35-year-old is without a point over his last six games and has just three goals in November and December combined. He has just one shot on goal in three of the last four games despite consistently skating major minutes, including top-line power-play minutes. Maybe age is finally starting to catch up to him?
Recommended Pickup
Devan Dubnyk, G, ARI – The fantasy world has been slow to adopt Dubnyk, who remains widely available across ESPN, Yahoo and CBS alike, but that's starting to change as people realize what they should have weeks ago: He's a better goalie than Mike Smith right now. And not only is he better than Smith, but with the numbers he's been putting up, Dubnyk is indeed one of the finer goalies around the league. Don't get fooled by the awful Arizona (I always still want to call it "Phoenix") defense – Dubs sits eighth in the NHL in save percentage, and he's gone 9-3-2 in his share of the action. He's now appeared in seven consecutive games, starting six of them and relieving Smith (who's been simply awful, giving up soft goals left and right, and also forward and backward) in six of them. Own him. Use him.
