This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
Around the Rink
Ah, sweet normality: a 10-game Tuesday slate to open the month of December.
For my money, if you're going to fill out a DFS lineup on this night of nights, spend on some Stars, as Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn, John Klingberg and company get a sweet draw against a Calgary team that plays defense about as well as … I can't think of a good comparison, but they play it poorly, is the point. And I know the Coyotes are on a three-game winning streak, but I see them crashing back to earth in a road matchup against Pekka Rinne and the Preds.
In other news, I just made a trade in my dynasty league! This is one heck of a league – 20 teams, 40-man rosters including minor leaguers and even foreign players. Riding high in second place on the strength of my league-best goaltending crew (Braden Holtby, Petr Mrazek and Anders Nilsson), I just agreed to send two of my top prospects away – promising young Penguins blueliner Derrick Pouliot and the Blues' Ty Rattie, a two-time 100-point man in juniors – for veteran Matt Niskanen, an up-and-coming Vincent Trocheck, and the mid-flameout (but still high-upside) Ryan Murphy. You can keep these guys forever, so in this league, it can take years to find out who wins a trade, but I'm happy with my return.
Anyway, that's enough about me. Let's take a look at Tuesday's games.
Projected Goalie Starters (all times Eastern)
Avalanche (Reto Berra) at Devils (Cory Schneider), 7:00 PM
Blue Jackets (Sergei Bobrovsky) at Canadiens (Mike Condon), 7:30 PM
Flyers (Steve Mason) at Senators (Craig Anderson), 7:30 PM
Sabres (Chad Johnson) at Red Wings (Petr Mrazek), 7:30 PM
Panthers (Roberto Luongo) at Blues (Jake Allen), 8:00 PM
Coyotes (Mike Smith) at Predators (Pekka Rinne), 8:00 PM
Wild (Devan Dubnyk) at Blackhawks (Corey Crawford), 8:00 PM
Stars (Antti Niemi) at Flames (Karri Ramo), 9:00 PM
Canucks (Jacob Markstrom) at Kings (Jonathan Quick), 10:30 PM
Penguins (Marc-Andre Fleury) at Sharks (Martin Jones), 10:30 PM
For updates on the projected goalies later in the day, check out our Projected Goalies Grid.
Injury News for Teams Playing Tuesday
Colorado Avalanche
Alex Tanguay, LW (knee) – Has been skating; return coming soon
Brad Stuart, D (back) – Not much word on timeline
Jesse Winchester, LW (concussion) – Continues lingering on IR
John Mitchell, C (oblique) – Likely to return Tuesday
Ben Street, C (chest) – Hit IR a week ago
New Jersey Devils
Tuomo Ruutu, LW (foot) – Has hit early end of timeline, but no word on return
Jiri Tlusty, LW (shoulder) – Hit IR Friday; no timetable
Columbus Blue Jackets
Fedor Tyutin, D Tyutin (nose) – Has missed four straight ; won't go Tuesday
Rene Bourque, LW (undisclosed) – Right at end of original one-week timeline
David Clarkson, RW (back) – Skated on his own Monday
Jared Boll, RW (foot) – On IR; timeline unclear
Cody Goloubef, D (jaw) – Out another five weeks
Markus Hannikainen, RW (shoulder) – Out two months with injury suffered in NHL debut
Montreal Canadiens
Michael Bournival, C (concussion) – Back at practice Monday
Brendan Gallagher, RW (hand) – Out at least five more weeks
Torrey Mitchell, C (lower body) – Should resume skating soon
Carey Price, G (leg) – Out six weeks at least, but will avoid surgery
Alexander Semin, LW (undisclosed) – Out at least a few more days
Philadelphia Flyers
Nick Schultz, D (upper body) – Said he felt fine after practicing Monday
R.J. Umberger, LW (lower body) – Skated on "fifth" line in practice Monday; unlikely for Tuesday
Mark Streit, D (pelvis) – Out at least another month
Ryan White, RW (shoulder) – Also on "fifth line"
Sam Gagner, C (upper body) – Should be close to returning
Ottawa Senators
Andrew Hammond, G (head) – Had a setback
Clarke MacArthur, LW (concussion) – Not close to returning
Chris Phillips, D (back) – Week-to-week
Buffalo Sabres
Carlo Colaiacovo, D (neck) – Returned to practice Monday
Cody McCormick, C (illness) – Lingering on IR all year
Patrick Kaleta, RW (knee) – Still no timeline
Tyler Ennis, LW (upper body) – Not traveling with team
Robin Lehner, G (ankle) – Still in a walking boot and using a scooter
Mark Pysyk, D (lower body) – Not traveling with team; skating at home
Detroit Red Wings
Kyle Quincey, D (ankle) – Out well into 2016
Johan Franzen, RW (concussion) – On long-term IR
Florida Panthers
Dmitry Kulikov, D (lower body) – Expected to return Thursday or Friday
Alex Petrovic, D (foot) – Out a week
St. Louis Blues
Jaden Schwartz, LW (ankle) – Out at least another seven weeks
Patrik Berglund, C (shoulder) – Lingering on long-term IR
Arizona Coyotes
Shane Doan, RW (lower body) – Practicing and traveling with team
Zbynek Michalek, D (illness) – Feeling better; seems likely for Tuesday
Steve Downie, RW (upper body) – Back at practice Monday
Joe Vitale, C (face) – Approaching back end of original return timeline
Nashville Predators
Carter Hutton, G (lower body) – Was on the ice for Monday's practice
Miikka Salomaki, RW (undisclosed) – Hit IR last week
Gabriel Bourque, LW (lower body) – Placed on IR over weekend
Paul Gaustad, C (upper body) – Also hit IR over weekend
Minnesota Wild
Tyler Graovac, C (sports hernia) – Skating, but not close to return yet
Ryan Carter, LW (lower body) – Expected back in the lineup Tuesday
Zac Dalpe, C (hip) – Out another four months
Marco Scandella, D (lower body) – Hopes to be back in the lineup Tuesday
Chicago Blackhawks
None
Dallas Stars
Kari Lehtonen, G (upper body) – Should be available for Thursday's game
Travis Moen, LW (upper body) – Skating, but no word on lineup return
Brett Ritchie, RW (wrist) – Practicing with AHL team
Calgary Flames
Sean Monahan, C (illness) – Left Monday's practice early; iffy for Tuesday
Johnny Gaudreau, LW (illness) – Has the bug too
Lance Bouma, C (leg) – Out another six weeks yet
Kevin Poulin, G (knee) – Out another 3-to-5 weeks
Vancouver Canucks
Jake Virtanen, LW (upper body) – Won't play Tuesday, but injury isn't major
Ben Hutton, D (lower body) – Back at practice, but no timetable for game action
Brandon Sutter, C (abdomen) – Will be reevaluated at the end of the week
Los Angeles Kings
Dwight King, LW (foot) – Should be getting out of his boot soon
Matt Greene, D (upper body) – No timetable
Pittsburgh Penguins
Olli Maatta, D (upper body) – Practiced Monday
San Jose Sharks
Raffi Torres, LW (suspension) – Remains banned for season's first half
Logan Couture, C (foot) – Skated well Monday; nearing return
Justin Braun, D (elbow) – Out Tuesday
Ben Smith, RW (head) – Remains out with no recent update
Hot
Chad Johnson, G, BUF – It's an understandably trendy move to go against the backup-caliber Johnson and the Sabres, but the man who's never been known as 'Ocho Cinco' has actually been red-hot when he's gotten the call of late. He's strung together consecutive one-goal games in winning efforts and hasn't posted a save mark lower than .906 in a game since the end of October. A reduced workload has been good for Johnson, but he's started the last two games. Still, Linus Ullmark's presence (and eventually Robin Lehner's) will make it tough for him to see consistent action.
Kris Letang, D, PIT – Well… hot-ish. Actually, this is one of those funny situations where the guy could go in either section. One the one hand, Letang's been piling up assists lately – 10 in 12 November games and six in his last six. On the other, he still hasn't scored a goal since the third game of the season and is sitting on a minus-14 rating. But hey, with 69 shots on goal through 23 games (and 19 in the last four alone), if you're sellin', I'm buyin'. The luck will turn.
Cold
Zach Parise, LW, MIN – We know Parise won't be long for the refrigerated department, but it's been slow going in his first two games back from a knee injury – just two shots on goal and a minus-2 rating. He's stepped right back into heavy minutes, though a tad lower than those he was playing prior to the injury. While there's no reason to worry about Parise yet, those invested in him should keep tabs on his progress in the coming days just in case it starts looking like he returned too soon.
Recommended Pickup
Leo Komarov, LW, TOR – For the second straight week, I'm recommending a tough guy – but this one's on the first line for the Leafs. Those who play in leagues that count hits already know Komarov's value, but increased ice time this year has resulted in even more hits (4.75 per game!) and more scoring, too. He finished November by finding the net four times over the course of a three-game goal-scoring streak, but was quietly consistent throughout the month, tallying six goals and three helpers in 14 games. The Leafs may not be good, but Komarov's played responsibly in his own zone, so he hasn't hurt owners in plus-minus. With the kind of chemistry he's got going with James van Riemsdyk, Komarov's arrow is pointing up.
