This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
Around the Rink
A couple of my favorite young players delivered shiny performances Monday night, which presents a nice opportunity to take a look at a handful of guys you'd need to wrestle from my cold, dead hands in NHL keeper leagues. Sure, it's obvious that anyone in his right mind would want to hold on tight to Patrick Kane or Tyler Seguin or Erik Karlsson, but we're eschewing the obvious here in favor of some guys who are flying a bit under the mainstream radar – for now.
Tyler Toffoli, RW, LOS – After his Monday night hat trick, I just had to say something about Toffoli in this space, as the 2010 second-round pick has been a staple of my dynasty team ever since I took him No. 413 overall in my league's inaugural draft back in September of 2011. At that time, he was just about to begin what would be his second 100-point junior campaign; he followed that up with two seasons of sparkling work in the AHL before emerging as a full-time NHLer two years ago. After last year's 49-point season teased what was to come, Toffoli's verging on breaking out as a legitimate star of the league now – with 28 points in 35 games, he's on pace for a 65-point campaign, and it's only going to get better from here for the 23-year-old.
Petr Mrazek, G, DET – Another strong Monday performer, Mrazek stopped 32 of 34 against Minnesota, but was left with a tough-luck loss. No matter – another 23-year-old, the Czech netminder is sparkling once again this year, showing that his prior small-sample success was no fluke. He won the Wings' net from Jimmy Howard at the end of last season, and though they started this year in a timeshare, things have been trending Mrazek's way on a roughly 60-40 basis. The fact that he's not a true No. 1 currently does somewhat limit his value for this season, but the 2010 fifth-round pick has a history of outperforming at every level of hockey. First he's going to displace Howard, who will probably be traded elsewhere – then he's going to have a long, illustrious career for the storied Detroit organization. You'd need the Jaws of Life to pry him away from me.
Aaron Ekblad, D, FLA – With a fairly modest 17 points in 36 games this year, Ekblad could be considered a bit of a disappointment – he's a touch below last year's pace – but nine of those points are goals, putting the 19-year-old in a big tie for fourth among defensemen in that category. Yes, Ekblad still isn't allowed to drink (except on Canadian road trips) for about the next 14 months, but the 2014 No. 1 overall pick shows all the hallmarks of a future Hall of Famer. Yes, those are strong words, but his strong play on the back end has been instrumental to Florida's rise to contention (second in the Atlantic!), and he's going to pile up goals and points for a long, long time.
Well, that was fun. On to Tuesday's action.
Projected Goalie Starters (all times Eastern)
Senators (Craig Anderson) at Bruins (Tuukka Rask), 7:00 PM
Islanders (Thomas Greiss) at Maple Leafs (Jonathan Bernier), 7:00 PM
Hurricanes (Cam Ward) at Devils (Keith Kinkaid), 7:00 PM
Stars (Kari Lehtonen) at Blue Jackets (Curtis McElhinney), 7:00 PM
Canadiens (Ben Scrivens) at Panthers (Roberto Luongo), 7:30 PM
Predators (Pekka Rinne) at Blues (Jake Allen), 8:00 PM
Red Wings (Jimmy Howard) at Jets (Connor Hellebuyck), 8:00 PM
Ducks (John Gibson) at Flames (Karri Ramo), 9:00 PM
Kings (Jhonas Enroth) at Oilers (Cam Talbot), 9:00 PM
Blackhawks (Corey Crawford) at Coyotes (Anders Lindback), 9:00 PM
For updates on projected goalies later in the day, check our Projected Goalies Grid.
Injury News for Teams Playing Tuesday
Ottawa Senators
Chris Phillips, D (back) – Career may be over
Milan Michalek, LW (finger) – Out indefinitely
Cody Ceci, D (upper body) – Week-to-week
Curtis Lazar, C (lower body) – Won't go Tuesday
Clarke MacArthur, LW (concussion) – Traveling with team, but no timetable
Boston Bruins
Torey Krug, D (upper body) – Day-to-day entering Tuesday's game
Joonas Kemppainen, C (upper body) – On IR indefinitely
Chris Kelly, RW (leg) – Out another 4-to-6 months
David Krejci, C (upper body) – Week-to-week
Jaroslav Halak, G (upper body) – Hit IR Sunday, retroactive to the prior Sunday
Jean-Francois Berube, G (lower body) – Lingering on IR
Toronto Maple Leafs
Garret Sparks, G (lower body) – Expected out for an extended period
Nick Spaling, C (upper body) – Also out long-term
Stephane Robidas, D (knee) – No timetable
Carolina Hurricanes
Nathan Gerbe, LW (lower body) – Butting against front end of original timeline
Elias Lindholm, RW (undisclosed) – Game-time call Tuesday
James Wisniewski, D (knee) – Out four more months at least
New Jersey Devils
Bobby Farnham, LW (upper body) – Could return Tuesday
Patrik Elias, LW (knee) – Not ready to return; could hit IR
Tuomo Ruutu, LW (illness) – Didn't practice Monday; Tuesday status unclear
Dallas Stars
Devin Shore, C (undisclosed) – Out another 2-to-4 weeks
Columbus Blue Jackets
Markus Hannikainen, RW (shoulder) – Out another month
Paul Bittner, LW (hip) – Out indefinitely
Nick Foligno, LW (undisclosed) – Practiced Monday, but day-to-day
Cody Goloubef, D (jaw) – Practiced Monday; timeline unclear
David Savard, D (ankle) – Practiced Monday, but far from original expected return date yet
Sergei Bobrovsky, G (groin) – Still in the day-to-day category
Montreal Canadiens
Carey Price, G (leg) – Out into mid-January at least
Tom Gilbert, D (lower body) – Out until at least Jan. 6
Brendan Gallagher, RW (finger) – Taking shots; return could be imminent
Florida Panthers
Steve Kampfer, D (lower body) – Lingering on IR; no timeline offered
Nick Bjugstad, C (upper body) – Still no timetable
Dave Bolland, C (illness) – Still hasn't returned to lineup since conditioning stint
Nashville Predators
Gabriel Bourque, LW (upper body) – Skated on his own Monday
St. Louis Blues
Steve Ott, C (hamstring) – Out a couple more months
Kyle Brodziak, C (undisclosed) – Didn't go Sunday; seems unlikely for Tuesday
Patrik Berglund, C (shoulder) – Hasn't been cleared for contact
Jaden Schwartz, LW (ankle) – About seven weeks to go
Detroit Red Wings
Kyle Quincey, D (ankle) – Expected back in the lineup in early January
Johan Franzen, RW (concussion) – Lingering on LTIR indefinitely
Jonathan Ericsson, D (upper body) – Didn't go Monday; Tuesday status unclear
Drew Miller, LW (jaw) – Placed on IR
Teemu Pulkkinen, RW (shoulder) – Out about 2-to-4 more weeks
Luke Glendening, RW (illness) – Didn't play Monday; no word on Tuesday
Winnipeg Jets
Mark Scheifele, C (concussion) – Timetable unclear
Ondrej Pavelec, G (knee) – Out into late January or February
Anaheim Ducks
Simon Despres, D (concussion) – Still symptomatic; no timeline
Cam Fowler, D (knee) – Hit IR Monday
Calgary Flames
Jon Gillies, G (hip) – Out 3-to-5 months yet
Kevin Poulin, G (knee) – Has hit early end of original timetable
Michael Frolik, LW (upper body) – Out a matter of weeks yet
Los Angeles Kings
Dwight King, LW (foot) – Back in early January
Jeff Carter, C (upper body) – Couldn't go Monday
Matt Greene, D (upper body) – Out indefinitely; on LTIR
Kyle Clifford, LW (upper body) – Not close to returning
Edmonton Oilers
Rob Klinkhammer, LW (ankle) – Remains out with no clear timeline for return
Oscar Klefbom, D (finger) – Return date unclear
Nail Yakupov, RW (ankle) – On back end of original timeline; return pushed into January
Brandon Davidson, D (ribs) – Skated in practice Monday
Connor McDavid, C (shoulder) – Will be held out through All-Star break
Andrew Ference, D (undisclosed) – Back on IR; no timetable
Chicago Blackhawks
Marcus Kruger, C (wrist) – Hit IR Monday; out four months
Arizona Coyotes
Boyd Gordon, C (head) – Won't play Tuesday
Mike Smith, G (lower body) – Out 6-to-8 more weeks
Martin Hanzal, C (lower body) – Placed on IR
Joe Vitale, C (face) – No word on progress
Hot
Brent Burns, D, SJ – Not only has Burns been hot lately, with four goals and nine points in the last five games, he's also enjoying career-high ice time as San Jose's No. 1 blueliner. It's been a bit of a struggle for the Sharks, as they've dropped three of their last four, and yet Burns still has a positive rating in that span, highlighting just how good he is – and how iffy the team's depth is. Of course, he's still minus-12 for the season, which is tough to avoid when 15 of your 32 points have come on the power play, but Burns is nonetheless on pace for his highest-scoring NHL season yet. There aren't many blueliners out there who have a chance to crack 30 goals, but he's right on pace to do just that.
Braden Holtby, G, WAS – With 23 wins and an overtime loss in 29 games, Holtby barely loses; to call him hot now would be to overlook how incredible he's been all season long. But the 26-year-old stud has somehow been even more incredible in December than he was in October and November; in 10 starts this month, he owns an 8-0-1 record, 1.66 GAA and .949 save percentage. If anything, it's a surprise that he only has two shutouts (including Monday night's 31-save effort in Buffalo) this year. After three straight seasons of playoff disappointment in spite of what's been truly sparkling postseason play, Holtby and the Caps are positioning themselves as springtime Stanley Cup favorites.
Cold
Anders Nilsson, G, EDM – The Oilers' defensive struggles have been magnified by some injuries on the blue line recently, and that's affected Nilsson even more than Cam Talbot. The 25-year-old has now struggled in five consecutive starts, giving up 20 goals in that span and never posting a save mark higher than .893. There will certainly be better times ahead for the hulking Swede, but after he gave up four goals and got yanked Sunday, it'll be Talbot in net for Tuesday's game against the Kings. Of course, considering how well Los Angeles has been playing, that might be a boon for Nilsson.
Recommended Pickup
Tom Wilson, RW, WAS – Already a strong source of PIM and hits in leagues that count those categories, Wilson has recently become a presence on the scoresheet as well – he's racked up four assists in his last four games. It looks like Wilson's playing his way into a bigger role for the Caps; although he's averaging just 12:39 on the ice this season, that figure's leapt to an even 15:00 over the last seven games, a stretch in which he's gone plus-6 with plenty of those PIM (25) and hits (27). There's some fantasy intrigue mounting here for the 21-year-old, who almost entirely skipped the AHL and has instead been developing his game at hockey's highest level.
