This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
Around the Rink
You may not have noticed my absence, dear readers, but I got myself a nice little vacation in over the new year, and let me tell you – it's cold in them thar mountains. Also, snowboarding is a thousand times harder than it looks on TV. But the important thing is that I didn't break my wrists, hands, neck or any other key parts, so nothing's stopping me from a brand-new year of giving you the fantasy news and analysis you so treasure.
Tuesday's action seems like a good place to start.
Projected Goalie Starters (all times Eastern)
Capitals (Braden Holtby) at Bruins (Tuukka Rask), 7:00 PM
Panthers (Roberto Luongo) at Sabres (Linus Ullmark), 7:00 PM
Stars (Antti Niemi) at Rangers (Henrik Lundqvist), 7:00 PM
Blackhawks (Corey Crawford) at Penguins (Marc-Andre Fleury), 7:00 PM
Wild (Devan Dubnyk) at Blue Jackets (Anton Forsberg), 7:00 PM
Canadiens (Ben Scrivens) at Flyers (Michal Neuvirth), 7:30 PM
Jets (Connor Hellebuyck) at Predators (Pekka Rinne), 8:00 PM
Lightning (Ben Bishop) at Flames (Karri Ramo), 9:00 PM
For updates on projected goalies later in the day, check our Projected Goalies Grid.
Injury News for Teams Playing Tuesday
Washington Capitals
Brooks Orpik, D (lower body) – Traveling with the team, but not playing
John Carlson, D (undisclosed) – Could return during current road trip
Jay Beagle, C (hand) – Out six weeks after surgery
Boston Bruins
Joonas Kemppainen, C (upper body) – Day-to-day
Chris Kelly, RW (leg) – Out another 4-to-6 months
David Krejci, C (arm) – Week-to-week
Brad Marchand, LW (suspension) – Two more games
Florida Panthers
Dave Bolland, C (lower body) – Will sit through the All-Star break
Steve Kampfer, D (lower body) – Ready to return, but getting extra time
Buffalo Sabres
Mark Pysyk, D (foot) – Could be back this weekend
Tyler Ennis, LW (upper body) – Week-to-week
Robin Lehner, G (ankle) – Practicing with the team
Nicolas Deslauriers, LW (lower body) – Out 3-to-5 weeks
Cody McCormick, C (blood clots) – Still no timetable
Dallas Stars
Ales Hemsky, RW (lower body) – On IR; no clear timeline
Devin Shore, C (shoulder) – Done for the year
New York Rangers
Chris Kreider, LW (hand) – Doubtful for Tuesday's game
Chicago Blackhawks
Marcus Kruger, C (wrist) – Out four months
Pittsburgh Penguins
Beau Bennett, RW (upper body) – Out a matter of weeks yet
Minnesota Wild
Darcy Kuemper, G (concussion) – Hit IR over weekend
Ryan Carter, LW (hand) – Expected to play Tuesday
Zac Dalpe, C (hip) – Out another three months
Erik Haula, LW (undisclosed) – Played Saturday, but scratched Sunday
Columbus Blue Jackets
Matt Calvert, LW (knee) – Out about three more weeks
Sergei Bobrovsky, G (groin) – Reinjured again, on IR
David Clarkson, RW (upper body) – Out for an extended period
Curtis McElhinney, G (ankle) – Hit IR Monday
Markus Hannikainen, RW (shoulder) – Out another month
Montreal Canadiens
Carey Price, G (leg) – Making progress, but not skating
Tom Gilbert, D (lower body) – Could theoretically return Wednesday, but no word yet
Dale Weise, RW (upper body) – Placed on IR after Winter Classic injury
Philadelphia Flyers
Vincent Lecavalier, C (back) – No recent updates
Winnipeg Jets
Ondrej Pavelec, G (knee) – Could be back this month, but might be next month
Nashville Predators
Gabriel Bourque, LW (upper body) – Practiced Monday; Tuesday status unclear
Tampa Bay Lightning
None
Calgary Flames
Jiri Hudler, RW (lower body) – Won't play Tuesday
Michael Frolik, LW (upper body) – Skating, but not practicing
Kevin Poulin, G (knee) – Should be approaching a return in the next couple weeks
Jon Gillies, G (hip) – Remains out through March or longer
Hot
Shane Doan, RW, ARI – Talk about turning back the clock. For the Coyotes' first 32 games of the season, Doan looked a whole lot like the fading veteran we've been seeing for the past few years, as he put up a modest 11 points and a minus-9 rating in 23 games while missing nine with a lower-body injury. But over the last seven games, he's gone absolutely insane, scoring nine goals with an assist while going plus-7, representing a huge change in his fortunes. That scoring binge has coincided with a leap in ice time for the 39-year-old, who's still sitting on his lowest average (17:25) in years, but has cleared 19 minutes in all seven games of this hot stretch. For comparison, he only skated north of 19:00 twice in those first 23 contests.
Brent Burns, D, SJ – Is this guy ever going to stop? Already a stud, Burns has entered a new level of hotness over the last seven games, racking up six goals (!) and five assists from the blue line, with six of those 11 total points coming on the power play. As has been the case much of this year, that's served to muffle his rating – he's minus-1 in that stretch – but are we going to complain about the plus-minus of a superstar defenseman who averages a power-play point nearly every other game? No, no we are not.
Cold
Kevin Hayes, RW, NYR – One of the more promising young players in the league entering this year, Hayes has found himself in coach Alain Vigneault's doghouse lately, a situation that's culminated in consecutive healthy scratches. It's telling just how much leash the swagger-filled 23-year-old had that it took a 16-game stretch in which he picked up only three assists while taking a modest 24 shots for the coach to finally bench him, but it's still created an uncomfortable situation for fantasy owners who were looking to Hayes for a breakout. Last season's 45 points in limited ice time offered quite a lot of promise, and Hayes started this year strong by putting up 14 points in 21 games despite averaging bottom-six minutes. He could really take off with a promotion to a more premier line, but he's going to have to earn it first.
Recommended Pickup
Jake Gardiner, D, TOR – One of the bigger-name guys you'll find on your free-agent wire, Gardiner is sparingly owned thanks to his position on a Toronto team that's had more than its share of struggles this year. However, the Leafs have been hot lately – 6-2-2 in their last 10 games – and they actually only have a minus-4 goal differential. Enter Gardiner, who's now picked up points in three straight and put up a four-assist game a couple weeks ago. His minutes remain a bit slimmer than you'd like, but the 25-year-old does get to see some time on the power play, where he has six helpers on the year despite averaging only 1:45 per game. There's an upward trend to be found here.
