This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
On Monday at midnight, the NHL entered its roster freeze, meaning every team is stuck with its current complement of players until the league gets back in action Dec. 27. Indeed, there are still games to be played before the players and coaches themselves go on Christmas break, including a cool dozen of matchups Tuesday night. You might see a number of unfamiliar names on the ice over these next few days; if injuries strike, things could get weird in some places.
In other news, is there anything that embodies the spirit of Carolina hockey more than Monday's 'Canes-Wings game being canceled on account of the rink not being frozen? I'd be afraid of retribution from irate Hurricanes fans, but considering their league-low attendance, that doesn't seem likely. They're also probably too busy going through the ongoing power struggle for control of North Carolina's state government; to be fair, that's more important than hockey.
While we're discussing the intersection of sports and politics, is there anything more Trumpian than picking the owner of the Panthers, billionaire businessman Vincent Viola, to be Secretary of the Army? It's pretty incredible that Trump hasn't yet run out of billionaires for his administration to give jobs to.
Well, on to Tuesday's action, now 98 percent politics-free!
Featured Matchups
Islanders (PP: 30, PK: 26) at Bruins (PP: 28, PK: 3), 7:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Thomas Greiss (6-5-0, 2.66, .912), Tuukka Rask (16-5-3, 1.82, .932)
Key Injuries:Matt Beleskey (knee), John-Michael Liles (concussion), David Pastrnak (elbow), Casey Cizikas (upper body), Adam Pelech (upper body)
Need a get-right game? Play the Islanders, who haven't won in almost two weeks, own perhaps the league's worst special teams, and have allowed 22 goals over their last five contests. The Bruins will be weak on the wing with Pastrnak not expected to play, but that shouldn't make a huge difference. As I'll mention in greater detail at the bottom of this article, they're getting back Frank Vatrano as compensation. The interesting, low-priced DFS plays here are mostly from the Bruins: Vatrano, David Krejci, David Backes, Ryan Spooner and Austin Czarnik. Anders Lee has picked things up for the Isles, but his inconsistent shooting and scoring make him a risky play even at a low price. Rask has historically dominated the Isles – 10-3-0 with a .935 save percentage.
Predators (PP: 12, PK: 18) at Devils (PP: 22, PK: 8), 7:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Juuse Saros (1-2-1, 1.49, .946), Cory Schneider (9-9-5, 2.83, .906)
Key Injuries:Anthony Bitetto (upper body), Miikka Salomaki (lower body), P.K. Subban (upper body)
Saros is one of my favorite goaltending prospects, and with Pekka Rinne's career plodding steadily toward its conclusion, the future between Nashville's pipes is moving steadily toward the present. If Saros does indeed receive the starting nod in this game (the second of back-to-backs for the Preds), he'll be a superb DFS play against the Devils, who have scored the fourth-fewest goals in the league. Having recorded sub-.900 save marks in nine of his last 11 outings, Schneider makes for a target-worthy goalie while we wait for him to get back to his normally stellar form. This is a good time to get a relatively friendly price on Nashville star Filip Forsberg both in daily leagues and via trade in seasonal formats, and don't underestimate the superbly talented Ryan Ellis, who will at some point have his own Justin Schultz-esque post-hype breakout.
Red Wings (PP: 29, PK: 12) at Lightning (PP: 4, PK: 25), 7:30 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Petr Mrazek (9-6-3, 2.98, .902), Ben Bishop (9-10-2, 2.82, .906)
Key Injuries:Justin Abdelkader (knee), Tyler Bertuzzi (ankle), Johan Franzen (concussion), Mike Green (lower body), Darren Helm (upper body), Tomas Jurco (illness), Brian Lashoff (face), Alexey Marchenko (shoulder), Brendan Smith (knee), Joe Vitale (concussion), Ryan Callahan (lower body), Nikita Kucherov (lower body), Ondrej Palat (undisclosed), Cedric Paquette (upper body), Steven Stamkos (knee)
The Wings were supposed to be on the second of back-to-backs Tuesday, but after Monday's game was canceled, they've got plenty of rest for a tough matchup with Tampa Bay. Mrazek has won just one time in six career starts against the Lightning, posting an .864 save mark in that span, so it might be a good idea to reserve him if he indeed gets the start for this one. Jimmy Howard was slated to play Monday, but he's given up seven goals in his last two games, so he's not exactly in top form at the moment either. Look to the perpetually underpriced Tyler Johnson in DFS, with Victor Hedman also presenting a nice target if you're willing to spend up for a blueliner.
Other Matchups
Rangers (PP: 9, PK: 4) at Penguins (PP: 10, PK: 24), 7:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Henrik Lundqvist (15-8-1, 2.34, .920), Matt Murray (12-2-1, 1.84, .938)
Key Injuries:Pavel Buchnevich (back), Rick Nash (groin), Mika Zibanejad (leg), Trevor Daley (upper body), Tom Kuhnhackl (lower body), Kris Letang (lower body)
With Nash ailing, look for Jesper Fast – who's been playing quite well lately – to see extra minutes. J.T. Miller has also been known to step up when the Rangers have had injuries to their top wingers, though he has a pretty secure top-six role already. The aforementioned Schultz has a ridiculous 13 points with a plus-12 rating over the past 10 games, and Letang has sat out for only two of those.
Kings (PP: 23, PK: 9) at Blue Jackets (PP: 1, PK: 16), 7:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Peter Budaj (14-8-2, 2.13, .915), Sergei Bobrovsky (19-5-2, 1.94, .932)
Key Injuries:David Clarkson (back), Dustin Brown (upper body), Brayden McNabb (collarbone), Jonathan Quick (groin)
The league's top man-advantage team still suffers from the dearth of opportunities I mentioned last week, but this is a good spot for the Jackets. Fifth-place Los Angeles is in the middle of a lengthy road swing. For what it's worth, though, Budaj has a strong history against Columbus (.920 save percentage) and has been good on the road this year (.923).
Ducks (PP: 2, PK: 17) at Canadiens (PP: 13, PK: 19), 7:30 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Jonathan Bernier (6-2-1, 2.89, .901), Carey Price (17-4-2, 1.90, .936)
Key Injuries:Kevin Bieksa (face), Simon Despres (head), Clayton Stoner (lower body), Sven Andrighetto (upper body), David Desharnais (knee), Alex Galchenyuk (knee), Greg Pateryn (ankle), Andrew Shaw (concussion)
The Ducks are on the second of back-to-backs, so they'll roll out the struggling Bernier (4.49 GAA, .840 save mark in his last five appearances). That sets up Price and the Habs with a strong winning opportunity – they'll just need to get someone to score the goals. Look for Shea Weber to finally snap his lengthy slump in this one.
Sabres (PP: 3, PK: 30) at Panthers (PP: 24, PK: 5), 7:30 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Robin Lehner (7-9-4, 2.45, .920), Roberto Luongo (10-9-3, 2.41, .918)
Key Injuries:Tyler Ennis (groin), Jonathan Huberdeau (Achilles), Alex Petrovic (ankle)
Luongo's been skidding lately, setting the improved Buffalo offense up with a strong opportunity here. On the bright side for the Panthers, they're coming back home after playing 13 of their last 17 games on the road.
Avalanche (PP: 21, PK: 20) at Wild (PP: 19, PK: 6), 8:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Semyon Varlamov (6-12-0, 3.21, .904), Devan Dubnyk (15-6-3, 1.62, .947)
Key Injuries:Joe Colborne (lower body), Erik Johnson (leg), Victor Bartley (triceps), Erik Haula (lower body)
I'm not starting anyone against Dubnyk. No one.
Senators (PP: 18, PK: 13) at Blackhawks (PP: 15, PK: 29), 8:30 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Mike Condon (6-3-2, 2.32, .922), Scott Darling (10-2-2, 2.22, .927)
Key Injuries:Artem Anisimov (upper body), Corey Crawford (illness), Craig Anderson (personal), Andrew Hammond (undisclosed), Clarke MacArthur (concussion)
If Condon couldn't sustain his success as Carey Price's replacement last year, I don't see why he'll be able to do it this season while Craig Anderson remains out due to his wife's illness.
Blues (PP: 8, PK: 2) at Stars (PP: 20, PK: 27), 8:30 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Jake Allen (15-7-3, 2.60, .905), Antti Niemi (7-4-3, 2.85, .913)
Key Injuries:Cody Eakin (suspension), Ales Hemsky (hip), Mattias Janmark (knee), Patrick Sharp (concussion), Robert Bortuzzo (lower body)
We're still waiting for the Stars to get their scoring going. This team's much too dangerous to be this bad. However, as bad as they've been defensively and as bad as Niemi has been himself, he's actually been remarkably good at home this year: 7-2-1 with a 1.81 GAA and .943 save mark. He makes for an interesting countercurrent DFS target here.
Jets (PP: 26, PK: 28) at Canucks (PP: 25, PK: 21), 10:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Connor Hellebuyck (12-10-1, 2.67, .911), Jacob Markstrom (6-7-2, 2.74, .903)
Key Injuries:Derek Dorsett (neck), Alexander Edler (finger), Erik Gudbranson (wrist), Philip Larsen (upper body), Joel Armia (undisclosed), Shawn Matthias (lower body), Tyler Myers (lower body), Nicolas Petan (lower body)
Here we have two teams whose special teams rival the Islanders' in awfulness; hard to predict what'll come of such a matchup, but I'd bet on Hellebuyck and the Canucks.
Flames (PP: 14, PK: 22) at Sharks (PP: 17, PK: 14), 10:30 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Chad Johnson (13-6-1, 2.22, .924), Martin Jones (16-11-1, 2.13, .919)
Key Injuries:Tomas Hertl (knee)
The Flames have majorly improved their once-terrible penalty kill to merely "bad" territory, and Johnny Gaudreau has a seven-game point streak (with 11 total points) since returning to action. However, Jones has been awesome at home (1.69 GAA, .931 save mark).
Recommended Pickup
Frank Vatrano, C, BOS – The wait is over. Vatrano was the best player in the AHL last season, averaging a goal per game over 36 contests for Providence. We saw flashes of his capabilities in the NHL, too – he fired 99 shots in 39 games despite averaging less than 12 minutes of ice time. That was a different era for the Bruins, though – they didn't need him to spark the offense like they do now. The 22-year-old scored two goals in a two-game AHL warm-up, and now he's going to be a crucial factor in reviving a Boston offense that's in the league's bottom third offensively. Don't let Vatrano linger on your waiver wire.
