Saturday Daily Puck: The Friendly Ghost

Saturday Daily Puck: The Friendly Ghost

This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.

Shayne Gostisbehere's record-breaking streak stretched to 14 games in Friday's shootout loss to the Montreal Canadiens. He's making a case for Calder Trophy consideration and "must own" status in fantasy.

The Calder race preseason was largely considered a referendum on McDavid v. Eichel. The emergence of Dylan Larkin and Max Domi as competitors wasn't a surprise, but wasn't necessarily expected. Ditto for 24-year-old Russian import Artemi Panarin, who leads all rookies in scoring.

Gostisbehere had to wait over a month into the season to make his debut and was not a part of the conversation. Now he's setting rookie records with a 14-game point streak and has worked his way into the Calder conversation with 11 goals and 33 points in 39 games.

McDavid has been an unstoppable force since returning from his broken clavicle, but Gostisbehere has been an unexpected fantasy goldmine for those with enough foresight to pick him up early. Even at the ever-increasing price he's collecting in daily games, he's been well-worth the price of admission.

Projected Goalie Starters (all times Eastern)
For updates on the projected goalies later in the day, check our Projected Goalies Grid

Lightning (Ben Bishop) at Penguins (Marc-Andre Fleury), 12:30 PM
Flyers (Steve Mason) at Maple Leafs (James Reimer), 7:00 PM
Red Wings (Petr Mrazek) at Senators (Craig Anderson), 7:00 PM
Jets (Ondrej Pavelec) at Panthers (Roberto Luongo), 7:00 PM
Devils (Keith Kinkaid) at Capitals (Braden Holtby), 7:00 PM
Kings (Jonathan Quick) at Predators (Pekka Rinne), 8:00 PM
Bruins (Tuukka Rask) at Stars (Antti Niemi), 8:00 PM
Blues (Brian Elliott) at Coyotes (Louis Domingue), 9:00 PM
Avalanche (Semyon Varlamov) at Oilers (Cam Talbot), 10:00 PM
Injury News For Teams Playing Saturday

Tampa Bay Lightning
Jason Garrison, D (lower body) - remains on IR
Vladislav Namestnikov, C (upper body) - is questionable

Pittsburgh Penguins
Nick Bonino, C (hand) - has skated on his own, but hasn't resumed contact
Beau Bennett, RW (upper body) - remains out
David Warsofsky, D (concussion) - began taking contact again in practice this week
Pascal Dupuis, RW (blood clots) - won't play hockey again
Eric Fehr, RW (lower body) - is expected to return until early March
Evgeni Malkin, C (knee) - has been ruled out for the weekend

Philadelphia Flyers
Jordan Weal, C (upper body) - remains out
Sean Couturier, C (lower body) - is on IR
Michael Del Zotto, D (upper body) - is considered week-to-week

Toronto Maple Leafs
Tyler Bozak, C (head) - has skated by himself, but isn't ready to return to the lineup
Jared Cowen, D (hip) - remains on IR
Leo Komarov, LW (suspension) - was suspended three games by the Department of Player Safety on Friday
Joffrey Lupul, LW (middle body) - remains out
Milan Michalek, LW (finger) - could be back "in a few weeks"
Matt Hunwick, D (undiscosed) - didn't play Thursday
Stephane Robidas, D (knee) - has no timetable for a return
Shawn Matthias, C (whiplash) - isn't likely to return Saturday
James van Riemsdyk, LW (foot) - is still on IR

Detroit Red Wings
Johan Franzen, RW (concussion) - remains out and unlikely to play
Jonathan Ericsson, D (lower body) - didn't play Thursday
Drew Miller, LW (ACL) - is out for the rest of the season
Niklas Kronwall, D (knee) - has skated, but hasn't had his status updated for Saturday

Ottawa Senators
Clarke MacArthur, LW (concussion) - is aiming to return in early March
David Dziurzynski, LW (undisclosed) - remains out
Mark Borowiecki, D (upper body) - remains day-to-day and didn't play Thursday
Chris Phillips, D (back) - is not making progress toward a return from offseason back surgery

Winnipeg Jets
Mark Stuart, D (hand) - is expected to miss at least another three weeks
Bryan Little, C (upper body) - hasn't had his situation updated since leaving Thursday's game following a high hit

Florida Panthers
Brandon Pirri, C (ankle) - remains out
Erik Gudbranson, D (upper body) - is still on IR
Aleksander Barkov, C (upper body) - was expected to return this week
Dave Bolland, C (lower body) - is out
Willie Mitchell, D (undisclosed) - didn't play Thursday

New Jersey Devils
Patrik Elias, LW (knee) - skated this week, but prior to surgery the team thought it was possible that he miss the rest of the season
Michael Cammalleri, LW (hand) - remains out
Jiri Tlusty, LW (upper body) - will miss the majority of the rest of the season
Stefan Matteau, LW (facial fracture) - was placed on IR Friday

Washington Capitals
Jay Beagle, C (hand) - won't play Saturday

Los Angeles Kings
Marian Gaborik, RW (knee) - is expected to be out long-term
Matt Greene, D (shoulder) - won't play for the rest of the season
Anze Kopitar, C (lower body) - is considered day-to-day

Nashville Predators
Gabriel Bourque, LW (upper body) - has no timeline for his return
Eric Nystrom, LW (foot) - remains on IR

Boston Bruins
Chris Kelly, RW (fractured femur) - isn't expected to play this season

Dallas Stars
Travis Moen, LW (lower body) - is on IR

St. Louis Blues
Alex Pietrangelo, D (knee) - is on IR
Jake Allen, G (knee) - has returned to practice but isn't ready for a return to game action
Steve Ott, C (hamstring) - remains out

Arizona Coyotes
Mike Smith, G (lower body) - is traveling with the team on their road trip, signaling that he could return soon
Joe Vitale, C (concussion) - won't play again this season
Anders Lindback, G (Achilles) - will miss the rest of the season
Boyd Gordon, C (upper body) - is out

Colorado Avalanche
Ben Street, C (chest) - remains out since November
Brad Stuart, D (back) - is unlikely to return this season
Reto Berra, G (ankle) - has been sent to the AHL for conditioning
Jesse Winchester, LW (concussion) - is on IR

Edmonton Oilers
Zack Kassian, RW (illness) - is expected to return Saturday
Eric Gryba, D (knee) - is out long-term
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, C (hand) - remains on IR
Oscar Klefbom, D (infection) - could return soon
Andrew Ference, D (hip) - isn't expected to play again this season

Hot
P.K. Subban, D, MTL — Subban has had an interesting week. He's been the subject of a trade rumor, was derided publicly by his coach and received the adoration of fans Friday in the midst of it all. After Friday's tilt he told the media, "The one thing that's very difficult to do when you perform is criticize your play. For me, my numbers speak for themselves. If anybody wants to criticize my play on the ice, well, I tell them to look at the numbers... That'll shut them up pretty quickly." While there were a couple rough games in there, since December 28 he has put up a point in 18 of 22 games, with a total of three goals and 21 points. Fair point, Subban.

Johnny Gaudreau, LW, CGY — There hasn't really been any point in the season where Johnny Hockey wasn't hot this year. Since Jan. 7 he has five goals and 17 points in 17 games. While the Flames aren't likely to find the playoffs this season, he continues to be a bright spot in his sophomore campaign. He's on pace to best last season's 64 points and is tied for seventh in the NHL in points.

Cold
Brock Nelson, LW, NYI — He's already surpassed last season's breakout goal total, but points have been scarce recently. He has points in just one of his last eight games and is averaging only 1.6 shots per game over his last nine contests. That could quickly turn around with his talent, but it's been a frustrating stretch for a player who hit the 20-goal mark in 46 games.

Jack Johnson, D, CBJ — Johnson has been very unreliable through most of the season. He is on the worst points pace he's had in nine seasons, with just six goals and eight assists through 57 games. He's without a point in 13 games and failed to take a single shot in five of those games. On the plus side, his minutes haven't really taken a hit, as he's still logging in excess of 20 minutes per game with regularity. He's being given a chance to bounce back, but it's hard to see how it happens.

Recommended Pickup
Andrej Nestrasil, C, CAR — In deeper formats, Nestrasil is proving to have some value of late. In the 17 games since Jan. 9 he's put up five goals and 11 points while averaging 2.6 shots per game and seeing ice time in excess of 18 minutes a handful of times. He's no Gaudreau, but there's value to be found here in deep keeper leagues or when you're looking for a very cheap hail mary in daily.

The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dustin Nelson
Dustin Nelson is a writer based out of NYC. His fantasy team is full of loafers.
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