Monday Daily Puck: Edmonton Sleeper Waking Up

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Updated on February 8, 2016 1:53AM EST

Around the Rink

David Perron is on fire with the Ducks. He's scored three goals and eight points in seven games for Anaheim after totaling four goals and 16 points in 43 contests with Pittsburgh. He might just be more comfortable in the Western Conference, but what kind of expectations should a fantasy owner have? He's become a half-point player for much of the last several seasons after averaging at a higher pace in his early days. Just keep in mind that he scored nine goals and 13 points in his first 16 games following his trade to the Penguins before falling off the map. Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.
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The lynch mob is out for Montreal Canadiens coach, Michel Therrien. If goalie Carey Price hadn't gotten hurt, Therrien's job probably wouldn't be on the line. Regardless, Therrien is a pro's pro and he knows coaches are hired to be fired. He'll have no trouble finding another job in hockey. See famous Therrien rant above.
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Oh Dennis Wideman. I'm sorry, but I'm not buying that he didn't know what he was doing or whom he was cross-checking. If I were commissioner, he'd be gone for the rest of 2015-16. Inexcusable. Reducing any penalty is like saying the next time Brad Marchand cheapshots player X, then player X has the right to go up to the linesman and deck him because player X was woozy. I doubt the linesman cares if Wideman is a repeat offender or not.
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Carolina's Justin Faulk leads NHL defensemen with 12 power-play goals. Actually, he's led all blueliners with 12 PP goals since Dec. 15. In other words, he hasn't scored a power-play goal in his last 24 games.
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Mark Borowiecki might only have two points in 53 games for the Senators but he leads the league in penalty minutes (101) and hits (235).
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So much yes.https://t.co/CQBIxCd3PA
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) February 7, 2016

The Pens overcame a 2-0 deficit with six minutes remaining in regulation for first time in franchise history Saturday. Phil Kessel starts the game-winning sequence by mishandling puck and then Kris Letang skates right past him (1:03 of clip) after scoring. Poor Phil.
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Were Sidney Crosby's and Kris Letang's offensive production problems caused by coach Mike Johnston's system? Or did they simply get off to bad starts? The former explanation is more likely than the latter, but at this point fantasy owners can sit back and enjoy the ride, regardless of the reasoning. It's striking to note Crosby scored 22 points in 32 games under Johnston and 27 points in 18 contests under coach Mike Sullivan. Letang started with 14 points in 25 tilts under Johnston, only to up that production to 24 points in 16 tilts under Sullivan. Rumors of their demise were greatly exaggerated.
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While I'm on the Penguins, why on God's green earth did Evgeni Malkin play in the All-Star Game? Malkin came up lame with a knee injury against Ottawa on Tuesday and missed the weekend games in Florida. Coach Sullivan said his superstar is dealing with a knee injury that has been nagging him for weeks. Someone explain to me how playing in a meaningless exhibition is more important than two regular-season games (and counting). Pittsburgh mishandled Crosby's concussion, Letang's concussion, Malkin's knee and who knows what else.

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

New Jersey Devils (Cory Schneider) at New York Rangers (Henrik Lundqvist), 7:00 PM
Anaheim Ducks (John Gibson) at Pittsburgh Penguins (Marc-Andre Fleury), 7:00 PM
Tampa Bay Lightning (Ben Bishop) at Ottawa Senators (Craig Anderson), 7:30 PM
Florida Panthers (Roberto Luongo) at Detroit Red Wings (Petr Mrazek), 7:30 PM

Injury News For Teams Playing Monday

New Jersey Devils
Michael Cammalleri, LW - Cammalleri (hand) will not play either Monday or Tuesday.
Jiri Tlusty, LW - Tlusty (upper body) will be out 3-4 months after undergoing surgery on his right wrist.
Patrik Elias, LW - Elias (knee) had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee and there is no timetable for his return.
Jon Merrill, D - Merrill (upper body) will likely be sidelined Monday.

New York Rangers
Rick Nash, LW - Nash (leg) did not travel to Philadelphia for the team's game against the Flyers on Saturday, Monday's status not yet known.
Ryan McDonagh, D - McDonagh (undisclosed) left Saturday and Monday's status unknown.

Anaheim Ducks
Brian McGrattan, RW - McGrattan out Monday.
Clayton Stoner, D - Stoner out due to a hip flexor injury.
Shawn Horcoff, C - Horcoff has been suspended by the NHL for 20 contests for violating the performing-enhancing substance policy.

Pittsburgh Penguins
Eric Fehr, RW - Fehr (lower body) will be out at least a month and has gone on injured reserve to make room for a roster call-up.
Evgeni Malkin, C - Malkin's status for Monday not yet known.
Nick Bonino, C - Bonino (hand) out until middle of February.
Beau Bennett, RW - Out with a lower-body injury.
David Warsofsky, D - Warsofsky (concussion) out Monday.

Tampa Bay Lightning
Mattias Ohlund, D - Ohlund (knee) out Monday.
Anton Stralman, D - Stralman (illness) will travel with the team to Ottawa for Monday's game against the Senators and is expected to play.
Joel Vermin, RW - Vermin (hand) will be out for one more week.

Ottawa Senators
David Dziurzynski, LW - Dziurzynski (undisclosed) is now on injured reserve.
Milan Michalek, LW - Michalek is out indefinitely with a fractured finger.
Clarke MacArthur, LW - MacArthur (concussion) practicing in limited capacity.

Florida Panthers
Willie Mitchell, D - Mitchell (undisclosed) status not yet known for Monday.
Dave Bolland, C - Bolland (lower body) not expected back Monday.
Erik Gudbranson, D - Gudbranson (upper body) status not yet known for Monday but missed Saturday.

Detroit Red Wings
Johan Franzen, RW - Franzen (concussion) on long-term injured reserve.
Drew Miller, LW - Miller (lower body) will be out for 4-6 months.
Niklas Kronwall, D - Kronwall (knee) is looking to start skating at practice Monday.

Hot

Benoit Pouliot, LW, EDM -- Anyone else notice Pouliot has two goals and five points in four games since the return of Connor McDavid? Edmonton got scorched by the Islanders on Sunday, but that's to be expected with the inconsistent Oil.
Pouliot is only owned in 13 percent of Yahoo! leagues. If you're looking for a good, cheap player, take a look at Pouliot. He stands to benefit from the presence of McDavid.

Brian Elliott, G, STL – Depending on your perspective, Elliott is either pumping up your goalie stats or making you question your ownership of Jake Allen. Since Allen got hurt Jan. 8, Elliott has compiled a 7-3-1 record with a 1.74 GAA and .945 save percentage. He's certainly muddled the picture in St. Louis. Will Allen regain his starting job when healthy or will Elliott play out the string until he cools off? The road ahead for the Blues stiffens, with a trip to Florida and games against Dallas and Los Angeles in the immediate offing.

Cold

Marc-Andre Fleury, G, PIT -- Fleury's been so inconsistent lately you can make a case for him on the "hot" list and the "cold" list. He's gone 7-2-3 in his last 12 starts, including a pair of shutouts. The under-the-surface problems are two-fold. First, his peripherals over that stretch include a pedestrian 2.75 GAA and .904 save percentage. Second, those numbers come after he missed eight games with concussion-like symptoms. Is he completely healthy? Fleury was pulled from Friday's game after serving up four goals and benched Saturday in favor of backup Jeff Zatkoff. He's in little jeopardy of losing his job but has a history of cooling off at the end of the regular season.

Recommended Pickup

Mike Green, D, DET – Green has scored power-play goals in back-to-back contests and the Red Wings play four times at home in Week 19. Whichever Detroit forward you have confidence in (and is on your roster) deserves consideration for the following week. Green is available in 35 percent of Yahoo! leagues and while he's no longer the offensive juggernaut he was in Washington, he is playing well right now and can help fantasy squads in the coming week.

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.