Saturday Daily Puck: Little Red Riding Hood

Saturday Daily Puck: Little Red Riding Hood

This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.

Around the Rink

While you won't get bonus points in fantasy hockey, there are some goals scored in the NHL that make you quiet happy you have that scorer on your fantasy squad.

After Tyler Ennis scored one for the ages Friday against Montreal, it's time to take a look at some of the best tallies we have seen so far in the 2014-15 season.

Tyler Ennis Scores Backhander While Falling

Tyler Ennis delivered the opening goal Friday against the Habs in spectacular fashion. The marker was his seventh goal of the season and his 15th point, putting him on pace to hit the 50-point mark for the first time in his career.

Vladimir Tarasenko Dances Through Rangers To Score Unbelievable Goal

Tarasenko has been a revelation in St. Louis this season, tallying 13 goals and 25 points in 23 games. This goal against New York is just one of many highlight-reel moments the 22-year-old has put up in 2014-15.

Tyler Toffoli Snipes Shorthanded Vs. Oilers

Tyler Toffoli is a sniper, but you watched the playoffs last season, so you knew that already. In 23 games this season, the youngster has bagged nine goals and 19 points in 23 games, to go with an impressive plus-13 rating.

P.K. Subban Bursts Out of Penalty Box to Score a Beauty

With five goals and 13 points in 23 games this season, Subban is on pace to post the highest goal of his six-season NHL career. This tally against the Avalanche was pure magic.

Here's hoping to more spectacular goal-scoring in a busy Saturday in the NHL. Here's all you need to know to dominate your pool.

Projected Goalie Starters (all times Eastern)

Flyers (Ray Emery) at Rangers (Henrik Lundqvist *), 1:00
Capitals (Braden Holtby) at Leafs (Jonathan Bernier), 7:00
Sabres (Jhonas Enroth) at Canadiens (Carey Price), 7:00
Senators (Craig Anderson) at Lightning (Ben Bishop), 7:00
Devils (Cory Schneider) at Islanders (Jaroslav Halak), 7:00
Penguins (Marc-Andre Fleury) at Hurricanes (Cam Ward), 7:00
Blues (Jake Allen) at Wild (Darcy Kuemper), 8:00
Blue Jackets (Sergei Bobrovsky) at Predators (Pekka Rinne), 8:00
Stars (Kari Lehtonen) at Avalanche (Calvin Pickard), 9:00
Flames (Jonas Hiller) at Coyotes (Mike Smith), 10:00
Hawks (Corey Crawford) at Kings (Jonathan Quick), 10:00
Ducks (Frederick Andersen) at Sharks (Antti Niemi), 10:30

*Confirmed Starters

For updates on the projected goalies later in the day, check out our Projected Goalies Grid.

Injury News For Teams Playing Saturday

Ducks
Francois Beauchemin, D (upper body) – Has been diagnosed with a broken finger and will miss four-to-six weeks.
Clayton Stoner, D (illness) – Was placed on injured reserve Friday.

Coyotes
Brandon Gormley, D, (lower body) - Still isn't practicing.

Sabres
Josh Gorges, D (knee) – Isn't likely to play Saturday.
Cody McCormick, LW (concussion) - Took part in Wednesday's optional skate.
Drew Stafford, RW (lower body) -- Could play Saturday against the Canadiens.

Flames
Mikael Backlund, C (abdomen) - Had an abdominal procedure Wednesday and is now considered week-to-week.

Hurricanes
Brett Bellemore, D (lower body) -- The Hurricanes placed Bellemore on injured reserve Tuesday.

Blackhawks
Patrick Sharp, LW (leg) - Might not return by the expected Dec. 3 contest against the Blues.
Marian Hossa, RW - Left Friday's game against the Ducks early after taking a stick to the side, but should be okay.

Avalanche
Erik Johnson, D (head) – Will play Saturday.
John Mitchell, C (hip) – Will play Saturday.
Semyon Varlamov, G (groin) – Reported significant improvement following Friday's practice.

Blue Jackets
Brandon Dubinsky, C (abdomen) - Although he's been ruled out for this weekend's games, Dubinsky looked strong on his skates during an optional team workout on Wednesday.

Stars
Ryan Garbutt, RW (suspension) – Serving a two-game suspension for kneeing.
Kings
Alec Martinez, D (finger) – Seems unlikely to play in Saturday's game against the Blackhawks.

Wild
Matt Cooke, LW (hip flexor) -- Has begun skating without full gear this week.

Canadiens
Michael Bournival, LW (shoulder) -Skated with his teammates at Friday's morning session.

Predators
Matt Cullen, C (upper body) - Was held out of Thursday's 1-0 win over the Oilers due to an upper-body injury.

Devils
Adam Henrique, C (upper body) - Suffered an upper body injury in Friday's loss to the Red Wings.
Travis Zajac, C, (lower body) - Suffered a lower body injury in Friday's loss to the Red Wings.

Islanders
Lubomir Visnovsky, D (upper body) – Questionable.
Johnny Boychuk, D (upper body) – Questionable.

Rangers
Chris Kreider, LW (personal) - Won't play Saturday due to the death of his grandfather.
Tanner Glass, LW (flu) – Questionable.

Senators
Mark Borowiecki, D (undisclosed) – Questionable.

Penguins
Pascal Dupuis, RW (blood clot) - Has been diagnosed with a blood clot in his lung and will be out for at least six months.
Marcel Goc, C (foot) – Injury not expected to be serious.
Beau Bennett, LW (lower body) - Will miss two weeks with a lower body injury suffered against the Bruins on Monday.

Sharks
Raffi Torres, LW (knee) - Hopes to begin skating in the next week or so.
Troy Grosenick, G (undisclosed) – Questionable.

Blues
Jay Bouwmeester, D (lower body) - Has been ruled out for the Blues' games Friday and Saturday.
Brian Elliott, G, (knee) - Was moved to injured reserve Wednesday.

Capitals
Mike Green, D (upper body) - Won't make the trip to Toronto. A possibility for next week.

Hot

Patrick Kane, LW, CHI – It's showtime in Chicago. Kane has been red-hot lately, tallying six goals and 13 points in his last seven games. The second line of Kane, Kris Versteeg, and Brad Richards can't be stopped right now, combining for 10 goals and 26 points in the team's last six games. Five of Kane's last six outings have been multi-point efforts, as the 26-year-old now has 10 goals and 23 points in 23 games on the season. Kane has never reached 35 goals in his career and has only hit 80 points once. With the way he is playing right now, 35 goals and 80 points aren't out of the question. He's such a stud.

Evgeni Malkin, C, Pit – Although he was held pointless Friday against Carolina, Malkin has been on an absolute tear as of late. Geno has three goals and 11 points in his last seven games, putting him at 28 points on the season. The 28-year-old sits fourth in league scoring and is leading the NHL with seven power-play markers. He is currently on pace for 40 goals and over 100 points, a feat he has already accomplished twice in his NHL career. If he manages to stay healthy, there is no reason Malkin can't keep producing at this torrid pace. He is one of the league's elite, and it's shown in these past few games.

Cold

Troy Brouwer, RW, WSH – It's been tough times for Brouwer fantasy owners, as the power forward has just one assist in his last seven games. Considering he is playing on the second line and top power-play unit, there really isn't much of an excuse for his lack of production. While he still has 11 points (five goals) in 22 games, the 29-year-old will need to turn it around if he hopes to hit the 20-goal mark for the third time in his career. Brouwer is known for being inconsistent, so we wouldn't worry too much. His scoring streaks may be sporadic, but in the end, he should arrive at 20 goals and around 40 points.

Cody Hodgson, C, BUF – With Matt Moulson starting to pick up his play, it's time to check in on Hodgson and see if he has started producing. The answer is still no, as Hodgson has now gone 14 straight games without a point. With only a goal and an assist on the season (23 games), it's somewhat shocking Hodgson is still owned in almost 10 percent of ESPN fantasy leagues. He's been dropped to the third line and has seen reduced power-play time, making another 20-goal season seem highly unlikely. Until he earns his way back into Buffalo's top-six, the former first-line center should be avoided right now.

Recommended Pickup

Jiri Hudler, C, CGY – Hudler has scored in three straight games, totaling 10 goals and 20 points in 23 games on the season. Almost a point-per-game player owned in only half of ESPN fantasy leagues? This can't be right. Hudler has five points in his last three games and has only been held off the scoresheet five times in his last 16 games. Playing on the second line and top power-play unit, Hudler could very well reach 30 goals and 60-70 points this season. The 30-year-old is becoming a very dependable fantasy option and has fit in nicely with Calgary since joining the organization in 2012-2013.


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
Brady Trettenero
Brady is a passionate hockey fan and sports writer with over five years experience specializing in digital media, plus a degree in Broadcast Journalism. He's been writing for RotoWire since 2013.
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