This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
The final holiday of the holiday season hit Monday: the NHL's Winter Classic, an outdoor game that this time around took place in St. Louis between two of the Central Division's top teams, the Blues and Blackhawks. Tied through the first 52-plus minutes, this tilt took a sudden break the home team's way with two goals by the Blues' Vladimir Tarasenko within 1:53 of one another.
That was nothing new: The 25-year-old Russian's killed Chicago throughout his career, scoring on Blackhawks goalies 12 times through 19 games. Of course, few teams in the league have been spared Tarasenko's wrath. He exploded for 70-plus points in each of the past two seasons, but 2010's No. 16 pick has hit another level this year. With 41 points (18 goals, 23 assists) on his line through 38 contests, Tarasenko is enjoying the best scoring clip of his career, which has him only two points back on NHL points leaders Evgeni Malkin and Connor McDavid (43 each).
Speaking of Tarasenko's fellow countryman Malkin, he's in the midst of one of the best campaigns of his own career. Yes, we've seen him score at a faster pace before – most recently 2013-14, when he averaged 1.2 points per game. However, Malkin only played in 60 games that season, part of a four-year streak of failing to stay healthy enough to hit even the 70-game mark. Last year, he played in just 57 contests; he hasn't hit 80 since 2008-09, his third NHL campaign. Now 30 years old and in the midst of such an injury-marred career, Malkin's surprisingly suited up for all 38 of Pittsburgh's games this year, surprisingly serving as the only Penguins star who hasn't been hit by the injury bug; Kris Letang and Sidney Crosby have already spent time on the sidelines, of course.
The question, then, is how we value the players at the pinnacle of the NHL today. It seems clear that Crosby has not surrendered the title of The Best Hockey Player, Period. I'm not going to be the one who doesn't put McDavid in second place. Then it gets messy. You've got Tarasenko, Malkin, Patrick Kane, the Tyler Seguin/Jamie Benn combo, and two new contenders. Artemi Panarin has outscored Kane and emerged from his shadow; Nikita Kucherov has missed some time to injury, but is scoring at a nearly identical pace to Malkin/McDavid. And then you've got blueliners Erik Karlsson and Brent Burns (and, hey, Victor Hedman too) putting up forward-esque scoring numbers. It's a complicated field to navigate, but here's my 2017-opening top 10 NHL players:
1. Crosby
2. McDavid
3. Tarasenko
4. Malkin
5. Kane
6. Kucherov
7. Burns
8. Panarin
9. Karlsson
10. Seguin
Feel free to chime in with disagreements. There are sure to be many.
Anyhow, we've got a surprisingly thin first Tuesday slate of 2017 – just seven games. Let's jump in.
Featured Matchups
Sabres (PP: 8, PK: 30) at Rangers (PP: 4, PK: 8), 7:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Robin Lehner (8-12-5, 2.51, .921), Henrik Lundqvist (16-8-1, 2.45, .916)
Key Injuries:Tyler Ennis (groin), Josh Gorges (hip), Dmitry Kulikov (back), Johan Larsson (wrist), Ryan O'Reilly (abdomen), Pavel Buchnevich (back), Rick Nash (groin), Mika Zibanejad (leg)
The Sabres hung four goals on Lundqvist to open December, and this season's been an inconsistent slog for The King on the whole. Fortunately for Henrik and the Rangers, though, Buffalo's been terrible at supporting Lehner despite his strong numbers. That league-worst penalty kill is a huge reason why, and that 28th-ranked offense is too. With Lundqvist a bit shaky, look for offense on both sides of this one, which means you're aiming at Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart (who's quietly on a six-game point streak) as well as Rasmus Ristolainen from the Sabres. Meanwhile, with three huge pieces (Nash, Zibanejad, Buchnevich) out with injuries for the Rangers, guys like J.T. Miller (four points in the last two games), Mats Zuccarello (nine assists over a six-game point streak) and Ryan McDonagh (seven points over a four-game streak) have been stepping up. Bold prediction: Zuccarello breaks the 22-game skid in which he's failed to score against a goalie.
Oilers (PP: 7, PK: 12) at Blue Jackets (PP: 1, PK: 18), 7:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Cam Talbot (18-10-6, 2.45, .919), Sergei Bobrovsky (24-5-2, 1.95, .934)
Key Injuries:David Clarkson (back), Darnell Nurse (ankle), Iiro Pakarinen (leg), Tyler Pitlick (knee), Andrej Sekera (illness)
Unsurprisingly, the NHL's top power play is also the NHL's top offense – at 3.46 goals for per game, the Jackets just edge the Penguins for the No. 1 spot. As great as Bobrovsky's been (and he's playing the part of a surefire Vezina runner-up to this point), though, it wouldn't be surprising to see this game feature some of the night's most high-flying offense. The Oilers have plenty of scoring ability of their own thanks to their McDavid-led attack, and they'll be out for revenge after Bobrovsky stopped 33 of 34 en route to beating them back on Dec. 13. Before that game, the Russian netminder's career save mark against Edmonton was under .900, and his magical winning streak (now 13 games) has to end sometime. The Jackets as a team are now pushing up against the NHL record for consecutive wins (17) – they're just two shy. That'll keep 'em motivated. By the way, DFS prices still haven't caught up to the elite production of Cam Atkinson and Nick Foligno.
Maple Leafs (PP: 12, PK: 6) at Capitals (PP: 18, PK: 3), 7:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Frederik Andersen (16-8-6, 2.52, .924), Braden Holtby (16-8-4, 1.98, .929)
Key Injuries:Joffrey Lupul (abdomen), Martin Marincin (lower body), Ben Smith (upper body)
For such a young team, the Leafs have put together a stunningly strong penalty kill, but they're also among the most giving defenses in the league at 32.8 shots allowed per game. They've been riding the strength of Andersen, who's been absolutely en fuego since mid-November. His last four-goal game was Nov. 12; since then, Andersen has gone 10-4-3 with a 1.85 GAA and .942 save percentage over 17 outings, including a Nov. 26 win over the Caps. However, these aren't your October/November Capitals either – since taking that loss in Toronto, Holtby has turned in an outstanding 1.72 GAA and .939 save mark over 12 games. That suggests a goaltending duel may be in the offing even though there's plenty to like about both team's offenses; I'd shy away from using guys like T.J. Oshie who don't give you a solid DFS floor with reliable shot totals.
Other Matchups
Devils (PP: 29, PK: 10) at Hurricanes (PP: 14, PK: 1), 7:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Keith Kinkaid (4-4-2, 2.83, .918), Cam Ward (13-10-6, 2.29, .916)
Key Injuries:Bryan Bickell (illness), Justin Faulk (lower body), Eddie Lack (illness), Elias Lindholm (upper body), Teuvo Teravainen (illness), Vernon Fiddler (lower body), Jacob Josefson (illness), John Moore (concussion),Marc Savard (concussion), Travis Zajac (illness)
Surprisingly enough, Kinkaid has easily outplayed Cory Schneider this year simply by being mediocre. He's also coming off a bewildering two-start stretch, both against Washington: an insane 43-save effort in a shootout win on the road, then a six-goal disaster in the home rematch. Fortunately for Ward, basically all he has to do is stop Taylor Hall; the Devils have been hard-pressed to find any other consistent offensive sources.
Jets (PP: 18, PK: 27) at Lightning (PP: 3, PK: 23), 7:30 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Connor Hellebuyck (13-12-1, 2.71, .909), Andrei Vasilevskiy (10-5-2, 2.48, .918)
Key Injuries:Ben Bishop (lower body), Brian Boyle (lower body), Ryan Callahan (lower body), Cedric Paquette (lower body), Brayden Point (upper body), Steven Stamkos (knee), Marko Dano (lower body), Tyler Myers (lower body)
The Bolts have been a great home team; the Jets have been a rather poor road team. The Lightning score on the power play; the Jets are among the league's worst penalty killers. It all adds up to a plus matchup for Vasilevskiy and a good day to spend on Tampa's highest-octane man-advantage producers: Kucherov, Hedman and Jonathan Drouin.
Canadiens (PP: 11, PK: 19) at Predators (PP: 10, PK: 16), 8:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Carey Price (18-5-4, 2.07, .930), Pekka Rinne (13-10-5, 2.53, .915)
Key Injuries:David Desharnais (knee), Alex Galchenyuk (knee), Andrei Markov (lower body), Greg Pateryn (ankle), Andrew Shaw (concussion), Anthony Bitetto (upper body), Miikka Salomaki (lower body), P.K. Subban (upper body)
Price has allowed 11 goals in his last three starts; perhaps coming back to a workhorse's workload after being limited to just 12 games last year has him a bit winded. Unfortunately, fans of dramatic storylines will only get to see one side of the trade that saw Subban swapped for Shea Weber this offseason; Weber makes his much-anticipated return to Nashville, where he's sure to receive a warm welcome, but Subban is out at least another couple weeks.
Kings (PP: 23, PK: 11) at Sharks (PP: 17, PK: 9), 10:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Peter Budaj (16-10-3, 2.03, .919), Martin Jones (19-12-1, 2.11, .919)
Key Injuries:Jonathan Quick (groin), Tyler Toffoli (lower body), Tomas Hertl (knee), David Schlemko (upper body), Marc-Edouard Vlasic (face)
These two teams are going in opposite directions, with the sinking Kings losing six of their last 10 and the Sharks winning eight of 10, but there's no telling what a matchup between them may bring. Budaj's presided over a win and a loss against San Jose, though he's also impressively allowed two or fewer goals in seven straight outings; Jones has taken two out of three from the Kings, but he was defeated just a few days ago on New Year's Eve. Still, it's hard to fear a Tyler Toffoli-less Kings offense, and it still feels like the other shoe's going to drop for Budaj at some point.
Recommended Pickup
Anthony Mantha, RW, DET – It's felt like a long time coming, but Mantha's finally truly arrived for Wings fans and fantasy owners. He's exploded over the last six games, rolling up five goals, four assists and a plus-8 rating, part of a composite 16 points in 22 games since being called up. If we can complain about anything, it's that he has just two power-play points despite averaging 2:27 of ice time in those situations. But the 22-year-old owns abundant talent and pedigree, and a potential man-advantage breakout just gives him an even higher ceiling. This production has also made his overall ice time rise markedly – Mantha's exceeded 20 minutes in two consecutive games, representing his two highest totals of the year.
