This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
Around the Rink
Deploying Blake Comeau as a top-six forward is bad enough, but using Comeau on the Sidney Crosby line and Nick Spaling on the Evgeni Malkin line is just too much mediocrity for one good Penguins team to handle. Pens coach Mike Johnston said after Saturday's 4-1 loss to the Islanders that the team may consider line changes. Whether they come Monday or at a later date, Comeau and Spaling are challenging Johnston's philosophy of two-player pairings.
In recent weeks, the Penguins coach has kept Crosby with Chris Kunitz, Malkin with Patric Hornqvist and Brandon Sutter with Beau Bennett. Pittsburgh's dynamics have changed due to Pascal Dupuis' unfortunate season-ending blood clot, however.
Johnston has prioritized his team having four lines which he can roll against any opponent's line and at any time in the game. Sound thinking. Afterall, that's what it will take to win in the playoffs and that is his ultimate mandate. However, the Penguins don't have enough quality depth at the forward position.
As a result, he might have to load up on the top two lines and figure out the rest as he goes along – until and unless GM Jim Rutherford trades some of Pittsburgh's defense (Paul Martin) and/or prospects (Scott Harrington, Brian Dumoulin).
What does this all mean?
Crosby has one goal in his last 13 games. He needs Hornqvist back. Malkin has shown better chemistry with Hornqvist lately, however. Malkin lost his linemate, James Neal, over the summer and Horny was expected to replace Neal's spot next to the Russian.
Here's what could happen.
Hornqvist could be reunited with Crosby and Kunitz. Bennett and Sutter could be reunited with Malkin. Marcel Goc would take over as Pittsburgh's third line center, with Comeau and Spaling filling in.
What's surprising is that Johnston has gone out of his way to keep Bennett and Sutter together as one of his two-man pairings more that making sure Crosby and Malkin are both happy.
That's got to change.
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With 79 penalty minutes, Steve Downie leads the NHL by 23 PIM -- or one game's worth of a game misconduct, two fighting majors, a roughing minor and one PIM thrown in for good luck. Coach Johnston commented after Saturday's game that the staff discussed Downie's penchant for taking penalties during the last week. Assistant coach Rick Tocchet has worked with Downie as a big-brother type, hoping to reign in the bad penalties. It hasn't worked lately. Look for the Pens to find a way to reduce his impact in tight games. Whether he sits out as a healthy scratch or simply sits in the third period, who knows.
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Jason Spezza's deal in Dallas isn't going to end well. $30 million for four years? Maybe when he averaged 1.27 points his first three NHL years (269 points in 211 games) but not for his last three full seasons, when he's averaged 0.97 points (155 pts in 160 gms). Granted, injuries have slowed him and now he's 31 -- exact reasons why the extension won't work. Full disclosure: I protected him in a keeper league, but more because my team doesn't have quality and I liked the Dallas depth, where I thought he could put up 60-plus points. Fellow Rotowire writer, Noel Baldwin, shares his take on Spezza here.
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Projected Goalie Starters (all times Eastern)
For updates on the projected goalies later in the day, check our Projected Goalies Grid
Pittsburgh Penguins (Marc-Andre Fleury) at Boston Bruins (Tuukka Rask), 7:00 PM
Philadelphia Flyers (Steve Mason) at New York Islanders (Jaroslav Halak), 7:00 PM
Ottawa Senators (Craig Anderson) at Detroit Red Wings (Jimmy Howard), 7:30 PM
Minnesota Wild (Darcy Kuemper) at Florida Panthers (Roberto Luongo), 7:30 PM
Injury News For Teams Playing Monday
Pittsburgh Penguins
Pascal Dupuis, RW - Dupuis (blood clot) was placed on injured reserve Friday, Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. (11/21/2014)
Boston Bruins
Chris Kelly, RW - Bruins coach Claude Julien said after Saturday's loss to Montreal that he is not sure how long Kelly (undisclosed) will be out of the lineup, CSNNE.com reports. (11/22/2014)
David Krejci, C - Krejci (undisclosed) will not play Saturday against the Canadiens, Fluto Shinzawa of the Boston Globe reports. (11/22/2014)
Adam McQuaid, D - McQuaid (thumb) was placed on injured reserve Thursday. (11/21/2014)
Brad Marchand, LW - Marchand (undisclosed) was placed on injured reserve Saturday. (11/22/2014)
David Warsofsky, D - Warsofsky (groin) was transferred to injured reserve Monday. (11/10/2014)
Zdeno Chara, D - Chara (left knee) acknowledged Tuesday that a timetable for his return to action has yet to be established, the Bruins' official site reports. "There is not a timeline right now. I wish I could tell you guys exactly when I'm going to return," Chara noted. "But at this point, it's really such a slow process, that who knows when the day is going to be." (11/5/2014)
Marc Savard, C - The Bruins are expected to place Savard (concussion) on Long-Term Injured Reserve, Fluto Shinzawa of the Boston Globe reports. (7/6/2013)
Philadelphia Flyers
Ryan White, RW - General manager Ron Hextall said White (chest) is now likely to return in late December or early January "at the latest," Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. (11/12/2014)
Chris Pronger, D - Pronger (concussion) has accepted a position to work in the NHL's Department of Player Safety, TSN's Bob McKenzie reports. (10/9/2014)
Kimmo Timonen, D - Timonen (blood clots) confirmed Thursday that the chances of him playing this season are "really slim," Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. (9/18/2014)
Chris VandeVelde, C - VandeVelde (lower body) is unlikely to suit up for the Flyers' match with the Blue Jackets on Saturday. (11/21/2014)
Samuel Morin, D - Morin (jaw) will return to play for his junior team Nov. 22, Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. (11/15/2014)
Michael Raffl, LW - Raffl (lower body) was placed on injured reserve Friday. (11/21/2014)
Shayne Gotisbehere, D - Gotisbehere tore his left ACL in an AHL game Friday and will miss several months, reports CSNPhilly.com. Surgery is scheduled for Thursday. (11/8/2014)
Shayne Gostisbehere, D - Gostisbehere will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL. (11/8/2014)
New York Islanders
Eric Boulton, LW - Boulton (undisclosed) was placed on injured reserve Thursday, according to the NHL's official media site. (11/13/2014)
Matt Carkner, D - Carkner (back) is expected to miss the rest of the season, Arthur Staple of Newsday reports. (11/1/2014)
Michael Grabner, RW - Grabner (sports hernia) is now looking unlikely to play before Thanksgiving, Arthur Staple of Newsday reports. (11/22/2014)
Ottawa Senators
Brad Mills, C - Mills has been suspended 20 games for violating the AHL's performance-enhancing substances policy, Tom Gulitti of The Record reports. (10/28/2014)
Curtis Lazar, C - Lazar (undisclosed) will not play Saturday against the Blues, Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun reports. (11/22/2014)
Marc Methot, D - Methot (back) was able to resume skating with his teammates Tuesday morning, Wayne Scanlan of the Ottawa Citizen reports. (11/11/2014)
Chris Phillips, D - Phillips (undisclosed) will not play Saturday against the Blues, Brent Wallace of TSN reports. (11/22/2014)
Detroit Red Wings
Pavel Datsyuk, C - Datsyuk (groin) has been ruled out from playing Saturday against the Maple Leafs, Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News reports. (11/21/2014)
Brendan Smith, D - Smith (hand) was placed on injured reserve Wednesday with a hand infection. (11/19/2014)
Jonas Gustavsson, G - Gustavsson is expected to miss about two months with a dislocated shoulder, Ansar Khan of MLive.com reports. (11/7/2014)
Minnesota Wild
Jonas Brodin, D - Brodin (illness) won't travel with the team to Philadelphia on Thursday, Andy Greder of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports. (11/19/2014)
Gustav Olofsson, D - Olofsson will miss up to four months following shoulder surgery, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. (10/26/2014)
Matt Cooke, LW - Cooke (hip flexor) hopes to begin skating next week, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. (11/21/2014)
Florida Panthers
Scottie Upshall, LW - Upshall (lower body) was on the ice for Saturday's morning skate, Craig Davis of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports. (11/22/2014)
Sean Bergenheim, LW - Bergenheim (lower body) will remain out of the lineup Tuesday against the Kings, Harvey Fialkov of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports. (11/18/2014)
Dave Bolland, C - Bolland (groin) joined the team for Saturday's morning skate, Craig Davis of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports. (11/22/2014)
Brandon Pirri, C - Pirri (concussion) participated in the Panthers' morning skate and could be a lineup option for Saturday's match with the Predators, Craig Davis of the South Florida Sun Sentinel reports. (11/22/2014)
Hot
Danny DeKeyser: The Detroit defenseman has an assist in three of his last four games. Not only that, but the helpers have all come on the man advantage. Three power-play assists in four games is fantasy gold.
Jamie Benn: The winger snapped out of a two-assist, nine-game funk in Week 7, scoring three goals and three assists in three contests. Benn potted just his second power-play goal (and PP point) of the season Saturday. It doesn't feel like it, but he's on pace for numbers similar to 2013-14, when he compiled 79 points in 81 tilts. If he could only be more consistent …
Cold
Sidney Crosby: He lost Patric Hornqvist a couple weeks ago, with whom he'd showed great chemistry. The Pens switched Horny to Malkin's line in an attempt to boost the second line's 5-on-5 play. Crosby was then reunited with Pascal Dupuis, who played with Kunitz and Crosby for several years. Dupuis missed all three Week 7 games following a lung blood-clot diagnosis. With just two points in his last six games, look for Hornqvist to replace current linemate Blake Comeau, as soon as Monday. Crosby's recent slump has done little more than proven that the reigning Art Ross winner is human.
David Backes, Paul Stastny, T.J. Oshie: Backes and Stastny scored goals Sunday, so perhaps the fantasy torture that is the St. Louis veteran trio may be awakening. In a combined 47 games between the three players making a total of $15,675,000 in 2014-15, the vets have scored 19 points (10G,9A) in 47 games. At some point the fog will lift. These guys are too good.
Ales Hemsky: Hemsky's totaled five points (all assists) in 20 games thus far for Dallas. Last year, he scored four goals and 17 points in Ottawa's final 20 contests. That said, offensive enigma has tallied three assists in his last two games. Fantasy owners who have stuck with him this long might as well see if the recent production has traction.
Jacob Trouba: The Winnipeg defenseman has four points (2G,2A) in 21 games – good for one less point than fellow blueliner Mark Stuart. For a trendy preseason pickup, Trouba has disappointed. As a rookie, he scored 10 goals and 29 points in 65 contests. The 2012 first-round draft choice collected just two points the first two months of his rookie campaign, so perhaps there's still some hope for Trouba in single-season leagues. He remains a good choice for keeper leagues.
Recommended Pickup
John Klingberg: The Stars defender has two goals and six points in his last four games. He saw 6:39 TOI on the power play against Los Angeles on Saturday, another indicator Dallas believes he's for real. The 22-year-old right-handed shooter totaled 28 points in 50 games for Frolunda HC, Sweden in 2013-14, finishing with seven points more than the Blue Jackets' Alexander Wennberg (2012 draft, 14th overall pick) in seven fewer games.
