The Classic and Sidney Crosby
That was quite a Winter Classic on Thursday as it was played under perfect conditions in Washington. The temperature was 45 and sunny and the ice was in perfect shape.
While it’s nice seeing snow fall during the game, the only obstacle was the sun in the first period and the NHL was smart enough to change ends at the 10 minute mark of the first to keep things even.
The game was well played and in doubt until the last 12 seconds when Troy Brouwer scored a power play goal to beat his former Chicago teammates.
Braden Holtby was sensational again as he stopped 33 shots in the 3-2 win.
Don’t forget, for everything NHL, check out Rotoworld's Player News, and follow @Rotoworld_ HK and@mfinewaxhockey on Twitter.
Now to The Week Ahead.
WEEK OF JANUARY 5-11
4 Games- Chicago, Minnesota, San Jose, Winnipeg
3 Games –Arizona, Boston, Buffalo, Calgary, Carolina, Colorado, Columbus, Dallas, Detroit, Edmonton, Florida, Nashville, New Jersey, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Ottawa, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Vancouver, Washington
2 Games – Anaheim, Los Angeles, Montreal, Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay, Toronto
Buffalo, Detroit, Florida, the New York Islanders, the New York Rangers, Ottawa, San Jose and Winnipeg play three games on the road.
Arizona, Edmonton, Minnesota, Philadelphia and Vancouver play three games at home.
Don't forget to join a Yahoo Hockey pool. It’s not too late.
INJURIES
Evander Kane suffered a lower body injury and is out until at least February. (Click here to see the rest of the injury list.)
Note: A tired team is one that has played the day or night before and is going against a team that did not play the previous day or night. The reverse is true for a rested team.
ANAHEIM
Games this week
vs. New York Rangers, vs. Winnipeg
Rested Team: vs. Winnipeg (Sunday)
Tired Team: None
Notes
The Ducks only play twice this week. Corey Perry returned to action on Wednesday after missing 10 games with a knee injury. Get him back in your lineup quickly. Patrick Maroon got most of the work on the first line with Ryan Getzlaf and Perry on Wednesday so he may be worth claiming. The Ducks put Dany Heatley on waivers and he passed through without any claims so Anaheim sent him to the minors. His NHL career could be over. He was slated to start on the first line this season with Getzlaf and Perry but a pre-season injury halted that and he never got untracked. The Ducks first power play is Perry, Getzlaf, Maroon, Ryan Kesler and Sami Vatanen.
ARIZONA
Games this week
vs. St. Louis, vs. Winnipeg, vs. Ottawa
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
Devan Dubnyk has taken over the net for the Coyotes, starting in seven of the last eight games, but giving up six goals on 31 shots Wednesday in Dallas could give Mike Smith another shot between the pipes. The big news in Arizona is that the NHL approved the purchase of 51 percent of the team by Andrew Barroway. Oliver Ekman-Larsson has nine goals and 17 points this season but the defenseman tied a franchise record as he has scored three overtime goals this season. Antoine Vermette’s name keeps popping up in trade rumors as he is slated to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. Sam Gagner finally had a breakout week and was named the NHL’s third star of the week with two goals and six points in three games.
BOSTON
Games this week
@ Pittsburgh, vs. New Jersey, @ Philadelphia
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: vs. New Jersey (Thursday)
Notes
The Bruins play three games in four nights so expect to see Niklas Svedberg in goal once for Tuukka Rask. After missing Monday’s games, Milan Lucic and Patrice Bergeron returned on Wednesday to play the Maple Leafs. David Krejci returned to action seven games ago and has a couple of goals and an assist in his last four games. Loui Eriksson is worth looking at in pools as he finally is starting to get hot. He had only 37 points in 61 games after coming over from Dallas in the Tyler Seguin trade and got off to another slow start this season but has five goals and 10 points in his last nine games. He is owned in only 60 percent of Yahoo pools.
BUFFALO
Games this week
@ New Jersey, @ Carolina, @ Tampa Bay
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: @ Tampa Bay (Friday)
Notes
The Sabres play three games in four nights so look for Michal Neuvirth to play once in place of Jhonas Enroth. They are on the road for all three games. Rasmus Ristolainen is a minus-eight in his last seven games but the defenseman does have two goals and an assist in that time frame. Sam Reinhart has been a stud for Team Canada at the World Juniors and that has to please the Sabres who took him with the second overall pick in the 2014 Draft. Tyler Myers is close to returning from a lower body injury and could be back as soon as January 2.
CALGARY
Games this week
vs. Detroit, vs. Florida, @ Vancouver
Rested Team: vs. Detroit (Wednesday), vs. Florida (Friday)
Tired Team: @ Vancouver (Saturday)
Notes
The Flames play three games in four nights so look for Karri Ramo and Jonas Hiller to play one game each with coach Bob Hartley deciding who will play the third. Johnny Gaudreau has been outstanding this season with 12 goals and 30 points in 38 games but the rookie played college hockey last season and do not be surprised if he hits the proverbial wall in late January or February. College hockey players tend to play a 35-40 game schedule and the tough grind of an 82 game NHL schedule takes its toll on youngsters. Mikael Backlund has not played since October 28 and subsequently underwent abdominal surgery, but he is close to returning as he has been given the green light to participate in full contact practices.
CAROLINA
Games this week
@ Nashville, vs. Buffalo, @ St. Louis
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
Well, Jordan Staal returned from a fractured fibula on Monday but was forced to miss Wednesday’s game with a lower body injury. No word on whether or not the injury was related to the broken leg. Elias Lindholm has the prime spot on the Staal brothers' line when everyone is healthy. The just turned 20-year-old was selected fifth overall in the 2013 Draft and has a lot of upside. He has eight goals and 16 points in 37 games this season but look for a lot more if he sticks on the top line. His future is bright. Eric Staal has taken over the points lead on the Hurricanes as he has 21 points, one better than blueliner Justin Faulk.
CHICAGO
Games this week
vs. Colorado, @ Minnesota, @ Edmonton, vs. Minnesota
Rested Team: vs. Minnesota (Sunday)
Tired Team: @ Edmonton (Friday)
Notes
The Blackhawks play four times this week, including three games in four nights so look for Antti Raanta to play at least once for Corey Crawford. The Blackhawks play the Wild twice this week so if there are fisticuffs, expect to see Andrew Shaw, Daniel Carcillo or even Kris Versteeg (if healthy) get involved. Duncan Keith has four assists in his last two games. When Andrew Shaw scored on Monday, it was his first point in 11 games and first goal in 14 contests. Kris Versteeg suffered a lower body injury during the Winter Classic and if he is unable to go, then Patrick Sharp will move up to the second line.
COLORADO
Games this week
@ Chicago, vs. Ottawa, vs. Dallas
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
Nathan MacKinnon has only one goal in his last 19 games and he will play on Friday alongside John Mitchell and Maxime Talbot on the third line as the first two lines will consist of Matt Duchene, Gabriel Landeskog and Daniel Briere as well as Ryan O'Reilly, Alex Tanguay and Jarome Iginla. More times than not, a very good first year player will slump in his sophomore season and MacKinnon is no exception as he has only six goals and 22 points in 37 games with a minus-10 rating, after a 24 goal, 63 point performance with a plus-20 rating in 2013-14. Duchene is also slumping with only one goal in his last 10 games. It’s no wonder the Avs are near the bottom of the standings as Gabriel Landeskog has not found the back of the net in 12 games.
COLUMBUS
Games this week
@ Dallas, @ Toronto, vs. New York Islanders
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
After just a horrible start in which Columbus dropped to the bottom of the NHL standings at 6-15-2, the Blue Jackets have been hot of late and they are now 16-16-3 after going 10-1-1 in their last 12. Brandon Dubinsky has six assists in nine games this season but has four helpers in his last two games, including a plus-five rating. Grab him off the waiver wire, if you can. The Blue Jackets took their best player this season, Nick Foligno, off the free agent market by signing him to a six-year/$33 million deal. He has 17 goals (nine on the power play) and 32 points in 34 games. Sergei Bobrovsky is 14-9-2 this season and 9-1-1 since the start of December.
DALLAS
Games this week
vs. Columbus, @ Nashville, @ Colorado
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
Brett Ritchie scored in his first NHL game on Wednesday. He was a second round pick in 2011 and had 36 goals and 70 points in 95 AHL games with the Texas Stars. Kari Lehtonen has a great record at 16-8-5 but his peripherals are weak as he has a 2.86 GAA and a .908 save percentage. Antoine Roussel continues to be a fantasy asset as he has eight goals and 18 points in 36 games with 80 penalty minutes. He has been playing on the power play as well with three assists after not getting much pp time in 2013-14. Tyler Seguin has 25 goals to lead the NHL and his 44 points is second best.
DETROIT
Games this week
@ Edmonton, @ Calgary, @ Washington
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: @ Calgary (Wednesday)
Notes
The Red Wings are on the road for all three games this week. Detroit first round pick Dylan Larkin leads the World Junior Tournament with five goals after the round robin portion of the tournament. Detroit has a tough road ahead as 17 of their first 23 games in 2015 are on the road. Jakub Kindl suffered an elbow injury and it allowed the Red Wings to recall Xavier Ouellet. The Kindl injury also moved Danny DeKeyser up on the power play grid as he will quarterback the second unit. Jimmy Howard has been having an excellent campaign as he is 15-6-7 with a 2.08 GAA and a .921 save percentage. If only the Red Wings could do better in overtime and the shootout as they have lost nine times after regulation play.
EDMONTON
Games this week
vs. Detroit, vs. Chicago, vs. Florida
Rested Team: vs. Chicago (Friday)
Tired Team: None
Notes
Keith Aulie was suspended for two games for an illegal check to the head of Matt Stajan on New Year’s Eve. There was speculation that the Oilers were going to send Leon Draisaitl back to the Western Hockey League but he played on Wednesday against Calgary and set up a couple of goals giving him nine points in 37 NHL games. Nail Yakupov snapped a 10 game pointless drought with an assist against the Flames. The former first overall pick in 2012 has been a huge disappointment for poolies and Oilers fans and if there was a re-draft of the 2012 class at this time, he may not be picked in the first round. The Oilers picked up Derek Roy to play center in a trade for Mark Arcobello.
FLORIDA
Games this week
@ Vancouver, @ Calgary, @ Edmonton
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: @ Calgary (Friday)
Notes
The Panthers have three games in four nights and all are in Western Canada so look for Al Montoya to play once with Roberto Luongo getting the other two appearances between the pipes. Nick Bjugstad is having a very nice season with 13 goals and 21 points in 35 games and he cashed in on his success this week when he was inked to a six-year/$24.6 million deal. Tomas Fleischmann has dropped to the fourth line with Scottie Upshall and Derek MacKenzie. Luongo continues to give the Panthers some outstanding netminding as he is 14-7-7 this season with a 2.31 GAA and a .923 save percentage. I cannot say that I saw that coming.
LOS ANGELES
Games this week
vs. New York Rangers, vs. Winnipeg
Rested Team: vs. New York Rangers (Thursday)
Tired Team: None
Notes
The Stanley Cup champs play only twice this week as does the other Los Angeles based team, but all four games are home games. Drew Doughty has played 30 or more minutes 18 times this season and hopefully that will not affect his performance down the stretch and into the playoffs. I thought that Martin Jones would see a lot more action this season, especially with the off-season surgery for Jonathan Quick, but thus far Jones has seen action in only eight games with Quick playing in 32. Dustin Brown seems to be done as an effective fantasy player in traditional pools as he has six goals and 12 points in 39 games with a minus-nine rating and only 10 penalty minutes.
MINNESOTA
Games this week
vs. San Jose, vs. Chicago, vs. Nashville, @ Chicago
Rested Team: vs. San Jose (Tuesday)
Tired Team: @ Chicago (Sunday)
Notes
Minnesota plays three games in four nights as part of a four game week so expect to see Niklas Backstrom play at least once for Darcy Kuemper. Backstrom returned this past week from an illness and Minnesota sent John Curry back to the minors. The Wild play the Blackhawks twice this week and tempers should flare. If they do, look for Marco Scandella to increase his penalty minute totals. Scandella has been a big surprise offensively as he has four goals in his last seven games. The defenseman has nine goals and 42 penalty minutes this season and has been a huge fantasy asset for his owners. Zach Parise is putting up points like he did in 2008-09 and 2009-10 as he has 14 goals and 29 points in 30 games.
MONTREAL
Games this week
vs. Tampa Bay, vs. Pittsburgh
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
Les Canadiens play only twice this week as they return home after the Bell Centre was one of the two homes for the World Junior Championships. Manny Malhotra was a healthy scratch on Tuesday and that was a bit surprising as he is the best faceoff man in the NHL, winning at a 62.4 percent clip. Carey Price is having a strong season with a 20-9-1 mark to go with a 2.19 GAA and a .928 save percentage. Dustin Tokarski has given the Habs a nice backup to price as he is 4-2-1 with a 2.23 GAA and a .924 save percentage. After a nice start to the season, Tomas Plekanec has only 10 goals and 23 points. He had five goals and nine points in his first eight games but only five goals and 14 points in his last 28 games.
NASHVILLE
Games this week
vs. Carolina, vs. Dallas, @ Minnesota
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
Pekka Rinne has been absolutely outstanding this season with a 24-6-2 record to go with a 1.88 GAA and a .934 save percentage. He is the reason the Predators are fourth in the overall NHL standings. Nashville traded Derek Roy to the Oilers after Roy passed through waivers and was sent to the minors. They received center Mark Arcobello in return. James Neal has only 13 goals and 23 points in 35 games but has four goals and eight points in his last 10 games. He is a plus-14 with 37 penalty minutes but you likely wanted more scoring when you selected him in pools. Colin Wilson was the second star of the week with four goals and five points in three games.
NEW JERSEY
Games this week
vs. Buffalo, @ Boston, vs. New York Islanders
Rested Team: @ Boston (Thursday)
Tired Team: vs. New York Islanders (Friday)
Notes
The Devils will likely give Keith Kinkaid play at least once this week as New Jersey plays three games in four nights with Cory Schneider getting the start in the other two games. Joe Whitney scored his first NHL goal on Wednesday. Stephen Gionta was placed on the injured reserve list with a broken hand suffered on Monday. Look for Adam Henrique to move back to center with Steve Bernier and Tuomo Ruutu on his wings. Jaromir Jagr, who turns 43 in just over six weeks, continues to amaze as he has six goals and 21 points in 38 games this season. He has 711 goals and 1,776 points in his career and had he not spent three seasons in the KHL, he would be approaching the 2,000 point mark.
NEW YORK ISLANDERS
Games this week
@ Vancouver, @ New Jersey, @ Columbus
Rested Team:@ New Jersey (Friday)
Tired Team: None
Notes
The Islanders are nearing the end of a seven game road trip as they will finish against the Rangers on January 13. Anders Lee is heating up as he has four goals in his last six contests after picking up only five in his first 25 games. Michael Grabner is due to return from a lower body injury that has kept him out of action the last seven games but with the Islanders 6-1-1 in their last eight, he could be a healthy scratch as coach Jack Capuano may want to keep a winning lineup intact. Ryan Strome has his first four point night of his career on New Year’s Eve. He has 27 points which tied him with Brock Nelson for third place in Islander scoring behind only John Tavares and Kyle Okposo who each have 32 points.
NEW YORK RANGERS
Games this week
@ Anaheim, @ Los Angeles, @ San Jose
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: @ Los Angeles (Thursday)
Notes
The Rangers are in California for all three games this week and play them in four nights so Cameron Talbot should get one start in place of Henrik Lundqvist. Lundqvist has won eight of his last nine starts and is a top-five fantasy goaltender once again. Kevin Klein leads all Rangers defensemen with seven goals and is only one point behind Ryan McDonagh with 12 points, although to be fair to McDonagh, he has played in only 24 games. Rick Nash has 23 goals and 36 points in 35 games but even more impressive is his plus-16 rating. Derek Stepan has a trio of three point games this season and has 25 points in 23 games.
OTTAWA
Games this week
@ Philadelphia, @ Colorado, @ Arizona
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
Mike Hoffman is having a good season with 11 goals and 18 points with a plus-15 rating and the Senators want to sign the potential restricted free agent to a deal in the near future. Hoffman played alongside Bobby Ryan and Mika Zibanejad with Kyle Turris centering Clarke MacArthur and Mark Stone on Monday. Mark Borowiecki, who leads the Senators in hits and blocked shots, suffered a freak accident before Monday’s game as he suffered a deep laceration to his left leg that required 48 stitches. It happened in the pregame warm up playing soccer. Bobby Ryan had a hat trick on Monday, raising his goal production this season to 10.
PHILADELPHIA
Games this week
vs. Ottawa, vs. Washington, vs. Boston
Rested Team: vs. Washington (Thursday)
Tired Team: None
Notes
The Flyers play all three games at home this week after playing all four on the road the previous week. Nick Schultz wants to sign a long term deal with the Flyers as he has been averaging over 19 minutes of ice time per game. Jakub Voracek continues to lead the NHL in scoring with 47 points. Kimmo Timonen has not played this season due to blood clots but will have his first CT scan since the diagnosis in the summer in mid-January. Here’s hoping that he can return to the NHL. Sean Couturier has 12 points in his last 14 games and has nine goals and 20 points this season. R.J. Umberger has only five goals and nine points in 37 games this season but the player the Flyers received in the Scott Hartnell trade to Columbus, does have three goals in his last six games.
PITTSBURGH
Games this week
vs. Boston, @ Montreal
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
What is happening to Sidney Crosby? Well coming down with the mumps certainly does not help but he has only two goals and three assists in 12 games since November 29 and he also missed three contests with the mumps. He has gone from leading the NHL in scoring to tied for 10th overall with Steve Stamkos and Nicklas Backstrom, nine points behind the leader, Jakub Voracek. Beau Bennett finally returned from the mumps and a knee injury on New Year’s Eve and promptly picked up two assists. He can score when healthy but the problem lies with him being healthy. Steve Downie, the NHL’s penalty minute leader, could return from the mumps as early as January 2.
ST. LOUIS
Games this week
@ Arizona, vs. San Jose, vs. Carolina
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
Good news on the Jaden Schwartz front as he practiced on Thursday for the first time since suffering a foot injury on December 16. Brian Elliott returned to action but the Blues have decided to go with three goalies for now and Martin Brodeur will see some action. The odd man out could be Jake Allen but the Blues do want to make sure that Elliott doesn’t have a setback and remains healthy before making a move with Brodeur. T.J. Oshie has been a big disappointment for his fantasy owners with only six goals and 15 points in 29 games. He is now playing with Alexander Steen and David Backes during five-on-five situations and is seeing second unit action on the power play with Paul Stastny.
SAN JOSE
Games this week
@ Winnipeg, @ Minnesota, @ St. Louis, vs. New York Rangers
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: @ Minnesota (Tuesday)
Notes
As part of a four game week, the Sharks play three games in four nights so look for Alex Stalock to play at least once for Antti Niemi. Stalock was expected to play more this season but injuries have caused him to see action in only nine games. He is 4-4-1 this season with a 2.23 GAA and a .920 save percentage. Look for Stalock to see more action in the second half of the season. Joe Thornton suffered an undisclosed injury on Wednesday and while he won’t be out for long according to coach Todd McLellan, he could miss a game or two. Brent Burns is having an outstanding season on the point as he has 10 goals and 28 points including three goals and 12 points with the man-advantage.
TAMPA BAY
Games this week
@ Montreal, vs. Buffalo
Rested team: vs. Buffalo (Friday)
Tired Team: None
Notes
The Lightning only play twice this week. Jason Garrison is expected to return to the lineup on January 2 after missing the previous four games with an undisclosed injury. Ben Bishop was scratched on Wednesday so the Lightning recalled Andrei Vasilevskiy from the minors but returned Vasilevskiy as Bishop is expected to return to action on Friday. Vasilevskiy is 3-1 this season while Bishop has been hurt, with a 1.76 GAA and a .937 save percentage but he could be stuck in the minors while Bishop continues to shine. The line of Nikita Kucherov, Tyler Johnson and Ondrej Palat continues to be the Lightning’s top unit despite the fact that Steve Stamkos in on the squad as Johnson leads the team in points with 40 while Kucherov has 37 and Palat 27. The trio is a combined plus-74 while Stamkos has 38 points but is a minus-one.
TORONTO
Games this week
vs. Washington, vs. Columbus
Rested team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
The Maple Leafs return home after a long road trip to accommodate the World Junior Championships. The same will happen again in two years' time. Leo Komarov played on Wednesday for the first time since November 29 when he suffered a concussion and scored, his fourth goal in his past four games dating back to November 22. Phil Kessel picked up his 500th career point on Wednesday and it happened in Boston, against the team that originally drafted him. Joffrey Lupul is out yet again, this time with a lower body injury suffered on Wednesday. Jonathan Bernier returned to the net on Wednesday after missing a couple of games with the flu.
VANCOUVER
Games this week
vs. New York Islanders, vs. Florida, vs. Calgary
Rested Team: vs. Calgary (Saturday)
Tired Team: None
Notes
Ryan Miller is starting to play better of late as he has moved his save percentage from .900 to .911 while lowering his GAA to 2.52. The Canucks netminder is 19-8-1 this season. Jannik Hansen was fined $5,000 for his hit on Tommy Wingels. Bo Horvat is seeing time on the third line with Alex Burrows and Derek Dorsett. Dorsett has 82 penalty minutes which is second best in the NHL while chipping in with four goals and 12 points. Kevin Bieksa is having a weak offensive season with only three goals and six points but does have 52 penalty minutes. Alexander Edler has rebounded from an NHL worst minus-39 in 2013-14 and is plus-five this season.
WASHINGTON
Games this week
@ Toronto, @ Philadelphia, vs. Detroit
Rested team: None
Tired Team: @ Philadelphia (Thursday)
Notes
Justin Peters has not started a game since November 29 as coach Barry Trotz has been going with Braden Holtby, but with the Capitals playing three games in four nights, it could be the chance to give Holtby a rest for one game this week. Holtby is 14-4-4 in his last 22 starts and has dropped his GAA to 2.27 while raising his save percentage to .920. Boy, does Eric Fehr love playing outdoors. He has three goals in two Winter Classics. Alex Ovechkin has four points in his last two games and four goals in his last six. Nicklas Backstrom has 38 points in 37 games but could be heading for a career high in penalty minutes as he already has 30. He had 50 in 2009-10.
WINNIPEG
Games this week
vs. San Jose, @ Arizona, @ Los Angeles, @ Anaheim
Rested team: None
Tired Team: @ Anaheim (Sunday)
Notes
The Jets play four times this week including three games in four nights so look for Michael Hutchinson and Ondrej Pavelec to split the net. Evander Kane suffered a lower body injury on December 27 and will be out of action until February at the earliest. Chris Thorburn has grabbed his spot on the third line with Adam Lowry and Matt Halischuk while Lowry has taken over Kane’s spot on the second power play. Andrew Ladd leads the Jets with 29 points, one ahead of Blake Wheeler. Mathieu Perreault had an eight game scoring streak end on December 27 but has points in his last two games to give him nine goals and 19 points in 37 games. He had only two goals and six points in his first 24 contests.
