Dose: Pacioretty's Bday Party

My wife is out of town for the weekend (good luck STU moot court team!), so that means various things, including maximum dog walking on my part. Let’s all celebrate a milestone/settle an office pool: Nov. 21, 2014 was the first time I slipped and fell on ice invisible to the naked eye. It probably won’t be the last.

On the bright side, it was as much a stumble as a fall, and only my right shin was left hurting. Well, that and my pride ...

Anyway, so many games that I’ll spare any other winter weather stories (although do note that Friday’s Rangers - Sabres game was postponed).

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MAPLE LEAFS 5, LIGHTNING 2

-- For all the hysteria surrounding Toronto, the Buds are currently 10-8-2. They're right in the "bubble team" mix right now. While that's as much an indictment of the East as it is a pat on the back for Toronto, it's at least worth adding some perspective.

-- David Clarkson's contract carried quite the odor the day it was signed, and it only gets stinkier as heac day goes by. Still, he generates an interesting mix of goals (six), PIM (23), SOG (33) and hits (45). Not saying he's worth adding, but he's worth monitoring in hits leagues.

-- Nikita Kucherov is owned in only 53 percent of yahoo leagues. With seven goals and 18 points (along with a solid 49 SOG and a helpful +10 rating, not to mention eligibility on both wings), he's worth carrying for at least the short term.

PANTHERS 3, SHARKS 2 (SO)

-- Nick Bjugstad started the season awfully slowly, but he's scorching right now. Four of his six goals and seven of his 10 points have come in the last three games. He's starting to get the ice time that reflects his rising status. With his first-round pedigree and the Panthers likely open-minded about going with the hot hand, there are absolutely worse short-term pickups.

-- Dmitry Kulikov generated an assist in his return from a knee injury.

-- It might be tempting to throw Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau under the bus (as is the media's/some fans' reflex), yet such a posture remains dumb as ever. Thornton leads San Jose in scoring with 20 points while Marleau's tied for second with 18.

-- Antti Niemi only has one win in his last six appearances, yet he's shown some serious improvement in the last three games. He's only allowed five goals in three games with sparkling save percentages. It's kind of grim for San Jose right now, but if he can get it together, they can right the ship.

DUCKS 4, CANUCKS 3 (SO)

-- Ryan Kesler was pretty quiet in his emotional game against Vancouver: zero points, -1 rating, two PIM, two SOG and two hits. His numbers aren't spectacular this season, yet I'm still pretty happy with his general versatility.

-- Dan Hamhuis left the game with a lower-body injury while Alexandre Burrows was a late scratch with a UBI.

-- Is Corey Perry clear of his sickness yet? The Ducks' dynamic duo showed signs of being their dominant selves last night. As far as I can tell, Patrick Maroon and Matt Beleskey got the most reps with them as the game of musical chairs continues with their linemate.

(This is about that time that I remain flabbergasted that Dustin Penner didn't get a call from SOME team.)

-- Derek Dorsett is on the borderline of what I think is an important factor in PIM hunting: "Can they play?"

The top three PIM getters so far (Steve Downie, Antoine Roussel and Dustin Byfuglien) are all good-to-great players if you take penalties out of the mix. Also highly ranked at this moment: Dion Phaneuf, Dorsett and Chris Kreider. My theory is that goons won't tower over pests who can play enough to be worth a roster spot, as teams aren't employing guys whose PIM numbers compete with their ice time much these days.

-- Rene Bourque seems like a solid buy-low pickup for Anaheim.

WILD 3, FLYERS 2

-- It's kind of tough to know what to make of Nino Niederreiter, beyond "cool name that's kind of tricky to spell, though less so thanks in part to Scott Niedermayer." He's red-hot right now, with five goals and six points in his last five games. Still, with a 26.5 percent shooting rate, I'd say that's more pleasant news for Minnesota than for fantasy owners.

-- One trend I like seeing from Mark Streit: he's been picking up his shooting. After going three games without a shot, he now has 13 in his last three games, including last night's one-goal, six SOG output.

-- Darcy Kuemper's a good example of why it's tough - but important - to be patient with goalies. He's on a three-game winning streak, although his second win was cheeky (three saves, 10:14 of play). Last night was nice though, as he turned aside 37 of 39 shots.

-- Thomas Vanek's been wildly disappointing, almost as if he realizes that he's set for life financially (as long as he, erm, invests his money more soundly). I generally don't slam guys for struggling, but he did so little with almost six minutes of power-play time last night. Yuck.

CANADIENS 4, BLUES 1

-- Yeesh, Montreal is becoming a Land of Misfit Mascots for broken defensemen. First Sergei Gonchar gets sent over there, now Bryan Allen, who I’m surprised is healthy enough to even be traded.

Gonchar has two assists in his time with Montreal so far, all against the Flyers on Nov. 15. I'm not sure how long it will take Michel Therrien to realize that this is a much older version of the Gonchar who starred for him in Pittsburgh, but every 21-minute game for Gonchar could mean less PP time for guys who can do more with it, like P.K. Subban.

This Habs team is pretty weird, even if they're pretty good.

-- The "Jay Bouwmeester is overrated" train is full of fuel right now: one goal, zero assists in 19 games. I know he's not strictly an offensive defenseman but ... jeez.

-- Paul Stastny has been disappointing so far. Almost wonder if St. Louis would be better off giving him a rest night, as it's always possible that he's not quite healthy.

-- Max Pacioretty celebrated his 26th birthday with two goals last night. So far, he has 117 regular season tallies. How many do you think he'll have by the time he's 30?

RED WINGS 4, JETS 3

-- Could the bounces finally start to go Dustin Byfuglien's way? He only has three goals, yet that 4.5 shooting percentage has to go up. He's still doing the peripheral things to help fantasy teams win, even though many of us daydream about Byfuglien in a happier place (aka not Winnipeg).

-- Tomas Tatar is hot enough that people are going to really rev up the saucy puns. He has four goals and two assists in his last four games.

-- Detroit might as well give Petr Mrazek an extended look.

Jump for the remaining five recaps.

STARS 3, COYOTES 1

-- Sure, it took a month and it came against the depressing Coyotes, but the Stars finally go their second win in Dallas. /throws confetti

-- The best sign might be that Ales Hemsky showed some life with assists on two of the three goals. He didn't even hit 14 minutes of ice time last night, however, so temper expectations (as you should always do with the sadly fragile Czech).

-- We can probably ease off the "what's wrong with Jamie Benn?" questions, at least for a little while. It might take a few more wins to do the same with Kari Lehtonen, though.

-- Mike Smith has been brutal. Dave Tippett can't meander on this one much longer, as Devan Dubnyk seems far more capable at this point. Smith could always bounce back after sitting on the bench for a while, right?

BLACKHAWKS 4, FLAMES 3

-- The SOG numbers are a little stunning, although it appears that the Blackhawks were dominant at even-strength (as usual). I get the impression Chicago hasn't been too lucky at times so far this season; with a solid +16 goal differential and this talented cast of characters, one can't help but expect better things.

-- Is Mark Giordano going to remain a point-per-game player as a defenseman, reaching Erik Karlsson status of rare offensive work? I kind of doubt it, but he may well obliterate his career-high of 47 points (which, remarkably, came in only 64 games last season). Hard to believe this guy went undrafted.

-- Brad Richards is picking it up lately. He has three assists in his last two games and five points in as many contests. I'd expect more bounces for him, too, as he's been fairly willing to shoot.

KINGS 3, HURRICANES 2

-- Slava Voynov received felony charges for domestic violence. It's hard to imagine him playing in 2014-15, and it's hard to imagine it not being really uncomfortable whenever he plays again.

-- The Kings benefited from jumbling up lines, as Trevor Lewis scored while given a spin with Anze Kopitar and Marian Gaborik while Tanner Pearson responded to a fourth-line wakeup call with a goal of his own. Justin Williams lined up with Dustin Brown and Jarret Stoll while Tyler Toffoli remained with Dwight King and Jeff Carter. We'll see how long these combinations hold.

-- It's nice to witness Eric Staal's continued strong play. He has three goals and two assists in his last four games.

-- Jeff Skinner seems to be settling in comfortably, himself. Carolina still has a long way to go, but again, they're not the worst team in the NHL.

-- Jonathan Quick's numbers look splendid: 10-3-4 with a .938 save percentage and two shutouts. He's won three in a row.

CAPITALS 3, AVALANCHE 2

-- Alex Ovechkin broke a three-game pointless streak with a one-goal, one assist game, including the GWG. He's connecting on 10.6 percent of his 85 SOG.

-- Braden Holtby has allowed one or two goals in his last five starts, winning four of them. I think we might be finally seeing glimpses of the value pick we were hoping for, although it's worth noting that he hasn't faced many high-powered offenses lately (aside from Chicago on Nov. 7).

-- Nathan MacKinnon grabbed two assists last night. While his numbers are very disappointing (13 points in 20 games), his 8.3 shooting percentage argues that his luck should improve a bit. It's worth noting that he played better after New Year's in 2013-14, too. Maybe a buy-low trade target?

SENATORS 3, PREDATORS 2

-- Speaking of former Florida Panthers who used to be a big deal, Olli Jokinen finally scored his first goal of the season last night. Honestly, I’m not quite over his ridiculous hair though. He should always line up with Calle Jarnkrok strictly for wild hockey hair symmetry.

-- One remarkable thing about the Predators: they're 10-3-2 against the West so far this season. Only Vancouver has nine wins, but the Canucks are 9-5-1 in that regard. Nashville just needs to get better at beating up on the East (2-2-0).

-- Goaltending hasn't really been an issue for Ottawa, as Craig Anderson seems to be in one of his random "near-elite" years while Robin Lehner's been solid as a No. 2.

-- Bobby Ryan is on a three-game point streak, yet I can't shake the feeling that this is the least interesting scenario for his career. Oh well.

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