The big injury news from Monday is that Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov is having surgery and will out for the remainder of the season, according to Chip Alexander. He has six wins in eight starts with an .899 save percentage.

For us in the fantasy realm, this is a massive bit of news. Carolina is one of the top teams in the league but with their three-goalie rotation, they were very unreliable for netminders (or at least volume from their netminders). This leaves Brandon Bussi and Frederik Andersen as the starters, in that order as Bussi has eight starts since American Thanksgiving to Andersen's two. Given Bussi's strong play this season, it's hard to argue, and for the time being, he can knock on the door of being a top-10 fantasy goalie.

I do wonder if the Hurricanes don't go find another goalie before the Trade Deadline. Andersen is having an awful year and if his play doesn't improve between now and the Olympic break, it's hard to imagine a team with Stanley Cup aspirations leaving him as the sole alternative should anything happen with Bussi, whether injury or performance. But that is a bridge to cross in the future, and it's now officially Bussi Szn.

The Hurricanes hosted the New York Rangers on Monday night and a key piece of news there was Vladislav Gavrikov getting some top PP time. It may not be for long as Adam Fox appears to be nearing his return, but it did lead to a Gavrikov PP goal on Monday night, so don't be sad that it's over, smile that it happened.

Jackson Blake played the hero in that game, scoring with 12 seconds left in overtime to lift the 'Canes to a 3-2 win. It was Carolina's second PP goal of the game, as Sebastian Aho scored in the first period, marking the second time they've scored at least two PP goals in the last four games, totaling seven PP goals in their last seven games. Their power play coming alive would be a nice development for fantasy managers.

Jordan Martinook had the other Carolina goal, and Nikolaj Ehlers assisted on both PP goals, adding a pair of shots. Bussi managed the win, stopping 18 of 20 shots.

Jonny Brodzinski had the other Rangers goal and Igor Shesterkin took the loss, giving up three goals on 36 shots.

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Columbus has finally traded winger Yegor Chinakhov, as he was sent to Pittsburgh for Danton Heinen, a second-round pick, and a third-round pick. Chinakhov looked to be on the ascent over the prior couple seasons before an injury in late 2024 seems to have derailed his entire Blue Jackets tenure. He now gets a chance to establish himself as a top-6 winger in Pittsburgh.

For now, fantasy managers should be cautious. There is still Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell kicking around, they seem to like Justin Brazeau, Anthony Mantha is having a solid season, and Rutger McGroarty was called up not long ago. But if Pittsburgh can't get back to its winning ways, there are likely to be a few players moved by the Trade Deadline, and then Chinakhov will really have his chance to shine. Do not be surprised if he has a modest third-line/second PP role for the next two months before getting a bigger role over the final six weeks.

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The St. Louis Blues announced that Pius Suter out a month with a right ankle injury. If anything, this should ensure that Dalibor Dvorsky falls no lower than the third line for the time being, so that's good news for any fantasy managers worried about his role as he had been skating under 14 minutes a game over his last five games.

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Good news for Pittsburgh as Evgeni Malkin (and Filip Hallander) were on the ice together before Pittsburgh's practice on Monday, per Shelley Anderson. Malkin's return is not imminent or anything, but it doesn't look as if there are any setbacks yet.

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A late third-period goal from Aaron Ekblad broke a 3-3 tie and gave the Florida Panthers a 4-3 lead at home to Washington before Sam Reinhart sealed the game with an empty-netter. Ekblad finished the game with a pair of shots, a pair of blocks, and a hit in a nice multi-cat effort. That is just his second goal of the season and his ninth goal in 143 games across three years after scoring double-digit goals in three straight seasons.

Anton Lundell and Brad Marchand finished with a goal and an assist, the latter having a power-play point, while Reinhart had two tallies and a helper. Lundell now has 21 points in his last 25 games.

Sergei Bobrovsky earned the win, stopping 22 of the 25 shots directed at his net.

Tom Wilson scored twice (one PP) and Dylan Strome scored once, while Wilson had a helper on the Strome goal and Strome assisted both Wilson goals. Wilson is now one goal shy of a 20-goal campaign and that was just his 38^th game of the year.

Logan Thompson took the loss in net, allowing four goals on 28 shots.

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Damon Severson had a goal and an assist while Boone Jenner, Kirill Marchenko, and Denton Mateychuk all scored as the Blue Jackets took a 4-1 win in Ottawa. That makes six points in four games for Severson, who had six points in his prior 28 games before that. Hockey!

Mason Marchment assisted the Marchenko goal and he now has points in four straight since joining the Blue Jackets, totaling three goals and two assists in that span.

Jet Greaves got the start in goal for Columbus for the second night in a row, and stopped 27 of 28 shots for his 11^th win. He now sits with a .909 save percentage and a .916 career save percentage in 79 starts (83 appearances).

Jake Sanderson scored the lone Ottawa goal as netminder Leevi Merilainen allowed four pucks to get past him out of 22 faced in the loss.

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Goals from Max Jones, Jack Roslovic, and Zach Hyman (PP) was enough for Edmonton to skate out of Winnipeg with a 3-1 win. Calvin Pickard had a tremendous game in net for the Oilers, stopping 41 of 42 shots thrown his way. The Oilers are now 10-4-1 in their last 15 games. It was a much-needed performance from Pickard, who has allowed at least four goals in 9 of 14 appearances (11 starts) this season.

Adam Lowry had the only Winnipeg marker of the night as Connor Hellebuyck took the loss by allowing two goals on 20 shots.

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The Buffalo Sabres have now won nine straight games thanks to a 4-2 win in St. Louis last night. Noah Ostlund, Alex Tuch, Zach Benson, and Peyton Krebs were the goal scorers for Buffalo. Benson finished the game with five shots, now has four goals in his last eight games and seven points in his last 10 outings. Hopefully his season is turning around after a slow start.

Rasmus Dahlin was back in the lineup for the Sabres and managed five shots in 23:40 of ice time while goaltender Alex Lyon stopped 16 of the 18 shots he faced for his 10^th win. He has given up just 15 goals in his seven starts in December.

Brayden Schenn and Jimmy Snuggerud scored the goals for St. Louis. Defenceman Justin Faulk had a nice multi-cat night with four shots, a block, two PIMs, and a hit.

Joel Hofer was in net for the loss, giving up three goals on 33 shots.

If we were going by points percentage, the Sabres would be in a playoff spot as of today. It feels kind of surreal, honestly.

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Nathan MacKinnon and Brock Nelson each managed a goal and an assist as the Colorado Avalanche eased their way to a 5-2 win over Los Angeles. Going back to Thanksgiving, Nelson has 9 goals, 7 assists, 36 shots, 16 blocks, and 7 hits in 14 games. That is a pretty good run from him.

Cale Makar, Martin Necas, and Jack Drury also socred. Goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood held Los Angeles to two goals on 25 shots.

Corey Perry and Joel Armia scored the Kings' goals as Anton Forsberg allowed four goals on 25 shots for the loss. Since November 1^st, the Kings have been scoring 2.4 goals per game and are 23^rd in the league by points%.

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A pair of goals from Steven Stamkos in the final 10 minutes of play, one of them coming on the power play, lifted Nashville from a potential 3-2 loss to a 4-3 win in Utah on Monday night. Stamkos also assisted on an earlier goal from Roman Josi and added a pair of blocks. He now has 13 goals and 20 points in his last 16 games. What a run from him.

Luke Evangelista also scored, added a PP assist, and totaled three shots in the win. He is on pace for 60 points and needs one more assist to tie his total from last year (22) and three more to set a career-best.

Juuse Saros faced 31 shots but allowed just three goals for his 15^th win. He has a .912 save percentage and eight wins in the month of December.

Dylan Guenther scored, assisted on a JJ Peterka power-play goal, and managed three shots in the win. He is now on pace for 35 goals and 31 assists, and 271 shots and doesn't turn 23 years old until the spring. He has cemented himself as a fantasy star now.

With Karel Vejmelka injured, Vitek Vanecek got the start and gave up four goals on 26 shots.

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Connor Zary was moved onto Jonathan Huberdeau's line, with Matt Coronato moved to the third line, and Zary came through for Calgary with an overtime power-play goal to lift the Flames to a 2-1 win. It was kind of a Boston own-goal, but Zary gets credit, and they don't ask how.

Blake Coleman had the other Flames goal, managing four total shots and four hits. Coleman is on pace for 25 goals with 2.3 shots and 2.5 hits per game. It has been a great rebound multi-cat year from him.

Dustin Wolf allowed just the one goal on 25 pucks directed towards him.

Andrew Peeke scored Boston's tally as goaltender Jeremy Swayman was charged with two goals against on 20 shots for the loss.

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Tomas Hertl was ejected from Vegas' home matchup against Minnesota on Monday after hitting Ryan Hartman from behind. Hartman left the game for 10 minutes for some repairs but did return and finish the contest.

Minnesota's second line, meanwhile, had a huge game as the Wild beat the Golden Knights 5-2. Marcus Johansson had a goal and three assists with three shots as both Matt Boldy and Joel Eriksson Ek posted a goal and an assist. Johansson now has 32 points in 38 games, two fewer than he had in 72 games last year, and two more than he had in 78 games the year prior. Hockey!

Jared Spurgeon had a great multi-cat night with a goal, an assist, and six blocks while Brock Faber also scored. Netminder Filip Gustavsson faced just 16 shots, and allowed just two goals, for the win.

Mark Stone and Brayden McNabb scored the Wild tallies and Carter Hart was pulled after giving up five goals on 12 shots.

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San Jose built up a 4-1 lead in Anaheim on Monday night and hung on for a 5-4 win. Macklin Celebrini posted a goal and two assists while Igor Chernyshov, William Eklund, Zack Ostapchuk, and Mario Ferraro all scored. Celebrini now has 60 points, the third player to reach that mark this season after Connor McDavid (69) and Nathan MacKinnon (66).

Yaroslav Askarov was busy but held on for the win, stopping 38 of 42 shots sent his way.

Troy Terry posted a goal, two assists, three shots, a block, and two PIMs in the loss. Cutter Gauthier managed a goal and an assist with nine shots, a block, and a hit, and Pavel Mintyukov scored the fourth goal, totaling three shots, and two blocks.

Lukas Dostal was pulled after giving up four goals on nine shots. The Ducks only allowed 13 shots total, and their goalies gave up five goals.

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Vancouver held on for a 3-2 shootout win in Seattle on Monday night. Linus Karlsson and Elias Pettersson both scored as Kevin Lankinen stopped 37 of the 39 shots he faced for the win. Jared McCann (PP) and Ryan Winterton were the goalscorers for Seattle as Joey Daccord gave up two goals on 24 shots.