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Here is a look at the Squad Up daily NHL fantasy picture for Thursday, Dec. 22 (all advanced stats courtesy of Corsica.Hockey and applied to 5v5 situations):

Triple Threat

• LW Matt Moulson (38K), C Jack Eichel (55K), RW Kyle Okposo (57K), Sabres (vs. Hurricanes): The Sabres have finally rewarded Moulson for his excellent performance on the power play this season, as he moves up to join Eichel and Okposo on the top line. The three have played over 38 minutes together at 5v5, sporting an expected goals for per 60 minutes rate of 3.11.

• C Anze Kopitar (60K), RW Marian Gaborik (28K), D Drew Doughty (44K), Kings (at Predators): With Kopitar and C Trevor Lewis listed at the same position, sub in Doughty instead, who joins the forward unit at 5v5 and on the power play. The forward trio has an xGF60 of 4.92, while allowing their opponents a rate of 1.41.

• C Brayden Schenn (44K), RW Wayne Simmonds (55K), D Shayne Gostisbehere (44K), Flyers (at Devils): The Flyers are on the road but the second line of Schenn, Simmonds and C Travis Konecny have the advantage against the Devils' second line of C Adam Henrique, RW Kyle Palmieri and LW Miles Wood. Their line has a Corsi For rating just 43.21 percent.

Goalie Breakdown

• TARGET - Frederik Andersen (79K), Maple Leafs (at Avalanche): Andersen is very cheap against the team with the lowest expected goals for per 60 minutes. The Avalanche are expected to score just 1.82 goals per 60 minutes of 5v5 play. Andersen's save percentage is nearly identical on the road and at home.

• BARGAIN - Anthony Stolarz (75K), Flyers (at Devils): Stolarz has made just two starts this season, but he should relieve starter Steve Mason on the second half of a back-to-back. If so, he'll draw a favorable matchup, as the Devils rank 28th in xGF60. He made 28 saves in a shutout of the Detroit Red Wings in his most recent start.

• FADE - Semyon Varlamov (113K), Avalanche (vs. Maple Leafs): While the Maple Leafs are much better at home than on the road, they are still too dangerous offensively for Varlamov to be the priciest goalie of the day. He has stopped 82 of 85 shots faced in his past two games, but had allowed 10 goals in his previous two starts.

• CONTRARIAN - Sergei Bobrovsky (111K), Blue Jackets (vs. Penguins): Bobrovsky won't get the respect he deserves in a difficult matchup against the Penguins. He has allowed more than two goals in just one of his past nine starts, twice making more than 30 saves. He hasn't faced Pittsburgh yet this season. He has proven to be well worth the risk regardless of matchup.

Bargain Plays

• C Trevor Lewis (25K), Kings (at Predators): Lewis has gone point-less in four consecutive games, but he tallied four shots on goal in his most recent game. He also played a December-high of 18:06. He can be paired with Gaborik instead of Kopitar at significantly less risk.

• LW Philip Danault (25K), Canadiens (vs. Wild): The Canadiens have a very tough matchup against opposing Wild G Devan Dubnyk. Danault offers exposure to upside wingers Max Pacioretty and Alexander Radulov at a fraction of the salary and risk. He has one goal and three assists in his past six games.

• D Ben Hutton (25K), Canucks (vs. Jets): Hutton is on the top pairing at 5v5, and he's on the second power play. The Jets have been shorthanded the second-most times this season, and their 76.0 penalty-kill percentage ranks 28th. He has only eight points in 33 games this season, but half of those point have come with the man advantage.

Top Fades

• D Shea Weber (54K), Canadiens (vs. Wild): Weber doesn't have a point in all of December, and he's unlikely to find the offensive half of his game against Dubnyk. His salary is still reflective of his hot start to the season, not his current level of play.

• C Aleksander Barkov (63K), Panthers (vs. Bruins): Barkov had a three-point game last time out, but he has been held to three shots on goal or fewer in four straight games, scoring two goals on 10 total shots. He has faced a run of poor goaltending against the Jets, Avalanche, and Sabres, but he'll have a much tougher time against Bruins G Tuukka Rask.

• LW Zach Parise (53K), Wild (at Canadiens): Parise has two assists in his past three games, but he totaled just five shots on goal and his ice time has dropped significantly from earlier in the month. No Wild forward is safe against Canadiens G Carey Price, but owners should be targeting cheaper options, if anyone.

Contrarian Options

• RW Blake Wheeler (55K), Jets (at Canucks): Wheeler was dropped to the second line, but it hasn't slowed his production with goals in each of his past two games. He also notched a season-high six shots on goal last game. His ice time has dropped slightly, but he should be able to avoid the Canucks' top line while on the ice.

• C Travis Konecny (32K), Flyers (at Devils): With Konecny listed at the same position as Schenn, he was left out of the Flyers stack. The end game is to gain exposure to Simmonds, which Konecny accomplishes at a lower cost.

• D Dion Phaneuf (31K), Senators (vs. Ducks): Phaneuf has two power-play goals and an assist in his past four games, while adding another assist at 5v5. He is reaping the rewards of finally working with Erik Karlsson on the top unit. The Ducks' penalty kill ranks just 19th in the league.

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Don't expect a lot of goals at the Bell Centre on Thursday night.

The Minnesota Wild roll into La Belle Province to take on the Montreal Canadiens, a game headlined by those between the pipes.

Devan Dubnyk and Carey Price will square off for the first time this season, both in the midst of stellar campaigns.

Price holds a slightly better record, while Dubnyk ranks atop the NHL in the other three categories.

Dubnyk and the Wild come in on an eight-game winning streak, while the Habs own the best home record in the league at 15-2-2.

The two All-Star goaltenders will only play each other twice this season, but expect them to battle for the Vezina Trophy all year long.

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The United States has left two high-skill, potential impact forwards off its World Junior Championship roster.

Alex DeBrincat and Logan Brown were announced as cuts Thursday morning as Bob Motzko and the U.S. staff trimmed the roster down to 24 skaters ahead of its final pretournament clash.

DeBrincat, a second-round selection of the Chicago Blackhawks, made the team last year, but was sparingly used after being ejected from the tournament opener and picking up a shoulder injury. He's been one of the most productive forwards in the Ontario Hockey League this season, and throughout his career. With 30 goals and 60 points in 28 games, DeBrincat is on pace to cruise beyond the 100-point threshold for a third consecutive season.

A lottery selection of the Ottawa Senators last summer, Brown was dealing with a wrist injury leading up to the selection camp. The towering center has been a dominant player when healthy, and was expected to be a key forward for the United States.

The Americans are set up front with 13 forwards. They must make one more decision on defense.

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It took a a bit longer than many hoped, but Connor McDavid has nearly played a full season in the NHL.

The Edmonton Oilers captain was held pointless in Wednesday's win in Arizona, but 80 games into his career, McDavid has recorded 88 points, something only the NHL's biggest names can relate to.

Over the last 20 years, only three players have matched McDavid's output through their first 80 contests: Alexander Ovechkin (105), Sidney Crosby (100), and Evgeni Malkin (88), according to Sportscenter.

That's some pretty good company.

McDavid, 19, currently leads the NHL in scoring with 40 points (12 goals, 28 assists) through 35 games.

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It wasn't as if the Edmonton Oilers finally mustered up the courage to take down the vaunted Arizona Coyotes in regulation for the first time in 26 attempts. But they didn't put an end to the dubious skid with the speed, flash, and dash that we've come to expect.

They bullied their way to two points Wednesday night.

The fourth line scored twice, and its pivot, Mark Letestu, helped create a third on a power play, before the unit made a statement late in the game when a minor melee broke out in protection of the lead.

Zack Kassian responded to Oliver Ekman-Larsson walloping Matt Hendricks into the boards with a sharp cross-check to the back, then turned with his gloves flung off, as if to invite all comers. Letestu was off trading punches with the much bigger Martin Hanzal.

Related: Kassian viciously cross-checks Ekman-Larsson

It's the response not seen nearly enough over the last few seasons. Swift and impulsive, and at the same time deliberate.

"We want to be a team that doesn't get pushed around," Hendricks said after the game, according to Sportsnet's Chris Johnston.

Succinctly put, that's precisely what Peter Chiarelli and management is trying to accomplish with the personnel around Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and the club's other skilled forwards. The acquisition of all three pieces on the fourth line, along with top-nine muscle in Milan Lucic and Patrick Maroon, were made with the intention of creating time and space.

But it sure is an added benefit when they can step in and win a game on a night when the stars are muted - especially when it wipes away an irritating narrative.

"Every year is a new group, but we've won now and we don't have to come and answer all your questions," said coach Todd McLellan.

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Call it intuition. Call it whatever you want. But Claude Giroux knows.

The Philadelphia Flyers captain was asked after his club's 3-2 shootout win over rival Washington whether there's one thing he looks for that tells him goaltender Steve Mason is on his game.

"He stops the puck," Giroux said, according to The Fourth Period's David Strehle. "That could be one (thing)."

It's brilliant, really, when you think about it.

Mason did a whole lot of puck stopping Wednesday, making 36 saves in 65 minutes of play, then allowing only one Capitals player to score on four shootout attempts.

Mason's now 9-1-1 in his last 11 games with a 2.12 goals-against average and a .932 save percentage, and he's 6-0-1 at home during the stretch.

Yeah, he's stopping the puck, alright.

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Things got heated between the Arizona Coyotes and Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday night.

Late in what was eventually a 3-2 Oilers win, their first against Arizona in years, Oliver Ekman-Larsson hit Matt Hendricks hard into the boards as the two chased down a puck deep in the Coyotes' zone.

Earlier in the game, Hendricks sent Coyotes defenseman Jakob Chychrun to the dressing room with a hit, so you could say he had a target on his back.

After Hendricks hit the ice, Zack Kassian came in and delivered a brutal cross-check to Ekman-Larsson's back, sending the Swede to the ice. Kassian knew he'd have to answer for his stick work, and immediately dropped the gloves.

Anthony Duclair, hardly a fighter, came to his defender's aid, and Kassian knocked him twice in the face. Finally, an irate Shane Doan went after Kassian, eventually taking the big Oilers forward down to the ice.

Meanwhile, Martin Hanzal and Mark Letestu fought.

"Two teams that are competing pretty hard," Letestu said after the game. "Sometimes things boil over."

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Miracles are known to happen this time of year. Ask the Oilers.

For the first time in years, Edmonton beat Arizona. It was a 3-2 final Wednesday, and ended a ridiculous 21-0-4 run by the Coyotes between the two teams.

There was bad blood, too. A lot of it, actually.

Jakob Chychrun, Arizona's 18-year-old wonder on defense, was the recipient of two hard hits, one from Matt Hendricks that sent him to the dressing room in the first period, and another from Eric Gryba, whose night ended early after he was given a major for a hit to the head.

Luke Schenn fought Gryba after the Oilers' D-man leveled Chychrun, and Schenn needed repairs after he suffered a cut above his left eye.

Late in the third period, after Oliver Ekman-Larsson hit Hendricks into the boards, Zack Kassian gave the Coyotes defender a wicked cross-check, leading to a massive scrum.

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