Craig Anderson back with Senators after latest personal leave

Ottawa Senators goaltender Craig Anderson will be back between the pipes for Monday's game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, head coach Guy Boucher confirmed.

Anderson had left the team to be with wife Nicholle, who began another round of treatment for throat cancer on Nov. 30.

Despite several leaves of absence, Anderson has played exceptionally well this season, posting a record of 12-5-1 with a .930 save percentage.

Mike Condon has been strong in relief, going 3-1-1 with two shutouts and a save percentage of .942.

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Maple Leafs place Enroth on waivers

The Toronto Maple Leafs appear to be in search of a new backup goalie.

Jhonas Enroth has been placed on waivers, and head coach Mike Babcock cited poor performance as the impetus for the decision.

Enroth appeared in six games and made four starts for the Maple Leafs, posting a record of 0-3-1 with a save percentage of .872. He signed a one-year, $750,000 deal with the club in the offseason.

There's no word yet on who will serve as Frederik Andersen's backup for Wednesday's game against Minnesota. Karri Ramo has been practicing with the team, while Antoine Bibeau has been carrying the load at the AHL level.

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Mason, Tarasenko, Jones claim NHL’s 3 stars of the week

Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Steve Mason, St. Louis Blues forward Vladimir Tarasenko, and San Jose Sharks netminder Martin Jones were named the NHL's three stars of the week Monday.

Mason earned first star by winning all four games with a 1.71 GAA and a .945 save percentage.

Tarasenko was named second star after scoring four times and collecting five points in three contests.

Jones picked up the third star for going 3-0-0 with a 1.01 GAA and a save percentage of .962.

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The Noise: Flyers take 5, familiar Hurricane resurfacing

theScore's new series, "The Noise," is published every Monday. It kicks off each week with a quick look at three teams or players making headlines, good or bad.

Philadelphia Flyers

The hottest team in the NHL resides in the City of Brotherly Love.

Philadelphia is riding a five-game win streak following back-to-back victories over the Chicago Blackhawks and Nashville Predators over the weekend.

How have they done it?

The Flyers are filling the net at a rate eclipsed by only three other teams - scoring 3.11 goals per game - but they've also allowed the fourth-most at 3.07 per contest.

Only the Columbus Blue Jackets have a more efficient power play, but Philadelphia's penalty kill is ranked in the bottom-third of the NHL.

The Flyers also have suspect goaltending, beginning with the always inconsistent Steve Mason and ending with promising, but largely unproven, rookie Anthony Stolarz. He's filling in for the injured Michal Neuvirth, who struggled mightily before suffering an apparent sprained knee last month.

All these issues make it hard to believe Philadelphia's run is sustainable, but for now, the Flyers are clearly doing something right.

Anaheim Ducks

The Ducks' visit to Alberta did not go well.

Anaheim was embarrassed in Calgary on Sunday night, surrendering five goals in six minutes during an 8-3 rout at the hands of the Flames.

Jonathan Bernier allowed all eight goals and looked like a goaltender who hadn't played in over a week.

The destruction came on the second night of a back-to-back for the Ducks, who also lost to the Edmonton Oilers in overtime Saturday night.

Despite the losses, the Ducks currently find themselves in playoff position, but they're lucky the Pacific Division is the worst in the NHL.

Anaheim has a couple of days to ponder what went wrong in Calgary, before hosting Carolina on Wednesday.

Cam Ward

Speaking of the Hurricanes, it's been an up-and-down season for Carolina - but its veteran netminder is pulling his weight.

The Hurricanes are 10-10-5 through 25 games, and while Ward is only 8-7-4, his peripheral statistics provide a better indication of his early impact.

Nearly one-third of the way through the season, he's putting up numbers - a 2.09 GAA and .924 save percentage, to be exact - that would be career highs, if he can sustain them into the spring.

Ward made 30 saves in a shutout victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday, snapping a personal four-game losing streak in which he allowed only eight goals.

Not bad for a 32-year-old in his 12th NHL campaign.

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Squad Up Daily NHL Fantasy Dose: Blue Jackets will annihilate Coyotes

Follow theScore's fantasy feed on Twitter (@theScoreFantasy) for the latest news, features and more. And download Squad Up, theScore's free-to-win-money sports game.

Here is a look at the Squad Up daily NHL fantasy picture for Monday, December 5 (all advanced stats courtesy of Corsica.Hockey):

Triple Threat

  • C Alexander Wennberg (46K), LW Brandon Saad (68K), D Zach Werenski (32K), Blue Jackets (vs. Coyotes): The Blue Jackets will take on a Coyotes team with the highest xGA60 (expected goals against per 60 minutes) at 5v5. Columbus managed only two goals when these two clubs met on Saturday, but they fired 60 shots on goal. It's unlikely G Mike Smith bails out his team again.
  • C Evgeni Malkin (65K), RW Phil Kessel (51K), D Kris Letang (45K), Penguins (vs. Senators): Sens D Marc Methot is not a household name, but his current injury forces Dion Phaneuf to slide up to the top pairing with Erik Karlsson. Playing on the second line, Malkin and Kessel will see plenty of Ottawa's bottom-four D, who all have major flaws.
  • C Patrice Bergeron (57K), LW Brad Marchand (72K), RW David Pastrnak (64K), Bruins (vs. Panthers): Boston's top line ranks fourth in the NHL with a 63.6 CF% (Corsi For percentage) at 5v5. They should be able to muster up a couple of goals considering Florida is just 5-7-2 on the road this season.

Bargain Plays

  • RW Josh Anderson (25K), Blue Jackets (vs. Coyotes): Anderson is sixth in the NHL in iSCF60 (individual scoring chances for per 60 minutes) at 5v5. The problem is he is averaging only 12 minutes of ice time this season. However, in his last five games he is averaging 14:34 of playing time. More scoring chances should follow.
  • D Zach Werenski (32K), Blue Jackets (vs. Coyotes): Werenski has gone point-less in four straight, but he should not be this inexpensive given he has 16 points from the back end and is very much in the conversation for the Calder Trophy.
  • LW Ryan Dzingel (25K), Senators (at Penguins): Dzingel continues to skate on Ottawa's top line with Kyle Turris and J.G. Pageau. His floor is very low, so consider him only in tournament lineups.

Top Fades

  • G Mike Smith (93K), Coyotes (at Blue Jackets): Smith faced 60 shots in his last outing and managed to stop 58 of them. It is very unlikely he stands on his head once again.
  • C Evgeny Kuznetsov (54K), Capitals (vs. Sabres): Kuznetsov is having a slow start to the season with just nine points in 23 games. He might be a nice buy-low candidate in season-long leagues, but he is not worth spending up for on Squad Up.
  • LW Jussi Jokinen (36K), Panthers (at Bruins): Even though Jokinen doesn't cost all that much, better options can be found at his salary. He has gone point-less in seven straight games and Boston has the NHL's lowest xGA60 at 5v5.

Contrarian Options

  • G Craig Anderson (100K), Senators (at Penguins): Anderson hasn't played since Nov. 29. He took a leave of absence to attend his wife who has cancer. Anderson's spectacular play despite the circumstances has been one of the stories of the year. Playing with a heavy heart, he has been fantastic all season. It wouldn't be shocking if he stole this game all by himself.
  • C Jack Eichel (44K), Sabres (at Capitals): Eichel has three goals on 11 shots in three games since returning from injury. He is faced with a tough matchup in Washington, but his individual talent compared to his low salary warrants the risk.
  • D Torey Krug (48K), Bruins (vs. Panthers): Krug has a shooting percentage of just 1.6 over his last 106 games. This is odd considering he scored 26 goals in the two season prior to this extended slump. He logs plenty of minutes and plays an offensive-minded game. Maybe Monday will be the night he snaps out of his goal-scoring funk.

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5 players who need to start producing

Slow starts to the season are one thing, but prolonged lack of production can affect a team's chances of success.

Here are five players that need to start producing ... and quick:

Evgeny Kuznetsov

The Washington Capitals waited almost four years for Evgeny Kuznetsov to make his NHL debut after drafting him 26th overall in 2010, and their patience was rewarded with a 20-goal, 77-point performance in 2015-16 - his second full season.

Unfortunately, that breakout hasn't carried over, and with only three goals and six assists through 23 games, Kuznetsov is on pace for 11 goals and 32 points, meaning a 45-point drop off from last season.

It's not due to a lack of opportunity, as Kuznetsov is seeing basically the same amount of ice time among Washington's top-six forwards.

Kuznetsov's lack of production is certainly one reason why the Capitals have fallen from first place in the league standings to the second-wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.

Patrice Bergeron

The NHL's prototypical two-way center scored a career-high 32 goals last season, but through 22 games, Patrice Bergeron is on pace for less than half of that total.

Bergeron has recorded four goals and three assists for the Boston Bruins, and while he plays on one of the league's best trios in terms of possession, it's linemates David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand who are putting up the numbers.

Related: 5 of the NHL's most dominant lines

The Bruins rank fifth in the NHL with 55 goals allowed, but 23rd in goals for.

A boost from Bergeron would go a long way towards lifting the latter, as well as securing the team's first playoff spot in three years.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins

While Connor McDavid is proving to be worth every ounce of hype that followed him throughout his junior career and into the pro ranks, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins hasn't quite lived up to expectations for the Edmonton Oilers.

"There is no doubt that (Nugent-Hopkins) is one of those players that needs to pick his socks up and give us better performances," head coach Todd McLellan recently said.

Nugent-Hopkins ranks sixth on the Oilers with four goals and eight assists, and is on pace to fall 20 points shy of his career high 56, which he has hit in two separate seasons.

Andrew Ladd

After allowing Kyle Okposo and Frans Nielsen to depart as unrestricted free agents this past summer, general manager Garth Snow attempted to fill the void by signing Andrew Ladd to a seven-year, $38.5-million contract.

To say he's not living up to that commitment would be a massive understatement. In 24 games with the Islanders, Ladd has scored two goals, and has chipped in three helpers.

For his career, Ladd is averaging 49 points for every 82 games played, but is currently on pace for 17.

It's no wonder the Islanders have fallen to the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings.

Anthony Duclair

The Arizona Coyotes are trying to build something special around a group of talented young players, with Anthony Duclair seemingly an integral part of that group.

The last-place club, however, is suffering from Duclair's sophomore slump.

The 21-year-old scored 20 goals last season, but has managed to net one in 23 games to date, with three assists to his credit. Altogether, he's on pace for a grand total of four goals and 14 points.

Some sort of regression was expected, considering Duclair's 20 goals were scored on 105 shots, but this near disappearance has to be troubling for the Coyotes, who would reportedly be willing to part ways with the winger if the price is right.

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Carlyle: Gibson unable to relieve Bernier vs. Flames due to diarrhea

Extenuating circumstances prevented John Gibson from trotting onto the ice in relief of Jonathan Bernier during a lopsided 8-3 loss to the Calgary Flames on Sunday.

"We had to leave Bernier in the net because Gibson had diarrhea and had the flu all day," Anaheim Ducks head coach Randy Carlyle candidly admitted after the game, per Kristen Odland of Postmedia.

Had Gibson been available, Bernier would have been yanked at the 12:55 mark of the second period.

Perhaps this will make Bernier's .680 save percentage on the night a bit easier to stomach.

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McDavid ‘shocked’ he was pulled from game by concussion spotter

Connor McDavid wasn't pleased about missing part of Sunday's overtime loss to the Minnesota Wild.

After the Edmonton Oilers center tripped over a stick and banged his face on the ice, he was pulled from the contest after the designated concussion spotter deemed it necessary to put him through the head injury assessment test.

Related: McDavid goes through concussion protocol after smacking face off ice

"I was pretty shocked, to be honest," he told reporters after the game. "I hit my mouth on the ice. You reach up and grab your mouth when you get hit in the mouth. It's a pretty normal thing. Obviously the spotter thought he knew how I was feeling and pulled me off.

"Sh--ty time of the game too, I guess, where it's little bit a partial five-on-three and going into a power play after late in the second period where if you capitalize it could change the game."

He added that the concussion spotter was simply doing his job looking out for the players' well-being according to league guidelines. The test took about 20 minutes, and McDavid, still clearly frustrated with the night's events, said the it was "a bit of a process and inconvenient."

He was able to return in the third period and was denied a great chance to give his team the lead late in regulation, finishing the game with four shots in 20:38 of ice time.

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