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

Goalie Breakdown

• TARGET - Jake Allen (89K), Blues (vs. Hurricanes): Allen struggled through most of December, finishing the month with a .892 save percentage. He rebounded Monday, stopping 22 of the 23 shots he faced from the Chicago Blackhawks. Hurricanes G Cam Ward's road splits give Allen an excellent chance to get the win bonus.

• BARGAIN - Peter Budaj (81K), Kings (vs. Red Wings): The Red Wings have lost two in a row, and their expected goals for per 60 minutes of 2.26 is the seventh-worst in the league. The Kings' defensive system prevents Budaj from having to face a lot of shots, helping him during a stretch of eight games in which he allowed no more than two goals.

• FADE - Andrei Vasilevskiy (100K), Lightning (vs. Predators): Vasilevskiy's the most expensive goalie on the slate, and while he's at home, he's facing a very dangerous offense. He allowed at least three goals in three of his past four home starts, doing away with another significant advantage.

• CONTRARIAN - Corey Crawford (99K), Blackhawks (vs. Sabres): Crawford's been somewhat shaky in four games since returning from injury. Chicago has gone just 1-2-1 in those games, and Crawford allowed a total of 10 goals. He did make at least 30 saves in each game, giving him a high floor against a bad offense.

Bargain Plays

• D Zach Werenski (25K), Blue Jackets (at Capitals): Werenski tallied just a single shot on goal in each of his past three games, but he managed to record three assists, with all three coming on the power play. His time on ice totals have dipped since the holiday break, but he remains heavily featured on the power play and isn't worthy of the minimum salary.

• RW Kevin Labanc (26K), Sharks (vs. Wild): Labanc continues skating with C Logan Couture and RW Mikkel Boedker at 5v5. His ice time has ranged from 13:29 to 16:32 over his past six games with time on the power play. He has totaled 13 SOG, three goals and two assists.

• LW Kevin Fiala (28K), Predators (at Lightning): Fiala has been taking more shots since a role change made him the predominant shooter on a third line with C Mike Ribeiro and RW Craig Smith. While his eight shots Dec. 29, against the Blackhawks, are the standout, he has five more SOG in two games since, scoring one goal. His inconsistent ice time keeps his salary low, while a struggling goaltender provides upside.

Top Fades

• C Connor McDavid (76K), Oilers (at Bruins): McDavid has scored in two of his past four games, picking up a total of three points while racking up 15 shots on goal. He topped 22 minutes in three of the four games. He has one of the league's toughest matchups Thursday night, as he'll face a Bruins team that will have the advantage of last change. He'll see a lot of C Patrice Bergeron.

• LW Thomas Vanek (54K), Red Wings (at Kings): Vanek registered at least three shots on goal in four of his past five games, scoring twice and picking up an assist. No team allows fewer shot attempts per 60 minutes than the Kings, taking away Vanek's high floor.

• D Duncan Keith (52K), Blackhawks (vs. Sabres): Keith is the second-most expensive defenseman on the slate, but he doesn't have a high enough floor to justify the salary. He has just seven SOG, three hits and six blocked shots over his past four games.

Contrarian Options

• RW Sebastian Aho (52K), Hurricanes (at Blues): Aho's two goals in his past two games have bumped him up to an adequate total of eight for the season. He faces a tough matchup Thursday, likely deterring most prospective owners. He has totaled 18 shots on goal over his past four games, and has played no less than 17:41 over his last five. He has the floor and opportunity.

• LW Patrick Maroon (34K), Oilers (at Bruins): Maroon's significantly less expensive than linemates McDavid and C Leon Draisaitl. His more physical style provides the high floor necessary for a matchup against the top line of the opposing Bruins. Should his linemates be able to generate some offense, he should be a factor.

• RW Marian Gaborik (33K), Kings (vs. Red Wings): Gaborik's offensive production, or lack thereof, continues to defy his excellent analytic numbers. He doesn't have a point since scoring a goal Dec. 12, but he remains in a first-line role with power-play time. A matchup against Red Wings' third-string G Jared Coreau could help.

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Everyone knows to beware Shea Weber's slap shot. There's little one can do when it's on the way.

Weber's booming shot caught Brendan Gallagher on the hand Wednesday night, forcing the Montreal Canadiens forward from his team's overtime victory. There's no word yet on the severity of Gallagher's injury, but he's just the latest victim on Weber's hit list.

On Thursday morning, Habs Eyes on the Prize's Marc Dumont pointed out that someone's been keeping a list of "Weber Shot Victims" on Reddit.

Here it is:

• March 25, 2009 - David Legwand broken cheekbone
• March 28, 2009 - Martin Erat broken leg
• Dec. 14, 2009 - Jordin Tootoo broken foot
• Feb. 23, 2010 - Germany's net
• April 7, 2010 - Patric Hornqvist
• Oct. 30, 2010 - Chris Osgood damaged mask
• Feb. 5, 2014 - David Poile injured eye
• Feb. 15, 2014 - Patrice Bergeron shot to the gut
• March 10, 2014 - Cody Ceci head injury
• Aug. 21, 2014 - Rink's boards
• Nov. 28, 2014 - Matt Hendricks knee
• Feb. 12, 2015 - Tyler Myers injured knee
• (Unconfirmed) Feb. 21, 2015 - Knocked out girl's wisdom teeth
• Jan. 26, 2016 - Eric Nystrom broken foot
• March 2, 2016 - Kari Lehtonen groin
• April 19, 2016 - Frederik Andersen mask
• May 2, 2016 - Marc-Edouard Vlasic's forehead
• Oct. 24, 2016 - Brayden Schenn's stick
• Nov. 13, 2016 - Max Pacioretty's face
• Jan. 3, 2017 - Pacioretty's leg
• Jan. 4, 2017 - Gallagher's hand

There are links to videos and/or GIFs of each of these incidents on Reddit. Enjoy.

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Rematch.

Canada and the United States will face off for global junior hockey supremacy Thursday night in the gold-medal game of the 2017 World Junior Hockey Championship.

The puck drops shortly after 8 p.m. ET at the Bell Centre in Montreal, and you can watch on TSN in Canada and the NHL Network in the U.S.

Here are four keys to the big matchup:

USA the favorite

It may have taken the U.S. two one-goal medal-round wins to get to the final - first over Switzerland and then a dramatic shootout victory against Russia - but with all due respect to the Canadians, the Americans are the favorites.

Not only did the U.S. knock off the Russians for the first time in history in the medal round at the world juniors, it's the only undefeated team left standing after Sweden bowed out - as Sweden does - to Canada.

Canada's only loss came at the hands of the Americans, who won 3-1 on New Year's Eve. While beating Canada twice is a tall order, there's no reason to believe they can't pull this off.

Here's how things stand after six games:

Canada's offensive output was aided by a 10-2 thrashing of Latvia. If you eliminate each country's game against the Latvians, the Americans have scored 18 and allowed 10, while Canada's scored 21 and allowed 11. In other words, the two teams are closer offensively than the goals tally through six games indicates.

In fact, the only game in which Canada failed to score five or more was against the U.S.

Defense and goaltending win championships, even in short tournaments. The Americans have the edge, albeit a slight one.

This is the fourth time Canada and the U.S. will play for gold. The Americans hold a 2-1 advantage, losing in 1997, and winning in 2004 and 2010. Canada's seeking its 17th gold medal, the U.S. its fourth.

Hart's the man for Canada

It took all tournament, and there are only three periods and maybe some change to play, but Canada's finally got its starting goalie: Carter Hart.

Better late than never.

Hart came on in relief of Connor Ingram against Sweden on Wednesday, after Ingram allowed two goals on three shots, and was perfect the rest of the way. And for Canada to win Thursday, he's going to have to provide much of the same. There's little room for error in Canada's crease.

USA's fourth-ranked .9225 save percentage as a team is also a bit misleading, since the Swedes finished first at .9268. The Americans have basically had some of the best goaltending at the tournament, and Hart's challenge will be to best whoever is his counterpart.

While Tyler Parsons - who's started four games to Hart's three - was in the crease for the Americans' historic win over the Russians, and was named player of the game, Joseph Woll stopped an impressive 25-of-26 shots against Canada on Dec. 31.

U.S. must stay out of the box

There's one thing the Americans have struggled to do at this year's world juniors: kill penalties. And that could be a huge problem against the offensively gifted Canadians.

If the U.S. can't kill penalties - its been successful only 15 times out of 20 - it can't take penalties. Period. Not against Canada's power play, which is lethal at 31 percent.

The more disciplined team, which can keep its emotions in check, will win. It's as simple as that.

Keller vs. Strome

Outside of the 'tenders, the two players to watch Thursday are Canada's Dylan Strome and USA's Clayton Keller - each team's best player up front.

Both have three goals and seven assists in six games. The only difference: Keller has 26 shots and no goals on the power play, while Strome has fired 22 pucks at the net and scored twice on the man advantage.

Interestingly enough, both are Arizona Coyotes draft picks. Strome was selected third overall in 2015, Keller seventh overall in 2016. They're big parts of the future of hockey in the desert, and will undoubtedly be talking about this game and its result for years.

May the better Coyotes prospect - and the better country Thursday night - win.

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Military veteran Nevada Grassie took in his first Dallas Stars game at American Airlines Center on Wednesday night, and got to share the special moment with his service dog, K-9 Six.

The Stars went on to lose to the Montreal Canadiens in overtime, but it looks like Grassie and Six had a good time regardless.

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Family connections run deep in the NHL, a league that boasts numerous examples of parents and children with plentiful hockey genes.

Bloodlines are the figurative ancestral links connecting those sets of relatives, and in this case, they're applicable to the fathers and sons who thrived in the NHL.

The term refers not to a collection of brothers, but specifically to a legacy passed on to future generations, and there are countless examples of the latter in the annals of hockey history.

Here are the three most dominant bloodlines in the history of the league:

Bobby and Brett Hull

Bobby Hull's legacy is complicated, and while his on-ice accomplishments don't erase any of his off-ice behavior, he remains one half of the most successful father-son duo in NHL history.

The "Golden Jet" was a two-time Hart Trophy winner and three-time Art Ross Trophy recipient who ranks 17th on the all-time goal-scoring list with 610 in 1,063 NHL games, pouring in another 303 in 411 WHA contests.

The elder Hull won a Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks in 1961 and led the original Winnipeg Jets to three Avco Cup championships in the WHA, earning Hockey Hall of Fame induction in 1983.

Brett's 741 career NHL goals rank fourth all time, and he's one of only five players to score 50 goals in a 50-game span, a feat he pulled off in back-to-back seasons. He also won the Stanley Cup twice, with the Dallas Stars in 1999 and with the Detroit Red Wings in 2002.

The Howes

Everyone knows how legendary Gordie Howe was, and his illustrious career was furthered by the success of his kids.

The late icon ranks second all time in career NHL goals and fourth in points. His son Mark was also exceptional, collecting 742 points in 929 NHL games and another 504 points in 426 WHA contests as a defenseman.

Mark's bother, Marty, also produced in the NHL, registering 184 points in 449 games as a blue-liner.

Mark joined his father and brother on the WHA's Houston Aeros in 1973, and the trio won back-to-back Avco Cup championships together in '74 and '75.

Scotty and Stan Bowman

Scotty Bowman is arguably the greatest head coach of all time, leading the league with 1,244 career wins, all of which came before the shootout increased the number of victories league-wide by eliminating ties.

He won the Stanley Cup nine times as a coach and has an astounding 14 titles, including those earned in his later executive roles.

Stan Bowman has followed in his father's championship footsteps, molding the Chicago Blackhawks into a perennial contender and winning the Cup three times in six years from 2010-16.

Honorable mentions: The Stastnys (Peter, Anton, Marian, Yan, and Paul), The Sutters (hockey's most renowned family includes many notable brothers, but Brandon is the only member of the second generation to succeed in the NHL), the Espositos (legendary brothers but no notable progeny), the Staals (four brothers in the NHL but no previous family link to the NHL), the Parises (J.P. and Zach), the Hextalls (Bryan, Bryan, Jr., Dennis, Ron), the Folignos (Mike, Nick and Marcus), and the Apps family (Syl, Syl, Jr., Syl III).

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WASHINGTON - The Columbus Blue Jackets will look to tie the NHL record for consecutive wins when they face Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals on Thursday night at Verizon Center.

Columbus goes for its 17th straight win in a game featuring the first- and fourth-place teams in the Metropolitan Division. In a bit of scheduling irony, Washington will be trying to stop Columbus from tying the mark set by the 1992-93 Pittsburgh Penguins - the Capitals' bitter rivals.

The Blue Jackets (27-5-4) rattled off their 16th consecutive victory with a 3-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday in Columbus.

"I'm proud of the team. They deserve it," Columbus coach John Tortorella told NHL.com. "I'm really happy how they've handled the past three games with all the talk and all that. It's a good test for them."

Sergei Bobrovsky made 21 saves and extended his win streak to 14 games, three behind the record set by Boston's Gillies Gilbert in 1975-76. He has allowed just 23 goals in the 14 games.

Columbus is allowing two goals per game, tops in the NHL, and Washington is third at 2.10.

The Blue Jackets' power play continues to thrive, producing the first goal Tuesday night and 13 in the last 11 games. They're converting a league-best 28.3 percent of their chances.

"The power play, you can almost sense it when they go out there that they are going to score," Tortorella told NHL.com. "The bench feels that."

Capitals coach Barry Trotz said, "They have a good plan and they're executing their plan. I think their ability not only to get pucks in the area, but they also find ... off the original chance they turn that into a second and third chance and eventually a goal."

The Caps (23-9-5), meanwhile, has provided opponents 20 power plays in its last three games, though they've surrendered only two power-play goals while winning three straight.

"Obviously, the penalties are mounting up and they're hard minutes," Trotz said. "We're going to correct that."

Tuesday's 5-4 overtime win over the Toronto Maple Leafs was an uncharacteristic Capitals affair. They were forced to rally from a 4-2 deficit before Ovechkin scored the winner.

Goalie Braden Holtby was pulled after allowing three first-period goals when the Capitals had allowed only 14 first-period scores all season.

"Certainly, I think we just kind of willed out way to that win," Justin Williams told The Washington Post after he notched a goal and two assists to give him eight goals and seven assists in his last 14 games. "It was fun and exciting for everybody."

Thursday's atmosphere should be exciting as well.

"Guys recognize that you're under a bigger spotlight, so it's probably like a rivalry game," Trotz said. "It's got a little more ... I'll say a little more zip to it, a little more emotion than some other games."

Columbus won the first two matchups between the teams - one in overtime - and leads Washington by seven points in the Metropolitan Division.

"Everyone in the division, everyone's winning," Blue Jackets winger Cam Atkinson said. "It's going to be a huge game. It's obviously fun to play those game because you know you're going to their A effort on the other side and we're going to bring it as well, so looking forward to it."

Atkinson has three goals in his last two games. Nick Foligno has three goals and five assists in his last five, and Brandon Saad and Alexander Wennberg have two goals and four assists each in the last five.

Against the Capitals, Atkinson has eight goals and five assists in 13 games, Saad has five and three in eight games, and Foligno has seven and 13 in 28 games.

Tortorella has his own long history against Washington. As the coach of the New York Rangers, his teams were eliminated twice in the playoffs by Washington and twice sent the Capitals packing. He was suspended for one game after an altercation with a fan in the 2009 playoffs.

Ovechkin has four goals and two assists in his last six games and is five points from 1,000. In 17 games against Columbus, he has 14 goals and three assists. Williams has nine and 11 in 32 games, and T.J. Oshie has eight and 13 in 30.

Holtby is 8-3-2 with a 2.83 goals-against average and a .900 save percentage against Columbus, and Bobrovsky is 6-5-3 with a 2.64 GAA and a .908 save percentage against Washington.

The Capitals will be looking to deal the Blue Jackets their first loss since Nov. 26 - the day before Thanksgiving - when they fell to the Florida Panthers 3-2 in overtime.

"They recognize Columbus is obviously the class of the league right now and they're coming into our building," Trotz said of his players, "and we'll give them a good match."

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Brandon Sutter has one for his Vancouver Canucks highlight tape.

The center subject to much debate hit double digits for goals on the year with a strong backhand move with speed on a penalty shot against Arizona Coyotes netminder Mike Smith on Wednesday night.

Though still producing at a rate below his ticket price, Sutter's 20 points has him on pace for a personal best on a team producing in the bottom tier offensively.

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Eight goals.

In the 100-plus-year history of the Montreal Canadiens, no player has scored more than eight overtime winners through his time with the Habs.

Max Pacioretty joined the club Wednesday, pocketing the game winner in extra time as the Canadiens toppled the Dallas Stars 4-3. The captain's now tied with Aurel Joliat and Howie Morenz for most in Montreal history, according to the NHL's public relations department.

The goal was Pacioretty's sixth game-winning tally on the campaign, and not only his second overtime winner this season, but his second in as many nights - he scored Tuesday's OT winner against the Nashville Predators.

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