Nabokov left the game 12:54 into the first period and was replaced by Kevin Poulin. He just returned 11 games ago from a groin injury that cost him 12 games, so the first concern is that he re-aggravated that injury.

Nabokov stopped 27 of 30 shots in Saturday's 3-2 loss to the Hurricanes. Nabby played well but was out-duelled by Anton Khudobin. He will return to the crease for his 10th start in the last 11 games and will face the Dallas Stars at home. He has yet to face the Stars, but is 3-5-5 with a 2.64 GAA and .911 SV% on Long Island.

Nabokov allowed two goals on 39 shots in an OT win over the Blackhawks on Thursday. That marks back-to-back wins with 35+ saves vs. two great teams (BOS, CHI) for Nabokov. Tonight he will face the Hurricanes, who scored four on 23 shots in a 4-3 Carolina win back in October. Nabby has taken his game to a new level lately, so that early season defeat shouldn't deter you from starting him tonight.

Undoubtedly the fantasy performer of the night was Montreal winger Max Pacioretty, who collected four points (2G/2A) in the 6-4 road win over Dallas. With 25 points in 33 games, the talented forward is on the cusp of being considered an upper-tier fantasy option but needs to be less streaky and more consistent. Perhaps, the emergence of David Desharnais in the recent weeks will help lead to more reliable offensive production from "Mad Max". Coming off a three-assist game, the diminutive center added a goal and an assist to raise his totals to 5 points in the last 2 contests. If both forwards can get each other going, fantasy owners will reap huge rewards in the second half. Desharnais is plenty available in most leagues, so he is well worth a waiver pick-up at this point. Also, do not underestimate the effect of being selected to the American Olympic team for Pacioretty, who responded to the news with arguably his best performance of the season. More Fantasy Notes: In a battle featuring rookie gooltenders Boston beat Nashville in OT 3-2. Swedish goaltender Niklas Svedberg got his first NHL win in his first NHL game. Nice to see that.  Predators goaltender Marek Mazanec took the loss, and after a fast start his record is now only 7-8-2 with a .906 save percentage. Brad Marchand got the game winner, and while he has only 20 points on the season, he does have a knack for scoring important goals. Boston forward Jarome Iginla had a goal and after a slow start this year he has 28 points and has scored in each of his last 6 games.  Nashville defenseman Shea Weber had a good game with a goal and an assist, and he has 10 goals and 24 points on the season. His -12 is a bit disconncerting though... The New York Islanders continued their mini-hot stear beating the Blachawks in OT.  The Islanders have won 4 of their last 5 games, and 3 of them were against quality teams; Chicago Boston and Detroit.  New York forward Kyle Okposo scored the game winner and he had an assist as well. Last night Okposo seemed determined to demonstrate to the US Olympic Committee that they made a mistake in not choosing him for the team.  He has 42 points in 42 games this year.  Well its good news for poolies who own him, as he will have a little extra motivition the rest of this year. Corey Crawford looked sharp in goal for Chicago after missing more than 3 weeks with an injury as he had 31 saves, but Evgeni Nabokov was better with 39 saves. Lets see if the Islanders can keep this going....

Undoubtedly the fantasy performer of the night was Montreal winger Max Pacioretty, who collected four points (2G/2A) in the 6-4 road win over Dallas. With 25 points in 33 games, the talented forward is on the cusp of being considered an upper-tier fantasy option but needs to be less streaky and more consistent. Perhaps, the emergence of David Desharnais in the recent weeks will help lead to more reliable offensive production from "Mad Max". Coming off a three-assist game, the diminutive center added a goal and an assist to raise his totals to 5 points in the last 2 contests. If both forwards can get each other going, fantasy owners will reap huge rewards in the second half. Desharnais is plenty available in most leagues, so he is well worth a waiver pick-up at this point. Also, do not underestimate the effect of being selected to the American Olympic team for Pacioretty, who responded to the news with arguably his best performance of the season. More Fantasy Notes: In a battle featuring rookie gooltenders Boston beat Nashville in OT 3-2. Swedish goaltender Niklas Svedberg got his first NHL win in his first NHL game. Nice to see that.  Predators goaltender Marek Mazanec took the loss, and after a fast start his record is now only 7-8-2 with a .906 save percentage. Brad Marchand got the game winner, and while he has only 20 points on the season, he does have a knack for scoring important goals. Boston forward Jarome Iginla had a goal and after a slow start this year he has 28 points and has scored in each of his last 6 games.  Nashville defenseman Shea Weber had a good game with a goal and an assist, and he has 10 goals and 24 points on the season. His -12 is a bit disconncerting though... The New York Islanders continued their mini-hot stear beating the Blachawks in OT.  The Islanders have won 4 of their last 5 games, and 3 of them were against quality teams; Chicago Boston and Detroit.  New York forward Kyle Okposo scored the game winner and he had an assist as well. Last night Okposo seemed determined to demonstrate to the US Olympic Committee that they made a mistake in not choosing him for the team.  He has 42 points in 42 games this year.  Well its good news for poolies who own him, as he will have a little extra motivition the rest of this year. Corey Crawford looked sharp in goal for Chicago after missing more than 3 weeks with an injury as he had 31 saves, but Evgeni Nabokov was better with 39 saves. Lets see if the Islanders can keep this going....

Nabokov allowed three goals on 38 shots in a win over the Bruins on Tuesday. Since returning from his groin injury he has played much better than he was before he was injured. He has won three of his seven starts with a 2.12 GAA and .925 SV% since December 14. He is a risky start tonight with the Blackhawks traveling to Long Island.

Nabokov allowed two goals on 25 shots in a 2-1 loss to the Devils on Saturday. He makes for a risky start tonight against Tuukka Rask and the Bruins.

Kevin Poulin started on Sunday so there is a good chance that it will be Evgeni Nabokov tonight vs. the Bruins. However we won't know for sure until 5 PM EST.

Nabokov stopped all 23 shots in a shutout win over the Red Wings on Monday. Since returning from his groin injury, Nabby is 2-1-2 with a 1.96 GAA and .928 SV%. Tonight he will take on the Devils for the second time, the first time he stopped 26 of 29 shots in a 4-3 shootout win in the season opener.

Christmas came early for not only Mark Pysyk but also the Buffalo Sabres who won in overtime on a most incredible way to score one. Merry Christmas!  Click video below, courtesy of SomeHockeyVideos to see this amazing winning goal. FANTASY GAME NOTES: Ryan Miller has been playing well since the start of the season but you wouldn't have known it just by looking at the standings. His record now stands at 9-17-0 with the win last night against the Coyotes, and 5 of those wins have come in his last 7 starts.  He's a steady goaltender who gets tons of starts, perhaps the law of averages is panning out.  So, if you need a decent 2nd goalie, it's Miller time!....The Toronto Maple leafs played their third shootout in a row, losing the last two.   At least they are gaining some points after losing 5 of their previous 6.  Phil Kessel and Joffrey Lupul have been sort of ice cold, at least for them. So perhaps you may be able to snatch them away from an unknowing GM....Ducks with a capital ‘D'.  The Anaheim Ducks defense kept Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Caps at bay in their 3-2 victory but Nicklas Backstrom continued his torrid scoring pace with a power play goal, giving him 17 points in 10 December games. ....No Skinner off their backs as the Columbus Blue Jackets were able to overcome Jeff Skinner's 2-goal effort. Skinner is one of those you live and die with becvause he can give you some good fantasy production, but at the same time gets injured ‘way too much'. He's already been on the sideline once this year, so perhaps it's safe to keep him in.  OR, you can try and "sell-high".  See what you can get?....Maybe Columbus doesn't need Marian Gaborik. They have gone 6-3-1 in December basically without the enigmatic score. In those 10 games, Ryan Johansen has gone 5-6-11. Johansen is finally coming of age.....Craig Anderson should study the tape of his game last night against Pittsburgh because he blanked the Penguins 5-0. Anderson struggles have been the talk of Ottawa but last night's performance could signal a turnaround for the struggling goaltender....Speaking of turnarounds, The NY Isles avenged their early season loss to the Detroit Red Wings with a 3-0 blanking of their own.  Having Evgeni Nabokov back in net is a world of difference from having Kevin Poulin in there. It's just not Poulin's time yet...The Bolts blasted the Florida Panthers in the Battle of Florida.  The Cats took the first shot with a late 1st period goal by Sean Bergenheim, ...