This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
April is here. Don't worry, I'm not going to open this with some sort of April Fool's Day prank. You know, writing about Sidney Crosby's season-ending injury or something. That's not my bag. I'd rather focus on something of substance, like the NHL playoff races. The only problem is that we don't really have a race to speak of.
In the Western Conference, we know all eight teams already. Technically, that may not be true, but the Kings aren't going to make it. Jarome Iginla didn't put them over the edge. There's just a bit of jostling left to be done. In the East, there's more jostling, but there may not be much of a race, either. Five teams are officially in, and Ottawa is all but a lock at this point. Really, it just comes down to whether or not Tampa Bay can take a spot from Toronto or Boston. Sure, maybe Carolina and the Islanders are in the race, but do you see either of those teams making it into the postseason?
To be fair, do we ever really see more than that? We might like to imagine exciting playoff races, but in truth usually the best we can hope for is two teams fighting over one spot on the last day of the season. Maybe we'll get that this year in the Eastern Conference. Let's hope. Otherwise, we shall be the April fools.
Featured Matchups
Wild (PP: 10, PK: 10) at Predators (PP: 14, PK: 20), 2:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Devan Dubnyk (37-19-5, 2.23, .924), Pekka Rinne (30-18-8, 2.48, .916)
Key Injuries:Zach Parise (upper body), Miikka Salomaki (lower body), Craig Smith (upper body), Yannick Weber (upper body)
You can't look at the Wild as the team they were early in the season. The team that seemed to be cruising toward the top seed in the West, with Dubnyk seemingly on his way to a Vezina. In March, Minnesota allowed 3.06 goals per game. Their great numbers were always a bit reliant on goaltending, because the Wild aren't in the top 10 in shots allowed per game. Dubnyk has been anything but great recently, as in March he posted a 2.94 GAA and a .889 save percentage in 14 games. Basically, don't worry about using your Predators in this matchup. Filip Forsberg has 30 goals on 225 shots, and Viktor Arvidsson has potted 29 goals on 231 shots. Roman Josi, P.K. Subban, and Ryan Ellis all have at least 36 points. Subban is the one with 36 points, but he's done that in a mere 61 games. Martin Hanzal struggled after getting traded to the Wild, but in his last eight games he has two goals and four assists. Joel Eriksson Ek is more a name to keep in mind for the future, but he was called up by Minnesota recently, and he scored a goal against the Senators in his first game since November.
Canadiens (PP: 11, PK: 18) at Lightning (PP: 4, PK: 15), 7:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Carey Price (36-18-5, 2.23, .924), Andrei Vasilevskiy (20-16-6, 2.68, .915)
Key Injuries:Jordie Benn (upper body), Al Montoya (lower body), Ryan Callahan (hip), Jason Garrison (lower body), Tyler Johnson (lower body), Nikita Kucherov (illness), Cedric Paquette (lower body), Steven Stamkos (knee)
Kucherov couldn't play Thursday because of his illness, but the Lightning will have to really hope he can play in this one. The Lightning are fighting for a playoff spot, and Kucherov has been making a run at the Hart Trophy with his play. He's notched 38 goals and 80 points in 68 games, including a staggering 31 points with the extra man. Despite the presence of Price, Montreal's penalty kill has been middling. That being said, since the All-Star break the Canadiens have the seventh-ranked penalty kill. There is a Hab down in the Recommended Pickup section. Paul Byron has doubled his career high in goals (22), but he's done that with a 23.7 shooting percentage. Expect a lot of regression next season. With the injury issues the Lightning have had, Yanni Gourde has been playing quite a bit in March. He has a goal in each of Tampa's last two games, including a huge game-winning goal against Chicago. However, he's only taken 19 shots in 14 games, so don't get too excited.
Ducks (PP: 20, PK: 5) at Oilers (PP: 6, PK: 13), 10:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:John Gibson (23-16-8, 2.28, .921), Cam Talbot (39-21-8, 2.37, .921)
Key Injuries:Simon Despres (head), Andrew Ference (hip), Tyler Pitlick (knee)
Don't expect a lot of scoring in this one, at least based on how these teams have played defensively. Both teams rank in the top seven in goals allowed per game, and as you can see both Gibson and Talbot have had excellent seasons. Talbot has played in a whopping 69 games, but he doesn't seem to be dealing with any fatigue. In his last 10 contests, he has a 2.16 GAA and a .934 save percentage. Of course, it's hard to say there won't be a lot of scoring in a game featuring the league's leading scorer Connor McDavid, who has 91 points in 77 games. Mark Letestu has had a weird season. He's tallied 15 goals and 18 assists in 74 games. That's not the surprising part. What's notable is that 12 of those points, and 10 of those goals, have come on the power play. You probably know that Corey Perry has had bad puck luck this season (8.7 shooting percentage). However, in his last 11 games he's notched seven goals. Finally, fortune smiles on Perry. Thirteen of Sami Vatanen's 23 points have come with the extra man.
Other Matchups
Panthers (PP: 25, PK: 1) at Bruins (PP: 8, PK: 3), 1:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Reto Berra (0-3-0, 3.38, .874), Tuukka Rask (35-20-4, 2.31, .912)
Key Injuries:Frank Vatrano (upper body), Aleksander Barkov (upper body), Aaron Ekblad (neck), Roberto Luongo (lower body), James Reimer (upper body)
Well this matchup looks a lot different with Berra in net. Obviously, he's not on Luongo or Reimer's level as a netminder. That'll get the Bruins excited. If you think Perry has been unlucky, Patrice Bergeron has put 279 shots on net but only potted 18 goals. That's a 6.5 shooting percentage, folks. Jonathan Huberdeau has 23 points in 26 games. His fellow Jonathan, Marchessault, has 29 goals in 70 games.
Senators (PP: 23, PK: 19) at Jets (PP: 19, PK: 28), 7:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Craig Anderson (22-11-3, 2.38, .925), Connor Hellebuyck (24-19-4, 2.94, .905)
Key Injuries:Alex Burrows (upper body), Erik Karlsson (undisclosed), Marc Methot (hand), Chris Neil (finger), Zack Smith (upper body), Toby Enstrom (concussion), Shawn Matthias (shoulder), Tyler Myers (lower body), Ondrej Pavelec (knee), Paul Postma (lower body)
Not having Karlsson would really hurt the Senators. They aren't used to it either, as before missing Thursday's game he had played in 324 straight games. However, the Jets have allowed 3.15 goals and 31.0 shots on net per game, so Ottawa should still be OK. Mathieu Perreault has been on fire recently, as he's tallied 11 points in his last eight games. If that's not exciting enough, six of those points have come with the extra man.
Maple Leafs (PP: 2, PK: 9) at Red Wings (PP: 28, PK: 11), 7:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Frederik Andersen (31-15-14, 2.63, .919), Jimmy Howard (9-9-1, 2.02, .932)
Key Injuries:Jonathan Ericsson (wrist), Luke Glendening (lower body), Anthony Mantha (finger), Ryan Sproul (knee), Eric Fehr (hand), Josh Leivo (undisclosed), Joffrey Lupul (abdomen)
Tale of two power plays here. Since returning from injury, Howard has a 2.15 GAA and a .925 save percentage. I'm definitely not a bitter Red Wings fan wondering what might have happened had he stayed healthy. Three Maple Leafs, Auston Matthews, Nazem Kadri, and James van Riemsdyk, have registered at least 217 shots on goal. Both Matthews and Kadri have hit the 30-goal mark. Under the radar, Connor Brown has 19 goals in 76 games.
Devils (PP: 18, PK: 20) at Flyers (PP: 15, PK: 22), 7:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Cory Schneider (20-24-11, 2.71, .911), Steve Mason (25-21-7, 2.71, .907)
Key Injuries:Jacob Josefson (upper body), Devante Smith-Pelly (lower body), Nick Cousins (upper body), Michael Raffl (lower body), Matt Read (upper body)
The Devils are the only team stuck playing on back-to-back nights Saturday. When playing on zero days of rest, New Jersey has allowed 33.7 shots on net per contest. Brayden Schenn and Wayne Simmonds both have 52 points and 16 power-play goals, but Schenn has played in three fewer games.
Stars (PP: 21, PK: 30) at Hurricanes (PP: 22, PK: 2), 7:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Kari Lehtonen (20-23-7, 2.81, .905), Cam Ward (26-20-11, 2.66, .906)
Key Injuries:Eddie Lack (neck), Jay McClement (lower body), Ryan Murphy (lower body), Jiri Hudler (lower body), Mattias Janmark (knee), Curtis McKenzie (eye), Antoine Roussel (hand), Patrick Sharp (hip)
First off, best wishes to Lack. I was watching the game where he got hurt. It was on at a bar I was at for Simpsons trivia. I came in second. I had won three times in a row before a new guy showed up. I don't want to talk about it. Anyway, it's surprising to see how good Carolina's penalty kill has been, considering how badly their netminders have performed. On the flip side, the Hurricanes' power play could benefit from this matchup with the league's worst penalty kill. Sebastian Aho could particularly benefit, as he's tallied 15 power-play points. Dallas is quite top heavy, relying on the dynamic duo of Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn. Both have 25 goals, and no other Star has more than 14. That Star? Brett Ritchie.
Recommended Pickup
Brendan Gallagher, RW, MON – This season has not been kind to Gallagher. In addition to being held to 59 games due to injuries, his shooting percentage is a staggeringly low 5.8. Luck has not been on his side. However, as the Habs head into the playoffs, Gallagher is finally finding his footing. In his last nine games he's tallied nine points, and over the last 30 days he has 48 shots on goal in 13 contests. The last time Gallagher had a healthy season, he notched 24 goals and 47 points. There's clearly talent here. Now that he's finally (seemingly) at 100 percent and seems to have more luck on his side, he can help your fantasy team in the dwindling days of the season.
