This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
Some teams just can't buy a goal right now, and some teams just flat-out can't score.
Who knew the Predators offense would so toothless to begin the season? While Shea Weber is on pace for 30 goals, 90 points, and a plus-100 rating, P.K. Subban has two goals and a minus-7 rating through eight games. Filip Forsberg and James Neal have just one goal between the two of them, and former Predator Alexander Radulov is endearing himself to the Bleu, Blanc et Rouge with some high-level dangles. There's no doubt the talented Predators will right the ship in due time, but they are in the Division of Death and can't afford to lose much ground. If it gets any worse, is Peter Laviolette on the hot seat?
The Kings can at least point out that they've never been an offensive powerhouse, but 20 goals in eight games just won't cut it, especially given how shaky their goaltending situation is at the moment. There's not much help coming through the pipeline either, other than Marian Gaborik's return from injury, so it's up to Darryl Sutter to get the most out of what he has at the moment. Every Kings season seems to feel like a grind, but they always manage to pull through. The panic level is pretty low on this one, but it's there.
Then there's the Canucks, who finally managed to snap their goalless drought and score two goals against the Capitals (and their backup), but neither were pretty and came off lucky bounces and rebounds. A goal's a goal, but those garbage goals are hard to get, and the Sedins get slower and less effective with each passing year. Loui Eriksson has yet to score this season and was benched briefly in the second period, so their big summer acquisition has yet to pay off. The Canucks just can't sign Brock Boeser soon enough. The NCAA season ends in April, by the way.
Featured Matchups
Lightning (PP: 11, PK: 9) at Rangers (PP: 6, PK: 16), 7:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Ben Bishop (3-2-0, 3.22, .891), Henrik Lundqvist (4-3-0, 2.45, .901)
Key Injuries:Chris Kreider (neck), Ryan Callahan (hip), Nikita Kucherov (upper body)
The Rangers and Lightning enter Sunday with identical records in a rematch of the 2015 Eastern Conference Finals, and although the season numbers for both starting goalies may not look appealing, both Bishop and Lundqvist have been excellent of late. Depth and line matching should be the difference maker between two evenly matched teams, so pay particular attention to rookies Jimmy Vesey and Pavel Buchnevich – both are playing on the Rangers' top two lines. For the Lightning, Jonathan Drouin (18:39) is second only to Steven Stamkos (18:59) in ice time among forwards.
Kings (PP: 20, PK: 21) at Blackhawks (PP: 13, PK: 30), 7:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Jack Campbell, Corey Crawford (2-3-1, 2.85, .904)
Key Injuries:Marian Gaborik (foot), Jonathan Quick (groin)
Peter Budaj's strong performance in a 1-0 loss to St. Louis on Saturday may force the Kings to think twice, but in the second half of a back-to-back will likely turn to Jack Campbell between the pipes. The former first-round pick struggled to live up to lofty expectations in Dallas and spent half the season in the ECHL last year, but in two AHL games has posted an excellent .930 save percentage. Jonathan Toews has just three assists this season but never seems to have a bad game, and playing against a rival should bring out the best in him. With Toews and Anze Kopitar going head-to-head, it's up to Tanner Pearson (four goals) and Nic Dowd (four points in six games) to see if they can continue their offensive production against weaker matchups. It's worth mentioning that the Blackhawks penalty kill has been much better recently and the Kings have scored only two power-play goals against them in their past 10 matchups.
Flyers (PP: 4, PK: 26) at Hurricanes (PP: 3, PK: 5), 5:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Michal Neuvirth (1-0-0, 4.46, .845), Cam Ward (1-2-1, 3.51, .872)
Key Injuries:Ryan Murphy (lower body), Michael Del Zotto (lower body), Scott Laughton (knee), Michael Raffl (abdomen)
The Flyers and Hurricanes don't have the intrigue of the other two featured matchups, but the two teams have combined to allow 61 goals in 16 games – so that means plenty of goals and no boring moments in this one. You can thank horrendous goaltending for that, but the reality is both teams have plenty of weapons on offense and coaches who aren't afraid to turn their kids loose. The usual suspects should stuff the stats sheet, but also don't forget about Victor Rask, Sebastian Aho, Teuvo Teravainen, Elias Lindholm, Travis Konecny or Ivan Provorov; all of them can be had for bargain prices in DFS. The Flyers and Hurricanes own two of the league's top-five power plays.
Other Matchups
Sabres (PP: 7, PK: 13) at Jets (PP: 21, PK: 20), 3:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Robin Lehner (1-2-1, 3.01, .892), Connor Hellebuyck (2-2-0, 2.80, .910)
Key Injuries:Jack Eichel (ankle), Evander Kane (ribs), Bryan Little (lower body), Drew Stafford (upper body)
If I don't get at least three Patrik Laine highlight clips, I'm going to be very grumpy. Ryan O'Reilly can only do so much, and despite a 3-0 win Saturday the Sabres are playing back-to-back. Mark Scheifele will likely draw ROR, so this is a good chance for Nikolaj Ehlers' line to shine.
Panthers (PP: 24, PK: 17) at Red Wings (PP: 18, PK: 14), 5:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:James Reimer (0-1-1, 2.90, .880), Jimmy Howard (2-0-0, 0.50, .984)
Key Injuries:Tomas Jurco (back), Niklas Kronwall (knee), Thomas Vanek (lower body), Nick Bjugstad (hand), Jonathan Huberdeau (lower body), Jussi Jokinen (knee)
Goaltending has been Detroit's strong suit so far this season, so even Jonathan Marchessault may have trouble scoring despite his hot hand. Tomas Tatar (28), Dylan Larkin (25) and Henrik Zetterberg (18) lead the team in shots but have combined for just three goals – they're far too talented for this drought to continue. Zetterberg, in particular, has looked far more dangerous after moving back to center.
Maple Leafs (PP: 10, PK: 19) at Islanders (PP: 26, PK: 8), 6:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Jhonas Enroth (0-1-0, 3.10, .889), Jaroslav Halak (2-3-0, 3.04, .901)
Key Injuries:Nikolay Kulemin (upper body)
Wins can only increase Halak's trade value, so it's in his and the Islanders' best interests to play well, though that will be difficult against a young and talented Leafs offense. Auston Matthews has not scored a point in two games (bust!!!) but he should do just fine if he faces Brock Nelson or Ryan Strome, neither of whom are strong defensively or can match Matthews' speed.
Senators (PP: 19, PK: 24) at Oilers (PP: 17, PK: 3), 9:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Chris Driedger (0-1-0, 6.00, .733), Cam Talbot (7-1-0, 2.17, .934)
Key Injuries:Brandon Davidson (undisclosed), Andrew Hammond (lower body), Clarke MacArthur (concussion)
So much for Guy Boucher's defensive structure. The Sens have allowed 3.57 goals per game, fifth-worst in the league, and they're forced to start a very green Driedger with no viable backup. They're going against Connor McDavid, by the way. Good luck.
Capitals (PP: 23, PK: 23) at Flames (PP: 27, PK: 27), 9:30 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Braden Holtby (2-2-1, 2.38, .910), Brian Elliott (3-3-0, 3.15, .893)
Key Injuries: none
Elliott has registered three straight wins, and they're no flukes, but at the other end of the ice is the league's best goalie not named Carey Price. Andre Burakovsky and Evgeny Kuznetsov looked dangerous against Vancouver as Barry Trotz's experiment with Tom Wilson in the top-six has paid off right away. Sean Monahan will draw some tough assignments but he's starting to pick up his play with two goals in three games.
Recommended Pickup
Nick Ritchie, LW, ANA – He's a little off-the-radar because recent talk in Anaheim has been dominated by the impending return of Hampus Lindholm, but the former 10th overall pick is really coming into his own as a power forward and has played well enough to land the coveted left wing role alongside Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry. The points will come in time, but otherwise Ritchie has been quite effective, registering 23 shots on goal and 37 hits. He's owned in less than 10 percent of ESPN leagues.
