This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
Around the Rink
Whoa.
What?
— Stephanie Vail (@myregularface) May 7, 2015GIF: tampa bench celebrates pic.twitter.com/l0Fn6MPE2L
— Stephanie Vail (@myregularface) May 7, 2015i keep finding more footage that i need to GIF, I'm sorry pic.twitter.com/qeuDeT60HS
— Stephanie Vail (@myregularface) May 7, 2015Hockey doesn't get much more exciting than this.
Last night Tyler Johnson put the puck past Carey Price with 1.1 seconds left in the game to give the Lightning a 2-1 win and a 3-0 series lead.
Johnson has been outstanding in this postseason. Conn Smythe outstanding. It's not that we hadn't seen Johnson be great before, but he's stepping up in a way that no one could have guessed.
By comparison, Anaheim's Corey Perry is having an incredible postseason with a league-leading 14 points despite only playing seven total postseason games so far. Nonetheless, Tyler Johnson's league-leading eight goals have come at an incredible rate. He leads the league in the postseason with 3.18 goals per 60 minutes of even strength play (G/60), well above Perry's 2.32.
Johnson's points per 60 minutes of even strength play (P/60) is impressive as well. He's at 3.71, which is only behind Perry, Ryan Getzlaf, and Ryan Kesler. (How dominant has Anaheim been?)
So, Tyler Johnson has been incredible. that's notable for fantasy because right now for elite players and production you've got Perry, Getzlaf, Kesler, Patrick Kane, and names like Alexander Ovechkin, Steven Stamkos, and Zach Parise who are performing a touch under expectations maybe, but will cost a pretty penny to roster nonetheless.
But despite production like some top players are giving, a 5'8" sophomore winger named Tyler Johnson might be the best overall value for daily games in the playoffs. Not might. Is. This kid is unreal.
Even GM Steve Yzerman is surprised about what this kid is capable of.
Projected Goalie Starters (all times Eastern)
For updates on the projected goalies later in the day, check our Projected Goalies Grid
Montreal Canadiens (Carey Price) at Tampa Bay Lightning (Ben Bishop), 7:00 PM
Chicago Blackhawks (Corey Crawford) at Minnesota Wild (Devan Dubnyk), 9:30 PM
Injury News For Teams Playing Thursday
Montreal Canadiens
Jarred Tinordi, D - (wrist) remains sidelined from surgery.
Michael Bournival, C - (concussion) skated last Thursday.
Nathan Beaulieu, D - (upper body) took part in practice Tuesday.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Cedric Paquette, C - (undisclosed) missed Wednesday's game.
Michael Blunden, RW - (knee) will not play again.
Chicago Blackhawks
Trevor van Riemsdyk, D - (wrist) remains out following surgery.
Minnesota Wild
Keith Ballard, D - (concussion) will not play again this season.
Chris Stewart, RW - (upper body) missed Tuesday's game.
Justin Fontaine, RW - (lower body) missed Tuesday's game.
Hot
Andre Burakovsky, LW, WSH -- Burakovsky was the star of Game 4, grabbing both of the Washington goals in a 2-1 win. He also posted five shots in just 11:51 of ice time. He's been far from consistent, but has three points in the last two games. He's hot right now, but I'm not entirely sure that he's the first player I'm turning to when I'm setting my roster.
Victor Hedman, D, TBL -- The 24-year-old defenseman has been solid in the Lightning's second round series against Montreal, posting a power play goal and two assists in the last two games as well as nine shots in the last three games, which included a game where he played 31:32.
Cold
Nicklas Backstrom, C, WSH -- Backstrom had a great opening round with three goals and three assists in the first four games. Since then he's got no goals and an assist in seven games. In the current series, despite Washington being up, he's been shut down. He has just four shots and an assist in four games. In the last two games he hasn't even garnered a shot. The Capitals looked poised to move to the next round, but Backstrom is far from a sure bet for the rest of this round.
Mike Green, D, WSH -- I'm not trying to pile on Washington here, but it's worth noting that just because a team is up in their series, it doesn't mean that their players are good bets. Green has been a poor play in daily games during the playoffs. He's seen his ice time reduced regularly, to the point where he's barely cracked 18 minutes in the series against the Rangers and had just 15:10 and 16:39 in the last two games. Over the last seven games he's only passed two shots once and hasn't posted a point in this series or his last eight games total.
Recommended Reading
Teuvo Teravainen, C, CHI -- Teravainen has just three points in the playoffs and has only seen action in five games. But, despite seeing very limited time (both games and ice time), he's been very effective in three games against Minnesota. He had a goal and an assist in the first two games and managed to fire four shots and look stellar in Game 3. If you're looking for a cheap play on Thursday, Teravainen isn't a bad bet.
