This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
Here we are. The year 2016 is (many would say mercifully) coming to a close. Sure, things were rough in many ways, but as we head into 2017, there is a lot of good stuff in the world of hockey to be enthused about. Not only is Connor McDavid living up to all the hype, but Sidney Crosby is having an amazing season, as he is evidently not yet ready to hand over the title of the world's best player. Meanwhile, we've got another top notch rookie class, led by Auston Matthews and Patrik Laine. The Columbus Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild are shaking up the NHL standings. The Jackets look like they could finally win a playoff series this year, which would be really cool to see. Plus, two or three Canadian teams will likely make the playoffs this season, much to the relief of our neighbors to the north. So as the NHL helps us close the book on 2016, remember that it hasn't all been bad…and I say that as a Wings fan.
Featured Matchups
Blue Jackets (PP: 1, PK: 15) at Wild (PP: 17, PK: 5), 6:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Sergei Bobrovsky (23-5-2, 1.95, .934), Devan Dubnyk (19-6-3, 1.67, .944)
Key Injuries: None
Who would have thought this would be the NHL game of the regular season so far? Columbus has won 14 games in a row, whereas Minnesota has won a mere 12 consecutive contests. The Jackets' power play against the Wild's penalty kill will be great to watch. Dubnyk and Bobrovsky are one and two in GAA and save percentage, so you might not think this will be a high-scoring game. However, on the other hand, both of these teams are in the top four in goals per game as well. Did we mention how good these teams have been? Cam Atkinson leads the Jackets with 15 goals and 35 points. Like many of Columbus' best players, most of his value has come on the power play. Maybe Brandon Saad is the Jacket best suited for this matchup. He has 14 goals and 30 points, but only one of them has been on the power play. Mikael Granlund has been on fire for the Wild, notching 13 points in his last 11 games. Yet, he's probably been overshadowed by Charlie Coyle, who has 12 in his last eight.
Hurricanes (PP: 10, PK: 1) at Lightning (PP: 3, PK: 25), 7:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Eddie Lack (1-2-1, 3.78, .856), Andrei Vasilevskiy (9-5-2, 2.57, .915)
Key Injuries:Justin Faulk (lower body), Ben Bishop (lower body), Ryan Callahan (lower body), Vladislav Namestnikov (upper body), Cedric Paquette (lower body), Brayden Point (upper body), Steven Stamkos (knee)
It looks like both Carolina and Tampa will have their backups in net for this game, although technically Vasilevskiy is the Lightning's starter while Bishop is out with injury. Tampa probably wishes Bishop was healthy, as Vasilevskiy has a 3.60 GAA and a .880 save percentage in his last 10 games. At least the Hurricanes can slightly protect Lack, as they have the league's best penalty kill, and they only give up 27.5 shots on goal per game. At least Nikita Kucherov is back healthy, as he has three assists in his two games since returning from a six-game absence. He leads the team with 33 points despite playing in only 30 games. Stamkos' injury, which elevated Tyler Johnson to being Tampa's top line center hasn't really given Johnson a boost. He only has seven points (four goals, three assists) in the month of December. With Faulk out, Jaccob Slavin is Carolina's top defenseman. He played 24:35 on Tuesday, and he now actually is leading the Hurricanes in minutes per game. Sebastian Aho may not get as much attention as other rookies, but he now has 19 points in 35 games.
Canadiens (PP: 11, PK: 17) at Penguins (PP: 4, PK: 24), 7:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Carey Price (18-5-3, 1.99, .931), Marc-Andre Fleury (11-5-4, 3.13, .908)
Key Injuries:David Desharnais (knee), Alex Galchenyuk (knee), Andrei Markov (lower body), Andrew Shaw (concussion), Brian Dumoulin (jaw), Kris Letang (lower body), Olli Maatta (illness), Matt Murray (lower body)
The injury to Murray, especially combined with the injuries on defense, really put the Penguins in a tough spot. At least Fleury has played better recently, as in his last five appearances he has a 1.72 GAA and a .947 save percentage. Still, on the season, Fleury has clearly been bad. Pittsburgh gives up 32.5 shots on goal per game as well, so it's not like they protect their netminders. At least both Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are in the top three in scoring, and Phil Kessel has 36 points of his own. Montreal only has two player with double-digit goals. Unsurprisngly, Max Pacioretty has 15, but then Paul Byron has 11. However, Byron also has a 22.9 shooting percentage, so don't expect him to keep this up. On the flip side, Brendan Gallagher only has a 6.3 shooting percentage. He's put 95 shots on goal, so he will likely see a few more pucks go in the back of the net soon enough.
Other Matchups
Sabres (PP: 6, PK: 30) at Bruins (PP: 28, PK: 3), 1:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Robin Lehner (8-11-5, 2.49, .922), Tuukka Rask (18-7-3, 1.96, .927)
Key Injuries:David Backes (upper body), Matt Beleskey (knee), John-Michael Liles (concussion), Tyler Ennis (groin), Dmitry Kulikov (back), Ryan O'Reilly (abdomen)
This is an odd special teams battle. The Bruins only give up 27.2 shots per game, while the Sabres give up 32.8. Torey Krug actually has a sub-1.00 shooting percentage right now. Rasmus Ristolainen leads the Sabres with 24 points.
Capitals (PP: 16, PK: 4) at Devils (PP: 23, PK: 11), 1:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Braden Holtby (15-8-4, 2.02, .928), Cory Schneider (10-12-5, 2.90, .904)
Key Injuries:Vernon Fiddler (lower body), Taylor Hall (lower body)
Schneider has a .923 save percentage, so it's pretty jarring to see the numbers he's put up this season. P.A. Parenteau leads the Devils with 10 goals, although Hall and Michael Cammalleri have missed several games apiece. After a slow start, John Carlson has eight points in his last nine games.
Islanders (PP: 26, PK: 22) at Jets (PP: 21, PK: 27), 7:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Thomas Greiss (8-5-0, 2.48, .922), Connor Hellebuyck (13-11-1, 2.62, .913)
Key Injuries:Casey Cizikas (upper body), Mikhail Grabovski (concussion), Marko Dano (lower body), Tyler Myers (lower body)
Both of these teams are in the bottom 10 in goals allowed, and their special teams are terrible. There's an Islander down in the recommended pickup section. Laine leads the Jets in goals (19) and shooting percentage (18.8), but he doesn't lead the team in shots. That would be Dustin Byfuglien, who has tallied 109, yielding four goals.
Rangers (PP: 5, PK: 9) at Avalanche (PP: 29, PK: 23), 8:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Henrik Lundqvist (15-8-1, 2.47, .915), Calvin Pickard (6-8-1, 2.95, .904)
Key Injuries:Erik Johnson (leg), Semyon Varlamov (groin), Pavel Buchnevich (back), Rick Nash (groin), Mika Zibanejad (leg)
The Rangers are third in goals scored. The Avalanche are dead last in goals allowed. That bodes well for guys like Derek Stepan and Chris Kreider. Also Nick Holden, who has 20 points and is a plus-16.
Panthers (PP: 24, PK: 7) at Stars (PP: 20, PK: 26), 8:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Roberto Luongo (11-9-5, 2.42, .920), Antti Niemi (7-4-4, 2.87, .910)
Key Injuries:Ales Hemsky (hip), Mattias Janmark (knee), Antoine Roussel (upper body), Patrick Sharp (concussion), Aleksander Barkov (undisclosed), Jonathan Huberdeau (achilles), Alex Petrovic (ankle), Reilly Smith (concussion)
The Panthers are missing a few key offensive players. Jason Demers actually has just as many goals as Aaron Ekblad (seven). The difference? Demers has a 14.9 shooting percentage, while Ekblad's is 5.6. In his last 10 outings, Benn has three games with three points.
Coyotes (PP: 25, PK: 28) at Flames (PP: 15, PK: 19), 10:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Mike Smith (7-10-4, 2.82, .920), Chad Johnson (13-8-1, 2.34, .920)
Key Injuries:Max Domi (hand), Brad Richardson (leg), Ryan White (lower body), Troy Brouwer (finger), Dougie Hamilton (illness)
Johnson and Smith have the same save percentage (and equally generic last names) but their GAAs are markedly different. Why? Because the Coyotes give up a league-worst 34.6 shots on goal per game. Matthew Tkachuk has seven goals and 14 assists in 34 games, but also a team-leading 64 penalty minutes. Like father, like son.
Canucks (PP: 27, PK: 21) at Oilers (PP: 9, PK: 12), 10:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Jacob Markstrom (7-8-2, 2.65, .909), Cam Talbot (18-10-5, 2.47, .919)
Key Injuries:Mark Fayne (undisclosed), Andrew Ference (hip), Darnell Nurse (ankle), Tyler Pitlick (knee), Andrej Sekera (illness), Derek Dorsett (neck), Erik Gudbranson (wrist), Jannik Hansen (knee)
In addition to ranking in the bottom 10 on the penalty kill and the power play, the Canucks also rank in the bottom 10 in goals for and goals against. In short, Vancouver is awful. New Oilers Milan Lucic is doing reasonably well with 10 goals on 91 shots to go with 15 assists. Veteran center Mark Letestu has five power-play points, and also three shorthanded points.
Sharks (PP: 19, PK: 8) at Kings (PP: 22, PK: 10), 10:30 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Aaron Dell (3-1-0, 2.16, .926), Peter Budaj (15-10-3, 2.04, .920)
Key Injuries:Jonathan Quick (groin), Tyler Toffoli (lower body), Tomas Hertl (knee)
The Kings and Sharks are one and two in shots allowed per game, so don't expect much offense. Even though the Sharks plays on Friday, Dell's performance this season means they probably aren't too worried. Brent Burns leads the entire NHL in shots on goal. Alec Martinez has slightly more points than Drew Doughty (19 to 17), but Doughty leads Martinez in every other category.
Recommended Pickup
Anders Lee, C, NYI – Most Islanders not named John Tavares were ice cold to start the season, but Lee has put that behind him. Over the last 30 days, Lee has notched nine goals and three assists in 14 games. Nine of those points have come in his last 10 games. Now, most of Lee's value has come from goals, as he only has four assists in 35 games. Additionally, on the season he's only averaging 14:11 of ice time. However, in the last month that number is up to 16:04. Lee has a bigger role, and he's doing nothing with his play to make the Islanders want to cut down on those minutes. While a bit of regression is likely, Lee scored 25 goals two seasons ago in his first full season, so there is definitely talent here.
