This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
I saw a headline on ESPN informing me that Wayne Gretzky provided a voice for an upcoming episode of The Simpsons. This combines two of my greatest interests; hockey and The Simpsons. Now, I know most people don't really care about The Simpsons anymore. It's their loss, because the show is still good. It's just not great anymore, but don't blame it for that. A lot of sports stars have appeared on the show over the years, but I can't recall many, if any, hockey players. A photo of Gordie Howe was used for "Woodrow," the fake paramour Bart made up for Edna Krabappel. There have also been a couple other episodes involving hockey, none more prominent than "Lisa on Ice." Up to this point, that's been the peak hockey moment for The Simpsons. Perhaps Gretzky's guest appearance can live up to that.
Featured Matchups
Lightning (PP: 3, PK: 12) at Flyers (PP: 2, PK: 24), 1:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Ben Bishop (7-5-0, 2.77, .909), Steve Mason (4-5-3, 3.13, .889)
Key Injuries:Michal Neuvirth (lower body), Steven Stamkos (knee), Anton Stralman (undisclosed)
Obviously, when people talk about the Lightning now, they will be talking about them getting by without Stamkos yet again, as he's out for four months. He will be missed, because he is a great player who was having a great season. The team won their last game without him, besting Buffalo 4-1 thanks in part to a returning Jonathan Drouin. The Lightning will need Drouin, and they will also need Ondrej Palat (six points) to pick up his play. Don't sleep on Stralman being out, either, and Bishop needs to improve in net. It will be hard to do that against the Flyers, who have a potent offense. It's the usual suspects for Philly, including Jakub Voracek who has seven goals already this season. Last year has now been definitively proven to be a fluke. Also contributing is Travis Konecny, who has 11 points, and he's taken 42 shots on goal, so he's been truly active in the offense. This feels like its primed to be a barnburner. Get excited, fantasy owners.
Oilers (PP: 19, PK: 5) at Stars (PP: 14, PK: 26), 7:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Cam Talbot (8-7-1, 2.66, .914), Kari Lehtonen (4-4-3, 3.06, .898)
Key Injuries:Ales Hemsky (hip), Jiri Hudler (illness), Mattias Janmark (knee), Patrick Sharp (concussion), Mark Fayne (undisclosed), Andrew Ference (hip), Matt Hendricks (lower body), Kris Russell (undisclosed)
Heading into the season, this would have been expected to be a high-scoring game as well. Two teams loaded with offensive firepower and defensive questions. However, that's not really how things have panned out. While the Oilers are 12th in goals for, they are actually 16th in goals allowed, and their penalty kill has been strong. Dallas is tied with Edmonton in goals for, which is a real step down from last season. Their goal prevention, though, has been as spotty as anticipated. Injuries have definitely hurt them. Even the surprise start of Patrick Eaves (eight goals, six assists) hasn't salvaged things. Do you know who leads the Oilers in goals? It's Patrick Maroon, who has six. He's taken 41 shots on goal, so while his shooting percentage is a little high, he's not been a total fluke.
Predators (PP: 8, PK: 18) at Blues (PP: 7, PK: 1), 8:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Pekka Rinne (6-4-3, 2.04, .933), Jake Allen (7-3-3, 2.45, .904)
Key Injuries:Alexander Steen (undisclosed)
It's weird when you see the Blues with the league's best penalty kill, but then you see Allen's save percentage. This could mean a couple of things. One, it could mean the Blues are getting really lucky on the penalty kill. Two, it means Allen has gotten a bit unlucky in five-on-five play, and his numbers are going to improve. While both of these teams have been good on the power play, it will be hard for Nashville to keep that up tonight. That doesn't bode well for Mike Fisher, who has six of his eight points with the extra man. James Neal is off to a strong start to the season with eight goals. Viktor Arvidsson has five goals, and he's taken 52 shots on net. Speaking of shots on net, Vladamir Tarasenko has tallied 68. Kevin Shattenkirk has nine power-play points. Jaden Schwartz has six goals and eight points, even though he's only played in 14 games.
Other Matchups
Devils (PP: 22, PK: 19) at Kings (PP: 27, PK: 22), 4:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Cory Schneider (7-4-2, 2.21, .926), Peter Budaj (8-6-1, 2.12, .914)
Key Injuries:Marian Gaborik (foot), Anze Kopitar (upper body), Jonathan Quick (groin), Michael Cammalleri (personal), Taylor Hall (knee)
When you look at the players on the injury list, you don't really expect a high-scoring game here. Without Hall, the Devils really lack an effective goal scorer. P.A. Parenteau has five goals, but he doesn't have Hall's track record. The Kings do have some offensive talent, led by leading scorer Jeff Carter. Scoring on Schneider isn't easy, though.
Jets (PP: 18, PK: 14) at Bruins (PP: 22, PK: 10), 7:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Connor Hellebuyck (7-5-0, 2.59, .910), Tuukka Rask (10-2-0, 1.49, .947)
Key Injuries:Anton Khudobin (upper body), Kevan Miller (hand), David Pastrnak (undisclosed), Frank Vatrano (foot), Bryan Little (lower body), Shawn Matthias (lower body), Tyler Myers (lower body), Mathieu Perreault (undisclosed), Drew Stafford (upper body)
The Jets have emerged as a real offensive threat. Mark Scheifele actually leads the NHL in points with 22, and Patrick Laine leads the league in goals with 12. Pastrnak, who didn't play Thursday, has 10 goals of his own. Patrice Bergeron is off to a bit of a slow start. He's got four points (two goals) in 14 games. However, he's taken 53 shots on goal, and a higher percentage of shots are bound to find the back of the net.
Penguins (PP: 5, PK: 20) at Sabres (PP: 11, PK: 21), 7:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Marc-Andre Fleury (6-3-2, 3.32, .903), Robin Lehner (4-7-2, 2.53, .919)
Key Injuries:Zach Bogosian (knee), Jack Eichel (ankle), Tyler Ennis (groin), Dmitry Kulikov (back), Ryan O'Reilly (oblique), Patric Hornqvist (concussion), Chris Kunitz (lower body), Derrick Pouliot (undisclosed), Daniel Sprong (shoulder)
The Penguins are on the second night of a back-to-back, which means the Sabres get to face the struggling Fleury. Of course, their offense hasn't been very good, especially with the injuries they've suffered. Kunitz played Friday, picking up two assists. He now has 10 points.
Maple Leafs (PP: 10, PK: 9) at Canadiens (PP: 6, PK: 17), 7:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Frederik Andersen (8-4-3, 3.16, .907), Carey Price (10-0-1, 1.63, .948)
Key Injuries:Artturi Lehkonen (upper body), Alexander Radulov (illness), Joffrey Lupul (abdomen)
The Canadiens played Al Montoya on Friday, meaning the Maple Leafs are stuck facing Price. That certainly lowers the potential value of Auston Matthews, William Nylander, and Mitch Marner. Of course, James van Riemsdyk now leads the Maple Leafs with 17 points. Don't overlook him just because he's not a rookie.
Panthers (PP: 20, PK: 15) at Senators (PP: 29, PK: 3), 7:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Roberto Luongo (6-5-0, 2.36, .916), Craig Anderson (8-3-1, 2.12, .934)
Key Injuries:Nick Bjugstad (hand), Jonathan Huberdeau (lower body), Jussi Jokinen (illness), Mike Hoffman (undisclosed), Bobby Ryan (upper body)
The Panthers feel like they've underachieved a bit this season, but they and the Senators both have minus-3 goal differentials after 17 games. They've gotten there in different ways, though. The Senators are only scoring 2.1 goals per game, but fortunately Anderson has been great. We know about Jonathan Marchessault by now, but Colton Sceviour has nine points in his own right.
Sharks (PP: 16, PK: 4) at Coyotes (PP: 24, PK: 28), 8:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Martin Jones (8-7-0, 2.26, .911), Mike Smith (1-0-1, 2.81, .905)
Key Injuries:Brad Richardson (leg), Tobias Rieder (lower body), Tomas Hertl (knee)
Getting Smith back helps the Coyotes, but only a little. Arizona has been bad in all aspects of the game. Read below for a little information on Radim Vrbata. While Joe Thornton is still going strong, it would seem perhaps Patrick Marleau is no longer a reliable contributor. He's got five points, though four of those are goals.
Avalanche (PP: 17, PK: 25) at Wild (PP: 24, PK: 5), 8:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Semyon Varlamov (4-8-0, 3.01, .901), Devan Dubnyk (7-5-1, 1.47, .952)
Key Injuries:Matt Duchene (concussion), Gabriel Landeskog (lower body), Marco Scandella (ankle)
The Avalanche have struggled to score goals, and arguably their two best forwards are banged up. Dubnyk has the best save percentage in the NHL. Is it possible for Colorado to score negative goals? Keep an eye on Mikael Granlund, who has nine points in 16 games.
Blackhawks (PP: 13, PK: 30) at Canucks (PP: 26, PK: 16), 10:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Scott Darling (3-0-0, 2.99, .907), Jacob Markstrom (5-3-1, 2.71, .900)
Key Injuries:Tyler Motte (leg), Trevor van Riemsdyk (arm), Jannik Hansen (ribs), Ryan Miller (illness), Chris Tanev (lower body)
Do you think the Blackhawks won't have the worst penalty kill in the NHL at some point this season? Like, if they keep doing a better job, because they certainly have the talent and the goaltending, will they eventually not be at the bottom of the rankings? Or did they dig too big of a hole? Speaking of big holes, there's one where the Canucks' offense should be. They are actually in the bottom five in both goals for and goals against. At least the Sedins are still good.
Recommended Pickup
Radim Vrbata, RW, ARI – Nobody gets excited about Vrbata. He's 35 and he's played for six different teams. However, this is a guy with 265 career goals who had 31 goals just two years ago. This year, he's scored six goals and added five assists in 16 games. On top of that, he's taken 52 shots on goal, which is a lot. Vrbata is playing 17 minutes a night, and is a steady performer. He's easy to overlook, but you shouldn't make that mistake.
