This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
Around the Rink
Following the 2011 Stanley Cup Final, in which Roberto Luongo allowed 20 goals, the Vancouver Canucks were faced with a predicament. While Luongo had been great during those first five years in Vancouver, his play was always called into question once the playoffs rolled around. Meanwhile, the Canucks had a young goaltender in Cory Schneider who was better than most number ones in the league and was deserving of more starts. Vancouver decided to go the route of trying to trade Luongo and his massive contract during the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons, but were unable to find any suitors.
Instead, the Canucks moved Schneider to the New Jersey Devils the day before the 2013 NHL Draft in return for the ninth overall selection in that draft (Jake Virtanen). While a definitive answer can't be given as to who won this trade yet, Schneider has only improved in New Jersey and has become a bonafide number one goaltender in the NHL.
The Canucks were eventually able to trade Luongo in the middle of the 2013-14 season, returning him to the Florida Panthers in return for Shawn Matthias and fellow goalie Jacob Markstrom. Luongo's career has been rejuvenated in Sunrise, while Matthias gave the Canucks 18 goals in 2014-15 before moving on to Toronto. Markstrom, once the most highly-touted goalie prospect in the world, has bounced back and forth between the AHL and the Canucks since the trade.
Prior to this season, Vancouver traded Eddie Lack, who had just played a stellar 41 games, to Carolina for third and seventh round picks. Lack has been awful in with the Canes, but one has to wonder what the Canucks were committing to when they made this trade. Ryan Miller, at 35 years old, has played 18 of the Canucks' 21 games this season, and while he has been okay thus far, you have to wonder how long this will last. Miller's contract is looking like it will turn into another albatross, just as Luongo's before, unless the Canucks can find another serviceable backup to share some of the load.
Projected Goalie Starters (all times Eastern)
Kings (Jonathan Quick) at Hurricanes (Cam Ward), 1:00 PM
Sharks (Alex Stalock) at Blue Jackets (Sergei Bobrovsky), 5:00 PM
Islanders (Jaroslav Halak) at Canadiens (Carey Price), 7:00 PM
Devils (Cory Schneider) at Canucks (Jacob Markstrom), 10:00 PM
For updates on the projected goalies later in the day, check out our Projected Goalies Grid.
Injury News for Teams Playing Sunday
Los Angeles Kings
Matt Greene, D (upper body) - likely out at least until the end of the month
Dwight King, LW (foot) - will wear a soft boot for one more week before resuming training
Carolina Hurricanes
Ryan Murphy, D (concussion) - yet to complete concussion protocol
James Wisniewski, D (knee) - likely to miss remainder of regular season
San Jose Sharks
Logan Couture, C (foot) - resumed skating Saturday
Ben Smith, RW (head) - skated Monday, but remains without a timetable for his return
Columbus Blue Jackets
Jared Boll, RW (foot) - no clear return date
David Clarkson, RW (lower body) - remains on IR
Brandon Dubinsky, C (elbow) - could return within the next two weeks
Cody Goloubef, D (jaw) - no word on whether he will miss any time
Fedor Tyutin, D (upper body) - same status as Goloubef
Alexander Wennberg, C (lower body) - likely to return this week
New York Islanders
Eric Boulton, RW (lower body) - remains without an update on his status
Thomas Hickey, D (leg) - could return Wednesday
Montreal Canadiens
Michael Bournival, C (concussion) - yet to play this season
Alexei Emelin, D (lower body) - will miss at least miss Sunday
Torrey Mitchell, C (lower body) - ineligible to return until Friday
New Jersey Devils
Patrik Elias, LW (knee) - continues to skate with the team
Stefan Matteau, LW (illness) - could return Sunday
Tuomo Ruutu, LW (foot) - scheduled to return within the next two weeks
Vancouver Canucks
Ben Hutton, D (undisclosed) - availability for Sunday unclear
Brandon Sutter, C (lower body) - will be re-evaluated at the beginning of December
Radim Vrbata, RW (groin) - status for Sunday is unclear after missing the last two games
Hot
Brendan Gallagher, RW, MON - Even at 5'9", Gallagher has found a way to be an effective player ever since breaking into the league in 2012-13. However, this year Gallagher has taken his play to another level. He's currently on a near 40-goal and 80-point scoring pace, while also riding an active seven-game point streak. Gallagher is a throwback player who earns his money in front of the net, and no team has found a way to stop him from getting there.
Tyler Toffoli, RW, LA - Despite lighting up the OHL during his junior career, Toffoli was still somewhat of an overlooked commodity until scoring seven playoff goals en route to the Kings 2014 Stanley Cup victory as a rookie. He followed that performance up with 23 goals in 2014-15, but similarly to Gallagher, is now on a 40-goal, 80-point scoring pace for the year. Toffoli scores in much different ways though, he's a rangy winger with great hands and a great shot on the rush. Playing with a somewhat similar player in Jeff Carter seems to have accentuated both of their best characteristics.
Cold
Joel Ward, RW, SJS - A torrid start saw Ward rack up 14 points in his first 15 games as a Shark, but has just one point, an assist, in the five games since. The most concerning part about Ward's slide is the fact that his average time on ice (including power play) has remained fairly consistent and he has continued to play on the Sharks' second line throughout his struggles.
Recommended Pickup
Melker Karlsson, LW, SJS - After missing the first 14 games of the season with an injury, Karlsson was moved to San Jose's first line in his fourth game back. The 25-year old Swede has scored three points in the three games since, playing alongside Joe Pavelski (18 points in 20 games) and Joe Thornton, who can still feed with the best of them in the NHL. As long as Karlsson is skating with Big Joe and Little Joe, he has enough offensive ability to continue to score.
