This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
Raise your hand if you thought the Lightning would be last in points percentage among Eastern Conference teams halfway through the season. Yup, nobody did. With a 5-3 loss to the Coyotes last night, the Lightning's situation has become increasingly dire. There have been rumblings that Steve Yzerman may be looking to add pieces or shake up the roster via trade, and perhaps the only thing that's prevented him from doing so is the lack of trade activity, considering that no team in the conference is out of the playoff race.
Despite having oodles of talent, there's no real secret where the Lightning have really faltered this season: goaltending. Ben Bishop has just 11 wins in 25 starts, and has been so awful that the Lightning have been forced to split the workload evenly between Bishop and Andrei Vasilevskiy. Both, however, have been equally bad and unreliable, posting very similar stats: Bishop's .905 save percentage and 2.78 GAA to Vasilevskiy's .907 save percentage and 2.86 GAA.
Things could also be a lot better if Jon Cooper had more than competent defensemen to work with. Victor Hedman has been excellent, but the same can't be said for the rest of the group. Anton Stralman has been rather underwhelming, while an increasing emphasis on speed and skill has exposed big, lumbering defensemen such as Jason Garrison, Braydon Coburn and Andrej Sustr.
Of course, having a healthy Steven Stamkos would make a big difference, but unlike the Martin St. Louis
Raise your hand if you thought the Lightning would be last in points percentage among Eastern Conference teams halfway through the season. Yup, nobody did. With a 5-3 loss to the Coyotes last night, the Lightning's situation has become increasingly dire. There have been rumblings that Steve Yzerman may be looking to add pieces or shake up the roster via trade, and perhaps the only thing that's prevented him from doing so is the lack of trade activity, considering that no team in the conference is out of the playoff race.
Despite having oodles of talent, there's no real secret where the Lightning have really faltered this season: goaltending. Ben Bishop has just 11 wins in 25 starts, and has been so awful that the Lightning have been forced to split the workload evenly between Bishop and Andrei Vasilevskiy. Both, however, have been equally bad and unreliable, posting very similar stats: Bishop's .905 save percentage and 2.78 GAA to Vasilevskiy's .907 save percentage and 2.86 GAA.
Things could also be a lot better if Jon Cooper had more than competent defensemen to work with. Victor Hedman has been excellent, but the same can't be said for the rest of the group. Anton Stralman has been rather underwhelming, while an increasing emphasis on speed and skill has exposed big, lumbering defensemen such as Jason Garrison, Braydon Coburn and Andrej Sustr.
Of course, having a healthy Steven Stamkos would make a big difference, but unlike the Martin St. Louis stand-off, Yzerman is facing his toughest test as general manager. He can't afford to make hasty decisions because the current core has proven that they can win games, but he also can't just stand by and keep watching as the competition heats up. If the Islanders win Sunday, the Lightning will sit dead last in the conference.
Featured Matchups
Bruins (PP: 18, PK: 2) at Penguins (PP: 3, PK: 24), 3:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Tuukka Rask (22-11-4, 2.08, .920), Marc-Andre Fleury (13-7-4, 3.23, .904)
Key Injuries:Colin Miller (lower body), Kevan Miller (concussion), Matt Cullen (foot), Brian Dumoulin (jaw), Kris Letang (knee)
The situation in Boston has become so dire that Julien had to comment on his job security, and they're going up against one of the league's best offenses after allowing 10 goals in their past three games, all of which were losses. Another embarrassing loss, even if it's to the defending Cup champs, could force the Bruins to make a major move. The other storyline to watch is Fleury, who is making his first start in four games after allowing six goals against Detroit, and is in real danger of losing his job to Matt Murray. A strong start will assuage any worries the Penguins may have about carrying two starters for the rest of the season.
Flyers (PP: 9, PK: 20) at Islanders (PP: 26, PK: 21), 6:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Michal Neuvirth (6-3-0, 3.30, .877), Thomas Greiss (12-7-2, 2.29, .927)
Key Injuries:Johnny Boychuk (upper body), Cal Clutterbuck (undisclosed), Travis Hamonic (knee), Andrew Ladd (undisclosed)
The Flyers are one point behind Toronto for a wild card playoff spot and the Islanders have clawed back into the picture, sitting two games above .500 thanks to John Tavares' recent hot streak with seven goals in four games. With Jaroslav Halak no longer a viable option, Thomas Greiss gets a chance to further prove that he can be a starting goalie in the NHL, putting his two-game shutout streak on the line against a dangerous Flyers offense and their ninth-ranked power play.
Predators (PP: 17, PK: 11) at Wild (PP: 12, PK: 6), 8:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Pekka Rinne (17-12-6, 2.35, .921), Darcy Kuemper (5-2-2, 3.30, .901)
Key Injuries:Victor Bartley (triceps), Jonas Brodin (finger), Petter Granberg (undisclosed), Roman Josi (upper body), Miikka Salomaki (lower body), Colin Wilson (undisclosed)
A key Central Division match could see Minnesota pull further away from Chicago for the division lead or see Nashville pull two points ahead of the struggling Blues to claim sole possession of third place. Both teams will also be looking to extend their winning streaks to three games, and even though Devan Dubnyk will likely sit after facing Anaheim on Saturday, the Wild have been one of the best teams in the league all year.
Other Matchups
Rangers (PP: 8, PK: 14) at Red Wings (PP: 30, PK: 18), 12:30 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Henrik Lundqvist (19-12-1, 2.86, .902), Jared Coreau (5-1-1, 3.04, .901)
Key Injuries:Jimmy Howard (knee), Niklas Kronwall (groin), Steve Ott (shoulder), Brendan Smith (knee), Jesper Fast (upper body), Matt Puempel (concussion), Antti Raanta (lower body), Marc Staal (concussion)
The Rangers have a nice little cushion as the top wild card seed, but they have to be careful because Lundqvist hasn't been very reliable this season. The Red Wings offense will be looking to capitalize on a team that's suddenly unsure of its usually spectacular goaltending, and also because there seems to be little confidence in either Jared Coreau or Petr Mrazek recently. The key player to watch for the Rangers is Pavel Buchnevich (more on him below), who has been dynamite since returning from a back injury and has the speed to match Dylan Larkin or Andreas Athanasiou.
Blue Jackets (PP: 1, PK: 7) at Senators (PP: 19, PK: 13), 5:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Joonas Korpisalo (1-1-0, 2.54, .922), Mike Condon (12-7-3, 2.35, .919)
Key Injuries:Markus Nutivaara (undisclosed), David Savard (undisclosed), Craig Anderson (personal), Mark Borowiecki (illness), Andrew Hammond (ankle), Chris Kelly (undisclosed), Clarke MacArthur (concussion)
John Tortorella's clubs are asked to play aggressive hockey no matter the situation, so even with Korpisalo in net they're unlikely to dial back their aggressive forecheck. Other than Erik Karlsson and perhaps Cody Ceci or Chris Wideman, no one on the Senators blue line is very adept at moving the puck up the ice, so there's a good chance the Blue Jackets can pin them in their own zone, and once that happens, they'll be throwing a lot of pucks on net to test Condon.
Canucks (PP: 29, PK: 23) at Blackhawks (PP: 16, PK: 28), 7:30 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Ryan Miller (14-10-3, 2.48, .919), Corey Crawford (17-10-3, 2.54, .919)
Key Injuries:Marcus Kruger (upper body), Derek Dorsett (neck), Erik Gudbranson (wrist), Jannik Hansen (knee), Ben Hutton (hand), Philip Larsen (upper body), Anton Rodin (knee)
Five years ago, this would've been marquee matchup on any night, but much has changed since – the Blackhawks have remained elite while the Canucks have floundered over the past few seasons. The Canucks have won two straight, but continue to have trouble generating offense consistently. Against all odds, and partly thanks to a weaker Western Conference, the Canucks are just one point out of a playoff spot. A win against Chicago could provide a huge boost of confidence for the team, and they're coming off a very satisfying win against Florida with Henrik Sedin notching his 1000th career point.
Recommended Pickup
Pavel Buchnevich, LW/RW, NYR – In the four games since returning from a back injury, Buchnevich has two goals and three assists, and despite limited action is a point-per-game player with 14 points in 14 games. The talented scoring winger was a dark horse Calder candidate before sitting out for two months, and he's back on the radar again. His shooting percentage isn't quite sustainable, but he gets consistent ice time and he's playing on a team that have a few players who can score goals. He's owned in just 17 percent of Yahoo leagues and 27 percent of ESPN leagues, and could be good enough to be kept for the rest of the season.
