This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
There was no stare down Saturday night as the Habs limited the Caps to just 21 shots and Carey Price made 20 saves for his 250th career win. It was an ominous moment for the franchise when Price was pulled against San Jose after allowing four goals and skated to the bench without breaking eye contact with Michel Therrien, channelling shades of Patrick Roy. Of course, the Habs trading Price is unthinkable, and we just won't even bother going down that dark path.
Credit to the Habs defense, though, for blocking 21 shots despite losing Nathan Beaulieu to a 10-minute misconduct for abusing the officials and then losing Shea Weber for parts of the second period due to a lower-body injury.
Goaltending is important, obviously, but it's worth mentioning just how dependent the Habs are on Price – you don't need to look far in the past to see how awful they were without him. And, unlike the P.K. Subban situation, between Therrien and Price the Habs are going to pick Price. Ever heard the saying, "happy wife, happy life"? Well, how about: "happy Price = paradise"?
Featured Matchups
Blue Jackets (PP: 1, PK: 14) at Canucks (PP: 27, PK: 15), 4:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Sergei Bobrovsky (18-5-2, 1.90, .935), Ryan Miller (7-9-0, 2.83, .910)
Key Injuries:Dalton Prout (back), Derek Dorsett (neck), Alexander Edler (finger), Erik Gudbranson (undisclosed), Philip Larsen (upper body), Anton Rodin (knee), Troy Stecher (undisclosed)
How much is John Tortorella going to enjoy this one? The BJ's and their No. 1 ranked power play come to Vancouver that will be without Edler, Gudbranson and possibly Stecher, who finished Friday's game feeling a little sore. It'll be interesting to see how Canucks fans greet Tortorella, most of whom have come to terms with the fact that the roster he inherited really didn't suit his style. The Jackets are already one of the league's most exciting teams, so what should be a lackluster Sunday afternoon game should bring some fireworks.
Sharks (PP: 16, PK: 17) at Blackhawks (PP: 14, PK: 30), 7:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Martin Jones (16-10-1, 2.10, .920), Scott Darling (8-2-2, 2.18, .928)
Key Injuries:Corey Crawford (illness), Artem Anisimov (undisclosed), Tomas Hertl (knee)
Both teams are relatively healthy, though Anisimov's status is questionable after leaving Saturday's game against the Blues. Should that be the case, Jonathan Toews will have to pull double duty against Joe Thornton and Logan Couture, because there's just nobody else on the roster that can step into the No. 2 center spot. If Peter DeBoer really wants to twist the knife, he might have Thornton, Couture and Joe Pavelski play on three separate lines, because the Blackhawks just don't have enough depth to keep all three in check. The one hope for Chicago is if Joel Quenneville elects to stack one line with Toews re-uniting with Patrick Kane, and hope that the defense and Darling can keep the scoring to a minimum.
Devils (PP: 23, PK: 10) at Rangers (PP: 9, PK: 3), 7:30 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Cory Schneider (9-9-4, 2.88, .905), Antti Raanta (8-2-0, 1.67, .941)
Key Injuries:Pavel Buchnevich (back), Mika Zibanejad (leg)
The Devils have had trouble scoring all year and Raanta's been brilliant, so it should be an easy win for the Rangers, but what makes this game exciting is the genuine dislike they have for one another. Throw in Taylor Hall and his penchant for starting fires (seriously, I've never seen anyone smash more water bottles on the bench than him during his time in Edmonton… or just seem to have drama follow him around), and it could be an absolute barn burner.
Other Matchups
Kings (PP: 22, PK: 11) at Bruins (PP: 28, PK: 4), 1:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Peter Budaj (14-7-2, 2.17, .913), Tuukka Rask (15-5-3, 1.90, .930)
Key Injuries:Matt Beleskey (knee), John-Michael Liles (concussion), Kevan Miller (illness), Riley Nash (personal), David Pastrnak (elbow), Brayden McNabb (collarbone), Jonathan Quick (groin)
It would be a lot more interesting if Milan Lucic was still in the lineup, or, y'know, if both teams were actually good. Right now, both are somewhere between decent and pretty good, but it's hard to know which team will show up on a nightly basis. It's also matchups like these where a David Backes comes in handy, because as much as the Bruins want to get a little faster, the big bruisers are still very valuable when the heavy Western Conference teams come to visit. Anze Kopitar and Jeff Carter both have a distinct size and strength advantage over David Krejci and Patrice Bergeron, both of whom haven't quite lived up to expectations. Not having Pastrnak will really hurt the Bruins because he's been their most dynamic goal scorer this season and one point away from tying Brad Marchand for the team lead in points.
Avalanche (PP: 21, PK: 22) at Jets (PP: 25, PK: 28), 3:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Calvin Pickard (5-5-1, 2.88, .904), Connor Hellebuyck (11-10-1, 2.75, .909)
Key Injuries:Joe Colborne (lower body), Erik Johnson (leg), Semyon Varlamov (groin), Joel Armia (undisclosed), Shawn Matthias (lower body), Tyler Myers (lower body), Nicolas Petan (lower body)
This game's simple: whichever team has the better goaltending is going to take the game. Even though afternoon games tend to be sluggish, neither team is short on fire power. This is the type of game that will feature a lot of action up and down the ice, especially with both teams also missing key bodies on defense. A Jets win will vault them into fourth place and five points behind the Blues.
Senators (PP: 20, PK: 16) at Islanders (PP: 29, PK: 23), 7:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Andrew Hammond (0-1-0, 4.00, .833), Jaroslav Halak (5-8-5, 3.13, .907)
Key Injuries:Casey Cizikas (upper body), Adam Pelech (upper body), Craig Anderson (personal), Fredrik Claesson (lower body), Mike Hoffman (suspension), Clarke MacArthur (concussion)
Halak only has to be good enough to win the game, as the Sens will be missing some firepower with Hoffman out and the whole team struggling to score all season. Hammond has appeared in just three games this season after going on his hot run just two seasons ago, and even if the Sens defense focus on John Tavares and dare the rest of the team to beat them, there's enough talent on the Islanders roster to finish the job.
Recommended Pickup
Conor Sheary, LW, PIT – He hasn't scored a point in his past two games but he's remained a fixture on Sidney Crosby's line, and that's generally a good thing. Over his past four games he's played well over his season average of 15:05 TOI per game with 15 shots on goal during that span. He's not an elite talent so don't expect him to put up gaudy numbers, but he's certainly in a very good situation right now and should have no problems scoring 20 goals and scoring 40-50 points by the end of the season.
