This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
He's winless in his past three starts, but nobody can accuse of Mike Smith of being terrible anymore after his 59-save performance in a 3-2 shootout loss to Columbus last night. Smith's performance was so good the NHL tacked on the 59th save after reviewing the final game tape, which set a new franchise record. Funnily enough, the previous record of 54 saves was also set by Smith against the Blue Jackets more than four years ago in April 2012. He's recovered very nicely after undergoing surgery to a core muscle last year, something that had apparently bothered him for quite some time, and in five of his past seven games has posted a save percentage of .941 or better.
BTW, NHL has now credited Mike Smith with 59 saves on 61 shots.
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) December 4, 2016
Arizona entered the season with high hopes after a slew of changes made by general manager John Chayka were met with positive reviews, but currently sit in last place in the Pacific Division, three wins behind second-worst Vancouver and already 11 points behind division-leader San Jose. The Coyotes have dug themselves into a pretty big hole, and Smith only won't be able to dig them out, but there comes a time when teams just love playing the spoiler.
Featured Matchups
Jets (PP: 20, PK: 25) at Blackhawks (PP: 17, PK: 30), 7:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Michael Hutchinson (3-4-2, 3.05, .898), Scott Darling (4-1-1, 2.81, .907)
Key Injuries:Corey Crawford (illness), Jonathan Toews (back), Joel Armia (undisclosed), Shawn Matthias (lower body), Tyler Myers (lower body), Nicolas Petan (lower body), Mark Scheifele (undisclosed)
The matchup would be far more interesting if Toews and Scheifele were playing, but getting to watch Patrick Kane and Patrik Laine is much more than a consolation prize. The Wild, Predators, Stars and Jets are tied with 26 points in the Central, but the Wild and the Predators have four games on hand against the Jets, which means that Paul Maurice is going to have to press the right buttons soon or be in danger of falling out of the playoff picture. The good news is that in Scheifele's absence, Bryan Little has stepped up in a big way and has made a seamless transition to Laine's center scoring two points in his debut on the top line. The job is pretty simple after all – just get the puck and give it up to Laine as often and as fast as you can.
Wild (PP: 16, PK: 14) at Oilers (PP: 10, PK: 5), 9:30 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Devan Dubnyk (9-6-3, 1.67, .945), Jonas Gustavsson (1-1-0, 2.04, .914)
Key Injuries:Darnell Nurse (lower body), Brandon Davidson (shoulder), Eric Gryba (undisclosed), Iiro Pakarinen (leg), Victor Bartley (triceps), Zac Dalpe (knee), Christian Folin (knee)
Edmonton's quest for their first playoff berth in the Connor McDavid era continues, and with a win will vault over San Jose for the Pacific Division lead. McDavid has been unstoppable and currently leads the league in scoring with 34 points, and the Oilers' plus-11 goal differential is the best mark in the division. Even though the Wild power play hasn't been particularly effective, the Oilers' fifth-ranked penalty kill will be put to the test with Gustavsson getting the start and missing Gryba (2:01 TOI per game on the PK) and Nurse (1:39) on the blue line. The Wild are interesting; even though advanced stats indicate they're barely average (49.5% Corsi), they've got the Central's best goal differential (plus-14), one of the league's best goalies and Bruce Boudreau behind the bench – all the signs of a good team.
Ducks (PP: 4, PK: 15) at Flames (PP: 30, PK: 28), 9:30 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Jonathan Bernier (4-1-1, 2.02, .933), Brian Elliott (3-9-1, 3.31, .885)
Key Injuries:Joseph Cramarossa (lower body), Simon Despres (head), Nicolas Kerdiles (concussion), Clayton Stoner (lower body), Nate Thompson (Achilles), Lance Bouma (shoulder), Johnny Gaudreau (finger)
The Pacific Division standings may see a lot of movement after Sunday night, with the Ducks looking to put more distance between themselves and a wild card spot, while the Flames are clawing to stay in the race. The Flames are third in the league with 300 penalty minutes so far this season, and will have to remain very well-disciplined or otherwise face a very good Ducks power play. The same could be said for the Ducks, who are the league's most penalized team, but the Flames' power play has borne very little fruit this season. Both Antoine Vermette (the world's biggest cheater in the dot) and Ryan Kesler are winning more than 60 percent of their faceoffs, which means Glen Gulutzan's home-ice advantage with last change won't mean much if Sean Monahan and Mikael Backlund are going to lose the majority of their draws. Rickard Rakell has been dynamite of late, scoring six goals in his past eight games and played 20:11 against Edmonton on Saturday.
Other Matchups
Canadiens (PP: 9, PK: 18) at Kings (PP: 28, PK: 21), 3:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Carey Price (13-3-1, 1.71, .946), Peter Budaj (12-7-1, 2.15, .912)
Key Injuries:Brayden McNabb (collarbone), Jonathan Quick (groin), Nathan Beaulieu (neck), Alexander Radulov (eye), Zach Redmond (foot)
The Kings offense depends on a lot of players to contribute because they don't have a bona fide scorer, which is manageable most nights but not against the league's best goalie. Budaj's done his best to keep the Kings in the playoff race, but without Jonathan Quick it's not quite the matchup everyone is hoping for, especially since it's possible the two will meet in the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 1993. Max Pacioretty's been moved back to the top line with Alex Galchenyuk and Alexander Radulov, but continues to have a tough time scoring and is hard to trust on the ice right now and shooting far less than he used to.
Lightning (PP: 1, PK: 22) at Hurricanes (PP: 11, PK: 1), 5:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Andrei Vasilevskiy (6-2-1, 2.24, .930), Cam Ward (7-7-4, 2.21, .919)
Key Injuries:Bryan Bickell (illness), Eddie Lack (concussion), Elias Lindholm (lower body), Jordan Staal (concussion), Ryan Callahan (lower body), Jason Garrison (knee), Steven Stamkos (knee)
As talented as the Hurricanes blue line is, it's clear they're just not yet ready to make the big leap. Both teams will be playing the second of a back-to-back at an unconventional start time, which usually means the teams will be sluggish to start. Special teams will be particularly interesting with the Bolts' top-ranked power play going up against the 'Canes' top-ranked penalty kill.
Flyers (PP: 3, PK: 23) at Predators (PP: 6, PK: 10), 6:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Anthony Stolarz (1-0-0, 3.00, .906), Pekka Rinne (10-5-3, 2.03, .934)
Key Injuries:Anthony Bitetto (upper body), Ryan Ellis (upper body), James Neal (upper body), Miikka Salomaki (hand), Colton Sissons (upper body), Sean Couturier (knee), Boyd Gordon (upper body), Radko Gudas (illness), Michal Neuvirth (lower body)
The Predators looked so dominant after three straight wins against Tampa Bay, Dallas and Winnipeg, but have now lost two of their past three games, including a loss Saturday to New Jersey after blowing a 4-1 lead. Consistency has been an issue all season for Peter Laviolette's squad, but that seems to be the theme wherever he goes.
Red Wings (PP: 21, PK: 13) at Islanders (PP: 29, PK: 19), 6:00 p.m.
Expected Goalies:Petr Mrazek (6-5-3, 2.83, .907), Jaroslav Halak (4-6-4, 2.86, .911)
Key Injuries:Justin Abdelkader (knee), Andreas Athanasiou (knee), Tyler Bertuzzi (ankle), Darren Helm (upper body), Jimmy Howard (groin), Alexey Marchenko (upper body), Brendan Smith (knee), Mikhail Grabovski (concussion), Adam Pelech (upper body)
Mrazek's been very good since Howard suffered his groin injury, allowing just five goals in his past three starts but winning just one game thanks to poor goal support, while Halak is coming off a 38-save shutout against the Capitals. Frans Nielsen makes his return to only organization he has ever known, and his presence should be a harsh reminder of the holes the Islanders failed to adequately address during the summer after seeing Nielsen and Kyle Okposo depart via free agency.
Recommended Pickup
Bryan Little, C, WPG – He's taken over the No. 1 center job with Scheifele sidelined with an undisclosed injury, and in just 16:17 of ice time against St. Louis notched a goal and assist. Playing with Laine and Nikolaj Ehlers will have major benefits, and in recent seasons Little has been used more in a defensive role, but he's also a four-time 20-goal scorer who managed to notch 41 helpers during the 2013-14 season when the Jets didn't have a bona fide sniper. Little will have a lot of fantasy value as long as Scheifele is out of the lineup.
