This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
Around The Rink
Victor Hedman makes for a strong play Monday in Montreal. Hedman's scored 18 points (4G, 14A) in 18 career contests against the Canadiens. Whatever strange magic the Bolts wield over the Habs, it's working. Tampa has totaled 16 goals in four straight wins over the Habs in 2014-15.
Montreal has dropped all four decisions to the Lightning this season, but the game is north of the border Monday, where the home-standing Canadiens are 25-8-5. David Desharnais has points in three straight plus eight points in 16 career games against the Bolts. He makes for a decent low-cost play as a streaky performer.
Vancouver's Alexander Edler notched four power-play points in his last five games. His numbers against the Blues aren't particularly outstanding – nine points in 26 tilts – but he's playing well right now.
The Blues' Kevin Shattenkirk returned Saturday after missing nearly two months. He didn't point against Columbus, but the four shots he registered are a good sign. The blueliner has scored a goal and nine points in 16 games versus the Canucks. Obviously, he's been an elite performer this season and could pick up where he left off.
Tyler Toffoli has points in three straight and scored one goal while assisting on a second the last time Los Angeles met Chicago. He's got three goals and five points in six tilts over the course of his career against the 'Hawks, making Toffoli a decent play Monday.
Chicago's Patrick Sharp has four goals and eight points in his last eight. More impressively, the forward has compiled 36 points (20G, 16A) in 30 games against the Kings over the course of his career. His point rate is down in 2014-15 but he's finishing strong.
Sean Monahan entered Sunday with 56 points in 75 games after collecting 34 points in 75 games as a rookie. That's a 22-point bump in the same number of games, year over year. He's got 10 points (4G, 6A) in his last 10 games and even though Monahan has only one assist in five career contests versus Dallas, fantasy owners should feel confident inserting him into their lineups.
The Stars' Trevor Daley returned Saturday and tallied two assists against the Canucks. Daley was playing well before getting hurt at the beginning of March and has picked up right where he left off. Daley's got a career-high 35 points in 62 contests. In 10 prior NHL campaigns, Daley never touched the 30-point plateau.
Benoit Pouliot has scored four goals and 10 points in the last eight games for Edmonton. Pouliot is scoring just under 0.60 points per game and his shooting percentage (17.5 percent) is his best in nine NHL seasons.
Ryan O'Reilly carries a four-game point streak into Monday's matchup against the Oilers. The Colorado center has actually been hot for a while – he's collected 23 points in 20 games. O'Reilly scored a goal and three points in Edmonton on March 25 and is lining up for another big game Monday.
Brian Gionta is a boring 36-year-old forward playing for a lackluster Buffalo squad. Fantasy owners won't be bored by Gionta if he puts up another multipoint performance -- like he did against the Coyotes last week -- Monday night, however.
Sam Gagner isn't having a great season with 27 points in 75 games, but he also collected a pair of points when the Coyotes traveled to Buffalo last week. His next power-play goal will give him a career-high seven on the man advantage. Gagner has finished with six power-play goals three times prior to 2014-15.
Hot:
Ryan Johansen: The Columbus centerman extended his point streak to eight games with an assist against St. Louis on Saturday. He has three goals and nine points during his hot streak. Johansen has already set a personal high with 66 points (25G, 41A) with seven games to go. At 22, the future is bright for the 2010 first-round draft pick.
Matt Niskanen: Nisky is turning around a disappointing campaign in Washington with a strong stretch drive. After signing a big free agent contract with the Caps, the blueliner got off to a slow start. In fact, he had only 20 points in 69 games. Over the last two weeks, however, Niskanen has tallied seven assists in six tilts.
Cold:
Joe Colborne: The Calgary forward has not partaken in the Flames' offense lately. The 2008 first-round draft choice has picked up just one assist in his team's last 10 games. For all of the promising youngsters on Calgary, Colborne hasn't shown much consistency. He has dished out 135 hits, so he can help fantasy owners in ways other than scoring, but he's a player that has never really met his potential and has already been traded multiple times at age 25.
Tomas Kopecky: The once productive Kopecky hasn't collected a point in 24 games. Once thought of in the same breath of former Detroit teammate, Jiri Hudler, Kopecky has scored two goals on 98 shots (in 58 games) for a 0.20 shooting percentage. After back-to-back nightmare seasons, it might be time for Mr. Kopecky to hang up his pair of competitive ice-hockey skates.
Recommended Pickup:
Ryan Murphy: The Carolina defenseman seems to be putting his game together. Murphy, who turns 22 on Tuesday, has an exciting future in the league as a power-play quarterback and offensive defender. He's got two goals and three points in his last five, and poolies who have an extra spot for Murphy would do well to consider adding him. Murphy has 12 points in 30 games and is another player with a bright future.
