This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
Around the Rink
The Super Blow
The Seattle Seahawks were one yard away from winning back-to-back Super Bowls on Sunday before a brain-dead play-call by coach Pete Carroll cost his team the Lombardi Trophy. The Seahawks passed in a running situation from the New England one yard-line, throwing an interception to seal defeat. In hockey, Buffalo Sabres fans will remember the Brett Hull foot-in-the-crease Stanley Cup series winning goal, but that was more of a bad call than bad play or strategy. Hockey officials blew the ruling, not a player or coach.
Edmonton's Steve Smith scored on his own goalie in 1986 to give the Flames a playoff series victory. But again, Smith didn't purposefully beat his own netminder, Grant Fuhr. On Sunday, coach Pete Carroll called for a pass in an obvious running situation and suffered the inglorious results. Just a terrible play-call.
Monday's slate in the NHL features three games. Florida's Aleksander Barkov has scored three goals and 10 points in his last 11. The Finn has three points in four career games versus the Rangers. New York's Mats Zuccarello tallied just his third assist in his last 11 contests Saturday, but he has nine points in nine career games against the Panthers.
Winnipeg's Bryan Little is working through a three-game pointless stretch, but he's scored five goals and nine points in nine tilts facing Calgary. The Flames' defender, Dennis Wideman, has 19 points (4G, 15A) in 27 games against Winnipeg. Wideman's got two goals and six points in his last seven tilts.
Edmonton's Teddy Purcell has picked up 12 points (4G, 8A) in 14 career games versus the Sharks. He holds a minus-10 rating over that span while playing mostly for Tampa Bay, but there are few current Oilers with positive plus-minus ratings (five, to be exact). Jumbo Joe Thornton has averaged better than a point per game playing Edmonton, with 53 points (11G, 42A) in 48 games. The 35-year-old is the trivia answer for the question: Which NHL player has scored the most single-season points since the 2003-04 work stoppage. Thornton totaled 125 points split between Boston and the Sharks in 2005-06.
Projected Goalie Starters (all times Eastern)
For updates on the projected goalies later in the day, check our Projected Goalies Grid
Florida Panthers (Roberto Luongo) at New York Rangers (Henrik Lundqvist), 7:00 PM
Winnipeg Jets (Michael Hutchinson) at Calgary Flames (Jonas Hiller), 9:00 PM
Edmonton Oilers (Ben Scrivens) at San Jose Sharks (Antti Niemi), 10:30 PM
Injury News For Teams Playing Monday
Winnipeg Jets Matt Halischuk, RW - Halischuk's injury is a lower-body ailment, and coach Paul Maurice said he expects the forward to be "out a while." (1/31/2015) Grant Clitsome, D - Clitsome (upper body) was placed on injured reserve Thursday. (1/8/2015)
Calgary Flames David Wolf, LW - Wolf left Saturday's win over the Oilers in the third period due to a lower-body injury and didn't return, the Associated Press reports. (2/1/2015) Sam Bennett, LW - Bennett (shoulder) will resume skating Wednesday, according to his personal Twitter account. (1/6/2015) Jiri Hudler, RW - Hudler (illness) will not play Saturday against the Oilers. (1/31/2015) Curtis Glencross, LW - Coach Bob Hartley said Thursday that Glencross (lower body) suffered a minor setback in his recovery from injury, Wes Gilbertson of the Calgary Sun reports. (1/29/2015) Ladislav Smid, D - Smid (undisclosed) did not participate in practice Monday, Aaron Vickers of NHL.com reports. (1/26/2015)
Edmonton Oilers Taylor Hall, LW - Hall (lower leg) will not play in Saturday's game against the Sharks, Derek Van Diest of the Edmonton Sun reports. (1/31/2015) Tyler Pitlick, RW - Pitlick (spleen) will miss the remainder of the season, reports the Edmonton Journal. (1/6/2015) Nikita Nikitin, D - Nikitin (shoulder) was officially ruled out for four to six weeks Saturday, Jack Michaels of the Oilers Radio Network reports. (1/31/2015)
San Jose Sharks Tye McGinn, LW - McGinn (undisclosed) did not skate in Sunday's practice, Kevin Kurz of CSN Bay Area reports. (2/1/2015) Tommy Wingels, RW - Wingels, who suffered a broken finger in his left hand on Jan. 19, hopes to return to action in three-to-four weeks, Kevin Kurz of CSN Bay Area reports. (1/27/2015) Raffi Torres, LW - Coach Todd McLellan said Tuesday that Torres (knee) will be out "well into the New Year," Kevin Kurz of CSN Bay Area reports. (12/9/2014) Mike Brown, RW - Brown (leg) has yet to receive clearance to skate, Kevin Kurz of CSN Bay Area reports. (1/27/2015) Tyler Kennedy, LW - Kennedy (lower body) was able to take part in Saturday's morning skate, but won't be a lineup option for the Sharks' tilt with the Blackhawks, David Pollak of the San Jose Mercury News reports. (1/31/2015) Justin Braun, D - Braun (finger) will miss the next four-to-six weeks, CSN Bay Area reports. (1/27/2015)
Hot
John Klingberg: The hype boat is alive and floating on Dallas defenseman, John Klingberg, and rightfully so. Klingberg has scored five goals and 11 points in his last eight contests. In the last two games, the Swede has potted three goals and six points, including one goal and three assists on the power play. What makes this even more impressive is that both tilts have come on the road. With guys like Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn up front on the man advantage, Klingberg has an opportunity to cash in – and so do his fantasy owners.
Rickard Rakell: The Anaheim forward has scored four goals and eight points in his last eight games, though four of those points came in a single game. Has Rakell figured things out? At 21, he's already in his third NHL campaign, but with just 61 games to his credit has much room to grow. Youngsters who quickly turn it on often flame out just as quickly, but with a deep team like Anaheim, Rakell faces little pressure to succeed. At the very least, track the Swede.
Cold
Brandon Sutter: It looked like he finally turned the corner early in 2014-15, when he seemingly found some chemistry with Evgeni Malkin. Alas, he's morphed back into the defensive, third-line forward he's always been. Sutter's totaled four points in his last 18 games and his stock as a potential offensive producer in Pittsburgh has probably never been lower. He'll come through with the occasional Mark Messier-like far-side wrister along the right boards, but that's just a tease. He's had ample opportunity to produce as a top-six forward this season and has struggled in that role.
R.J. Umberger: Seems like it's been a long time since Umberger forced a trade after the Canucks took him with the 16th pick in the 2001 draft – well, I guess it has been a long time. Maybe his age is showing. After heading back to Philly from Columbus in a salary trade for Scott Hartnell, the 32-year-old has put up 13 points in 51 games with the Flyers. That's a bad number for most defensemen, let alone a five-time 40-point getter. His shots are down – he's averaging 1.47 shots per game – and a minus-11 rating doesn't help fantasy owners. A chronic shoulder problem might just prove to be the end of Umberger.
Recommended Pickup
Jacob Trouba: Trouba has three points and 16 shots in four games since coming off the IR list. There have been questions surrounding Trouba's ceiling after some disappointment, but he appears set for a strong finish to 2014-15. The defenseman is also averaging just over two blocks per contest (71 blocks in 35 contests). If he's still on the waiver wire after missing more than a month of action, then now is the time to pounce.
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