Monday Daily Puck: Oh! Darling

Around the Rink

It's still only the first round of the playoffs, and no series is on the verge of being over just yet, although that's only because Montreal and Ottawa aren't playing tonight. Nevertheless, there is something worth getting excited about. Monday, Game 3 of the series between the Anaheim Ducks and Winnipeg Jets is going down, which means it is time for playoff hockey to return to Manitoba.

For a long time, the last game to be played in Winnipeg was a playoff game. After the Jets lost to the Detroit Red Wings in the first round of the 1995-1996 season, the team was moved down to Phoenix, starting a run of NHL free life in Winnipeg that lasted over a decade. Hey, at least the weather was brutal.

However, the team came back a few years ago, and now they are back in the postseason. Pretty much every team does the whole "wear one color to home playoff games" thing now, but seeing the Winnipeg fans do an old school White Out should still be a sight to see, even for those of us who aren't Jets fans. The MTS Centre isn't all that big, but it is going to be incredibly loud. While the vestiges of Atlanta Thrashers fandom may be a bit bummed, it is still cool to see playoff hockey back in Winnipeg.

Projected Goalie Starters (all times Eastern)

Rangers (Henrik Lundqvist) at Penguins (Marc-Andre Fleury) 7:00
Blues (Jake Allen) at Wild (Devan Dubnyk) 8:00
Ducks (Frederik Andersen) at Jets (Ondrej Pavelec) 9:00

*Confirmed Starters

For updates on the projected goalies later in the day, check out our Projected Goalies Grid.

Injury News For Teams Playing Wednesday

Rangers
Kevin Klein, D (arm) – Will not play Monday.

Penguins
Pascal Dupuis, RW (blood clot) – Out for season.
Christian Ehrhoff, D (upper-body) – Day-to-day.
Kris Letang, D (upper-body) – Out for season.
Olli Maatta, D (shoulder) – Out for season.
Derrick Pouliot, D (upper-body) – Day-to-day.

Blues
Good to go from top to bottom.

Wild
Keith Ballard, D (concussion) – Likely out for season.

Ducks
John Gibson, G (upper-body) – Traveling with team, may serve as backup soon.
Sheldon Souray, D (wrist) – Out for season.
Nate Thompson, C (upper-body) – Traveling with team, day-to-day.
Chris Wagner, LW (upper-body) – Did not travel with team.

Jets
Grant Clitsome, D (back) – Out indefinitely.
Paul Postma, D (undisclosed) – Out indefinitely.

Hot

Kyle Okposo, RW, NYI – Okposo got off to a hot start to the season, before an injury put the kibosh on those good times. When he returned after an extended absence, he really struggled to pick back up where he left off, and he was pretty much cold until the regular season ended. However, the playoffs have been a different story. After his goal Sunday, he has a point in all three postseason games for the Islanders, and four points total. He showed what he's capable of when healthy earlier this season. Maybe he has finally regained some of that form.

Scott Darling, G, CHI – Darling first got on the radar by stopping all 42 shots he faced in relief against Nashville as the Blackhawks turned Game 1 around and earned the win. Then, he got the start over Corey Crawford in Game 3, and he turned aside 35 of the 37 shots he faced in another win. Now, does this guarantee Darling anything going forward? No, but it can't hurt. If he's starting, he is an interesting proposition.

Cold

Bobby Ryan, RW, OTT – At least Ryan has been consistent. In every game of this postseason so far, he's had two shots on net, and no points. This continues a cold streak that extends back into the regular season. Now, the Senators are on the verge of elimination, as they are down three games to none. Sure, they will be throwing everything against the wall to try and survive to fight another day, but this is still not the time to invest in Ryan.
Jiri Hudler, LW, CGY – The Flames have gotten some big offensive contributions from some unlikely sources so far this postseason, but on the flip side the likely sources like Hudler haven't contributed as much. While he had a top notch regular season, he has been held scoreless so far during these playoffs. That being said, he was hot before the playoffs began, and that barrier is an arbitrary one when it comes to performance level. He'll likely turn it around at some point.
Recommended Value Play
Devan Dubnyk, G, MIN – When Dubnyk joined the Minnesota Wild, he turned their season around with his astounding play. As such, you may be surprised to find out that, at least on some daily game sites, he is the cheapest of all the goalies slated to start on Monday. This is as much a strategy play as anything. Goaltending can be fairly random, and only three goalies are going to earn a win. Why not save some money on this position when you only have six goalies to choose from anyway? Besides, Dubnyk was great this regular season, has looked fine in this postseason, and the Wild are at home to boot.