March 11, 2013
Jeff Angus
2013-03-11
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The LA Kings have recalled top prospect Tyler Toffoli. He has a ton of offensive upside and the Kings are going to give him every opportunity to put some points up. A natural scorer.
Mike Richards was injured last game, so I would assume that Toffoli will take his spot in the top six.
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A good read on Nick Leddy, who has developed into a very good two-way defenseman over the past few years in Chicago. You can see a lot of Duncan Keith in his game.
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Evander Kane scored a goal and fired 10 shots on goal for the Jets – I bet he won more than a few of you the shots on goal category in your weekly league.
No points for Loktionov, but he did play over 18 minutes for the Devils. All he needed was an opportunity – I am surprised the Devils were able to get him for just a late pick.
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Tyler Ennis left the game last night with an injury after getting hit by Wayne Simmonds.
Sabres winger Brian Flynn has scored goals in consecutive games. Flynn has 32 points in 45 AHL games this season – he is a talented offensive player and the Sabres signed him as a free agent out of the University of Maine.
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Charlie Coyle showed flashes of his upside last night against the Canucks – he had a couple of dominant shifts. He is really hard to kock off the puck (really strong), and he sees the ice very well. There aren’t many prospects I’d take over him in a roto league. Could have a David Backes type of impact in a few years (or perhaps sooner).
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I am covering Dobber for today's ramblings. A lot to get to from what was a busy Sunday in the NHL (10 games).
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Brendan Gallagher fired a team-high seven shots on goal for Montreal. He continues to excel as a rookie.
PK Subban had three helpers and five shots on goal. He saw close to nine minutes on the PP. He has been playing really, really good as of late.
Michael Ryder did exactly what Montreal wanted from him – power play production. Ryder scored a pair on the man advantage (in only 14:46 of ice time too).
Tomas Kopecky scored his 10th of the season – he’s a trade candiate at the deadline this year (along with every Panther not named Gudbranson, Huberdeau, Campbell, or Shore). Kopecky is a versatile player who can score in spurts – I’d say he’s a good sell high right now (provided you can get some value for him).
NHL PIM leader Brandon Prust is out for a week or two with a shoulder injury.
Markstrom allowed five goals on 38 shots, while the Panthers only tested Peter Budaj 16 times.
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Is Corey Perry worth $10 million per season? An interesting look at what is shaping up to be a major bidding war this summer.
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Matt Calvert is a hell of a player. Been a big fan of his for a while – here is a frame-by-frame breakdown of his OT winner against the Canucks from last week.
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They aren't the most skilled team in the league, but I really enjoy watching Columbus play. They are a tough team to play against (especially the Umberger-Johansen-Foligno line).
Getting some consistent goaltending also goes a long way to helping – Sergei Bobrovsky has won five straight and is starting to make the Jackets look smart for taking a gamble on him last summer.
Johansen has points in four straight games – he has monster upside, and is starting to show more and more of it on a consistent basis.
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Brian Boyle scored his first game of the season for the Rangers – he has had a tough go of it in 2013 after a solid 2011-12 season. He now has a goal and an assist in 20 games.
Ryan McDonagh had two helpers from the back end for New York. McDonagh is logging heavy minutes and has quietly become one of the best two-way defensemen in the league.
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The best of 2013 (so far):
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So… how about that Sidney Crosby character? Five points last night to extend his lead in the NHL scoring race.
Chris Kunitz continues his spectacular season – he had a hat trick, and joined Crosby in the five-point-night club.
Malkin missed the game with an upper body injury (not a concussion according to the Pens). He was hammered into the boards by James van Riemsdyk on Saturday evening.
Pittsburgh had only five points register points (pretty rare on six goals) – Dupuis (two), Letang (two), Neal (three), and of course Crosby and Kunitz (five each).
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A bit of a wild one between Chicago and Edmonton last night (somehow this game wasn’t on my Centre Ice package…).
The two teams combined for 11 goals and a ton of scoring chances. A quick breakdown:
Unsurprisingly, all four goaltenders got involved in the game. Devan Dubnyk left the game after he was bumped by teammate Teemu Hartikainen – no word on his injury status right now, but I am sure an update will be coming shortly.
Pat Kane had three points for the Hawks. Edmonton got production from the usual suspects. Perhaps the best sign was a pair of helpers from Nugent-Hopkins, who has looked out of sorts for most of this season.
Ales Hemsky had an assist in about 17 minutes of ice time – his first game after missing a bit of time with a foot injury.
Justin Schultz also added a pair of assists – his first multi-point game in March.
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Kevin Bieksa remains out with a strained groin, but it sounds like he is getting close to making a return to the Vancouver lineup (perhaps as soon as next game in Columbus).
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Tuomo Ruutu was supposed to be out until April or May with a hip injury, but he is apparently well ahead of schedule. Where will he slot in if he does return soon? Tlusty-Staal-Semin have been the best line in hockey for much of the season. Perhaps Ruutu slides in alongside Jordan Staal and Jeff Skinner?
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