November 20, 2014

steve laidlaw

2014-11-20

Giroux makes a surprise return, why Voracek might get to 90, Dupuis is out and more…

That Claude Giroux is one tough cookie. I'm not certain what his specific injury was but the word until just a couple minutes before puck drop was that Giroux would miss a couple of games. Instead he dressed and skated in his usual spot.

This is nothing new for Giroux who has played through many an injury in his career. He has missed just four games since becoming a full-time NHL player. You can't put a price on that reliability.

Giroux has never been the fastest guy in the game but he did look like he was labouring last night. Just didn't have a big burst to his game. That didn't stop his line with Brayden Schenn and Jakub Voracek from being the best Flyers line by 100 miles last night but that may have had more to do with the fact that Voracek continues to play like a superstar.

Seriously, Voracek might not linger in the scoring race with Sidney Crosby for the entire season but I'm having a tough time figuring out why he couldn't get to 90 points. Sure, like many of this season's hot starters he has had some good fortune in terms of on-ice shooting percentage currently ranking 42^nd in the league at 12.21% but we do know that can sustain above-average rates of success in terms of shooting percentage for themselves and their linemates and indeed, Voracek has boasted an above-average on-ice shooting percentage at even strength the past few seasons. He will regress for certain but perhaps not to league average.

Voracek also benefits from skating on one of the best power plays in the league, and surely his robust skills are a part of that. So while Voracek's production may regress at even strength he seems a sure bet to continue producing with the man-advantage.

If you consider the points that Voracek has already banked and then add on the fact that he has produced at a point-per-game pace any time Giroux has been fully healthy we can extrapolate a 90-point season for Voracek. He'll need exquisite health to get there but much like with Giroux, staying in the lineup has never been an issue for Voracek. He has missed just nine games in his seven-year career.

The downside of Giroux being able to go last night was that recent call-up Scott Laughton didn't get the big shot on the top line that was expected for him. Instead Laughton took Jason Akeson's spot on the fourth line and was as invisible as you'd expect with the mere 7:00 of ice time he received.

It's no secret that I am not Steve Mason's biggest fan but I'll give him credit for a good one last night. Without Mason and some help from his buddies "post" and "crossbar" that game gets away from the Flyers in a hurry as they were thoroughly outplayed through 40 minutes before putting on a late flurry to make things close.

Cam Talbot didn't have to do much until the third period but he really earned his shutout in that final frame turning away some good Flyers chances. He's definitely one of those backups worth spot starting when you can find space for him.

The Rangers mixed up their lines a little bit last night and it sure appears to have worked. Martin St. Louis was moved onto a line with Derek Stepan and Chris Kreider and that group made sweet music all night long. Stepan notched a power-play assist and had five SOG, while St. Louis also had a power-play assist. Kreider was held scoreless but did ring one off the post after a saucy deke on Mason.

Mats Zuccarello was moved up with Derick Brassard and Rick Nash and those guys looked good too. Nash scored his 13^th of the season on the power play while the other two were held scoreless but not for lack of trying.

Lee Stempniak missed last night's contest and is day-to-day with lower-back soreness. He wasn't really a big draw for fantasy purposes anyway but it did mean Jesper Fasth could get back into the lineup. He only skated 9:47 and has yet to record an NHL point but I was impressed with what little I saw of him anyhow. He's one to keep an eye on.

Pascal Dupuis is out for six months with a blood clot in the lung. That basically amounts to the rest of the season, which is terrible for him, the Penguins and fantasy owners.

How many wild injuries has this team had in the past few years? I think this is the third blood clot situation in the last 18 months alone with Kris Letang's heart defect causing a stroke and Tomas Vokoun's blood disorder creating clots. Heck, this is Dupuis' second clot since undergoing surgery last season.

Is there something in the water? Or maybe the Penguins' training staff is just really intensive? It's probably just random chance. Those are some tough breaks.

A slight devil's advocate argument though, what if this somehow works as a positive for the Penguins?

Six months from now sees Dupuis returning in mid-May, which would be late in the playoffs. Probably too late for him to make an impact but what if his return is much sooner?

Letang went down with his stroke in late January of last season and was back before the playoffs began. No injury is the same but he could be back sooner. If he is back in time for the playoffs then the Penguins could be better for it.

Sure, the Penguins could lose points in the regular season, which might affect their seeding and home-ice advantage but if we've learned anything these past few years, it's that seeding doesn't mean much. And the Penguins have banked enough points as the top team in the Metro to weather any coming storm.

So while Dupuis is out they'll have a chance to give some of their younger guys a bigger role. Unfortunately, the only forward fitting that role is Beau Bennett and there was always a good chance he was getting a top-six spot eventually anyhow. That seems like a given now that Dupuis is out. But still, that's good news for Bennett's fantasy stock and he'd already been heating up on the third line.

The Penguins also now have some cap space to work with while Dupuis is out. They'd surely prefer to simply have Dupuis in the lineup but if they can get him back late where his prorated hit would be negligible then they could add a rental between now and the deadline AND have Dupuis as well. They were operating with less than half a million in cap space prior to this news. So they could add an impact player here.

That all assumes that Dupuis gets back and that further injuries don't create a situation where the Penguins hemorrhage points down the stretch. I'll reiterate, they'd much prefer to have Dupuis in the lineup. It's just possible that the team can improve because of it.

The Bruins are creating a new meaning for the term "blue line." They lost another defenseman as Adam McQuaid is out 6-8 weeks with a broken thumb. Not really fantasy relevant but it won't make life any easier for Tuukka Rask who had been rather ordinary before Tuesday's shutout of the Blues.

Did you see Mark Scheifele and Adam Lowry bang the puck in at the same time the other night? That could've created some kind of controversy in the fantasy world. They ultimately awarded the goal to Scheifele, likely so that both players would get points on the play. Funny stuff.

Are the Leaf players trying to get their coach fired? Cody Franson has a colourful answer.

You thought it was wild when Dwayne Roloson suited up for the Ducks a few weeks back? Arturs Irbe dressed for the Sabres the other night against the Sharks. Why, oh why couldn't Jonas Enroth have gotten hurt as well? I don't normally cheer for injuries but in this case, I'm all for it.

Keith Olbermann reflects on his experiences with the great Gordie Howe.

You can follow me @SteveLaidlaw.

UPCOMING GAMES

Dec 22 - 12:12	NYR	vs	CAR
Dec 22 - 17:12	T.B	vs	FLA
Dec 22 - 17:12	UTA	vs	ANA
Dec 22 - 17:12	WSH	vs	L.A
Dec 22 - 20:12	EDM	vs	OTT
Dec 22 - 20:12	COL	vs	SEA