November 29, 2014

Byfuglien has also been skating on a line with Evander Kane and Mark Scheifele of late, which is much better than his previous third-line company. The buy low window is certainly open though Byfuglien owners have still enjoyed him for his PIM and SOG production so he won't come bargain-bin cheap.

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David Pastrnak surely turned some heads yesterday getting his chance on the top line with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand. He was held scoreless in 17:02 with 3:44 on the power play but he landed seven SOG, which gets my attention.

I was already hot for Pastrnak after his impressive showing in training camp and his excellent production at the AHL level. If not this year, Pastrnak is going to be a fantasy asset sometime soon. Reilly Smith owners beware!

With the Bergeron line held scoreless it was instead the Milan Lucic–Carl Soderberg–Loui Eriksson combination that produced both goals. Those three continue to impress together.

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Tyler Ennis has 12 points in his last 13 games. I never thought he'd pull it off but the little bastard has made the Sabres fantasy relevant. He's even got ol' dead eyes, Matt Moulson going with nine points in his last nine games. Now I guess I have to watch a Sabre game sometime soon here to see what this is all about.

Yeah, you've got my attention.

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As mentioned, I didn't watch the game but the Canadiens were supposed to be trotting out some new power play setup. Did they? Looking at the minutes breakdown it sure doesn't seem like they changed anything in terms of personnel. They did get their lone goal on the power play with PA Parenteau finding the back of the net. I'm pleased to see that he continues to get power play time.

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Does anyone get less out of their defensemen than the Vancouver Canucks? Only four teams don't have at least one defenseman in double-digits: the Canucks, Rangers, Jets and Sabres.

The Sabres are actively tanking. I'm not sure they have even hit double-digits in scoring as a team. The Jets are second last in league scoring to the Sabres but have Tobias Enstrom, Zach Bogosian and Jacob Trouba at nine, eight and seven points respectively, while their most prolific defenseman, Dustin Byfuglien is playing forward. The Rangers have been absent Dan Boyle and Ryan McDonagh for most of the season. What's Vancouver's excuse? I mean, even Florida has Aaron Ekblad in double figures.

To highlight that lack of defense scoring even further, consider that only three teams have scored more goals than the Canucks this season. Will this futility last? Will the Canucks really fail to get a defenseman to 40 points despite being a top offensive team?

To answer that, I'd first ask if they will continue to be a top offensive team, which they certainly should. They've got elite talent up front and are scoring at middle-of-the-pack rates at both even strength and on the power play, which shows they haven't been propped up by puck luck. Injuries could certainly derail them as they did last season but this isn't a team where injuries are a foregone conclusion.

The top candidate to reach 40 is surely Alexander Edler. He is their leading defenseman scorer with eight so far this season and has cleared 40 twice in his career already. Edler is also tops among Canuck defensemen in ice-time frequently drawing the lone defenseman spot on the top power play unit. He was projected to get at least 40 points in a couple of fantasy guides but notably not our own where Dobber had him for just 34.

I still think he can get there, even with this slow start. For one, the Canucks are shooting slightly below average with Edler on the ice at even strength at just 7.04%. They are doing well on the power play with Edler out there but Edler still has just three power-play points this season, all goals. I get that Edler's role on the power play isn't much with Radim Vrbata and the Sedins running things down low but I'd figure he'd accrue an assist or two just through sheer osmosis. Not so. At least, not yet.

Meanwhile, the Canucks continue to get above-board production from their second line. Nick Bonino had slowed down a bit until he dropped three assists on the Blue Jackets last night. He's now on pace for 68 points, which is too much. I think he'll be lucky to get to 60 given his usage is limited to the second power play unit.

I'd change my tune if the Canucks found a spot for Bonino on the top power play unit but so far they've avoided going that route. At first Linden Vey had held down the spot but a recent injury drove the Canucks to give Zack Kassian a spin. Kassian is out with a broken finger but the team didn't go back to Vey who has returned. Instead they have given Jannik Hansen some run after a recent hot streak. Hansen has since cooled off.

All of those options seem underwhelming to me so Bonino could get a chance on the top unit yet but I think the Canucks like the continuity of keeping the second line together for the second power play unit even if it isn't optimal for fantasy owners. So when Bonino's on-ice shooting percentage of 10.18% regresses, he probably finishes closer to 55 points.

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Cory Schneider talks about the difficulties taking on a heavier load as full-time starter for the Devils this season:

“You don’t have the time to really work on your game when you are playing all the time,” Schneider told NHL.com. “It’s one more thing I am learning how to manage as we go is, if I can feel my technique breaking down, pucks are going through you, or you are getting a little leaky, you have to fix it on the fly. You may not have a practice session to sit down and go over every detail and work on your mechanics.”

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Awesome piece from TSN's Scott Cullen discussing how changes in ice time show how players' roles have evolved for better or worse.

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Oilers fans, what's worse, getting dumped 7-1 at home by the Blackhawks or having your heart ripped out in overtime on back-to-back nights? Or have the last nine years left you dead inside?

My goodness Tank is good though: