February 27, 2015

steve laidlaw

2015-02-27

Smith-Pelly’s Habs debut, ANDREW HAMMOND!, Arcobello scoring and more…

 

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This is Andrew Hammond's world, we are all just living in it. 35-save shutout ends the Kings' blistering winning streak. That's back-to-back shutouts on the always tough California road trip and a 4-0 record.

 

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Shocker, I know, but it was lucrative to be on the ice with PK Subban and Andrei Markov last night. The pair each went plus-five last night. As in, they were on the ice for all of the Canadiens' five goals last night. They combined for five points as well.

 

Devante Smith-Pelly skated 17:11 for the Canadiens last night, splitting his time between skating with Jacob de la Rose and Brandon Prust on the third line and Tomas Plekanec and Alex Galchenyuk on the second line. He also saw some second unit power play time. Definitely an improvement over the 14:41 he was averaging with the Ducks.

 

Turns out it would have been more productive for DSP to stick with de la Rose as the young Swede scored a pair but it's a no brainer that we'd rather see more of Smith-Pelly with Plekanec and Galchenyuk.

 

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If you are wondering why the Blue Jackets are shopping James Wisniewski around, the development of David Savard is a big reason. It feels like Savard has been a prospect forever but the 24-year-old is finally coming into his own. A pair of assists gives him eight points in the last 15 games.

 

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First game without David Clarkson for the Leafs and they are 1-0! Don't lose your minds, this is still a bad team. Jonathan Bernier had to bail the team out with 47 saves on the 49 shots allowed. They were outshot 49-17. That's bad.

 

Dion Phaneuf made his return to the lineup after a month off. The Leafs road him for over 25 minutes of ice time over six of which came on the power play. He scored a power-play goal. I wonder if he's getting showcased…

 

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Of the Flyers' 49 shots last night ten (TEN!!!!) came off the stick off Mark Streit. Two assists for him too. Not a bad stat line.

 

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Nice start to the post-Kane run for the Blackhawks holding the Panthers to just 20 shots in a 3-0 shutout for Corey Crawford.

 

Teuvo Teravainen scored a goal centering the third line with Andrew Shaw and Bryan Bickell. Only 9:50 in ice time though so don't count on him for much offense.

 

Patrick Sharp skated on the top power play unit but remained silent. Only a matter of time.

 

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Letdown game for the Canucks getting dumped 6-3 by the Sabres. Brian Gionta went off for three points. That's when you know it was a bad game for Vancouver.

 

Gionta has actually been performing relatively well since returning from injury after the All-Star break. Basically, he's back to his 40-point rate from his previous few years in Montreal having scored eight in 15 since returning, while skating some big minutes. Indeed that is an improvement as Gionta had scored just 11 in 34 to open the season.

 

A couple of points for Chris Stewart gives him 21 in his last 32. The margins are lower on this team but that's a 50-point pace Stewart has been putting up with some excellent peripherals. Okay, not all excellent. His minus-19 rating in those 32 contests is problematic but you have to love his PIM production (31 in 32 games) and his shot rate ain't bad (56 SOG in 32 games, a 144 SOG pace).

 

It's almost at a point where I don't want to see Stewart dealt to a team where he might get less of an opportunity. Almost. A trade needs to happen to solve that plus/minus. Not sure Boston is that team any longer if David Krejci is done for the year.

 

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Sean Bergenheim skated on a line with Mikko Koivu and Thomas Vanek in his Wild debut. Not the best night going minus-two but he's in a nice situation. I thought he might get a shot with Koivu given their history with the Finnish national team.

 

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Nice way for Chris Kreider to end a four-game drought with a pair of goals. He has scored 11 goals in 26 games since New Year's. That's a small sample size but it's a 35-goal pace, which is certainly his upside. Remember, this guy is only 23 years old, in what amounts to his second NHL season. He could be heading towards a massive breakout next season.

 

Lee Stempniak also had a two-goal, five-shot performance last night but I have nowhere near as much good to say about him.

 

I still don't know what to make of Kevin Hayes' recent hot streak. The minutes simply aren't where I believe it's sustainable and yet two more assists last night give him 13 in the last 14. He has skated less than 15 minutes in eight of those 14 games. These team passing skills might have something to do with it:

 

 

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On top of the Jaromir Jagr and David Clarkson trades, which I covered here and here, there were a couple of minor trades as well.

 

The Leafs brought TJ Brennan (read more on him here) back into the system. He torched it for the Marlies last year with 72 points so bringing back a familiar face makes sense if he can help develop some of their prospects. Also possible Brennan gets a shot as a power-play specialist should the Leafs go scorched earth trading all their defensemen. Hard to see them going that route and not still giving Morgan Rielly all of the minutes though.

 

The Blackhawks got minor leaguer Spencer Abbott (read more on him here.) Seems likely that neither player actually suits up for either team's NHL club.

 

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The other minor trade yesterday with the Blues acquiring Adam Cracknell from the Jackets. Very little relevance as a depth guy who rarely plays. Cracknell filled this role for St. Louis for four seasons before heading to Columbus, now he's back. He does serve as a body to get in the way of a possible promotion for Ty Rattie (read more on him here.) I do believe that Dmitri Jaskin's third-line role is safe, however.

 

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There's no question that Victor Hedman has been suppressed since returning from injury back in November. He was going bonkers with seven points in five games before injury (a small sample to be sure) but has found himself off the top power play unit slowing his production to just 21 points in 37 games since. That's still good but not excellent, which is where the bar for him is now. Makes you wonder if he's been dealing with lingering effects of his injury. Indeed he was evaluated for injury yesterday. Could just be a precaution but it's worth noting.

 

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Check out Dobber's latest for Puck Daddy.

 

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The Score's Three Players to Acquire for Fantasy Hockey column is particularly hilarious this week. Good luck trading for any of those guys right now.

 

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Sean McIndoe discusses the 10 burning questions leading up to this year's trade deadline.

 

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Dustin Byfuglien has been an absolute wrecking ball of late:

 

 

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You can follow me @SteveLaidlaw.

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