Eastern Edge: Lindholm and McAvoy; Cozens Cruising; Hronek’s Superlative Start
Brennan Des
2022-11-30
In this week's Eastern Edge, we'll discuss how Charlie McAvoy's return has affected Hampus Lindholm, the beginning of a breakout in Buffalo, and Filip (not that one) filling up the net.
Since Charlie McAvoy returned to the lineup on November 10th, Lindholm has posted five points in eight appearances. A closer look reveals that three of those five points were scored in one game, and that Lindholm has failed to register a point in his last four outings. Regardless, five points in eight games is strong production for a defenseman, even though it's a step back from the point-per game pace Lindholm held through 13 appearances while McAvoy was sidelined.
When McAvoy returned, Lindholm was bumped off the top power-play unit, dropping his share of Boston's time with the man advantage from 60% to 27%. Lindholm had four power-play points in 13 games while McAvoy was sidelined (0.31 PPP/game) and has just one in eight since McAvoy returned (0.13 PPP/game). Boston is a strong team at even strength, so Lindholm will probably be able to score at a respectable rate for the rest of the season. However, without a prominent power-play role, his production won't come close to the level we saw early in the year. Although the window to sell high on Lindholm may have closed, I think it's reasonable to expect around a 45-point pace from him for the rest of the campaign, which makes him worth
rostering in most fantasy leagues.
The seventh overall pick of the 2019 draft is quietly having a breakout start to his third season in the NHL. With 16 points in 22 appearances this year, Cozens is currently scoring at a 60-point pace.
Most of the focus in Buffalo has been on the team's top line of Jeff Skinner, Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch. That recognition has been well-deserved as all three players are scoring at or above a point-per-game pace. Although their output has been impressive, offense is expected from that line as they start more of their shift