November 19, 2014
Dobber
2014-11-19
The impact of Klingberg; Hutchinson sneaky good; Nelson still flying; and more …
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I turned on the Leafs game a couple minutes into the third period and had no idea what the score was beforehand. It’s not often you get shocked like that when it comes to a hockey game. Jarnkrok had just scored to make it 7-0. I’m the guy who turns to another game if I watch the Leafs from the beginning and the other team is clearly walking away with things at 3-0 or 4-0. Too many other games to see. But just stumbling onto the game at 7-0 it was different. Now I had to watch it. I had to see how far the joke would go. After the frustrating Buffalo game, it was good to have a nice laugh.
At the time, Daniel Winnik was the only player not to have a negative plus/minus on the Leafs. But then they scored two quick ones so Kadri and Santorelli actually ended plus-1. With a minus-4, Peter Holland has been pointless and minus-6 in his last three games. Prior to that he had been red hot. But encouraging is the fact that he was given over 18 minutes of ice time and had five shots on goal. Randy Carlyle is starting to give him the opportunity and letting him play to keep it… rather than forcing him to play to earn the opportunity.
That’s enough about Toronto. Wait, one more – I just saw via Sportsnet that Toronto has not given up 15 goals over two games in the last 23 years prior to last night and Saturday. Okay, /Leafs.
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Let’s get to the team that deserves the chatter – Nashville. So they scored nine goals and I’m eager to see how many points James Neal g- oh. Oh man, that’s gotta drive you nuts if you’re a Neal owner.
I also can’t believe that Olli Jokinen kept his points streak going! Wow, 18 games without a point even after a 9-2 win.
Brad Marchand has an undisclosed injury and missed last night’s contest. He left part of Saturday’s game as well. But the Bruins are mum about the seriousness. He skated yesterday, so can’t be too bad. David Krejci returned to the lineup and played 17 minutes.
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I love it when two of your goalies face off against each other… and one of the teams plays the backup instead. And the backup gets killed while your starter on the other team takes the win. That happened to me last night with Halak vs. Bishop Nabokov.
Brock Nelson is still rolling along at a point-per-game (yes – 18 in 18). He’s also credited with 15 shots on goal in the last two games after eight shots and two points last night. I still see something in the low 50’s this year for him, but he can only keep going at this pace for so long before he forces me to re-evaluate.
Of concern is the ice time of Anders Lee. Down to just over eight minutes last night. He still managed four shots on goal, but that may not be enough. Coach Capuano is looking for an excuse to get Conacher back in there and have some kind of “play the hot hand” system.
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The Red Wings kids are red hot right now. Tomas Tatar has four points and 15 SOG in his last three games; Riley Sheahan has three points and nine SOG in his last two; Tomas Jurco had two points last night, and has been shooting the puck a lot lately (15 shots in his last five games). These three and Nyquist are the wave of the future for the Wings up front and I’m excited about how they’re being transitioned in.
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Michal Neuvirth left last night’s game with a lower-body injury. He had 10 saves on 10 shots at the time. But I warned you that how his story was going to go this year. He’s the better goalie in Buffalo, but injuries will keep seeing to it that Enroth gets plenty of chances to get hot and perhaps even seize the top job.
And that’s it for Troy Grosenick’s debut. After his huge shutout on the weekend, he got the next start. But gave up three goals on just 13 shots. How does a team give up only 13 shots the entire night…and still lose?
And the Blues gave up only 17 shots – and they lost too!
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Brendan Ross kicks ass again over at DobberProspects with some ramblings. Check them out here.
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Beau Bennett, still toiling on the third line for Pittsburgh, broke out big time with three points last night. I suspect he will get promoted to the Malkin line soon. Enough of this Spaling stuff.
Olli Maatta gets a cancerous tumor removed, and is back playing hockey two weeks later. How about that? And he played 20 minutes and blocked two shots…
Pascal Dupuis did not play last night (undisclosed) and will not accompany the team on their road trip. Coach Johnston says the team will have an update later today – and I don’t like the sound of that at all.
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Michael Frolik has four points in his last four games. He has a lot of catching up to do if he wants to build on last season. Just eight in 20 so far.
Michael Hutchinson, who started last night, has allowed just three goals on the last 103 shots he has faced.
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Despite the loss, there is still something to take from Dallas that’s positive. John Klingberg is looking fantastic. He led the team in ice time last night. Led the team! A team losing what turned out to be a close game, and he plays 24:26 – which is actually less ice time than his prior two outings. Folks – this was his fifth career NHL game. He picked up two points last night and is definitely worth taking a flyer on it one-year leagues via the wire. And he’s a must-own in most deep keeper leagues that require defensemen. Bright future.
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Eight points in nine games for Markus Granlund now. He may not be as good as his brother, but I think that led NHL scouts to downgrade him too far. Just like Mikko Koivu, he’s the brother with less skill – but the difference isn’t vast. I knew when he was drafted 45th in 2011 that it was about 20 spots too low. I really had that “underestimated like Mikko Koivu was” feeling. His ice time is rising, not falling, and I think you can safely pick him up and assume 40 points for this year.
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Here we go again. Semyon Varlamov has another groin injury. Pickard has been recalled. But go ahead and pick up Reto Berra off the wire. In fact, it’s wise to just keep Berra and have him on your bench for the next Varly injury as well.
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And besides Berra, The Hockey Writers have some other suggestions for backup goalies to pick up. I endorse the Devan Dubnyk suggestion. And THW also has some dual-position forwards to consider.
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Claude Giroux suffered an LBI in practice Monday and will miss Wednesday’s game as well as Thursday. The team recalled Scott Laughton and Brayden Schenn was moved back to center. Now we can see what Schenn can do in the top role.
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So does this mean the ‘good’ Sam Gagner is back for awhile? Look at this pass!