12/23/11- Studs & Duds

[TK12555]

In the last night of NHL action before the Christmas break, there were tons of teams that saw action. Some played with Christmas spirit, while others got a lump of coal in their stocking. Here are your studs and duds for Friday, December 23rd.

On a side note, I hope everybody has a great holiday season!

Studs

3) Giggy Giggy Giggy, Can't You See?

In one of the most controversial moves of the offseason, the Colorado Avalanche traded away their 1st rounder in 2012 (which many believed would be a top 10 pick) and other parts for Russian goaltender Semyon Varlamov. Noted as inconsistent and a flight risk, the deal has not worked out incredibly well for the Colorado Avalanche thus far. Varly has posted subpar stats, including a .896 save percentage and a 3.14 GAA. However, the Avalanche also picked up veteran goalie J-S Giguere. Posting over a .900 save percentage in all but 1 game this year, Giggy was given the task of playing his 4th consecutive game, this time against the Lightning.

Giguere stopped 29 of 30 shots, en route to a 2-1 overtime victory. In his 4 game stretch, Giguere has stopped 122 of the last 128 shots faced, or a .953 save percentage (nothing short of remarkable). Varlamov might have been Sherman's top prize, but Giguere's performance shows that the presents received in the stockings are just as good.

2) Smile For The Camera!

In just over a week, the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers will play outdoors in the nationally televised "Winter Classic". However, a large way this game attracts viewers is from the HBO special "24/7", an in-depth, behind the scenes look at the two teams. In its first season, the struggling Capitals had matters go downhill during the televising of the show. However, the New York Rangers don't seem to mind.

In a preview of the Winter Classic, the Rangers beat the Flyers 4-2, giving them their 4th win in a row. In the past little stretch, the Rags have played lights out, and some of the players are playing much better under the supervision of HBO. Gaborik now leads the league in goals with 21, Michael Del Zotto is playing the best hockey of his career, and the team is firing under all cylinders. Clearly, these players are striving under the spotlight, and are playing better knowing that "we see them when they're sleeping".

1) Boston "Cream the Panthers" Pie

There's little doubt about the fact that the Boston Bruins are the NHL's best hockey club. Filled with 4 contributing forward lines, 6 shutdown defencemen that can handle the puck, and a superstar goalie, the team is well-rounded like none other. However, the Bruins further exerted their dominance tonight with an 8-0 win. All but 4 players recorded a point, and Marchand led the team with 5 points. Rask also recorded a shutout, and was lights out. The B's must've put down "Stanley Cup" on their wish list to Santa, because it's certainly a possibility right now.

Duds

3) Universal Problems

On the first episode of 24/7, Ilya Bryzgalov reached instant superstardom after a spiel on the Universe, claiming it is "humongous big" and to just "be happy". After tonight's loss, Ilya should be worrying more about his team's issues. In a completely underwhelming night for Bryz, the Flyers lost 4-2 in a very important prelude to the Winter Classic. Bryzgalov let in 4 of 24, not a good enough percentage for a goalie of his magnitude. He needs to be better if he wants the Flyers to win this year.

2) This isn't Golf, Flash

In their 8-0 loss against the Bruins, there were countless players that saw their +/- totals drop. Numbers of forwards and defence alike recorded -2 or -3 games, with only Gudbranson and Bradley escaping the negative side of the game. However, Tomas Fleischmann, arguably the best Panther this season, had the worst night out of every NHL player in regards to this statistic.

Fleischmann went -4 in the loss, the worst rating for him this season. "Flash" has been lights out all season long thus far, but this effort tonight certainly put him (and all the Panthers) out of Santa's sleigh and back down to earth.

1) Rinne Tired of This

Last night, Pekka Rinne let in 4 goals on 9 shots, before playing well for the final segment of the game. However, many people expected Rinne to bounce back from this poor outing of his in a big way, which could possibly mean a shutout. However, the expected result was not what anybody envisioned to happen.

Rinne let in 3 goals in 4 minutes to chase him from the net, as his Predators lost 6-3 to the Dallas Stars. This was an incredibly disappointed game for Pekka Rinne fans, who has been stellar for the majority of the year. Rinne was given a 49 million dollar Christmas present, but must return to all-star form before he goes on Trotz's "Naughty List".

Points of Interest

For today's points of interest, feel free to post anything you found interesting. I'll ad them to the list if I feel they are worthy of being included!

[Shoeless]

Well maybe not of stud value but Cam Ward climbed back on the horse with very nice effort against the Sens.

Further note on Del Zotto - he is plus 17 in his last 15 games along with 13 points, 37 hits, 30 blocks and 8 PIM's in that same 15 games.

[bigbabybuda]

Well maybe not of stud value but Cam Ward climbed back on the horse with very nice effort against the Sens.

Further note on Del Zotto - he is plus 17 in his last 15 games along with 13 points, 37 hits, 30 blocks and 8 PIM's in that same 15 games.

Interesting note about MDZ. I never noticed since I would never own him in any league, but good to hear for you'll he's playing so well.

[Shoeless]

Gates and MD

http://sendables.jibjab.com/view/FiggI27Qd06P6RJp

[One87]

Thanks for this read, TK. Good work!

MDZ is very underrated anymore. He showed offensive flair in his rookie campaign, and had more than a sophomore slump. The Rangers rightfully sent him down last year to round out his game. It seems like he's starting to come into his own. I'm happy for the kid.

[TK12555]

Thanks for the feedback everyone!

Just a quick note - I'll be writing the studs/duds for both this Tuesday and Friday.