12/02/11 - Studs & Duds
The first Friday of December had 12 teams in action, including some of the league's best. Here are the studs and duds for Friday, December 2nd.
Studs
3) Jagr Bombs
Last Wednesday, Jaromir Jagr returned from a short injury break, only to acquire a groin issue. As a result, Jagr had to miss another week of action and started to gain criticism. Questions of his durability surfaced along with his return in general. Returning to play the Ducks, Jagr needed to Show his moves and make a statement to the doubters. On Friday, he did just that.
Mario Jr. Notched 2 goals, 1 assist, and 10 shots on goal en route to a 4-3 overtime victory. This dominant performance had both goals on the powerplay, coming at opportune times while down 3-0. Performances like this from Jagr shows that his presence can make the Flyers so dangerous. With nights like these from Jaromir, the Flyers could see themselves come 1st in the conference, or even the league.
2) Life of Ryans
The Edmonton Oilers are considered by many hockey fans as a young team with lots of potential, and one that can give any team a challenge due to its speed. As well, the Oil are one of the more surprising teams in the league, currently sitting just outside of the 6th spot in the West. However, the most astounding thing about this team is their abundance of players named "Ryan". O'Marra, Nugent-Hopkins, Smyth, and Jones all share the same first name, likely resulting in some "creative" NHL nicknames. While Nugent-Hopkins and O'Marra played good games on Friday against Columbus, the latter two "Ryans" strived on Friday.
Jones tallied 3 goals and Smyth notched 2 assists, leading the Oilers over the Jackets 6-3. Heading into the 3rd, the Oilers trailed 2-1 until the duo stepped up. Jones got a tying goal a minute into the 3rd, along with another goal with 12 minutes to go, both of which assisted by Smyth. When the Oilers can rely on depth scoring and not Hopkins or Hall, the team will win games like they did tonight.
1) Red Hot Wings
Boston is in danger of losing their title as the hottest team in the NHL. In what has been a roller coaster of a season for Hockeytown, the Red Wings have seen everything this season ranging from Struggles from their top scorers, lack of scoring depth, and shaky goaltending, to the flashes of brilliance from everybody. Friday night was another example of how dominant this team is, and its ability to win it all.
Detroit completely outplayed Buffalo in every aspect, and beat the slumping Sabres 4-1. With the win, Detroit won their 7th game in a row. Pavel Datsyuk continued to rack up points, Franzen is playing all-star hockey, Howard is lights-out, and Zetterberg is slowly returning to form. Every team should be frightened, as the Detroit Red Wings are for real.
Duds
3) Buffalo Non-Offense
When Ryan Miller was sidelined by Milan Lucic, the main worry of Sabres' fans was the defense of the team. Without Miller, the onus would be on Enroth to keep the puck out. However, Enroth has been a suitable replacement for the most part, along with the defensive core. The main problem of the team is the lack of recent offensive power. On Tuesday, Buffalo only notched 1 goal against the Islanders, and Friday was no different in any way.
Buffalo scored only 1 goal against the Red Wings, despite a plethora of powerplays. Players like Vanek, Stafford, and Roy were non-existent in the 4-1 loss. If the Sabres want to win games, the team needs to work on the offensive firepower that has been lacking. If not, this could be a very long season for the Sabres and Fantasy Owners alike.
2) No Win Jersey
The Devils are beginning to look like the team that miserably failed in 2010/2011. New Jersey lost their game tonight, falling 4-2 to the Minnesota Wild. This was their third loss in a row, in which they have been outscored 13-5, including an ugly 6-1 loss to the Avalanche. However, tonight's loss was nearly just as hideous. 0 for 5 on the powerplay, and Martin Brodeur allowed 3 goals on 4 shots.
This loss is somewhat representative of the team's play this season. Their two top players are often performing (besides tonight), the goaltending has been sub-par, and the powerplay has been horrendous. While they're still winning games, stretches like these cannot be good for the morale or confidence of the team, which could easily deteriorate.
1) Different Coach, Same Problem
Bruce Boudreau must be kicking himself, realizing the same issue in Washington is relevant in Anaheim. In his first game as the Ducks' bench-boss, Anaheim blew a 3-0 lead to lose 4-3 in overtime to the Flyers. Underperformance of star players and irresponsibility of the captain lost the game for the team when Getzlaf took a double minor in overtime. The special teams were horrendous, the team allowed 9 powerplay opportunities for the Flyers, the defense shelled out Hiller to take 47 shots, while only mustering 22 of their own. Overall, an awful game after a promising start.
it's the first game under Boudreau, but this is likely not a coaching proble but rather a team issue. Changes could be made, and ultimately result in Bobby Ryan trades resurfacing. The consequences might not be realistic at the moment, but more losses like this and the Ducks could change even more.
Points of Interest
- 1st goals of the season were aplenty tonight. Nino Niederreiter, Jakub Kindl, Casey Wellman, Andrew Gordon, and Ben Smith all notched their first of the year, and some had the first of their career
- Patrick Berglund from Chris Stewart. 2 months too late
- The Islanders got 2 shots in the 2nd period (13 in the first, 3 in OT). They recorded 23 shots in the third, more than the other periods combined
- Halak makes good saves sometimes.
Last edited by TK12555; December 3, 2011 at 2:51 AM.
"We've had a couple shakers in this place. This year we haven't had the time. We had a couple good ones last year, right?" - Phil Kessel
Reply With QuoteHalak's save has to be the stud of the night, though.
Originally Posted by sentium
I feel like a genius starting both Halak and Varly and both of them posting nearly 95% save percentages
Posting Permissions
