01/13/12 - Studs & Duds

[TK12555]

Friday the 13th is generally known as a day of superstition and bad luck. However, it was just a normal game day in the NHL. Some performances were outstanding, while others were spooky. Here are the Studs and Duds for Friday, January 13th, 2012:

Studs

3) False X-Rays, Positive Impact

Pittsburgh Penguins fans received an enormous scare last Sunday, as Dan Bylsma informed the media that winger James Neal broke his foot, and would be out for over a month. This injury was set to be devastating to the struggling Penguins, who would've had their 4th star (Letang, Crosby, and Staal the others) to be injured for an extended period of time. However, the x-rays were deemed incorrect, and Neal merely bruised his foot. Missing no games, Neal played an average role in his first couple of games nursing this foot, but really exploded on Friday.

Neal scored a goal, added an assist, finished +2, and fired 9 shots on goal as the Penguins beat the Panthers 4-1. Neal was a force tonight, and played nearly 24 minutes alongside Evgeni Malkin. With his 22nd goal of the year, Neal is on pace for career highs, and will be a very important factor in the rest of the Penguins' season.

2) The City of Troy

For the first half of the NHL season, the Washington Capitals have been the subject of many discussions. Among these storylines are the inconsistency of Ovechkin, the enigmatic behaviour of Semin, the injury to Nicklas Backstrom, and the recent play of Tomas Vokoun. However, there has been one Capital that has been highly underlooked this year, and that man is Troy Brouwer. While he only had 11 goals and 20 points heading into Friday's tilt with the Lightning, Brouwer had 139 hits along with 4 game-winning goals and a 17% shooting percentage. After Friday's game, people won't be underrating this powerforward for much longer.

Troy got a hat trick to get his 12th, 13th, and 14th goals of the year, and added his 5th game-winning goal as the Capitals pulled within 2 points of the Southwest division lead. However, to make this more impressive, Brouwer only took 3 shots to give him a 100% rate of shot conversion. In addition to his offensive flare, Brouwer hit everything in sight and recorded 7 hits. Brouwer is a versatile player, and is integral to the Capitals' success down the road.

1) The Flying V

As debuted in "The Mighty Ducks", Coach Bombay developed a strategy that involved the team's 5 best players forming a "V" shape that replicated a flock of flying ducks. Meanwhile in Anaheim, the team inspired by this movie had struggled. In order to recover from their woes, the team's "V" (Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf, Bobby Ryan, Cam Fowler, Lubimor Visnovsky) had to perform to the best of their ability. On Friday, they did just that.

The 5 Ducks combined for 3 goals, 6 assists, +9, and 12 shots in a 5-0 victory over the Oilers. However, the most impressive statistic of the night went to Ryan Getzlaf, the biggest struggler of the 5 and the head of the pack. Getzlaf got 4 assists, proving just how valuable he is. It might be a bit late, but it seems to be that the Ducks are not throwing in the towel, and their performance tonight proved that.

Duds

3) "Rollin" out of Contention

As an old proverb once said, "All Good Things Must Come to an End". This holds truer to none other than Dwayne Roloson. The 42 year old goaltender, started over 500 games in the NHL, and won over 230 of them. In addition, he recorded 29 shutouts and played in a Stanley Cup Final. That being said, there is no reason Roloson should be in the NHL any longer. Dwayne is recording career lows in both GAA and Sv%, statistics that are worse in this year than they were in his rookie campaign.

On Friday, he further proved that he should not be playing hockey. Roloson stopped only 16 of 19 shots, and let in 3 mediocre-to-subpar goals. The first goal was a screened shot from the point, but the other two were completely his fault. Roloson had an incredible career, and there's no shame in hangin' up the skates. If he continues to play in the net, the Lightning will see themselves eliminated from the playoffs before they even start.

2) Captured Carnivores

The first half of the season saw no bigger surprise than the Florida Panthers. The team, composed of overpaid and average players, was winning every game they played. Brian Campbell was rejuvenated, Fleischmann found success Weiss and Versteeg, and Theodore was playing like it was 2003. However, the first half of the season has ended, and the Panthers are in serious trouble. The team has only won 3 of their past 10 games, players were struggling, and a win against the struggling Penguins was needed. However, that did not happen.

The Panthers lost 4-1 to the visiting Penguins, showing signs that the end of their magical run is approaching. Fleischmann, Versteeg, Weiss, and Campbell all struggled, combining for a -9 rating. With their record slipping and the Capitals right on their heels, the Panthers could see themselves drop from 3rd to 9th by the end of the weekend.

1) Tapped-out Source

At this point, there is not much to say on the Edmonton Oilers at this point. Unfortunate injuries to Ryan Whitney, Ryan Nugent Hopkins, and Jordan Eberle saw this squad go from a bubble team to a likely lottery pick. However, the Oilers took their season to a new low Friday in a 5-0 loss to the Ducks. Aside from a plethora of shots, nothing went right for the Oil. The team didn't score, the special teams were horrendous, and only 5 players escaped the game with an even rating. In addition to this, the goaltending was atrocious, with Khabibulin letting in 3 goals on 14 shots before Dubnyk took the reign and fared no better. The Oilers have tons of good talent, but this season looks like another failure for Edmonton. The Rexall Place better not be booked on June 22nd, as there's a high probability that there could be a draft party there for a 3rd consecutive year.

[horrorfan]

Nice job. As well for the Ducks, Hiller with 33 saves and looking much better since returning from injury (likely according to those who have watched him, I only base it on the numbers). Two games, one goal given up in total. Ok, the Flames and Oilers aren't exactly strong competition, but it's a positive sign. Possibly, and hopefully for my roto team, the beginning of a strong second half to come.

[bondon]

The Oilers beat the Oilers eh? Haha,

Thanks for the read TK

[Big Ev]

Oilers a complete disgrace.