1/15/12 Studs & Duds

[metaldude26]

Happy Sunday everyone. I'm back with another edition of Studs & Duds. It was a busy Sunday with a lot to get to so let's just dive in.

Studs

Give Me a Blake

It sure is easy to make fun of Jason Blake's poo flinging approach to playing the game of hockey - he will literally shoot the puck from anywhere - but it is hard to criticize the results on Sunday. Blake fired 10 SOG on Sunday, resulting in two goals (including the game winner), one assist, a plus-3 rating and one PPP to lead the Ducks over the Canucks.

It is almost laughable but is it possible that Blake was the secondary the Ducks were missing this season? Since returning Blake to the line up the Ducks have gone 5-1-1 scoring 26 goals over that stretch.

Fiscal Responsibility Line

Nothing about the past few years in Montreal has screamed fiscal responsibility. Between Bob Gainey and Pierre Gauthier the Montreal Canadiens have bogged down their franchise with albatross contracts for mediocre players with no-movement clauses. It is not without irony then that the Habs best line this season has been the Pacioretty-Desharnais-Cole line with an average salary of just $2.325 million between the three of them. It's this sort of contribution that is often the difference between a good team and a bad team. Unfortunately the big guns for Montreal aren't producing so ultimately this is a bad team. Still it's nice to see the Fiscal Responsibility Line putting in work. The trio combined for three goals and nine points in all, leading them to a victory over the New York Rangers. They each went home with a plus-3 rating on the night as well.

Now please offer suggestions for a better name for this line.

The Malking

It's almost as if Pittsburgh forward Evgeni Malkin had heard all the Stamkos or Malkin debates over the past couple years and made it his personal mission to squash those debates here and now. Malkin opened the game on Sunday with two assists, leading his team to a 3-0 lead early on. After that lead was squandered and the Lightning tied the game 3-3 Malkin then channelled Greg Jennings and put the team on his back do, scoring three unanswered goals to put the Penguins on top for good and end their losing streak.

In all, Malkin scored three goals and two assists, had a plus-3 rating with two PPP, adding six SOG and two PIM for good measure. If there was a more perfect rotisserie performance out there, I ask you to show me it. The performance also pushed Malkin one ahead of Stamkos in overall scoring, just one behind Henrik Sedin for the league lead, after Stamkos managed just one assist. So yeah, seen Stamkos?

HM

Tomas Vokoun for having the best goaltending performance of the day stopping 43 of the 44 shots the Hurricanes flung at him on Sunday.

Peter Budaj for having the best goaltending performance that affected less than three fantasy pools when he stopped 28 of the 29 shots the Rangers fired at him on Sunday.

James Neal for recording two goals and six SOG before getting the gate for a massive 10 minute misconduct. Roto-stud!

Jonathan Toews for his mini-Malkin performance. One goal, one assist, plus-2, two PIM and six SOG. Just a PPP away from touching all six major categories.

Pavel Kubina went a minus-2 on Sunday but saved face for his poolies by racking up 12 PIM.

Vinny Lecavalier for trumping Kubina with 14 PIM and adding two assists and an even plus/minus rating.

Duds

Edler Scrolls

Edler led all Canucks in TOI with a massive 27:30 on Sunday but went minus-2 with only two SOG to show for his efforts.

The Woj

If it wasn't bad enough for the 18 people still clinging to hope that Wolski might once again become fantasy relevant he went minus-3 on Sunday. He is irredeemably a bust.

Lightning Quick Goaltending

They let in goals so fast you can hardly see them!

Seriously though, Mathieu Garon laid yet another egg on Sunday although you can almost excuse him considering the defense in front of him allowed 43 shots to get to the net.

Still, I can't help but blame management for this one. How on earth are two goalies who washed out of franchises like the Edmonton Oilers, Columbus Windbreakers and New York Islanders going to be your solution in net? These guys weren't even good enough for last place teams but now they are going to carry your sorry as squad? Give your head a shake. This isn't Detroit Mr. Yzerman. You can't just stick a pylon in net when you don't have Datsyuk and Zetterberg to play keep-away for 60+ minutes a night.

DHM

Penguins rookies Dustin Jeffrey and Eric Tangradi for each going minus-2 in the Penguins route of the Lightning. I mean, I guess we have them to thank for Malkin going Optimus Prime on the Lightning but I'd still like to see them taken out and flogged for their obvious role in the Lightning comeback.

Okay, this is technically positive. Both Cam Ward and Jonas Hiller allowed only two goals each on Sunday. That they didn't play like complete buttholes is small consolation for the hole they dug owners over the last three months. They'll need to do more to get out of the Duds section.

Another backhanded shout-out to Magnus Paajarvi for scoring his first point since being called back up to the big leagues. Congrats Magnus, you still aren't an NHL calibre player.

[mounD]

Desharnais (de)
Cole (cou)
Pacioretty (page)


Decoupage!

- The decoration of the surface of an object with paper cut-outs.


and it's French...

[STONE.]

Sticking with fiscal responsibility:

CaPpeD line -- okay, not sure I even like it now that I see it written out.

[Shoeless]

M(ax)E(ric)D(avid) Line? They are kinda acting like the medicine the Habs need to turn it around.

Thumper and Friends?

Home Boys and the Alien?

The UnGomez's?

Price's Princes?

Hope they keep it up and make their line worth naming.