Studs & Duds - Tuesday 4/16

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Studs


A Pair Of Peg

Andrew Ladd had 2 goals and 1 assist while Blake Wheeler had 1 goal and 2 assists. Both figured into all 3 regulation goals for the Jets. Ladd took 4 shots and Wheeler 3 shots along with 1 blocked shot and 5 hits. Ladd also scored in the shootout for the Jets as they won 4-3 keeping their playoff hopes alive.

Blues Brothers

Brian Elliott stopped 21 of 22 shots for a .955 SV% as the Blues beat the Canucks 2-1. He has given up 7 goals now in his last 7 games continuing to confound most poolies as to what to expect. David Backes ended up with a nice multicat night even though he didn't score. Backes had 6 PIMs, 3 shots, 6 hits, and 15 FOWs.

Filibuster

Braden Holtby allowed only 1 goal while facing 30 shots and finished with a .967 SV%. He hasn't exactly had a strong season but with Ovechkin and Backstrom finally waking up, Washington continues to win including a 5-1 win over Toronto.

Honorable Mention

Dustin Brown had a nice multicat night with 1 goal on 7 shots. He also threw 8 hits.


Duds


I Think I Know A Little Bit About Winning

Devan Dubnyk allowed 5 goals on 30 shots for a .833 SV% in Edmonton's 5-3 loss to Minnesota. Justin Schultz also had a tough night as he was on the ice for only 1 fewer goal than Dubnyk. It might take a few more games for the players to realize that things are supposed to be better now that they have a new GM.

Rough On The Rookie

Jacob Markstrom continues to struggle getting the hook less than 25 minutes into Florida's 5-2 loss to the New York Islanders. Markstrom allowed 5 goals on 18 shots before being pulled, for a .722 SV%. This is the second time he was pulled in his last three starts after allowing 5 or more goals. It might be time to give him a rest.

S Will Continue To Follow R

Ben Scrivens faced 37 shots but gave up 5 goals for a .865 SV%. This will likely be the last game he plays this season unless James Reimer gets injured. For a time it looked like Scrivens was poised to give Reimer some competition for the starting role, but with Reimer's play and this game by Scrivens it seems pretty clear who the starter is.


Odds & Ends


Not Just Defense

Sergei Gonchar's 2 assists moved him ahead of Sergei Zubov for the all time lead in NHL points for Russian defensemen. Both have nearly double the number of points of the number 3.

Damn That's A Lot Of Defensive Hockey

Ken Hitchcock got his 600th coaching victory with the Blues 2-1 win over the Canucks.

[Shoeless]

Milan Michalek had a night as well - 1 goal, 7 PIMs, 8 SOG, 2 Blks.

[STONE.]

Studs

Filibuster

Braden Holtby allowed only 1 goal while facing 30 shots and finished with a .967 SV%. He hasn't exactly had a strong season but with Ovechkin and Backstrom finally waking up, Washington continues to win including a 5-1 win over Toronto.

Who is "He" here? Holtby?
He's had a pretty stellar season.
5th in wins -- having started fewer games than many others on the list.
He's got 4 SO (the leaders only have 5).
Take away his first 5-6 games and his GAA and SV% aren't bad either.
The offense deserves attention in Washington, but he's won some games for them as well.
In the two pools I'm in, he's one of the 3-4 best goalies in each. (Largely focusing on Ws, SOs, and Svs)

I think his season is pretty underrated. It took a bit for him to establish himself (although I think Oates took some time to see what he had as well). But now that he's in position, I think he's one to watch.

Oh, and it's worth nothing that if he had started one fewer game last year, he'd be Calder eligible right now! If that were the case, I think we'd be talking about him with Huberdeau, Conacher, Saad, Brodin, and company. He's just a youngster.

[STONE.]

Oh, didn't mean to be critical BTW.
Love this feature -- and appreciate the write-up. Just pointing out something I've noticed.