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Thread: Studs & Duds - Friday 4/26/13

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    Default Studs & Duds - Friday 4/26/13

    Studs


    Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Miller

    Let's be generous and say that the relationship between the Sabres, their fans, and goalie Ryan Miller has been tumultuous of late. Just last week I had him in the Duds section after a rather poor performance. He even gave a cheeky acknowledgement to the fans in Buffalo as he exited from that game. Last night was the other side of the coin. Miller had 30 saves, and stopped all three shots in the shootout, as the Sabres bested the Isles 2-1. Since he appeared as a dud last Friday, Ryan has won both of his starts while allowing a total of three goals in those games. With the souring of the relationship could this be the swan song for him in Buffalo? If so, he gave them one last look at vintage Miller Time.

    Whup 'dat ass

    The Oilers are quite the perplexing bunch. One game they look like dogmeat, the next they look just like the offensive juggernaut we all thought they could be. Last night, well, there was dogmeat, but it wasn't the Oilers. They came, they saw, they kicked Minnesota's ass. Leading the way were Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle, who each posted one goal, two assist performances. But it didn't end there as Nail Yakupov added a pair of markers, as did Corey Potter. Bet you didn't see that last one coming did you. And the Wild were heard to say, Mr MacTavish, tear down this wall! The Bulin Wall was sturdy as ever in this one, as he stopped 38 shots in the 6-1 dismantling. There were a total of six Oilers who tallied multi-point efforts, but more on that at the end.

    Lending a helping hand

    After falling behind 2-0 to open last night's game in Phoenix, Matt Duchene and the Avs got down to business. They rattled off three unanswered goals to take the lead, with Duchene picking up a helper on two of those goals. Matt went on to add another assist in the second period and scored one of the two goals in the shootout, as the Avs came back to win 5-4. He was also money on the draws as well, going 11-5 on the night. He continues his bounceback from last season's disppointment and now has four points in his last three games. On a per-game basis he's having his best season points-wise, putting up just under a point-per-game(0.93).



    Duds


    Mr. Smith gets bombed

    Mike Smith's 2013 has fallen short of expectations set during last year's playoff run in the desert. For all that the month of April had been treating Smith fairly well, until last night. The 'Yotes staked him to a two goal lead within the first 8:45 of play, and then over the next 9:07 gave it all back and then some. Coming into last night Smith had a goals aginst under two
    and a save percentage over .947 in five of eight starts this month. He allowed four goals on 28 shots as Colorado came back to defeat Phoenix 5-4 in a shootout, in more ways than one. Sucks for poolies who may have lost ground because of the poor start, but it could be worse....

    Nik'd up

    The setup was utterly simple. Just go out and beat the inconsistent Oilers and Minnesota would punch it's ticket to the playoffs. What could possibly go wrong? Exactly what happened last night, Nik Backstrom being treated rather rudely by the visitors. Pucks were flying by the Wild's Finnish netminder at an alarming rate, if your a Minnesota fan or Backstrom owner. Nik didn't make it out of the first period as he was roughed up for three goals on just five shots. The calender flipping over to April has not treated Backstrom well. His record this month stands at 4-8-1 and he has been touched up for three or more goals in a game seven times in that span. The timing couldn't be worse for all those with vested interests in his performance.

    Schultz!! Col. Klink will be most unhappy when he hears of this!

    Justin Schultz has had a good rookie season, but recently things have been quiet on the Western front. Justin has gone without a point over his last four games and last night may have been the unkindest cut of all. While his Edmonton teammates were busy abusing the Wild goalies en route to a 6-1 win, Justin managed to miss out, finishing minus-1 with only one shot on goal to show for his time. He was also the only minus player last night for the Oilers. Ooof!


    Deep thoughts from a shallow mind


    Buffalo 2 - N.Y. Islanders 1

    - Tomas Vanek had an assist and scored the lone goal for either team in the shootout. He now has seven points in the last five games, and five in the last three-in-a-row.
    - Cody Hodgson came up big on faceoffs going 13-4 on the night.
    - Rookie Mikhail Grigorenko fired six shots-on-goal but had no goals to show for it. He finished minus-1 and 2-5 on faceoffs.
    - Evgeni Nabokov stopped 21-of-22 in the losing effort


    Edmonton 6 - Minnesota 1

    - Ryan Smyth and Sam Gagner both had two assists and plus-1.
    - Jeff Petry had five blocked shots and finished an eye-popping plus-5.
    - Eight Minnesota players finished minus-2 or worse, including guys like Zach Parise(minus-2), Jonas Brodin and Charlie Coyle(both minus-3).
    - Josh Harding fared little better than Nik Backstrom. Harding allowed three goals on 12 shots in relief.
    - If you had Zenon Konopka or Mike Rupp you were well rewarded in the PIM category. Konopka had 17 and Rupp had 12. At least somebody from the Wild contributed to their fantasy owners.


    Chicago 3 - Calgary 1

    - Patrick Kane now has nine points in his last six games, after picking up a goal last night.
    - Jonathan Toews and Brandon Saad tallied a goal and an assist respectively, giving each a single point in two straight games.
    - Corey Crawford saved 25 of the 26 shots Calgary threw at him.
    - Dennis Wideman may have been held without a point, but if your league counts blocked shots he gave you a hefty seven, two hits, and a plus-1.
    - Joey MacDonald had 35 saves on 38 shots in the losing effort.


    Colorado 5 - Phoenix 4

    - P.A. Parenteau came through with a goal and an assist, and ended a two game pointless streak. He also added the final goal in the shootout.
    - Paul Stastny had an assist, giving him a helper in three straight. It's the first time he's had points in three straight games all season.
    - Before exiting the game with a groin injury, and just over four minutes left in regulation, J.S. Giguere had allowed four goals on 31 shots. Semyon Varlamov came on in relief and shut the door on the 'Yotes stopping all six shots in regulation and OT, plus both shots in the shootout.
    - Keith Yandle notched three assists, and Antoine Vermette had two goals in the loss.
    Your beer mug isn't half-empty, your just half-way to the next refill.....

  2. #2
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    Default Not Miller Time

    I think Miller is done in Buff - his house is apparently up for sale.

    Great write up as always!
    12 Team Dynasty, H2H (points)
    Dress 2C, 4W, 1F, 4D, 1G (Daily)
    G (3), A (2), STP (1), SHOG (1), +/- (0.5), SOG (0.2), Hits (0.2), Blk (0.2), FOW (0.1); W (5), SO (2), Sv (0.2), GA (-1)

    C - Draisaitl (W), Hughes, Larkin, Trochek
    W - T.Thompson (C), Pastrnak, Reinhart, Batherson, Nichushkin, Duchene (C), Zuccarello
    D - Dahlin, Theodore, Bouchard, Faber, Werenski, Skjei
    G - Jarry, Gustavsson, Montembault
    Fm - Bordeleau, Barlow, Lucius, G.Perreault, Luneau, Perunovich, Nikishin

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    Great write up! I especially enjoy the 'Thoughts' section on each game at the end of your articles. Keep up the good work!

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    Deep thoughts from a shallow mind -- that made me laugh out loud.. keep on truckin'

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