Nicely done FF... Good reading at 6am central time.
Studs and Duds
Studs
Ryan Getzlaf, Dustin Penner, and Mikhail Grigorenko
As the Anaheim Ducks laid the smackdown on the Buffalo Sabres, three names that stand out tonight are Getzlaf, Penner, and Grigorenko. Getzlaf recorded his first career NHL hattrick in the first period of the Ducks/Sabres. To add to his performance, Getzlaf also recorded a powerplay assist on a Cam Fowler wrist shot. Dustin Penner contributed to Getzlaf's effort by getting three assists and a goal to record four points as well. Guess those pancakes are doing wonders for down there in So.Cal flapjack! *nudge nudge*
Mikhail Grigorenko also had a solid night getting the monkey off his back by scoring his first two goals of the season as the only offensive production the Sabres were able to manage against the first place Ducks.
Brick Walls in the Centre of the Hockey Universe
Jonathan Bernier and Cory Schneider showed great displays tonight in Toronto as the Leafs managed to beat the Devils in a 2-1 victory that finished in a shootout. Phil Kessel scored the lone goal for the Leafs on 28 shots, giving Schneider a .964 save percentage on the night.
Bernier on the other hand managed to stop all but one Michael Ryder power play goal. Benrier stopped 34/35 shots scoring a .971 save percentage on 65 minutes of ice time. HE also managedto stop all three shootout attempts by Ryder, Zajac, and Adam Henrique.
Ondrej Pavalec
Pavelec was lights out for Winnipeg in a 5-0 win against Nashville. While the score tells one story about the game, the number say that Pavelec stopped 41 shot attempts by Nashville. Pavelec went 4/4 on Nashville powerplays stopping 12 shots. If only he could be this consistent on a nightly basis.
Duds
Shea Weber/Craig Smith
If there was anybody to pick on for Nashville's loss, these two men are perfect targets. Shea Weber went -3 tonight against Winnipeg and failed to score on two shots. Craig Smith recorded a -4 tonight while failing to score on 5 shooting attempts. To top that off, he only managed to play 13:55 toi. Not something you'd expect from Nashvilles best defence men and young scoring forward.
Buffalo's Everything
Barring a loss in the draft, it's almost set in stone that the Sam Reinhart winner is going to be the Buffalo Sabres this year. Tonight, the Sabres were manhandled by the Ducks losing 6-2. Buffalo allowed 46 shots against in which the Ducks scored six. While the Sabres tried to put up a fight physically, the scoring just wasn't there when they had to rely on Mikhail Grigorenko to provide the offence.
Ryan Miller
I promise this will be my last shot against Buffalo tonight. Darcy Regier is going to need to start shopping Ryan Miller... and soon. Miller allowed six goals on 34 shots from the Ducks tonight. He picked up his eleventh loss of the season, and while the Sabres have been bad, Miller's numbers aren't so pretty either. Miller's save percentage dropped to .912, while his goals against average currently sits at 3.40. Jhonas Enroth has been the bright spot in the Sabres net with a 2.69 goals against average and a .916 save percentage. While Miller requires a big return for any team to require his services, nights like tonight are going to ruin his value.
Anything to add? I'm always open to suggestions!
Alan Murray
Twitter: Alanmurray2
Studs & Duds Writer for 2013/2014 NHL season
League History:
SCFHL2 (30 Team Dynasty of 7 Seasons) 1 Championship
UNFFHL (24 Team Dynasty of 6 Seasons) 0 Championships
Goal: Win more Championships
Development for success: Hope and pray
Nicely done FF... Good reading at 6am central time.
Yahoo! H2H, 1 year, 12 teams, Daily starts
G, A, +/-, PPP, SOG, HITS, W, GAA, SV%, SO
2C, 2LW, 2RW, 4D, 2G, 5BN, IR, 3IR+
Used 41/45 moves
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C} Matthews, Barkov, Hertl
LW} B.Tkachuk(C), Guentzel, Nichushkin(RW)
RW} Miller(C), Rust, Schmaltz(C)
D} Josi, Fox, Dobson, Carlson
G} Nedeljkovic, Daccord, Grubauer, Pickard
IR} Demko
IR+} Neighbours