01-08-2020, 05:22 AM
Richards revving up, Columbus’ scoring line, Florida’s snakebitten centre, tons of lineup news, Fantasy tips and more in Scott Cullen’s Statistically Speaking. HEROES Brad Richards – The Blackhawks centre had a pair of assists against Dallas, in his 1,000th career NHL game. After a slow start this season (three points in the first nine games), Richards now has eight points (3 G, 5 A) in the past nine games and is in a favourable situation on a line with Patrick Kane and Kris Versteeg. Blue Jackets’ top line – LW Nick Foligno scored two goals and an assist in a 4-3 win at Philadelphia Friday. It gives Foligno nine points (6 G, 3 A) in his past seven games and he’s played more than 20 minutes in three of the past four games, including a season-high 22:30 Friday. C Ryan Johansen assisted on all four Columbus goals in the win, and now has 20 points (6 G, 14 A) in 17 games. Nick Bjugstad – The second-year centre has been snakebitten, managing three points in 14 games to start the season, but he broke through Sunday at Anaheim, with two goals and two assists. Bjugstad has solid possession stats this season (53.3% Corsi), but has a spectacularly low on-ice shooting percentage, which indicates that, even on the offensively-challenged Panthers, he’s due for better finishing. Among forwards with at least 150 5-on-5 minutes this season: Hard Luck in the Offensive Zone PLAYER TEAM ON-ICE SH% Adam Lowry Winnipeg 1.1% Jesse Joensuu Edmonton 1.4% Calle Jarnkrok Nashville 1.4% Dan Paille Boston 1.5% Olli Jokinen Nashville 2.0% Nick Bjugstad Florida 2.0% Joakim Lindstrom St. Louis 2.2% Cal Clutterbuck N.Y. Islanders 2.4% Mathieu Perreault Winnipeg 2.5% Nate Thompson Anaheim 2.6% ZEROES Goalie Woes – Vancouver’s Ryan Miller allowed five goals on 23 shots vs. Arizona Friday Philadelphia’s Ray Emery surrendered six goals on 28 shots at Montreal Saturday Detroit’s Jimmy Howard allowed four goals on 19 shots at Montreal Sunday Winnipeg’s Ondrej Pavelec was pulled after allowing three goals on 11 shots against Minnesota Sunday Toronto’s James Reimer game up six goals on 35 shots at Buffalo Saturday Anaheim’s Frederik Andersen was pulled, then put back in later, but still gave up four goals on 15 shots against Florida Sunday. Peter Holland, Mike Santorelli, Leo Komarov – A relatively steady influence for Toronto lately, the trio had a rough game against Pittsburgh Friday when tasked with covering Chris Kunitz, Sidney Crosby and Pascal Dupuis; Holland had the worst possession stats (6 shot attempts for, 26 against, 18.8%) on the night. Kyle Brodziak – In 8:55 ice time against Dallas Saturday, the Wild centre was on the ice for three shot attempts for and 21 against (12.5%). LEOPOLD TRADE Jordan Leopold – The veteran defenceman, who is joining his seventh NHL team, played 17:11 against San Jose Saturday in his Columbus debut. Leopold, 34, was limited to 27 games by injuries last season and has been a spare part in St. Louis this year but, prior to that, he had been averaging more than 20 minutes per game for four straight seasons. The trigger for the Blue Jackets needing Leopold was Fedor Tyutin suffering a knee injury that will keep him out 4-6 weeks. Chris Butler – Called up to fill the seventh defence spot in St. Louis now that Leopold is gone. Butler has produced some of the worst possession numbers over the past three seasons, but the St. Louis native may be okay in a limited role on a strong Blues team. LINEUP NEED TO KNOW Taylor Hall – Edmonton’s star left winger returned to the lineup Sunday, scoring a goal, with 12 shot attempts (5 SOG) in a 2-1 loss to Arizona. Sergei Bobrovsky – The Blue Jackets’ No. 1 goaltender returned to action against the Sharks Saturday, stopping 36 of 37 shots in a 2-1 Columbus win. Zach Parise – Minnesota left winger scored a pair of goals Sunday against Winnipeg in his return to the Wild lineup. Jonathan Drouin – Tampa Bay’s rookie winger was a healthy scratch against the Islanders Saturday. He has four points in the past five games, but is the victim of a numbers game in Tampa Bay, where they have a lot of skilled young forwards. Matt Nieto – After getting hit hard late against Buffalo Friday, the Sharks winger did not dress Sunday. Adam Larsson – The New Jersey defenceman played a season-high 20:28 at Washington Friday. Tyson Strachan – The journeyman defender played 22:54 against Toronto Saturday, the third time in four games that he’s logged more than 20 minutes. Jakub Kindl – The Red Wings defenceman played a season-low 9:13 against Chicago Friday, then was a healthy scratch Sunday against Montreal, replaced in the lineup by Brian Lashoff. Dwight King – The Kings left winger was a healthy scratch Saturday against Anaheim. Trevor van Riemsdyk – Chicago’s rookie defenceman suffered a serious leg injury Sunday, possibly presenting another opportunity for David Rundblad to get regular reps on the Blackhawks blueline. SHORT SHIFTS Flyers RW Jakub Voracek had a goal and an assist Friday vs. Columbus then added two assists at Montreal Saturday and now leads the league with 26 points (7 G, 19 A in 16 GP)…Devils G Cory Schneider had a 30-save shutout at Washington Friday…Blue Jackets D James Wisniewski scored a pair of goals at Philadelphia Friday, and has five points (2 G, 3 A) in five games since returning from injury…Penguins RW Pascal Dupuis scored two goals, with eight shots on goal Friday, with exceptional possession numbers (28 for, 6 against, 82.4%) at Toronto and played a season-high 20:49 Saturday, but is going to miss Tuesday night’s game in Montreal due to injury…Coyotes C Martin Hanzal scored a hat trick in a 5-0 win at Vancouver Friday. His 11 points in 15 games is the highest per-game (0.73 ppg) scoring rate of his career, yet his ice time (17:34) is his lowest since 2008-09…Coyotes D Keith Yandle had a goal and two assists at Vancouver Friday, playing 18:37, his lowest since January, 2014…Panthers RW Jimmy Hayes had a goal and an assist against the Islanders Friday and has five points (3 G, 2 A) in the past five games…Panthers C Vincent Trocheck has five points (1 G, 4 A) during a four-game point streak. Flyers LW Brayden Schenn scored two goals, giving him seven points (3 G, 4 A) during a five-game point streak and has been getting time on the Flyers’ top line with Voracek and Claude Giroux… Canadiens RW Dale Weise scored a pair of goals in a 6-3 win over Philadelphia Saturday, giving Weise eight points (3 G, 5 A) in 16 games, an unprecedented scoring rate to this point in his career…Canadiens LW Max Pacioretty has seven points (3 G, 4 A) during a five-game point streak…Kings D Jake Muzzin had a pair of assists against the Ducks on Saturday, and has seven points (1G G, 6 A) in the past five games…Sabres LW Tyler Ennis had a goal and two assists in a 6-2 win against Toronto Saturday, leaving him with nine points (3 G, 6 A) in the past nine games…Sabres C Zemgus Girgensons scored a pair of goals against Toronto Saturday, and now has seven points (4 G, 3 A) in the past seven games…Sabres LW Matt Moulson had a goal and two assists against Toronto, giving him six points (2 G, 4 A) in the past 5 games. Lightning C Valtteri Filppula picked up a goal and an assist against the Islanders Saturday then had two assists Monday against the Rangers, and now has 12 points (3 G, 9 A) in the past 10 games…Blues LW Jaden Schwartz had a goal and an assist in a 4-1 win vs. Washington Saturday, giving him 10 points (2 G, 8 A) during six-game point streak…Blues D Kevin Shattenkirk had two assists against Washington Saturday and now has six assists in the past five games…Stars rookie D John Klingberg had a big possession game (33 attempts for, 15 against, 68.9%) while playing 24:07 against Minnesota Saturday…Canadiens C Tomas Plekanec had a goal and an assist against Detroit Saturday, giving him six points (2 G, 4 A) in the past five games…Blackhawks RW Marian Hossa had two assists, along with strong possession (23 shot attempts for, 10 against, 69.7%) against Dallas Sunday, giving him five assists in the past five games; Hossa had five points in the first 13 games of the season…Panthers LW Jussi Jokinen recorded two assists at Anaheim Sunday, now has 11 points (1 G, 10 A) in the past 10 games…Devils LW Mike Cammalleri had no shot attempts with 35% possession (7 for, 13 against) in 20:42 against Colorado Saturday…Blackhawks C Jonathan Toews had one goal and an assist in Sunday’s 6-2 win over Dallas. He now has eight points (3 G, 5 A) in the past six games…Blackhawks LW Kris Versteeg had a goal and two assists against Dallas Sunday, giving him seven points (3 G, 4 A) in the past six games. Stars D Trevor Daley was buried in the defensive zone against Chicago Sunday, with six shot attempts for and 33 against (15.4%) during 5-on-5 play…Hurricanes LW Nathan Gerbe, LW Jeff Skinner and D Andrej Sekera each registered 11 shot attempts (total 17 SOG) in a 2-0 loss to San Jose Sunday. Both Skinner (35 shot attempts for, 10 against, 77.8%) and Sekera (39 for, 14 against, 73.6%) were plus-25 on attempted shot differential…Sharks D Marc-Edouard Vlasic controlled play against Columbus Saturday, on the ice for 27 shot attempts for and three against (90.0%) at even strength…Lightning RW Ryan Callahan scored a pair of goals in Monday’s 5-1 win at the Rangers and has nine points (4 G, 5 A) in the past six games…Lightning C Steven Stamkos had a goal and two assists Monday, and has 14 points (6 G, 8 A) in the past 10 games. Good Goaltending - Bruins G Tuukka Rask stopped 33 of 34 Carolina shots in a 2-1 win Saturday…Wild G Darcy Kuemper stopped 27 of 28 shots in 2-1 win at Dallas Saturday…Canadiens G Dustin Tokarski had 28 saves on 29 shots in a 4-1 win vs. Detroit Sunday. FIRSTS Troy Grosenick – An undrafted free agent out of Union College, 25-year-old Grosenick made his NHL debut Sunday and it was something special – a 45-save shutout at Carolina. In 45 AHL games, Grosenick owns a .905 save percentage. Brandon Gormley – The Coyotes defenceman scored his first NHL goal in Edmonton Sunday, but suffered an injury and could be on the shelf for a while. Curtis McKenzie – The Stars left winger scored his first NHL goal at Chicago Sunday. FANTASY FOCUS A handful of forwards in action tonight that you may want to get into your lineup: Blake Comeau – With Dupuis out Tuesday night at Montreal, Comeau is moving up the Penguins’ depth chart, to skate with Sidney Crosby and Chris Kunitz. Comeau has nine points (4 G, 5 A) in 15 games. Boone Jenner – The second-year Blue Jackets’ forward is playing a lot more (19:27 per game) and has five points in six games since coming back from injury. Evander Kane – It’s been a bit of a slow start for Kane, thanks in part to a knee injury, but he’s put up five points (2 G, 3 A) in the past seven games and played a season-high 23:21 at Minnesota Sunday. Riley Nash – A checking centre who was thrust into an offensive role because of injuries, Nash still gets opportunities with Nathan Gerbe and Elias Lindholm on his wings. Emerson Etem – Had one point in his first 17 games this season, now has three points in the past couple and with Devante Smith-Pelly hurt, there is still room in the top nine for Etem to get regular playing time. Much of the data included comes from http://www.war-on-ice.com, http://www.puckalytics.com, http://www.hockeystats.ca and http://www.naturalstattrick.com Scott Cullen can be reached at scott.cullen@bellmedia.ca Don Larsen Jersey . But history aside, theyre still happy to participate in the Par 3 contest, traditionally held on the day prior to the first round of the Masters. Custom Yankees Jerseys . 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New Zealand Rugby Union chief executive Steve Tew said the re-signing was made with a focus on 2016 when sevens will be in the Olympics.Sacramento, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Tobias Harris scored 27 points and the Orlando Magic took down the Sacramento Kings, 105-96, Victor Oladipo added 16 points and seven assists and Evan Fournier scored 15 for Orlando, which finished a six-game road trip with a 3-3 record. Darren Collison had 22 for the Kings, losers in five of their last six games. Two of the best young centers in the game were set to meet in this one, but both were sidelined. Kings star DeMarcus Cousins missed his fifth straight game with a viral infection, while Orlandos Nikola Vucevic was held out for his fourth straight with back pain. The Magic were clinging to a narrow lead midway through the third quarter when a 9-0 run made it 72-60. It was 77-66 after three, and Ben Gordon extended the spread with the first five points of the fourth for Orlando. Sacramento took a timeout just over a minute into the periodd, and it paid off.dddddddddddd Derrick Williams three-point play proceeded Collisons four-point play, and Omri Casspi capped a 9-0 Kings run with a driving layup. They continued to chip away, with Williams and Collison doing the heavy lifting. The duo scored seven in a row later in the frame to tie the game at 90. But Orlando countered. Elfrid Payton restored its lead with a layup, Channing Frye hit from deep late in the shot clock and Oladipo potted a long two to make it 97-90. After consecutive misses for Sacramento, Harris put the finishing touches on an impressive road win with a pull-up jumper. Game Notes Jason Thompson scored 18 points for the Kings, Rudy Gay had 16 and Williams added 14 off the bench ... Magic reserve big man Dewayne Dedmon blocked four shots ... The Kings fell to 5-5 at home this season and 10-10 overall. ' ' '