Sharks finding their way with solid defense
Evgeni Nabokov's excellent goaltending is a huge reason why the Sharks are leading the NHL with 43 points and a 19-7-5 record. The big question is, has anyone outside San Jose even noticed?
Every once in a while, it’s good to remember why I care about hockey in the first place. I was a childhood fan before I was a handicapper. Back then, the worst hockey players at the NHL level were still people I admired and looked up to – they were in the NHL, after all. They were also men, and I was a boy. Big difference.
It’s days like last Friday that keep the juices flowing. The Montreal Canadiens celebrated their centennial with one of their classic red-carpet ceremonies, complete with a pregame shootaround (in full uniform) featuring Ken Dryden at one end of the rink and Patrick Roy at the other. I’m getting all verklempt just writing about it.
Better move on to this week’s gambling-friendly look at the NHL.
Elliott Mess
Ottawa Senators fans thought they dodged a bullet two weeks ago when goalie Pascal Leclaire was diagnosed with only a slight “lower body” injury in a 5-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres (+127). But just two days later, Leclaire was sitting on the bench for a game against the Washington Capitals when he took a puck in the face and suffered a broken cheekbone. His original prognosis: out four weeks.
Brian Elliott is starting in Leclaire’s place, and it hasn’t been a pretty sight. The Senators have gone 3-4-1 with Elliott between the pipes for a loss of 1.68 units. His save percentage has fallen to .896 (Leclaire was at .901), or No. 39 out of 43 regular NHL goalies.
Confidence appears to be an issue for the 24-year-old sophomore, a ninth-round draft pick by the Sens back in 2003. Ottawa doesn’t have any NHL-ready talent in the minors. This situation could get worse before Leclaire returns.
All’s Quiet on the Western Front
The San Jose Sharks are on top of the league standings at 19-7-5 (8.00 units), driven by a combination of outstanding goaltending (Evgeni Nabokov has a .923 SV%) and an impressive 3.27 goals per game. The team is healthy and happy. And about as anonymous as an elite pro sports team can get. The Pacific Division has some disheartening attendance figures:
San Jose Sharks 100.3 percent capacity
Dallas Stars 91.1
Los Angeles Kings 89.0
Anaheim Ducks 86.7
Phoenix Coyotes 56.2
None of these five teams can be said to have a national profile at this point. Which makes the Pacific Division a boon for sharp handicappers who understand how competitive the Kings (5.45 units) and Coyotes (3.71 units) have been, or how badly the Ducks (-15.54 units) have disintegrated. Make the East Coast media bias your source for cash instead of frustration.
Duck Hunt
Teemu Selanne must be second-guessing his decision to return to the Ducks this year. He himself has been aging gracefully at 39 with a healthy 14 goals and seven assists in 27 games, but his team is last in the Western Conference at 10-13-6. Now things are about to get worse. Selanne broke his middle finger last week blocking a shot against Dallas and is expected to miss at least a month of action.
The former Mighty Ducks of Anaheim have been anything but mighty since GM Brian Burke left town a year ago. Bob Murray took over the job after learning under Burke as a scout with the Vancouver Canucks and as his right-hand man in Anaheim.
But Murray’s offseason trade of stud defenseman Chris Pronger to the Flyers was a move for the future, and the short-term pain is being felt by goalie Jonas Hiller (.906 SV%). Anaheim is No. 28 in the league with 33.4 shots on goal against per game, up from 30.5 last year and 28.0 the year before.
The Ducks certainly cannot afford to loosen the strings on defense when they have very little scoring power up front. Anaheim is in the middle of the pack with 2.75 goals per game, almost entirely concentrated in the hands of Selanne, Corey Perry (14 goals), and Bobby Ryan (13 goals). Now Selanne is gone. It’s fading time.
Evgeni Nabokov's excellent goaltending is a huge reason why the Sharks are leading the NHL with 43 points and a 19-7-5 record. The big question is, has anyone outside San Jose even noticed?
Every once in a while, it’s good to remember why I care about hockey in the first place. I was a childhood fan before I was a handicapper. Back then, the worst hockey players at the NHL level were still people I admired and looked up to – they were in the NHL, after all. They were also men, and I was a boy. Big difference.
It’s days like last Friday that keep the juices flowing. The Montreal Canadiens celebrated their centennial with one of their classic red-carpet ceremonies, complete with a pregame shootaround (in full uniform) featuring Ken Dryden at one end of the rink and Patrick Roy at the other. I’m getting all verklempt just writing about it.
Better move on to this week’s gambling-friendly look at the NHL.
Elliott Mess
Ottawa Senators fans thought they dodged a bullet two weeks ago when goalie Pascal Leclaire was diagnosed with only a slight “lower body” injury in a 5-3 win over the Buffalo Sabres (+127). But just two days later, Leclaire was sitting on the bench for a game against the Washington Capitals when he took a puck in the face and suffered a broken cheekbone. His original prognosis: out four weeks.
Brian Elliott is starting in Leclaire’s place, and it hasn’t been a pretty sight. The Senators have gone 3-4-1 with Elliott between the pipes for a loss of 1.68 units. His save percentage has fallen to .896 (Leclaire was at .901), or No. 39 out of 43 regular NHL goalies.
Confidence appears to be an issue for the 24-year-old sophomore, a ninth-round draft pick by the Sens back in 2003. Ottawa doesn’t have any NHL-ready talent in the minors. This situation could get worse before Leclaire returns.
All’s Quiet on the Western Front
The San Jose Sharks are on top of the league standings at 19-7-5 (8.00 units), driven by a combination of outstanding goaltending (Evgeni Nabokov has a .923 SV%) and an impressive 3.27 goals per game. The team is healthy and happy. And about as anonymous as an elite pro sports team can get. The Pacific Division has some disheartening attendance figures:
San Jose Sharks 100.3 percent capacity
Dallas Stars 91.1
Los Angeles Kings 89.0
Anaheim Ducks 86.7
Phoenix Coyotes 56.2
None of these five teams can be said to have a national profile at this point. Which makes the Pacific Division a boon for sharp handicappers who understand how competitive the Kings (5.45 units) and Coyotes (3.71 units) have been, or how badly the Ducks (-15.54 units) have disintegrated. Make the East Coast media bias your source for cash instead of frustration.
Duck Hunt
Teemu Selanne must be second-guessing his decision to return to the Ducks this year. He himself has been aging gracefully at 39 with a healthy 14 goals and seven assists in 27 games, but his team is last in the Western Conference at 10-13-6. Now things are about to get worse. Selanne broke his middle finger last week blocking a shot against Dallas and is expected to miss at least a month of action.
The former Mighty Ducks of Anaheim have been anything but mighty since GM Brian Burke left town a year ago. Bob Murray took over the job after learning under Burke as a scout with the Vancouver Canucks and as his right-hand man in Anaheim.
But Murray’s offseason trade of stud defenseman Chris Pronger to the Flyers was a move for the future, and the short-term pain is being felt by goalie Jonas Hiller (.906 SV%). Anaheim is No. 28 in the league with 33.4 shots on goal against per game, up from 30.5 last year and 28.0 the year before.
The Ducks certainly cannot afford to loosen the strings on defense when they have very little scoring power up front. Anaheim is in the middle of the pack with 2.75 goals per game, almost entirely concentrated in the hands of Selanne, Corey Perry (14 goals), and Bobby Ryan (13 goals). Now Selanne is gone. It’s fading time.