SB Nation - Jordan Leopold

Evgeni Malkin is the boss of the league: Pens beat Panthers 3-2 in OT

Hooks Orpik — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 03:51:04 -0000

More photos » by Gene J. Puskar - AP

Fedotenko is a streaky scorer, seeing him net one might be a sign of things to come in the immediate future.

Panthers vs Penguins coverage - Panthers vs Penguins boxscore - SB Nation blog Litter Box Cats

The Pittsburgh Penguins and Florida Panthers have already matched up three times this season and every game has ended the same: in a 3-2 win for the Penguins, all going to OT (one ended in a shootout). The Panthers must feel they're this close to getting over the hump and beating good teams around the league like the defending champs, but "this close" has only resulted in two out of a possible six points, which isn't going to cut it.

Steven Reinprecht started the scoring in the first for Florida off on a nifty hand-eye coordination goal to bat a puck baseball style out of the air and in the net. Under three minutes later, Pascal Dupuis took advantage of 18 year old defenseman Dmitri Kulikov making a play an 18 year old sometime makes, when he tripped. Dupuis made a nifty shoulder shake to his backhand which froze Tomas Vokoun and quickly moved back to his fore-hand and unleashed a perfect top shelf wrister.

Noted goal scorer Mike Rupp made a great play in the second period for the second Penguins' goal. Rupp softly dumped the puck in, and as both defensemen (Dennis Seidenberg and Bryan McCabe) went into the corner to retrive it. Noted laid a hit that disrupted both defenseman and Evgeni Malkin ended up with the puck. Malkin walked out of the corner, and found Ruslan Fedotenko all alone in front for an easy,slam dunk goal.

Florida would tie the game early in the third when McCabe jumped out of the penalty box and got a break. Brent Johnson made a stop but the puck eluded him, Johnny sprawled out for it but Stephen Weiss was able to curl and drag just in time and finish on the abanon net to tie the game.

No score until the overtime session, the Pens earned a powerplay when Jordan Staal bulled to the net and was tackled by Jordan Leopold. The ensuing faceoff was won cleanly by Sidney Crosby to Malkin, who passed to Sergei Gonchar. Gonchar and Malkin closed in, Bill Guerin got in a screening position and the puck was passed back to Malkin who quickly unleashed a heavy slapshot to the top corner. Game.

FSN unleashed a great stat, the Penguins are now 22-0-0 when they score 3+ goals in a game. And with the talent they have, it's not terribly difficult to get 3 goals a night.
The Pens are also 5-1 when they where their alternate third jerseys, which some fans consider cursed or bad luck. A couple more wins and that sentiment will fade.
It was a two-headed monster night. The big boys combined for 13 shots on goal (7 by Crosby, 6 by Malkin), 22:09 of ice-time for Geno, 21:54 for Sid, and Crosby dominated in the faceoff circle winning 18 of his 24 draws.
Chris Kunitz eased back into the lineup with 14:14 played and 2 shots on goal (5 total attempts). In fact, tonight was the first game that the Penguins got to use every one of their regulars (no one injured).
With Eric Godard a healthy scratch, Mike Rupp was the low-man with just 9 shifts and 6:09 of icetime, even though he made a great play to setup a goal. In close games with a lot of PP and PK time, the Noted one probable isn't going to get a lot of ice, but it was good to see him do well with what he got.
Pittsburgh officially out-hit Florida 34-13. Home town scoring advantage? The statisticans did charge the Pens with 12 giveaways (double the number of Florida's 6), so they can't be considered totally one-sided.
The much maligned PP went 0 for 5 before Malkin drove home the G-Dub. 1 for 6 isn't great, but in a one goal game, we'll take it.

A hard fought game, but the cream rose to the top with the OT winner. The Pens keep pace with New Jersey at the top of the Atlantic Division, and now we get to look forward to the full lineup getting a home and home series against the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday and Thursday. The Flyers have a new coach and are a desperate team that's currently outside of the playoff bubble. You just know it's going to be an intense, playoff-like atmosphere in December.

Florida Panthers Played 60 Minutes, Defeated a New Jersey Devils Team Who Did Not, 4-2

John Fischer — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 04:11:51 -0000

More photos » by Bill Kostroun - AP

This is what the Devils fans felt like after the Frolik goal too. Have to do better next time, Devils. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)

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What did I say in my preview for this game?

The Goal: 60 minutes will get you two points.

Ah, I was proven right tonight. The Florida Panthers played for the whole 60 minutes, the New Jersey Devils did not. There's your summary. Here's a link to the NHL.com recap complete with all your stats. For the Florida take, check out Litter Box Cats where the Panthers fans should be grinning from ear to ear for what they saw tonight. Credit the Panthers, they played far better than what their recent form and team stats indicated. The four game winning streak by the Devils is over, thanks for reading, and good night.

...

OK, OK, I'll put in more of a complete effort - something the home team did not do. Read on for my further thoughts.

Let's start with the highlights of the game, there's plenty to point out here from this NHL.com embedded video:

Let's review:

The first goal against came from a pass (of sorts) to the high slot where Jordan Leopold had the time, space, and position to fire a shot home.
The second and third goals against came from deflections - both by gliding Panthers right in front of Martin Brodeur, first by Michel Frolik and then later by Shawn Mattias. Ultimately, 24 minutes was all it took for the Panthers to score enough to win.
The Devils' goals included one well placed hard shot courtesy of Brian Rolston on a 3-on-2 and one unfortunate deflection by Keith Ballard that gave Dean McAmmond his first goal and Peter R of Silver Seven a reason to go "Whooooooo." So that's one shot off the rush and one fluke.
Michel Frolik snuck behind an aggressive Andy Greene (not that you could have faulted him, the Devils were pressing on offense and had the momentum), received a fantastic outlet pass from Nathan Horton, made one move, and finished it off cleanly.

I don't know about you, but I'd say the first three goals against weren't the fault of Martin Brodeur nor do I think they would have been stopped if Yann Danis had been playing. I'm just saying. I'd also say that Florida scored twice on high quality chances (Leopold and Frolik's second goal) and scored the other two off of being at the right place and with the right deflection (Frolik's first and Mattias).

In contrast, the Devils tried to create those chances, but they failed to do so. They had opportunities. They had plenty of odd man rushes. They attempted many passes across ice to get Scott Clemmensen to do what he's awkward at - lateral movement. Thanks to the Florida defenders playing right on the blueline (and doing well at it), Devils attempted shots from the wings - one went in and many went wide. They attempted longer shots through traffic. And for what? Not much. Especially late in the third period, but I'll devote a whole separate paragraph to that mess.

This yielded more shots than the Panthers, but the Devils wasted a lot of these opportunities. Officially, the Devils had 15 blocked shots, 11 misses - I'd say they were blocked by their own players at least 3 or 4 times in the third period alone, but I'm quibbling. My point is that the Devils weren't accurate or efficient with their shooting and as a result, the

But what bothers me - and most of the fans at the Rock, who were quite lively and loud tonight - was that it took a 3 goal deficit before the Devils decided to turn up the intensity. Honestly, the first period wasn't so bad. Despite Florida trying to use a neutral zone trap (don't say otherwise, I saw 5 in the neutral zone on a few breakouts), the Devils got 9 shots on net and had the better run of play. They looked a bit inconsistent on offense, but with some more hustle and just a little more focus, I thought at the time that the Devils could do what they have done many times and equalize with a 1 goal deficit. That I thought that at all meant that the Devils weren't quite all "there," a bit unfocused.

Then they just fell flat on their faces for the first 5 minutes of the second period, which threw the Devils' chances down the proverbial stairs. Seriously, 60 minutes means 60 - there aren't any 5 minute breaks! Bryce Salvador took a justifiable, if a bit soft, hooking call as Rostislav Olesz tried to pounce on a rebound. The Devils PK struggled to do much and Mike Mottau had no issue allowing Michel Frolik to waltz through the slot. Mottau and White both looked on as the Panthers cycled down low and as Mattias went to the net, where he was rewarded with a goal. In general, Mottau and White struggled throughout points in the game; but the Devils in general didn't look like a team that was ready to play. The first period may have felt a little sleepy, but the beginning of the second period looked Florida was just practicing out there. Terrible and the Devils ultimately didn't recover from this.

I don't want to think that the Devils needed a 3 goal deficit to "wake up," but that's what happened. Rolston gave the team a lifeline, the Devils upped their offensive aggression to give Scott Clemmensen some serious work to do, but what shouldn't be ignored was how well Florida was performing. They were calm in their own end in breaking up passes, making passes out of the zone, and getting the puck in deep on offense and put a few on Brodeur. The Panthers ended up outshooting the Devils 13-11 in that period, despite Rolston pulling a lot of momentum back in New Jersey's way with his goal and despite two Devils power plays (which looked OK, but the Devils were shooting better after them, for some reason).

The Panthers then sat back a bit after Frolik's goal. After all, the Devils were down by 2, the defense was pretty solid for Florida, so the Panthers didn't have to be so aggressive on the attack. Here, the defense only made one mistake and that was critical - Andy Greene got caught on the point with Frolik well behind him. Horton's pass to him was perfect and the then 3-2 game quickly became a 4-2 deficit.

The game also became nightmare as the Devils just got worse and worse going forward. If there was a way the Devils could screw up a pass or a shot, they found it in the next 17 minutes or so. Here's an extended sample of what was seen at the Rock: Miscommunications, firing shots directly into a Panther or a Devil, flinging shots wide when the right thing to do was to put it on Clemmensen, passes hitting skates where they should have been on the stick, giveaways on long outlet passes on the breakout, Devil forwards attempting to skate through 2 or 3 Panthers, odd man rushes consistently leading with passes instead of shots so Clemmensen and the Panthers defenders knew how to read them, rebounds and loose pucks caught in between skates, and easy dumps to the corner. Did Florida press hard to attack? No, and they didn't need to with the way the Devils offense was going. The passing and shooting was garbage in the third period, and that's especially bad since both aspects needed improvement for the Devils to truly have a shot at coming back from 2 down.

Who on the Devils looked good? Well, would you believe it would be the fourth line of Rod Pelley, Dean McAmmond, and Ilkka Pikkarainen? Pikkarainen had an assist, 4 shots, and had 2 official hits; Pelley had 2 shots and 3 big official hits and by my estimate 7 actual big hits; and McAmmond got a goal. They were hustling and hitting; they were the most consistent. Brian Rolston somehow managed 6 shots on net and a goal, but somehow only got 14:38 of ice time.

Well, Lemaire wanted the top forwards out there and, well, they didn't have a good night, really. Zach Parise had an excellent scoring chance late in the second, but overall only managed 3 shots in 20:27 (missed 1, blocked twice), while he showed a lot of spirit, it didn't translate to good puck movement. Travis Zajac didn't have a good game - 1 shot, 3 blocked, 2 missed, and 6 for 15 at faceoffs in 19:22 of work. They are both very talented, but they weren't effective tonight. In retrospect, I'd like to think Lemaire would have given more time to Elias and Rolston if only because, hey, they got a goal in the game.

Nevertheless, the Devils simply didn't play a complete game and that was the source of the loss. Their passing was progressively miserable, their shooting was wasteful, and they weren't focused in those first 25 minutes which allowed Florida to dig a big enough hole for the Devils to sit in. The Panthers played a complete game and succeeded to the surprise of no one. Good for them, bad for the team we support.

After a few wins with not-so-great performances (Buffalo excepted), the Devils put out a not-so-great performance and lost. Honestly, I'd rather have the win; but such as it is. While we can dwell on it, the Devils can't as they have Philadelphia coming tomorrow. Thanks for reading and leave your comments and complaints about tonight's game in the comments.

Frolik, Clemmensen propel Panthers over Devils; no record yet for Brodeur

Whale4ever — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 02:39:18 -0000

More photos » by Bill Kostroun - AP

9 days ago: Florida Panthers' Stephen Weiss, left, of Germany, checks New Jersey Devils' Johnny Oduya, of Sweden, during the second period of an NHL hockey game Friday, Dec. 11, 2009, in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)

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On a night tailor-made for a longstanding record to fall, the Florida Panthers slammed the door on any such thoughts for a home crowd thirsty to get the hype behind behind them.

Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur was denied his 104th shutout on defenseman Jordan Leopold's fourth of the year with a beautiful read, blasting the puck past an astonished New Jersey club at 3:53 of the first period. For all the times Florida keeps fans guessing, tonight was a happy exception.

Shots ended up 28 to 22 in the Devils' favor, but Michael Frolik's two goals - the second a spectacular one-on-none against Brodeur - proved to be the difference. The guy was determined and displaying the effort we've seen repeatedly but seldom witnessed a payoff. Frolik also led the Panthers with seven shots on goal.

Shawn Matthias scored his second of the season as Nathan Horton and Stephen Weiss climbed back on to the train with two assists each.

Dean McAmmond and Brian Rolston scored for New Jersey.

Scott Clemmensen was imperfect but more than solid in net for the Cats; it was quite obvious where his heart resided on this night, downing a club which many claimed slighted him late in 2009.

More to come tomorrow...and keep in mind the Cats are headlining in Pittsburgh Saturday against Craig Adams, Brent Johnson, and the rest of the Penguins. Open thread goes live at 6pm.

Game 30 Preview: Jackets face Panthers in Columbus

Mike MacLean — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 14:56:59 -0000

More photos » by Jay LaPrete - AP

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The Jackets have had some time-three full days in fact-to regoup and, as I've said here many times before, right the ship. The team is coming off of two bad losses to the Leafs and Avalanche, two teams the Jackets need to beat. Tonight the Panthers come to town, and this being an out-of-conference matchup it is important to pick up these points. The Jackets have historically played well against the East, and that needs to continue this evening.

Dorsett makes his return to the lineup tonight-the team has missed his energy and forechecking badly. He brings a spark to the team that was obviously missing while he was out with a concussion. This is Murray's second game of the season, and I look for him to have a strong game. The lines have been adjusted quite significantly outside of the top line, with Umby sliding back to center with Jake and Chimmer. Chimmer has been playing very well lately, and I'm hopeful he can build on that given the chance to play with some skilled linemates.

Mase returns to the net, he simply must focus on the game and avoid letting in bad goals. The defense as a whole needs to continue to impove, and if the team continues to avoid playing the style the coaching staff is preaching, the ugly losses will continue to mount. If a team tries to play a skill game, without having the necessary skill to back it up, that's when you can kiss the season good-bye.

The Panthers have some skilled forwards and a decent defense, not to mention Vokoun is a fantastic goaltender. This will be a tough matchup, but one the Jackets can defeat. As far as I'm concerned, this is a must-win. In fact, you can say that about all of the games remaining this month. If they can go on a decent winning streak, they are right back in it.

Fearless Prediction: Victory?

Game Time: 7:00pm ET

Opponent's Blog: Litter Box Cats

Game Page: Panthers vs Blue Jackets Coverage

TV: FSN Ohio

Radio: WBNS-AM (1460); WWCD-FM (101.1)

More after the jump...

From the Columbus Dispatch:

Rule of thumb: He who forechecks, wins. The Blue Jackets have struggled against speedy forechecks this season, and they haven't established much of one lately, either. All that's left for the Panthers from three blockbuster trades (Roberto Luongo, Olli Jokinen and Jay Bouwmeester) are defensemen Keith Ballard, Jordan Leopold and Bryan Allen.

Jackets Links:

Columbus Blue Jackets / Columbus Blue Jackets Schedule

Columbus Blue Jackets Roster / Columbus Blue Jackets Stats

Here are the lineups for tonight's tilt:

Columbus Blue Jackets

Kristian Huselius	Antoine Vermette	Rick Nash
Jason Chimera	R.J. Umberger	Jakub Voracek
Andrew Murray	Samuel Pahlsson	Jared Boll
Raffi Torres	Derick Brassard	Derek Dorsett

Fedor Tyutin	Marc Methot
Mike Commodore	Jan Hejda
Kris Russell	Anton Stralman

Steve Mason

Mathieu Garon

EXTRA: Mike Blunden, Mathieu Roy, Derek MacKenzie

INJURED: Fredrik Modin, Rostislav Klesla

Florida Panthers

Steven Reinprecht	Stephen Weiss	Nathan Horton
Rostislav Olesz	Dominc Moore	Michael Frolik
Shawn Matthias	Jeff Taffe	Radek Dvorak
Victor Oreskovich	Kamil Kreps	Mike Duco

Bryan McCabe	Keith Ballard
Jordan Leopold	Dennis Seidenberg
Bryan Allen	Dmitry Kulikov

Tomas Vokoun

Scott Clemmensen

Game 29 Preview: Avalanche at Panthers

David Driscoll-Carignan — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 14:00:25 -0000


Colorado Avalanche	5:30 MT / 7:30 ET / 12:30 GMT	Florida Panthers
15-8-5	December 2nd, 2009	10-12-4
35 pts	BankAtlantic Center	24 pts
4th in West	Sunrise, FL	13th in East

The Avalanche got a big win on Monday as they topped the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-0 on Monday. They'd like to make it 2-for-Florida tonight as they face off against a Florida Panthers that is, well, kind of meh. The Panthers aren't doing very well in any major statistical category, they've lost 5 straight, and are currently missing a couple of their best players in David Booth, Cory Stillman and Tomas Vokoun

Per Dater, Craig Anderson is the starter. I know it's all serendipitous to have the former Panther Anderson in there, with another game tomorrow night in Pittsburgh, this really should be Peter Budaj's game. Unkind or not, the Panthers are a team you throw your backup against. But, at least we'll get to see Andy firmly focused on...the ice girls. We already know the starter for the Panthers will be Scott Clemmenson (facing the Avalanche for the 1st time in his career). He's in for Vokoun, recovering from nearly being Van Gogh'd by defenseman Keith Ballard.

Speaking of Ballard, there are a bunch of former Avs on the Panthers. Steven Reinprecht is 2nd on the team in scoring. Jordan Leopold is averaging 22 minutes per game and is playing in all situations (he's tops on the team in PK time). And the Panthers also have the enigmatic Victor Oreskovich, a former 2nd round pick of the Avs who retired from hockey early and is attempting a comeback this year.

Happy 23rd birthday today to Kyle Cumiskey. *beep beep*.

Tale of the Tape

(all rankings are from before Tuesday games)

Colorado			Florida
5th	35	Points	26th	24
10th	2.96	GF/G	23rd	2.58
21st	2.82	GA/G	27th	3.23
20th	19.4	PP%	28th	13.9
16th	80.8	PK%	29th	74.8
30th	26	S/G	27th	27.6
26th	32.8	SA/G	29th	35.1
29th	46.6	FO%	11th	49.5
14th	13.4	PIM/G	6th	11.3
Stastny	26 pts	Top Scorer	Horton	22 pts

Avalanche vs Panthers coverage

Litter Box Cats

Predators, Ellis rip Panthers 4-1

Whale4ever — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 03:55:41 -0000

Jordan Leopold scored Florida's only goal. Not Nathan Horton. Not Stephen Weiss. Not Rostislav Olesz. Not Michael Frolik. Not...you get the point.

Nashville positively owned the Original Cats, leading in SOG (29-24) and just plain solid effort to get back in the win column. Goaltender Dan Ellis was superb when called upon - and that wasn't often - and given support with goals by Dan Hamhuis, David Legwand, Joel Ward, and JP Dumont.

Remember goal support? Neither do I, but it certainly sounds like a winning strategy. Works for Florida's opponents.

Another evening of chasing the plays and allowing the opposition to dictate terms. Sounds like U.S. foreign policy.

Why wasn't Clemmer in net for Toronto on Friday, paving the way for Tomas Vokoun to start this one, against a club he played eight seasons with.

Why was Kenndal McArdle allowed to risk injury - a second time - in another fight with Jordin Tootoo when Steve MacIntyre was standing by with zippo on his schedule?

Why - OH WHY - did defenseman Bryan McCabe lead his team in SOG? Where were the forwards? Oh, here they are: Horton: zero shots. Weiss: two. Frolik: two. Congratulations, Rusty Olesz...you led the forwards with three shots on goal. And a belated thanks to defenseman Bryan Allen and his three attempts.

Another complete and utter waste of time and cash by the Panthers (what does it cost to transport and house these guys for a night?).

A sick and terribly lacking performance.

Panthers sweep road trip, down Rangers 3-2

Whale4ever — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 02:51:19 -0000

More photos » by Bill Kostroun - AP

29 days ago: New York Rangers' Sean Avery lands on Florida Panthers goaltender Tomas Vokoun, of the Czech Republic, during the second period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Nov. 21, 2009 at Madison Square Garden in New York. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)

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Panthers @ Rangers GameDay Central Blueshirt Bulletin NHL.com Postgame

Buffalo. Detroit. New York. Done, done, and done. Six points of six possible. Good stuff from a club not long ago mired in a hellish 2-8 pit of despair. Now sitting a lot prettier at 10-9-2, the Cats are surprising opponents, and themselves. Tomas Vokoun's 32 saves allowed for Nathan Horton's game winner in the third to hold off a mad final period by New York. 22 Points.

Notes:

Who led Florida in SOG? Kamil Kreps (1a, +1) with four. League Good Guy Sean Avery paced the Rags with five(??). Steven Reinprecht and Jordan Leopold also scored for the Panthers, while Vinny Prospal and Marian Gaborik kept the Ranger close. Bryan McCabe (3 shots) led all skaters with 24:12 TOI. Stephen Weiss had one assist, but his efforts throughout the night told another story: the guy was simply everywhere, winning faceoffs, setting up plays, showing how it's (supposed to be) done. Impressive, and we're seeing this more and more from him. New York forward Ryan Callahan is a wrecking ball. Ville Koistinen returned to the lineup, but his team-low 4:37 doesn't bode well for his future with Coach Pete's club. Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist stopped 25 shots. Next up: Pittsburgh on Monday...all hail the third jersey.

Panthers double up Red Wings 2-1 (OT) for first win in Detroit since 1996

Whale4ever — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 16:56:30 -0000

More photos » by Jerry S. Mendoza - AP

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Not only was the score doubled, so were the shots: 40 to 20 in favor of the Wings. Panthers goaltender Scott Clemmensen, suited up in his first start since November 7th, kept his club firmly ensconced in this one. Undoubtedly, this is the "Clemmer" fans expected to see when he signed a three-year deal with the organization in July. Stephen Weiss tied the score at the midway point of the third, missing on his initial attempt to jam the puck into a gaping net to the right of Chris Osgood, only to bang it home on a second furious push. Bryan McCabe played the hero in the overtime session, scoring from the right circle on a one-timer. End of game, end of thirteen year(!) drought in the Motor City. Slayin' dragons, one period at a time.

A few numbers:

Florida registered two shots on Osgood in the opening frame, and matched that figure in 40 seconds of OT. Radek Dvorak, Steven Reinprecht, and Dmitry Kulikov failed to register a shot; Detroit's Darren Helm had eight shots while playing a total of 14:25. Sick. All Florida skaters finished with an "even" or better plus-minus. Jordan Leopold led in TOI with 24:23, just a shade over McCabe. Is Nathan Horton becoming - gulp - consistent? His two assists against the Wings gives him 5 points (1 goal) and a plus-3 in his past four games.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking...

Programming note: tonight's Cats @ Blueshirts Open Thread goes LIVE at 6pm. Have a great Saturday everyone.

Three Florida Panthers who need to improve. Now.

Whale4ever — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 16:02:58 -0000

Factoring only offensive numbers, outside of The Line - a forced but effective amalgamation starring C Steven Reinprecht, RW Nathan Horton, and LW Cory Stillman - few Cats have produced on a consistent basis, if at all.

There have of course been a number of encouraging individual efforts; Rostislav Olesz and his club-leading 53 SOG, Radek Dvorak's two shorties, Tomas Vokoun's 3 shutouts in four wins, the rapid emergence of Dmitry Kulikov into a known positive commodity on the blueline, Kamil Kreps and his +2 (seriously...it's tied for the team lead).

The relative long-term loss of last year's hero LW David Booth has unquestionably hit the offense hard, though his numbers prior to Dr. Mike Richards' outpatient spinal rearrangement were not entirely sparkling (9gp, 3p, -5) for a player many (fairly or otherwise) hinged the outcome of this season upon.

In any case, here are three Cats who must dial it up; players whom the club - a forward, defenseman, and goaltender - will ultimately rely upon to make or break the year.

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Michael Frolik	16	3	3	6	0	12	0	0	0	0	33	9.1

It'll be another twelve months before the "book" is published, but second-year forward Frolik is on the cusp of gaining a reputation as a slow-starter; it was well into November of 2008 before he truly grew wings, and that may again be the case. A sophomore slump from a player who banged home 21 goals the previous year simply cannot be tolerated if a postseason spot is the collective goal. Frolik at the very least must finish with 45 points or greater, and he ain't on that pace.

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Keith Ballard	16	0	3	3	-5	19	0	0	0	0	9	0.0

Though his club is shooting blanks from just about every position, the surprise stat of the year may in fact be defenseman Ballard's 3 points in 16 games. After the departure of Jay Bouwmeester, it could have been safely assumed that Keith would be assured of top "D"-line offensive numbers; who was going to eclipse him, outside of Bryan McCabe? The additions of Dennis Seidenberg (Randy Sexton's move of the year?), Jordan Leopold, a healthy Bryan Allen, and that Kulikov kid have made life tough for #2. Even Allen has a goal. Ballard's far too important to the club to wallow in the basement. He may not yet be in Peter DeBoer's doghouse, but he's got a paw on the doorbell.

	GP	MIN	W	L	T	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2009 - Scott Clemmensen	4	187	2	1			16	5.13	99	83	.838	0

We're in Year Three of the Vokoun Era (which translates simply to"Love him - hate him, love him - hate him"), but only the second month of 1-B netminder Clemmensen, whose 2-1 record looks decent on the surface, but look a bit further to the right and horror rains down from the heavens. Right or wrong for "commenting" on his team's deficiencies in the defensive zone, it's only fair to give the guy a rider during his initial break-in period. Arriving from a Devils club who allowed an average of 29.5 shots on goal while playing a deeply-ingrained defensive-reponsibility-at-all-costs style, "Clemmer" is adapting to a Florida club which opens the floodgates for 35.4(!). No matter, he's got to be there when called upon. Success can't be had without relief for the number one.

Arguments? Additions?

Programming note: Panthers - Islanders Open Thread goes LIVE, 6pm tonight. No local TV for this one, kids.

Olympics Watch: Americans off to hot starts

James Mirtle — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 20:57:07 -0000

More photos » by Don Heupel - AP

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Following up on a look at the hottest Canadian players in the NHL so far this season, here's a look at which American players may be impressing the Team USA brass so far:

Goal

	Player	Team	GP	GS	W	L	OT	GAA	Sv%
1	Ryan Miller	BUF	10	10	8	1	1	1.86	0.936
2	C. Anderson	COL	15	15	10	3	2	2.11	0.936
3	Ty Conklin	STL	5	4	2	2	0	2.34	0.921
4	Tim Thomas	BOS	9	9	4	5	0	2.66	0.910
5	Jon Quick	LAK	13	13	8	3	2	2.59	0.905
6	J. Howard	DET	5	3	1	2	1	3.42	0.879

Thomas may be the reigning Vezina winner, but it's hard to argue with Miller and Anderson making the team based on their starts. The Americans have the NHL's two hottest netminders so far.

Defence

	Player	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-
1	Alex Goligoski	PIT	14	5	7	12	12
2	Matt Carle	PHI	11	2	10	12	9
3	James Wisniewski	ANA	9	0	9	9	6
4	Ryan Whitney	ANA	12	1	6	7	3
5	Erik Johnson	STL	12	0	7	7	3
6	Ryan Suter	NSH	13	2	5	7	2
7	Jordan Leopold	FLA	12	1	5	6	2
8	Brian Rafalski	DET	12	1	5	6	-1
9	Zach Bogosian	ATL	10	5	1	6	-2
10	Keith Yandle	PHX	13	1	4	5	-2
11	Matt Niskanen	DAL	12	0	5	5	-3
12	John-Michael Liles	COL	8	2	3	5	-4

There will definitely be some interesting decisions to make on the Americans back end, with some of the less-heralded names playing th best to this point. Whitney, Suter, Rafalski and Johnson were the only ones invited to the team's summer camp.

Forward

	Player	Team	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	PPG	+/-
1	Zach Parise	NJD	L	12	6	8	14	1.17	7
2	J. van Riemsdyk	PHI	L	9	2	8	10	1.11	4
3	Ryan Malone	TBL	L	11	8	3	11	1.00	2
4	Dustin Brown	LAK	L	14	4	9	13	0.93	0
5	Patrick Kane	CHI	R	13	4	8	12	0.92	4
6	Tim Connolly	BUF	C	11	4	6	10	0.91	-1
7	Ryan Kesler	VAN	C	15	5	8	13	0.87	0
8	Jason Pominville	BUF	R	11	3	6	9	0.82	2
9	Kyle Okposo	NYI	R	13	3	7	10	0.77	0
10	Keith Tkachuk	STL	C	12	3	6	9	0.75	1
11	R.J. Umberger	CBJ	C	13	4	5	9	0.69	-3
12	J. Langenbrunner	NJD	R	12	2	6	8	0.67	6
13	Mike Knuble	WSH	R	14	3	6	9	0.64	7
14	Bill Guerin	PIT	R	14	3	6	9	0.64	5
15	Scott Gomez	MTL	C	14	2	7	9	0.64	0
16	Brandon Dubinsky	NYR	C	15	3	6	9	0.60	6

More tough calls here, probably, especially with players young and old like Van Riemsdyk and Tkachuk. Connolly and Pominville were not at the orientation camp but could play their way onto the roster in the next month or so.