SB Nation - Jay Bouwmeester

Game 30 Preview: Jackets face Panthers in Columbus

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

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

Who Should Be Canada's Olympic Defenders?

Chemmy — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 19:29:45 -0000

The question is simple; who are your seven guys to play defense for Team Canada at the Olympics? The defenders invited to the Canada camp are:

Francois Beauchemin, Jay Bouwmeester, Dan Boyle, Brent Burns, Drew Doughty, Mike Green, Dan Hamhuis, Duncan Keith, Scott Niedermayer, Dion Phaneuf, Chris Pronger, Robyn Regehr, Stephane Robidas, Brent Seabrook, Marc Staal, and Shea Weber. Click a player's name for stats.

I discussed my picks with Godd Till of Zambonic Youth and PPP, check out our picks after the jump.

Chris Pronger

#20 / Defenseman / Philadelphia Flyers

Height: 6-6

Weight: 214

Born: Oct 10, 1974

	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
2009 - Chris Pronger	4	14	18	9	41

Pronger can score points, shut down talent even at age 35 and has a documented mean streak. Pronger's the grit and the jam that dominant teams need to make playing against them no fun at all.

Shea Weber

#6 / Defenseman / Nashville Predators

Height: 6-4

Weight: 230

Born: Aug 14, 1985

	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
2009 - Shea Weber	6	9	15	-4	4

Nashville's Shea Weber is an excellent defender in his own end who can also put up points. He hits as hard as your January credit card bill and isn't afraid to drop the gloves.

Duncan Keith

#2 / Defenseman / Chicago Blackhawks

Height: 6-1

Weight: 196

Born: Jul 16, 1983

	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
2009 - Duncan Keith	5	18	23	6	16

Fresh off of inking a lifetime deal that was well earned Duncan Keith is having a fantastic season. Another guy who can put up points and plays well in his own end Duncan Keith is an obvious lock for this team along with...

Brent Seabrook

#7 / Defenseman / Chicago Blackhawks

Height: 6-3

Weight: 218

Born: Apr 20, 1985

	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
2009 - Brent Seabrook	3	10	13	8	15

... his defensive partner Brent Seabrook. In addition to being an excellent player on his own, having Keith's defensive partner will give Canada an elite d-pairing that are familiar with each other. This is a huge advantage in a tournament where players are hastily thrown together.

Robyn Regehr

#28 / Defenseman / Calgary Flames

Height: 6-3

Weight: 225

Born: Apr 19, 1980

	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
2009 - Robyn Regehr	0	10	10	5	23

The definition of defensive defenseman, Regehr hits good hockey players hard and often. He's on this team to hit Ovechkin, Kessel and Parise.

Dan Boyle

#22 / Defenseman / San Jose Sharks

Height: 5-11

Weight: 190

Born: Jul 12, 1976

	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
2009 - Dan Boyle	6	19	25	4	20

Dan Boyle's our pick for puck mover / PP specialist on the back end. If you'd prefer Bouwmeester or Mike Green go ahead, I'm not too concerned with any of the three.

Drew Doughty

#8 / Defenseman / Los Angeles Kings

Height: 6-0

Weight: 211

Born: Dec 08, 1989

	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
2009 - Drew Doughty	7	15	22	9	18

Is Drew Doughty the seventh best Canadian defender in the league? Honestly he might be, but what's important here is the future. Doughty will be the seventh guy and only see action if guys get hurt. Obviously you could do a lot worse than Doughty as an injury fill in which speaks to Canada's enormous depth at defense.

I picked Doughty looking forward to 2014. Doughty will be 25 and about to hit his prime. He got an invite to Olympic camp this year based on his ability as a player and I think bringing him along to Vancouver would be a big step for a young kid in the NHL. Let him have a taste of the team he's going to need to be a big part of in four years.

Those are our picks, let us know yours in the comments.

The NHL's top defensive defencemen

James Mirtle — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 02:56:24 -0000

More photos » by Chris Carlson - AP

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As with the top defensive forwards list, this is the same Rod Langway Award business I've been putting out for a couple years now. It ranks players defensively based on (a) quality of competition at even strength, (b) goals against per minute played at even strength and (c) goals against per minute played on the penalty kill.

Players also have to have played at least 15 games and fill a significant role on their team's shorthanded unit. Credit, as always, to Behind The Net for the data.

Here are the top 25 a little past the quarter-way mark:

	NAME	TEAM	GP	QCMP	EVGA/60	SHGA/60
1	CHRIS PRONGER	PHI	24	0.12	1.38	4.41
2	DUNCAN KEITH	CHI	25	0.14	1.59	4.12
3	JAY BOUWMEESTER	CGY	26	0.08	1.39	4.51
4	ROMAN POLAK	STL	24	0.12	1.71	5.06
5	PAVEL KUBINA	ATL	23	0.06	1.71	3.38
6	MIKE MOTTAU	N.J	23	0.09	1.69	5.00
7	COLIN WHITE	N.J	24	0.11	2.06	4.63
8	JEFF SCHULTZ	WSH	20	0.09	1.38	6.08
9	NICK LIDSTROM	DET	26	0.08	2.15	3.83
10	MIKE WEAVER	STL	23	0.03	1.12	4.38
11	BRENT SEABROOK	CHI	23	0.17	1.50	6.84
12	M-E VLASIC	S.J	28	0.13	2.51	3.01
13	ROB BLAKE	S.J	17	0.18	2.58	3.85
14	ED JOVANOVSKI	PHX	18	0.08	2.35	1.24
15	MILAN JURCINA	WSH	20	0.16	2.26	5.60
16	NIKLAS HJALMARSSON	CHI	25	0.04	1.56	5.02
17	ANDY SUTTON	NYI	26	0.08	1.60	6.26
18	ZBYNEK MICHALEK	PHX	17	0.07	1.92	5.53
19	ZDENO CHARA	BOS	26	0.23	2.65	4.97
20	RADEK MARTINEK	NYI	16	0.10	1.81	6.47
21	DARRYL SYDOR	STL	18	0.05	1.19	6.75
22	CHRISTIAN EHRHOFF	VAN	26	-0.06	1.31	3.52
23	GREG ZANON	MIN	24	0.06	1.81	6.31
24	JOSH GORGES	MTL	26	-0.05	1.39	3.91
25	WILLIE MITCHELL	VAN	26	0.15	1.85	7.85

Pronger, Keith, Bouwmeester — sure, those are all names synonymous with tough defence. But how about Mike Weaver? Or Pavel Kubina?

It's early, but all of these players are playing significant defensive roles on their teams. Some benefit from having a great goaltender behind them, but there are a lot of blueliners here from weak teams, too.

Someone like Weaver, who has a really low profile, is considered by his coach a pretty big part of shutting down top opposition:

"I'd say Weaver is one of our best puck-movers," Murray said. "He's not a finisher, but in terms of moving the puck out of our zone and putting it in the hands of our forwards, he's pretty good. He's not a guy that contributes on the offensive side. But what is an amazing stat, he's plus-5. And for quite a while there, he and Roman (Polak) were playing the top line on every team. He's a plus-5."

Those are the sorts of guys I'm trying to highlight here, and for the most part, I think this works — even if there are some surprises. The real test is which guys can maintain play like this all season.

Game 25 Preview: Jackets Return Home to Take on the Flames

Mike MacLean — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 16:49:07 -0000

More photos » by Tony Gutierrez - AP

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Finally, back home. The Jackets return to Nationwide Arena to face the Flames tonight, after concluding a disastrous five-game road trip. The Jackets won the first game, but then promptly lost four in a row. The team played horrible defensively, and the goaltenders were anything but sharp. Mason however did look good in the last game against Ottawa, making big saves when needed, however he lost focus on the game winning goal for Ottawa, a wraparound by Nick Foligno late in the third. Mase was again haunted by a play that developed from behind the net.

The Flames are a fairly high scoring team, and they play physical. They play a lot like Columbus does when the Jackets are "on", so this on paper is a pretty fair matchup. What remains to be seen is whether or not the Jackets can get their act together in the defensive zone. Something is broken, the effort level isn't there and the goalies haven't been good. These factors need to be remedied immediatly, as the Jackets are losing ground fast. The Preds and Blackhawks are the hottest team in the NHL right now, and the Jackets need to keep pace.

There have been some shakeups to the forward lines. Raffi Torres should be lining up with Vermette and Nash on the first line, and Umby is moving to the second line right-wing position with Jake moving to the third line. Look for recently called-up Alex Picard to see some action on the fourth line. I love his game- tons of jam and he still actually has offensive talent, although he has yet to show it at the NHL level. I fully expect him to take advantage of this chance and have a strong game.

Fearless Prediction: Picard scores his first NHL goal!

Game Time: 7:00pm ET

Opponent's Blog: Matchsticks and Gasoline

Game Page: Flames vs Blue Jackets Coverage

TSN Preview: Flames vs Blue Jackets Preview

TV: FSN Ohio

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

More after the jump...

From the Columbus Dispatch:

The Blue Jackets aim to snap a season-high, four-game losing streak. Since Oct. 7, 2005, the Blue Jackets are 7-1-0 against the Flames in Nationwide Arena, including a 2-1 win Oct. 13.

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

Raffi Torres	Antoine Vermette	Rick Nash
Kristian Huselius	Derick Brassard	R.J. Umberger
Jason Chimera	Samuel Pahlsson	Jakub Voracek
Alexandre Picard	Derek MacKenzie	Jared Boll

Fedor Tyutin	Anton Stralman
Rostislav Klesla	Jan Hejda
Marc Methot	Mike Commodore

Steve Mason

Mathieu Garon

EXTRA: Kris Russell, Michael Blunden

INJURED: Fredrik Modin, Andrew Murray, Derek Dorsett

Calgary Flames

Jamie Lundmark	Olli Jokinen	Jarome Iginla
Nigel Dawes	Daymond Langkow	David Moss
Curtis Glencross	Craig Conroy	Dustin Boyd
Fredrik Sjostrom	Eric Nystrom	Brandon Prust

Jay Bouwmeester	Mark Giordano
Dion Phaneuf	Robyn Regehr
Adam Pardy	Aaron Johnson

Curtis McElhinney

Miikka Kiprusoff

Columbus Blue Jackets 2010 Olympics Preview

Mike MacLean — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 16:30:34 -0000

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SBNation is doing a series of Olympic Previews, taking a look at each team and which of their players may be suiting up for their countries in Vancouver. As a baseline, we are going to give an indication of their chances of making their team by using these arguments: "Pack Your Bags", "Nearly a Lock", "Fairly Safe Bet", and "In a Battle". The Jackets have a few players who could become Olympians, here's a look at them:

Rick Nash (Canada) - Pack Your Bags
There is almost no way, outside of injury, that Nash will not be a member of Team Canada. In fact, he is penciled in by most as the man riding shotgun to Sidney Crosby. Nash has plenty of international experience in his young career, including being a member of the 2006 Olympic Team, which failed miserably. He is a more mature and complete player now, and will look to be an offensive leader for the Canucks at home in Vancouver. My favourite Nash goal at an international tournament didn't take place at the Olympics, it was at the World Championships, but here it is anyway:

Steve Mason (Canada) - In a Battle
At least he was at the beginning of the season, that is. Before the start of the regular season this year, many experts thought that when it came to Canada's goaltenders, Roberto Luongo and Martin Brodeur were locks. The battle was for who the third goaltender was going to be. The three main contenders were Mason, Marc-Andre Fleury and Cam Ward. With Ward's injury, that made it a two-horse race. The problem is, Mase never showed up. His play this season has been downright awful. I'm not a believer in sophomore slumps, but the proof is in the pudding here. Look for Fleury- who is coming off of a Cup win and is playing great right now-to get the third goalie nod.

Kristian Huselius (Sweden) - Fairly Safe Bet
The man we call Juice may not be on the top of the list of skilled Swedish forwards, but he is a strong candidate to be on the Swedish team. His last international exoerience was at the 2002 World Championships, where the Tre Kroner won the bronze medal. He has never played in an Olympics, but he is on the Swedish short-list for 2010.

Samuel Pahlsson (Sweden) - Nearly a Lock
Sammy will almost definitely be on the Swedish team in 2010. He helped the Swedes win the Gold Medal back in 2006 in Torino, playing on a line with Freddy Modin (more on him in a minute). A dedicated checking center like Pahlsson will be very important this time around, with the Olympics being in Vancouver, the games will be played on NHL-sized ice, meaning tighter checking.

Fredrik Modin (Sweden) - In a Battle
I saw that Freddy is in a battle, not necessarily with other players trying to make the team, but with his own body. After being lauded for his amazing durability, the last couple of seasons have been near write-offs for Freddy as he has been hit with injury after injury. That said, if he is healthy I can't imagine him not playing for the Swedes, even in a fourth line role. He is after all, one of the very few players who are a member of the Triple Gold Club.

Anton Stralman (Sweden) - Nearly a Lock
Stralman is off to a great start since joining the Jackets, putting up good point totals. He is one of the main reasons the Jackets' powerplay has gone from last in the league a year ago, to best so far this season. He has played in three straight World Championships for Team Sweden, from 2007-2009. The Swedish defensive corps are a talented group, with Anton fitting in nicely. With the injury to Kronwall, Stralman may see top line duty with Nick Lidstrom.

Jakub Voracek (Czech Republic) - Nearly a Lock
The Czechs are a team that always seems to surprise at international tournaments. Look no further than the '98 Olympics, where they took home the Gold based on the amazing play of Dominik Hasek. In 2010, the Czechs are a good team, and Voracek should be a member. He likely will play a third or fourth line role, with the top six wingers likely being Jagr, Hemsky, Prospal and Hejduk/Havlat.

Rostislav Klesla (Czech Replublic) - In a Battle
Rusty is a fringe player in terms of the Olympic team. He does have international experience, but he is in tough this time around. He has to beat out the likes of Kaberle, Kubina, Rozsival, Hamrlik, Spacek and Kuba. It's not completely impossible though, and with the smaller ice a rugged player like Rusty could shine.

Jan Hejda (Czech Republic) - In a Battle
Like Rusty, Jan is fighting for a spot. He's defense-first, which may help him because the guys he is fighting for a spot against are generally puck-moving types. He has international experience, his most recent was at the 2008 Worlds. Given the play of Jaro Spacek, one of Hejda or Klesla could make the squad.

Fedor Tyutin (Russia) - Nearly a Lock
The Russians have scary forwards, plain and simple. They are the most dynamic group in the world, hands down. That said, they don't have spectacular defense. A hybrid defenseman like Tyutin will fit in very well on the Russian squad, and he could see powerplay duty with Sergei Gonchar.

Nikita Filatov (Russia) - In a Battle
Filatov wasn't at the Russians Olympic came this past summer, but he is no doubt still very much on the radar of the National Team. With his recent return to Russia, his stock has certainly risen, but he is still in tough to make the squad, given their amazing talent and depth up front.

R.J. Umberger (United States) - In a Battle
I wanted to include Umby mainly because I believe that it is wrong that he wasn't invited to the Team USA camp. He is a much better player than a handful of guys who did get the invite, but it all has to do with his history with USA GM Brian Burke. Umby didn't sign with Vancouver, who drafted him in the first round when Burke was the GM. This led to bad blood, which has clearly carried over to the Olympics. RJ's play hasn't done much to convince Burke otherwise either.

To finish things off, being a Canadian I am excited as hell to have the Olympics here in my home country. After the disappointment of Torino, I, like every other Canadian, want to see the Gold come back to Canada. Here's my prediction of the Team Canada Olympic Roster:

Rick Nash - Sidney Crosby - Jarome Iginla
Dany Heatley - Ryan Getzlaf - Corey Perry
Brendan Morrow - Mike Richards - Shane Doan
Patrick Marleau - Joe Thornton - Martin St. Louis
Steven Stamkos

HM: Jonathan Toews, Jeff Carter, Vincent Lecavalier, Brad Richards

Chris Pronger - Scott Niedermayer
Dan Boyle - Duncan Keith
Shea Weber - Jay Bouwmeester
Drew Doughty

HM: Brent Seabrook, Mike Green, Stephane Robidas

Roberto Luongo
Martin Brodeur
Marc-Andre Fleury

HM: Marty Turco

2010 Winter Olympics: Flames Hopefuls

Kent Wilson — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 20:04:26 -0000

More photos » by Jeff McIntosh - AP

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We take a break from your daily dose of bitching, moaning and hyper analysis to focus on the up-coming Olympics and, much more importantly, which Flames may be making their way to Vancouver in February.

SBN has a network-wide thing going, so here's the pre-determined categories we'll be wedging the hopefuls into:

"Pack Your Bags"
"Nearly A Lock"
"Fairly Safe Bet"
"In A Battle"
"Work To Do"
"Moving Up"
"Moving Down"

Team Canada:

Jay Bouwmeester - "Pack your bags"

Jay Bouwmeester

#4 / Defenseman / Calgary Flames

Height: 6-4

Weight: 212

Born: Sep 27, 1983

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Jay Bouwmeester	22	2	10	12	8	16	1	0	0	0	42	4.8

There are lots of great defenders to choose from for Team Canada, but it's hard to argue against Jay Bouwmeester's inclusion: not only is he capable at both ends of the ice, he's regularly been a league leader in terms of ice time for the last several seasons. He's frequently played against the best in the business during his career and only recently turned 26 years old.

Robyn Regehr - "In a Battle"

Robyn Regehr

#28 / Defenseman / Calgary Flames

Height: 6-3

Weight: 225

Born: Apr 19, 1980

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Robyn Regehr	22	0	9	9	2	19	0	0	0	0	24	0.0

One of the steadiest pure defensemen in the league, Regehr's chances of making the Olympic squad are nonetheless hampered by his below average offensive abilities. Big, mean and capable shutting down the best players in the league, Regehr make sneak onto the squad depending on how the roster shakes out.

Dion Phaneuf - "Moving Down"

Dion Phaneuf

#3 / Defenseman / Calgary Flames

Height: 6-3

Weight: 214

Born: Apr 10, 1985

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Dion Phaneuf	22	6	5	11	2	20	2	0	2	0	48	12.5

At this time last year, most would have figured Dion as a lock to make the club. However, after struggling mightily with his defensive game last season, Phaneuf is in tough to crack what will probably the best blueline (on paper) in this year's Olympics. And while his game looks "steadier" in the early going, Phaneuf hasn't made a compelling case thus far with fairly middling stats across the board.

Jarome Iginla - "Pack Your Bags"

Jarome Iginla

#12 / Right Wing / Calgary Flames

Height: 6-1

Weight: 207

Born: Jul 01, 1977

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Jarome Iginla	22	16	7	23	1	28	4	0	3	0	67	23.9

Iginla is not only a sure thing to make team Canada, but most expect him to be it's captain. Recently named as one of the best players of the last decade by Puck Daddy, Jarome's 12 goal month has re-solidified his claim to a place on the club. As such, Vancouverites will get to the experience the unfamiliar feeling of cheering for an effectual captain for once this winter.

Team Finland:

Olli Jokinen - "Pack Your Bags"

Olli Jokinen

#21 / Center / Calgary Flames

Height: 6-3

Weight: 215

Born: Dec 05, 1978

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Olli Jokinen	22	3	12	15	0	21	1	0	0	0	58	5.2

It's been a steady downward slide for Jokinen since he scored 39 goals in 2006-07. He's also had a fairly miserable run so far this season. That said, the Fins are a smaller country and don't have as many bodies to choose from. He hasn't been completely terrible for the Flames in the last week or so, meaning his play is likely to ramp up as the season progresses.

Miikka Kiprusoff - "Pack Your Bags"

Miikka Kiprusoff

#34 / Goalie / Calgary Flames

Height: 6-1

Weight: 184

Born: Oct 26, 1976

	GP	MIN	W	L	T	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2009 - Miikka Kiprusoff	20	1192	12	5			51	2.57	599	548	.915	1

There would have been more debate around this selection had Kipper continued his descent into mediocrity. However, a strong start to the season has likely eased doubts about his abilities and propelled him past his struggling friend and countryman Vesa Toskala. Antero Niittymaki is knocking it out of the park currently, but is less proven and likely tabbed as a back-up. Niklas Backstrom may also challenge for a spot, but Kipper's superior resume and 2009-10 stats will put him ahead of the Wild's backstopper.

A Statistical Look at the Flyers, through 16 Games

Geoff Detweiler — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:45:09 -0000

More photos » by Matt Slocum - AP

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Once again, I was able to get Tom Awad of Puck Prospectus to give me his most recently compiled data on GVT.

(Here's the link to my earlier story breaking down the VUKOTA projection based on GVT).

The data's most recent update was from Sunday, November 15th, so last week's games against the Devils, Kings, Sharks, and Coyotes are not included. Obviously, last night's game against the Avalanche is also not included.

Needless to say, there are some positives and some negatives through 20% of the schedule. Most interesting is just how good James van Riemsdyk has been, how well Ray Emery has played, and another look at The Pronger effect.

Follow after the jump for the findings.

Here is the table of Tom's results for the Flyers:

	Name	Team(s)	P	GP	G/GAA	A/GA	Pts/SA	+-/Sv	OGIT	DIT	RPM	Val OG	Val D	Val S	Total

1	Ray Emery	Philadelphia Flyers	G	15.2	2.24	34	431	0.921	8.8	1.3	0	6	0.1	0.6	6.7
2	Chris Pronger	Philadelphia Flyers	D	16	4	13	17	13	8.6	7.9	11.2	3.8	2.5	0	6.3
3	Matt Carle	Philadelphia Flyers	D	16	2	10	12	17	8.2	6.8	14.7	2.1	2.6	0	4.7
4	James van Riemsdyk*	Philadelphia Flyers	F	13	4	11	15	7	4.7	3.9	5.1	3.1	0.7	0	3.8
5	Jeff Carter	Philadelphia Flyers	F	16	7	12	19	2	7.5	6	-1.1	3.5	0.3	-0.2	3.6
6	Mike Richards	Philadelphia Flyers	F	16	8	8	16	2	6.9	7.5	0	3.1	1	-0.7	3.4
7	Claude Giroux	Philadelphia Flyers	F	16	1	7	8	5	4.4	3.8	4.4	0.7	0.8	1.1	2.5
8	Kimmo Timonen	Philadelphia Flyers	D	16	1	11	12	-2	8.5	9.1	-5.4	1.8	0.5	0	2.3
9	Scott Hartnell	Philadelphia Flyers	F	16	5	7	12	0	5.6	4.3	-1.7	2	0.1	0	2.1
10	Braydon Coburn	Philadelphia Flyers	D	16	3	4	7	-3	7	8.9	-6.5	1	0.4	0	1.3
11	Danny Briere*	Philadelphia Flyers	F	12	7	3	10	-2	5.6	4.4	-4	1.6	-0.1	-0.5	1.1
12	David Laliberte*	Philadelphia Flyers	F	4	2	1	3	4	1.1	1	3.5	0.7	0.4	0	1.1
13	Blair Betts	Philadelphia Flyers	F	9	1	1	2	3	1.8	2.9	2.4	0	0.7	0	0.7
14	Simon Gagne	Philadelphia Flyers	F	9	1	4	5	2	2.9	2.8	1.4	0.4	0.4	-0.2	0.6
15	Daniel Carcillo	Philadelphia Flyers	F	16	2	1	3	4	2.7	2.5	2.9	0	0.5	0	0.5
16	Arron Asham	Philadelphia Flyers	F	13	3	1	4	-1	2.9	2.8	-2.7	0.4	0	0	0.4
17	Darroll Powe	Philadelphia Flyers	F	16	5	0	5	-2	4.4	4.6	-4.8	0.4	0.1	0	0.4
18	Ryan Parent	Philadelphia Flyers	D	8	0	2	2	-1	1.6	2.4	-1.8	0.3	0.1	0	0.4
19	Ian Laperriere	Philadelphia Flyers	F	16	1	3	4	-1	4	5.2	-3.3	-0.3	0.4	0	0.1
20	O. Tollefsen	Philadelphia Flyers	D	9	0	2	2	-1	2.2	2.5	-2.4	0.1	-0.1	0	0.1
21	Mika Pyorala*	Philadelphia Flyers	F	16	0	1	1	3	3.4	4.1	1.4	-1.1	0.7	0.5	0.1
22	Riley Cote	Philadelphia Flyers	F	4	0	0	0	0	0.3	0.3	0	-0.1	0	0	-0.1
23	Oskars Bartulis*	Philadelphia Flyers	D	2	0	0	0	0	0.5	0.6	-0.3	-0.1	0	0	-0.1
24	Danny Syvret	Philadelphia Flyers	D	13	0	2	2	-3	2.9	3.6	-4.7	0	-0.2	0	-0.2
25	Brian Boucher	Philadelphia Flyers	G	1	4	4	28	0.857	0.6	0.1	0	-1	0	0	-0.9

First, you can figure out most of the stat categories, but OGIT is offensive/goalie ice time, while DIT is defensive ice time. RPM is Puck Prospectus' adjusted plus/minus, an explanation of which can be found here. Val OG is offensive/goalie GVT score, while Val D and Val S are GVT defensive score and shootout score, respectively.

Second, who gets the credit for three of the Flyers four best players being off-season acquisitions? Having Ray Emery, Chris Pronger, and James van Riemsdyk at the top of this table might be a surprise, but not to anyone who has been watching the Flyers this season.

As the table shows (and you could see for yourself), James van Riemsdyk has been one of the team's best players so far. Using GVT, he's the fourth best Flyer so far this season, and the best forward. At a total GVT of 3.8, van Riemsdyk finds himself tied for 56th place in the entire NHL. For a guy who wasn't even a lock to make the team, that's quite an accomplishment. As far as rookies go, he is listed as the third best behind Washington goaltender Semyon Varlamov and Colorado forward Ryan O'Reilly.

Another pleasant surprise this season has been the play of Ray Emery. Many are still not convinced (and that's understandable) but his performance through the Flyers first 16 games was not easily topped. He was ranked the 10th best player in the NHL - tied with Marian Gaborik - with a 6.7 total GVT. Among goalies, he came in 7th. He also came in 7th for save percentage and was tied for third in goals against average. It may be a small sample size, but these rankings are relative to every other goalie, and he tied for the 10th most ice time in the league. You may have noticed that he gained points for his performance in the shootout - stopping 7 of 9 shots against - in which he is tied for 26th among all NHL players, and tied for 10th among goalies. Now, the skeptical amongst you can point to Antero Niittymaki's stats (8.8 total GVT) which are as good, if not better than Sugar Ray's. They would be right. However, Martin Biron is only at 1.7 total GVT, so... call it even?

Another hard to miss development in the table is Chris Pronger and Matt Carle sitting second and third. Obviously, this is where The Pronger effect shows the extent of its reach. Before the season, most people predicted that Chris Pronger would elevate the play of his partner. But to hear "Matt Carle" and "Olympic team" (let alone "Norris Trophy") in the same sentence is still unusual. Personally, I've always been a fan of Carle's, but not many people would argue that he is in fact, this good. For this one, I'm just going to use bullet points.

Overall, Pronger is ranked as the 16th best overall player in the NHL with Carle tied for 33rd. This equals 1st and 6th, respectively, among defensemen.
Pronger's offensive contributions rank him tied for 20th in the NHL with Joe Thornton, and just above Jeff Carter. No, that's not a typo. Pronger is contributing offensively at the same rate as Joe Thornton.
On the defensive side, Pronger is 5th in the NHL while Carle is tied for 2nd.
GVT ranks Pronger as the second best two-way player in the NHL, while Carle is tied for 12th. Perspective: Anze Kopitar is in 1st, Pavel Datsyuk is tied with Carle, and Sidney Crosby is tied for 18th.
They were first and second in all of the NHL in plus/minus, with Pronger falling from second to third in Relative Plus Minus. Carle maintained his lead in that category.
Carle was tied for 11th in scoring among defensemen.

I think it's safe to say Chris Pronger has a lot to do with how well Matt Carle is playing. Aware that this is probably getting a little long, I'll finish it up with a few assorted thoughts. (More bullet points!)

Claude Giroux is known as a good defensive player, and it shows in his defensive GVT - second best among Flyer forwards at 0.8. And while you may have guessed Blair Betts (0.7) was third, he is tied with two others: James van Riemsdyk and Mika Pyorala. I can hear your surprise.
Darroll Powe's offensive value through 16 games was equal to Simon Gagne's through 9. That speaks more to Gagne's injury than Powe's ability, but it's still interesting.
David Laliberte's offensive value through 4 games was equal to Claude Giroux's through 16. That will happen when you score twice as many goals in a quarter as many games.
We can mostly agree that Danny Syvret played his way out of the Flyers lineup. But Steve Eminger, Luke Schenn, Hal Gill, and Nick Schultz were tied with him in total GVT and Brett Lebda, Ruslan Salei, Andrej Sekera, Jeff Woywitka, Luca Sbisa, Brendan Mikkelson, Andrew Ference, Aaron Ward, and Jack Johnson were all worse.
For those wondering, Randy Jones through three games has a GVT of 0.5, but only a 0.1 defensive rating; the same defensive value as both Darroll Powe and Ryan Parent.
Lastly, remember that clamoring for Mike Komisarek in the off-season? He's tied for the third worst skater in the league with a total GVT of -1.3. Also, Jay Bouwmeester is tied for 190th with a 1.8.

Much thanks to Tom Awad for giving me this data again. Hopefully, this will become available more frequently and with less hassle. Any questions, just ask. I have his entire spreadsheet if there's anything you want to look at.

Flames Scoring Chance Differentials, Games 1-20

Kent Wilson — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 04:27:46 -0000

More photos » by Jeff McIntosh - AP

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Scott was good enough to post the Flames scoring chance count through games 11-20 (minus the untelevised Blues game of course) below. Here I've added the differentials for the second set as well as whole data set thus far.

First, games 11-20:

Conroy and Boyd came back down to earth in this segment, while Mark Giordano climbed back up top from the third pairing. Iginla and Jokinen were marginally better in this series, although it still sucks to see the two of them at the bottom of the forward barrel.Of note is the fact that Langkow et al are still on the plus side of things, despite some tough match-ups and lots of own zone draws. One wonders how well they'd do if they weren't having to take on the heavy lifting so often.

On the bad side of things, Cory Sarich has absolutely had his ass handed to him by this measure thus far. It's notable that his regular partner, Jay Bouwmeester, was somehow 12 chances better through this 9 game sample. Hmmmm...

And now, for the whole dataset:

Glencross' big first 10 and passable second 10 has him in the lead while Mr. Sex Panther brings up the rear. Keep in mind, of course, this is all even strength information so excludes all the chances Iginla and Jokinen would be getting on the PP.

Also of note:

- Rene Bourque has been amazing thus far. Here's hoping he's not out for the long-term. Honestly, he's been the Flames best all-around forward over the first quarter.

- Craig Conroy continues to deliver. He's still far superior to guys like Nystrom and Sjostrom.

- I personally like the work of Nigel Dawes. Although he skates with some good players in Langkow and Bourque, I don't think he's merely been a passenger on that line. He was acquired as a "sniper", but his vision and ability to find open teammates in the offensive zone has been a boon to the squad. He isn't a defensive liability either.

Sky Rockets In Flight! G21, Flames @ Kings Post-Game

R O — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 18:57:40 -0000

More photos » by Reed Saxon - AP

27 days ago: Calgary Flames defenseman Jay Bouwmeesster (4) looks to pass as Los Angeles Kings tight winger Randy Jones (14) covers in the first period of an NHL hockey game in Los Angeles, Saturday, Nov. 21, 2009. The Flames won, 5-2. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

ZoneStart, G21, Flames @ Kings

... Afternoon Delight!

The Flames almost never win these afternoon games, do they? At any rate, great game, great win, and (mostly) good effort.

First
EV Shots On Goal    : 8-7
EV Shots Toward Net : 17-12
EV Faceoff Starts   : 7-2

Second
EV Shots On Goal    : 5-12
EV Shots Toward Net : 9-18
EV Faceoff Starts   : 2-8

Third
EV Shots On Goal    : 8-1
EV Shots Toward Net : 14-3
EV Faceoff Starts   : 6-0

Overall
EV Shots On Goal    : 21-20
EV Shots Toward Net : 40-33
EV Faceoff Starts   : 15-10

---

My perception of the Flames EV game went like:
1st period: Almost even due to lots of neutral zone play
2nd period: Ice tilted towards Flames net
3rd period: Ice tilted towards Kings net

I may have been a bit off on that 1st period. There definitely was a lot of turning back at the neutral zone by both teams. Apparently more by the Kings though. Your impressions?

In aggregate, I liked the Flames EV game. They weren't at all good in that 2nd period, getting pinned in their zone for long stretches. But they got it all back and more in the third. Consider that

LA is a good team
If anything, LA should have been pushing back after the SHG

In that context, it was a fantastic third period at 5on5 by the Flaming C.

The Flames PK was also good in aggregate. The Kings PP is good - they keep the defenders rotating and move the puck into dangerous areas. The Flames first PK was atrocious, they didn't get into the passing lanes at all. But from there it was fine, they took away the options from the points, battled hard when the puck went to safe zones, cleared the puck and forechecked like demons. The SHG was icing, and a bit lucky tbh.

The Flames PP was disgustingly bad though. Dear lord. This game could have been put away in the first, but the Flames did not do anything worthy of the cherry ice time. No finding open lanes, no creating space, no options, no success.

The Charlie Simmer motto of "moving your feet" applies somewhat here. More than that though, it's just this: when you're on the PP, no style of defensive zone play will make up for the fact that one guy can always escape coverage. So try to put that guy in a dangerous spot and try to get that puck to him!

And of course, the best way of doing that is to "move your feet". But not necessarily so. Last night I watched a DET-MTL PP where Datsyuk, on the right half-wall, suddenly stops moving. You could almost see the MTL PKers mouthing "what the fuck". Seconds later, he passes to an uncovered Zetterberg beside the net who proceeds to try and stuff the puck in quicker than MTL fans can go "Ole Ole". Uncovered guy, dangerous area, puck on his stick. Nice.

If it weren't for the heroics of Jay Bouwmeester on the 5on3, the PP would have been a complete disaster. His move was brilliant, and as I said last night, you could practically see him thinking "enough of this shit". Quite frankly it pisses me off, since the PP at the beginning of the year was excellent (and not just in results). Good play drives good results, and bad play drives bad results. Who'da thunk??

So with the win, thoughts of the 7-1 blowout to Chicago are pushed to the backburner. Thank God. If you want to see how blowout losses are really earned, look no further than CHI-EDM last night.

Game notes:

Lundmark looked decent in his call-up, but let's not get ahead of ourselves - he is not a realistic first-line LW option. CP is creaming its pants over his play on the Iggy hat trick goal. Who did LA have on the ice for said goal? Richardson, Simmonds and Parse up front, Johnson and Jones on defense. Worthy candidates for the 142nd Team All-Stars. I expect Iginla and Jokinen, with Bouwmeester manning the point, to dominate this 5some, and they handily did so. But Lundmark, in that situation, basically had the cherriest of cherry ice time.
Speaking of Iginla and Jokinen, the fact that they dominated a third line is a massive step forward from season's beginning. Your top players have to do two things: 1.) break even or outplay the other team's top players, and 2.) dominate their lesser players. They certainly did #2 last night. And as far as #1 goes - Iginla vs. Frolov was the premier matchup last night (~8 of Iggy's ~13 EV minutes). There was the panic shift in the second where Frolov scored, which was gross. In total, Frolov vs. Iginla resulted in a 4-3 chance differential at EV in favor of LA. Still some work to be done.

P.S. Sutter, please acquire Frolov. You love trading with LA, do it one more time.

Game 21 Recap: Avalanche 3 - Flames 2

David Driscoll-Carignan — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 05:32:52 -0000

More photos » by Jeff McIntosh - AP

about 1 month ago: Calgary Flames goalie Miikka Kiprusoff, from Finland, reacts after letting in a goal during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Colorado Avalanche in Calgary,Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2009. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press,Jeff McIntosh)

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Final - 11.17.2009	1	2	3	Total
Colorado Avalanche	1	2	0	3
Calgary Flames	0	2	0	2

Complete Coverage >

I'm gonna slide it in
Right to the top,
Slide it in,
I ain't never gonna stop
Slide it in,
Right to the top,
I'm gonna slide it in, slide it in,
Slide it, in baby...

Whitesnake, Slide it In

It wasn't quite a must-win game (sorry, Joe), but it was certainly a game that was going to test the Avs' mettle. The Avalanche had lost some of that new-car smell lately and were starting to show some signs of wear and tear. After getting shellacked by half of the Sedin twins on Saturday, the Avalanche needed to beat a hot Calgary team to stay atop the NW division. Mission accomplished.

The Altidudes raved about the Avs first period, but they really played pretty much even with the Flames. With the way the Avalanche have started games lately, though, "even" with a team isn't bad. And, sure enough, the Avs struck first (for just the 4th time this year, the Flames failed to score the first goal). 8 minutes into the first, former Flame Ryan Wilson swept in from the point to collect a loose puck in the slot before calmly potting a backhander past Mikka Kiprusoff. It was Wilson's first NHL goal. While that's really cool, it still doesn't cancel out the fact that the dude kind of looks like Mitch from Real Genius (everyone under 30 is scratching their heads right now). Anyway, that was the only scoring in the first - after 20, 1-0 for the good guys.

If the Avs were solid in the first, they stepped it up in the 2nd. They really took it to the Flames in the early going, but didn't have anything to show for it. In fact, it would be the Flames capitalizing first on an absolute blistering one-timer from Jarome Iginla. It seems to me that Iginla is the only likeable player on that team and he's kind of quietly become a bit like Steve Yzerman or Joe Sakic, a player that pretty much all hockey fans like even if they hate the team he plays for. So, I wasn't disgusted when Iginla tied things up, but I certainly wasn't thrilled a few minutes later when Rene Bourque gave the Flames a 2-1 lead on his shorthanded goal. Thankfully, the Avs turned it around quickly, tying it up on a decapitating wrist shot by Cody McLeod (on a play started by a head's up pass by Wilson) and then taking the lead just a minute later when Milan Hejduk shot the puck in off of Jay Bouwmeester's skate while Robyn Regehr was in the box for a douchebaggish cross check. After an exciting 2nd period, the Avs maintained their 3-2 lead.

The third period was a little difficult to watch, as Altitude seemed to be having some technical difficulties (unless the stuttering video was some bizarre homage to youtube or something). On the ice, though, it was beautiful. After watching the Avs blow 3rd period leads in recent years by sitting back and allowing teams to walk all over them, it was refreshing to see the Avalanche play smart, defensive hockey. I don't know how many of their 24 blocked shots happened in the 3rd, but it was a significant amount to be sure. The Avs blocked shots, got pucks out of the zone, made smart plays at the opposing blue line. I still would like to see a little more offensive focus when the lead is just 1 goal, but I can't complain at all about the way the Avs executed defensively (especially with Adam Foote knocked out early in the game with a jaw injury). All 5 remaining Avalanche defensemen had a monster of a 3rd period.

In the end, the Avalanche simply outworked the Flames. They won 63% of the draws (amazing considering how much Craig Conroy has owned us in the past). They blocked 24 shots to the Flames dainty effort of 6. They forced turnovers, they won battles to the puck. In just about every aspect, they played better than a good Calgary team. Okay, they were officially outhit 19-4 by the Flames, but I believe those numbers are a whack; the Flames did have the physical edge, though. In the end, it was a good, lunch-pail win by the Avalanche.

Lines

Wolski - Stastny - Jones
Tucker - Duchene - Hejduk
McLeod - O'Reilly - Svatos
Koci - Hensick - Stewart

Cumiskey - Foote
Quincey - Hannan
Clark - Wilson

Adam Foote left early in the game. No clue on his status for Wednesday, but the Avs do have a few other defensive options if he can't go. Matt Hendricks missed the game with a groin injury (the reason for the Chris Durno call-up).

Quick Hits

You say the song lyrics above have NOTHING to do with the hockey game? Actually, I agree. Which is why I thought it odd to hear the song played by the Saddledome staff.
Wojtek Wolski had 6 shots - 1/4 of the Avs total output
All the Avs did well in the circle (even Tucker was 1 for 1), but Matt Duchene dominated, winning 10 of 12 draws

Video Highlights

Next Up

The Avalanche visit the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday. I will have a preview up, but it will be a bit later in the day than usual.