Making sense of the Clarkson to Columbus trade

Making sense of the Clarkson to Columbus trade

Somehow the Toronto Maple Leafs have managed to remove the contract of David Clarkson and gained cap space, in a way. The full deal was David Clarkson to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for the permanently injured Nathan Horton. Nathan Horton has a series back injury and it is highly doubtful that he will ever play again which does beg the question as to why the Leafs traded for him.

The Blue Jackets signed Nathan Horton to a 7 year, $37.1m contract in July 2013 without taking insurance out on his back injuries, which are bad. Clarkson signed for the Leafs on the exact day and whilst the term was the same the money was slightly less at $36.75m. To say that Clarkson failed to perform at Toronto would be understated.  His disappointing performances are superbly highlighted by  Jeffler at Toronto's fan run Leaf's Nation; David Clarkson and his performance woes.

So, without the insurance the Columbus Blue Jackets were looking at paying Horton $26m without him playing. The Toronto Maple Leafs have more money through their ownership group, MLSE, so they have the capacity to take his hit. With Horton traded the Columbus Blue Jackets are paying Clarkson $4.75m in total money compared to the $6m that Horton is on. So Columbus save $1.25m in real money but Clarkson only has a cap hit of $250k less than Horton. 

On the other side the Leafs gain cap space during the season of $5.5m by putting Horton on LTIR, the cap hit of Nathan Horton. This means that they have the space available to bring someone else in. They also get rid of David Clarkson who wasn't worth the $5.25m he was on. If Nathan Horton returns then the Leafs get a potentially better player but it is highly unlikely he will return. The only problem with this for the Leafs is during the offseason. The cap goes up 10% and it makes it harder for the Leafs to do deals and get their roster ready for day one. However, as the Leafs are rebuilding this should be of little concern.

In all, I think this benefits both sides and no-one can really say that they have lost it. I think most fans hope that Clarkson will rebound. No doubt people also hope that Horton returns to play as it is a shame that someone who was that talented has been sidelined by a terrible injury. 

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Daniel Winnik traded to the Penguins for a 2nd ('16), 4th ('15) & Sill

Daniel Winnik traded to the Penguins for a 2nd ('16), 4th ('15) & Sill

The Pittsburgh Penguins didn't wait until the Trade deadline to make a move and acquired Daniel Winnik from the Toronto Maple Leafs for a 2nd in 2016 a 4th in 2015 and Zach Sill. The  Penguins were rumoured to be interested in Jiri Tlusty as well at some stage but his cap hit is around twice as much as Winnik's so wasn't doable. The Toronto Maple Leafs are also retaining 50% of the cap hit as part of the deal which makes it just that bit sweeter and also allows the  Penguins room for other deals if they feel there are options out there.

The Maple Leafs were given permission by Brendan Shanahan to a "scored earth" rebuild. In essence, the majority of players with some value will be traded to stock the cupboard of picks and prospects to help turn around a quick rebuild. This years draft is one of the deepest in a long time so this is part of the reason why the Leafs have decided to do it after a poor losing run which saw Carlyle lose his job. If they plan it right they should be able to turn it around and ice a competitive team within 2-3 years.

I had to change the SV% out of 1000 to make them both fit

Daniel Winnik was signed by the Leafs on July 28th last year and was one of their best players this season outside the obvious. Playing on a such an average to poor team this season hasn't affected his performances which saw him improve his production and be on pace to finish with 33 points, 3 better than his career best in 2013-14 with the Anaheim Ducks. 

With the Leafs he has a Corsi of 48.72% which is just below average but when you consider that he is the third best on the team for regular players, it shows how poor the rest of the team was. Where Winnik stands out though is his ES SV% of .947% and a PDO of 1044. Lastly Winnik was also the 5th highest penalty drawer on the Leafs.

All in all I believe that this is a good deal for the Penguins.  They may have paid slightly more than they had wish but when you consider that the Penguins have also managed to get rid of Zach  Sill and get the  Leafs to retain 50%  I think you can consider this a good trade for both sides.

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Kris Letang - Why he should win the Norris

Kris Letang - Why he should win the Norris

I have touched on this topic briefly in the past when I was speaking about Marc-Andre Fleury setting a team record for shut-outs in a season. Kris Letang's play was one of the reasons why he has been able to have, currently, his best season statistically. I briefly mentioned his play and some stats to go with it but now that we're further in the season and I am also now more aware of how to get statistical graphs on here I can present it better.

To start with we have to look at production. Kris Letang is currently tied in first with Mark Giordano of the Calgary Flames with them both having 47 points to their name. However, Giordano has played 5 games more than Letang meaning that their comparative PPG's are 0.79 & 0.87. They are both two points ahead of the next name on the list, Brent Burns. Another thing that makes Letang's point production more impressive is that he has fewer shifts per game at 28.5 compared to Giordano's 31.3. The only player in the top 10 with fewer shifts per game than Letang is Dustin Byfuglien.

Next we can step into the advanced stats area and look more at his on ice product outside of his points production. The NHL recently added Corsi and Fenwick stats amongst others to their new section called enhanced stats and this is where I'm getting my information from. Looking at it shows us that out of the top 10 producing defencemen Kris Letang has the highest Corsi % (Or SAT% on NHL.com) of 54.14%. The nearest to him Kevin Shattenkirk in 10th with 51.97%. Only four of the top defencemen have a Corsi% above 50%. Kris Letang dominates compared to the other top 10 in Corsi ahead and Corsi even. He drops to second in Corsi behind but it still at a high 59.04%.

Corsi % for the top 10 producers

Another thing to look at is how effective Letang is on the defensive aspects of things. Looking at the stats compiled on NHL.com we can see that he is fourth in drawing penalties with 0.22 penalties drawn per 20 minutes behind only Giordano, Subban and Byfuglien. One thing that does go against Kris Letang is the ES SV% which puts him on .918% and joint 7th way behind Shea Weber and Roman Josi who are joint 1st with .938% however that mostly indicates that Nashville have a good system and that more than one person is doing their job well. Letang is 6th on the Penguins with a few players in the low .900 and one or two frequent attenders below that line. Compare that to Nashville and you see that they have every player above .900 apart from Cody Franson but he was on a poor Toronto team for the majority of the season.

One final thing I want to point out that is sometimes used to point out whether a player has been playing well are the number of giveaways and takeaways. Takeaways are good as it indicates that they are able to strip the opponent of the puck through the pressure they put on them which forces them to make a mistake. Kris Letang is 17th in the league with 32. Giveaways aren't as good as it means that you are turning the puck over more. Brent Burns leads this on 83 but Letang is way down the list in 31st with 45, nearly half that of Burns. 

In conclusion  I think that it is evident that Letang is a more offensive defensive but that doesn't mean he isn't capable on the back-end as well. After all, the definition of the Norris trophy is awarded to the "defense player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in that position" Do I think he'll win it? No. I think Shea Weber will because he seems to be the flavour. Should he win it? Absolutely. It is even more incredible when you remember that he had a stroke last year. Keep playing like this please  Letang.

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The NHL Trade deadline approaches - Who should the Pens target?

The NHL Trade deadline approaches - Who should the Pens target?

The NHL Trade deadline is ticking ever nearer and as always with every other season the rumours are starting to build. The deadline is on the 2nd March this year and the Pens need to make some changes to their lacklustre team which has sunk since the New Year like a lead weight in a pool. The Penguins biggest area of concern is their bottom 9 which is needing a retool along with a change in the lines in the top 6.  The top 6 could do with another player but that isn't as much of a priority as the bottom 6. Should a decent defensman become available I dare say that with Maatta out Rutherford will enquire. Below are three forwards who I believe the Penguins should target who shouldn't cost much.

Jiri Tlusty, Jaromir Jagr, Sean Bergenheim are the players in question. One of the most important things are good possession numbers as it is something that the Penguins have struggled with this season with 4 of their worst players being regulars on the bottom six. Tlusty and Jagr both currently play for teams outside of the play-offs so could be cheaper than other options whilst Florida and Bergenheim could make it and be reluctant to trade.

Jiri Tlusty

Jiri Tlusty is a player I love to watch as he is an underrated player I feel who could really add something to the team, especially on depth. I believe he has the ability to play on both the second and third line and is able to interchange between the two. He currently plays for the Hurricanes who are outside of the play-offs and will be a lottery team. They'll be looking to get a best draft position as possible to give them the best chance of getting McDavid. Tlusty is fourth in terms of production on the Hurricanes and in Corsi % at 54.90%. Carolina have only scored 129 goals this season so far which means that Tlusty has been involved in 18% of them (Points/Team Goals * 100). Lastly, Tlusty also seems to have a closer average shot location than most of his team mates at 29 which indicates a willingness to get in the kitchen sink and look for tips in front of the net, something which is missing from the Penguins play. In terms of cap hit he would be the second highest out of the three mentioned at a pro-rated $634k. I believe the Penguins could do a deal with the Canes that involves Sutter going back but I'd want more in return than a UFA player like Tlusty. If the Canes could part with Tlusty + Nash or Tlusty + 2nd then I'd be inclined to think about it as we could use that second to acquire another piece.

Jaromir Jagr

Jaromir  Jagr has played for the  Penguins before, that is well document but despite now being 43 years of age he is still an effective impact player on a beleaguered New Jersey Devils team. Jaromir Jagr is 2nd in points behind only Adam Henrique and currently has the third best Corsi % on the team of 50.98%. One of Jagr's biggest skills is his shot which is one of the most accurate in the league and this season he is currently carrying a 9.7 S% which is currently his third worst season. However, Jagr is a big power-play player, evidenced by the fact that in his career he has over 200 goals on the power-play. The power-play is an area that the Penguins have struggled greatly with since the turn of the year and this is something that I believe Jagr would help with greatly. Some people may reference Jagr's cap hit as being too high but at the cap you pro-rate the salary over the days left so Jagr's hit would be $1.183m which is entirely manageable if we send down Sill. What would Jagr cost?  Well, I wouldn't pay more than a 3rd + prospect for him as I believe he isn't worth much more than that partly due to this play-off performances with Boston which would remain my one reservation but for a 3rd + prospect I'd be willing to take that risk.

Sean  Bergenheim

Sean Bergenheim is the last of the three players that I have mentioned and I think would be the most in demand out of the three. Bergenheim carries the smallest cap hit at just $591k out of the three which would be a bonus to a contending team as it would allow them room to add more pieces. The biggest problem with obtaining Bergenheim is the fact that the Florida Panthers are just outside the play-offs and have a good chance of catching up with Boston and over-taking them. His value will be slightly higher because of that but if Florida believe that they can improve the team through a trade and give them just as good a chance of getting into the play-offs then I believe they'd do it. Bergenheim is just under a .500 Point per game player but he also leads the teams in Corsi % at 55.43%. His percentage improves even more when his team is behind to 58.03%. Lastly, this season he is carrying a 9.5% shooting percentage which above his career average of 8.2% showing an improvement on that end. In terms of cost I think he could go for a 2nd or a 3rd + roster player. I believe the best the Penguins could offer would be a 3rd as I don't see any roster players we could deal that would make sense for both so this one is tricky, but possible.

In all, I believe the above three would improve our team and our bottom 6 and give us a better chance going forward without having to give up too much in terms of assets. The Trade deadline is only a week and a bit away and I can't wait.

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Capitals run the rule over Penguins

Capitals run the rule over the Penguins

The Washington Capitals have had the run over the Penguins this season, much like other Metropolitan division teams this season. With yesterday's 3-1 win the Capitals have won the series between the two this series with one left to play. So far the scores are 10-1 in goals for Washington. That is inexcusable on Pittsburgh's part. Last night there were two vastly different styles of play on show.

The Washington Capitals changed their coach in the summer and now have Barry Trotz behind the helm, somebody whom some fans in Pittsburgh wanted to help fix the defensive frailties that existed in the team at the end of last season. The Capitals have had a huge change in their style compared to the two seasons. Under Adam Oates they were a defensively minded team which affected their production at the other end but they didn't have the personnel to commit to a good job on the back-end. With Trotz they've changed to a team effort but also improved their attacking game, as evidenced in Backstrom and Ovechkin's points totals.

The biggest talking point of the game was the slash by Ovechkin on Letang's ankle which caused him some discomfort and lead to him missing part of the game. I don't believe it was an intentional slash by Ovechkin but I do believe there was no need to do it as the puck was going away from Letang. The biggest worry for me is that the referee's didn't call it, they let it go. Sadly, this seemed to have gotten under the Penguins skin and seemed to dictate their game to get revenge on Ovie rather than what the scoreboard said.

I worry about the Penguins in the play-offs this season. Our record against the Metropolitan is currently 7-10-4 which gives a point % of 42%. In last season the Penguins had a % of 73%. That is a big drop. The Penguins have nine games left against the Metropolitan this season so the best they could go is 16-10-4 which would give them a % of 60%. Which would be an improvement but still behind what the Penguins can do. One thing is for sure, if there is a play-off series between these two it will be electric.

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The Pens fourth line

The Pens Fourth Line

There is no hiding it however you want to say it. The Penguins fourth line is poor. Underwhelming. Dismal. It just doesn't cut the mustard and the biggest problem isn't the system for breakouts or puck plays up the ice but the personnel. Now,  I know that the PK is third in the league but more than the bottom line are able to play on that even if they're the most regular. But their even strength play is a real problem both in terms of being a pest line that disrupts the other team and also in its production.

The Penguins have used a number of players on the fourth line season with the most common being Craig Adams, Zach Sill and Andrew Ebbett. Adams was Mr.Iron man before he was scratched in December and Sill and Ebbett are really just career AHL'ers. Adams was at least good a few years ago but age has caught up with him. The fourth line was a problem in the Dan Bylsma era as well with the utilisation of the likes of Tanner Glass, Arron Asham and Richard Park.

It is worrying that two coaches in a row seem to be favourable to the fourth line and unable to fix it. Rutherford, the GM, has tried at least by trading Goc for Lapierre and giving some Wilkes-Barre Scranton players goes during the injury crisis period but the core issues still remain. It is especially galling when players with talent and potential such as Beau Bennett are benched in 5 of 6 games for perceived "poor play" yet Adams and others are able to play poorly continuously. Not to mention Sill being given 50 games before scoring a point.

The first thing I am going to look at it is the usage of the line and I'm going to compare it against some other teams fourth lines along with the HERO charts provided by Mimico Hockey on twitter to get an idea of whether they're being used right. I think we should look at three other teams who are listed as contenders lately. Chicago, Los Angeles and Montreal. Chicago's most common fourth liners this season have been Brandon Bollig, Marcus Kruger and Ben Smith. Los Angeles's has been Nolan, Clifford and Shore and lastly Montreal's is Michael Bournival, Manny Malhotra and Brandon Prust. Below is a chart showing each players CF% and P/60.

What can we take from the above? Well, Manny Malhotra is quite terrible and has the worst Corsi out of all of them and possibly the worst Corsi I have ever seen, he also doesn't produce that much. In terms of the  Penguins we can see that Zach Sill is really dragging the team down but Lapierre's Corsi of 48.3% is slightly better although the Pens did send Ebbett down. The best out of the above is Los Angeles I would say, closely followed by Chicago. Los Angeles have Nicholas Shore who is yet to score a point but Clifford leads the way with Shore besting a lot of the others on that list. It might not be as bad as some other teams but the  Penguins fourth line could do better based on the above, losing Sill would be a start.

I'm now going to look at their performance on the team.

The first player I am going to look at is Craig Adams who has really regressed in the last two years, likely due to age. He is the epitome of what is wrong with the fourth line. He is an accomplished PK'er and that is his biggest strength but often he is still out of place or not fast enough to keep in check with the opposition. One thing that is frequently visual with Adams on the PK is his inability to get a good clear, he often struggles to clear the zone which on the PK is not a good thing.

Zach Sill is a different type of player. He takes the body a lot more and is often working along the boards. As an undrafted player it is good to see him defy the prediction given out by scouts and assessors in his junior career but I don't see him as a fit in the NHL. He is more suited in the AHL where he seems to perform much better. Right now Zach Sill feels like he is moulding himself into Craig Adams and that he is currently a younger version of him. We can barely get by with one on the team, having two is fatal.

The last player I'm going to look at is Andrew Ebbett. Ebbett was demoted but is the most frequent player on the fourth line outside the above two and I think it would be worth evaluating his performances before he was sent back to the AHL. Ebbett however performed better than Sill and Adams in terms of production at least, evidenced by his 6 points in 21 games to Adams and Sill's 7 points in 90 games combined. That doesn't mean that I'd want him on my ideal fourth line, I wouldn't as their are better options as mentioned below.

Lastly, I'm going to suggest some recommendations and improvements. The first of which is scratching Zach Sill. He would need to go through waivers and if anyone claims him then they are welcome to him but I don't see him getting waived so he'll go back to Wilkes-Barre Scranton. In his place I would call up Bobby Farnham. Johnston said he loved him when he was in Pittsburgh and he is also a fans favourite from his brief spell. I'd also use Bryan Rust on the fourth line instead. He didn't produce that great with Crosby and Malkin with just 2 points in 14 games but he is still a developing prospects and he performed well when in the bottom six. Rust is a strong player - maybe stronger than Sill, Adams and  Ebbett so he would be able to handle himself more than well. With the above I would look for a line of Rust-Lapierre-Farnham. That is something I want to see.

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Penguins waive Arcobello - Bennett being misused

Penguins waive Arcobello - Bennett being misused

The Penguins today lost Mark Arcobello on waivers to the Arizona Coyotes. The Penguins originally listed him on waivers yesterday presumably in anticipation of Blake Comeau's potential return tonight against the Detroit Red Wings. Arcobello was originally claimed by the Pittsburgh Penguins from the Nashville Predators through waivers on the 10th January 2015. In his time he recorded 2 assists in 10 games. He wasn't a top 6 player but was put there due to injuries for a brief spell but outside of that he was normally see on the third and fourth lines. Why the  Penguins waived him over Zach Sill I don't know. Arcobello scored as many points in 10 games as Sill has in 59 games or in other words, his whole career.

Elsewhere one of the biggest talking points with regards to the line-up has been the scratching of Beau  Bennett recently. He was taken on the West coast trip and we were told through Johnston through the media that he would play. This was after being scratched in the Penguins 2-1 OT win against New Jersey. He played against Nashville in the 4-0 loss but was then rather oddly dropped again. Then, despite Johnston saying he would play on the West Canada swing he missed the games against Calgary and Edmonton. The reason?

“The way we played in the first two games,” Johnston said, “we played so well, we didn't want to make a lineup adjustment.” - Josh Yohe - Trib Live

Whilst I can understand not making changes we were playing back to back games against the Oilers and Canucks. Some fresh legs would have been handy, especially in place of Sill and Adams who still, somehow, get regular ice time despite being inept beyond belief. It makes less sense when you look back at the last few years at young forwards that we have drafted, it is a real area that lacks and when we do get one we scratch him when healthy. It is frustrating. Especially when you consider the performance of some of the bottom 6 players such as Sill,  Adams and recently Sutter. None of those have been scratched due to poor performance so why is Bennett being singled out?

Bennett will again sit out tonight against the Red Wings and this will make it his 5th healthy scratch in the last 6 games. For a young, cost controlled player as talented as him that is just not acceptable. Even less so when you consider the lack of accountability across the whole team. Johnston needs to rectify this error and re-instate him.

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The Penguins fail to show up against the Canucks

The Penguins fail to show up against the Canucks - lose 5-0

The Penguins ended their three games trip to Western Canada in ignominy. After a fairly low-key performance against the Edmonton Oilers and a dominant one against the Calgary Flames, both of which resulted in wins, the Penguins crashed to earth last night. The Penguins were back stopped by Marc-Andre Fleury in the first two games in which he set a new record for the number of shut-outs by a Penguins goaltender in a season at 8.  This breaks the previous record set by Tom Barrasso. Last night Tom Greiss was in net and the team just didn't turn up. 

Some people have said that playing 3 games in 4 nights on a long trip to the West of Canada means that you'll have one game like this but that is a poor excuse. They're professional athlete's, they should be able to play the games they're expected to play in. Anything less means they're not giving 100% effort. Throughout the trip there has been one huge issue that I have had with Johnston and that is the scratching of Beau Bennett. 

Bennett has missed a lot of games in the past few seasons and it is a shame as he is a great talent who, when he has played, has shown some great promise and been a great complimentary player to go with Malkin on the second line which is where he was projected to be when drafted. Johnston was quoted as to say that he is being scratched so he can work on his "compete level". I'm sorry, how is scratching going to make him a better player when the thing you believe he needs to work is best replicated in a game situation?  Not to mention that benching him but allow Adams and Sill to play so many games flies in the face of common sense.

The Penguins could have done with someone like Bennett last night. A back-to-back game which would have been the perfect opportunity to rest someone on the bottom line and give Bennett a chance to try and prove the ludicrous theory put out there. The players that did play just quit last night, which is worrying to see. Our PP is also still causing us worry despite Tocchet stating that he would be fixing it in the past. His job is redundant, give it to someone who can actually coach a PP.

The Penguins play the Wings next. Lets hope for a better performance that this one. 

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Fleury shuts-out Oilers & ties record - Letang for the Norris?

Fleury shuts-out Oilers & ties record - Letang for the Norris?

The Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Edmonton Oilers 2-0 last night in a rather uneventful game on the whole apart from the two goals. Fleury earnt his 7th shut-out in just 41 games this season which means he is earning a shut-out on average every 6 games, there or thereabouts. The Penguins have played 51 games so far this season which means that if Fleury plays at the same rate as he currently is he'll finish the season with 66 games and 10 shut-outs. If that happens he'll join the company of 30 who have had seasons with 10 or more shut-outs but also be the first Penguins goalie to do so. He won't be the first player in Pittsburgh to do it though as it has happened twice before with the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1928-29 & 1927-28 seasons courtesy of Joe Miller and Roy Worters. The stats from the above are from Hockey Reference as ever.

Playing just in front of Fleury has been Kris Letang and I think you have to make a serious contention for him to be in the Norris running with the way he has played this season. It is even more impressive when you remember that just over a year ago he had a stroke. The fact he has been able to come back and play better than he was then is remarkable. But the numbers don't lie. The top 5 in points for defenceman are Giordana, Letang, Shattenkirk, Burns and Yandle. In points they have 43, 40, 40, 37 and 26 however  Letang has the highest PPG.

Looking deeper we can see that Letang has the best CF% at 57% with the nearest to him being Shattenkirk at 53.7CF%. The worst is Giordano at 48% but Calgary are a rebuilding team so that isn't much of a surprise. Another stat which is an indication of a good defenceman is the number of takeaways. The reason being is that the higher it is tends to mean they're stripping the opposition of the puck a lot of. Letang is third in this list with 24 behind Giordano on 25 and Burns on 34. However, Burns has the highest giveaways out of the 5 at 69  which means he is the most likely to give the puck to the opposition. Letang is 4th on this with 33 just ahead of Shattenkirk on 31.

Back to last nights game and the most dominant line was that of Arcobello-Malkin-Hornqvist which accounted for 11 of the Penguins 26 shots tonight. Another player who had a good game was David  Perron who scored against his former club with a redirected bouncing puck off his ankle with 0.5 seconds left in the second period. Perron has been excellent since joining the Penguins and in the 13 games he has been with the Penguins he has scored 7 goals and 3 assists for 10 points. A season pace of 63 points. 

The Penguins play a back-to-back against the Flames and Canucks yet and with such a tight division race at the moment every point will count.

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Crosby continues to struggle - Worst season to date?

Crosby continues to struggle - Worst season to date?

I've not hidden from criticising Crosby in the past, specifically this season which has been a tough one. But, I have understood how at times this season Crosby has been hamstrung by the injuries of his more skilled line-mates which has left him with players still developing and not yet ready for the NHL, like Bryan Rust, or players who shouldn't be in the top 6 for long stretches of time like Downie.

I have also understood how he has had a change in roles this season which has seen his ice-time change. Last season Crosby had on average 21:58 TOI per game which has dropped this season to 20:03 per game. That is quite a sizeable drop for the best player in the league. Over the 78 games he is expected to play this season that is a reduction of 149 hours and 50 minutes. That is a lot.

Crosby so far this season has had 19 pointless games out of the 46 he has played. In his last 24 games he has 12 pointless games. In total thsi season this means that he has 52 points in 27 games which is a point per game of just under 2.00PPG. Now two points. It is impressive that he has 52 points in 27 games but also worrying that he has 0 in 19. Another thing that is also sticking out is the fact that he has just 6 goals in the last 26 games.

For a player who is meant to be one of the strongest and have the best back-hand in the league that is worrying. He is currently on 15 goals this season and on pace to finish with just 25 which would be his worst season in terms of goal-scoring where he has played the majority of the season. Crosby's shooting % is still below his career average though. He is currently shooting at 10.4% against his career average of 14.5%. That is a big gap.

All in all, it is a worrying trend this season that Crosby appears to have a run of 3-4 games where he puts up a decent number of points, as evidenced in January where he put up back to back 3 point nights. He then frequently has periods of 5-10 games where he just doesn't produce and puts up a few single point nights and doesn't threaten the score-board as he should. I'm hoping that Crosby snaps out of this and manages to put up 90+ points because that is about the best we can probably hope for right now. I don't think he'll win the Art Ross though, that is gone. It is over to Crosby now though, he has to step up.

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Despres leads Pens to OT win over Devils in uninspiring game

Despres leads Pens to OT win over Devils in uninspiring game

The Pittsburgh Penguins have won a divisional game! Even more surprising that it is against the New Jersey Devils who are probably the best team that seems to perform against the Penguins, evident that before this game they had won 5 games in a row and 14-3-0 against them since the 2008-09 season. 

With Christian Ehrhoff and  Olli Maatta out Simon Despres has seen his ice-time increase alongside his responsibilities with him enjoying a lot of ice-time in an all Quebecois line with Kris Letang on the top line, where a lot of people feel he has the potential to be.

The Penguins dominated the Devils for the whole game out-shooting them 43-14. The Devils had a lot of thanks to give to Schneider who saved them with a .953% SV game. One of the effective things that the Devils do is clog the zone and try and make it hard to get shots off. The Penguins exploited this with quick plays and a lot of shots from nearer the blue line. Although, annoyingly no-one was willingly to crash the net other than Patric Hornqvist.

Despite the Penguins dominance the Devils took the lead with a wraparound goal from Steve Bernier 6 minutes into the third period. Fleury really should have done better on the goal but stacking the pads on shots like that is something Fleury has struggled with before as he seems to either lose the puck or get dummied and left out to dry with a simple pass for someone to finish into a wide open net. 

The Penguins rallied and managed to score on a power-play after they went to the net. It is a miracle what happens when you actually try and play hockey. Crosby made a shot from the face-off area which was pushed out by Schneider straight to Kunitz who couldn't miss. The OT goal was a satisfying one as Despres is such a likeable player and has had a great season which excellent to see after Bylsma's poor management of him. 

One glaring thing that came about from this game was Johnston's decision to drop Bennett as a healthy scratch after "poor performances". Now, I know that Bennett has struggled lately but he is a young player and they will all go through slumps as they're still learning and there is no justice or consistency in sitting him but not sitting Ebbett, Adams or Sill.  Players who seem to be unable to do another offensively. Hopefully it is just the one game but if it is more than that then I'd be concerned that there are some tendencies in Johnston that were in Bylsma and led to his firing.

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