Is Beau Bennett a bust?

Is Beau Bennett a bust?

Now, this topic is something that I saw being mentioned on HFBoards here. The premise interested me and so I decided that I would look and see if you could really class him as a bust yet or not. Now, there is no solid definition of what a bust is (well, a bust in hockey terms) but normally you can get a good idea by looking at how they have done and what they were expected to be capable of when drafted, or brought into the team.

Beau Bennett was drafted 20th overall by the Penguins in the 2010 NHL Entry draft in Los Angeles, down the road from his home town of Gardena, California. Bennett is the highest drafted Californian born and bred player in an area that is looking to see an increase in the number of players that are brought up in the county. When he was drafted Bennett was tipped to have a potential top 6 ability and the skillset to become a 25-25 kind of player. 

Bennett has struggled to live up to those expectation so far, partly due to poor play, partly due to reasons outside of his control. After being drafted Bennett played his sophomore year with the University of Denver in the NCAA and scored 13 points in just the 10 games. However, his time at the University of Denver highlighted the start of his injury problems which have plagued him throughout his career. He missed the final 29 games due to a ruptured tendon in his wrist and the injury was similar to his broken wrist that he suffered early in the 2013-14 season which caused him to miss four months. 

In fact, this season has been the worst for him with Bennett having to deal with the mumps and a knee injury which, as mentioned in this Post-Gazette article, has required him to wear knee braces and has resulted in him losing 8lbs of weight. When Bennett was drafted he weighed 173lbs and wasn't known to be the most physical player so losing 8lbs is something that is bound to affect his play and it is no doubt part of the reason that Mike Johnson scratched him for a bunch games a month or so ago.

Away from injuries Bennett hasn't been given many opportunities in the top six and this is evidenced in the last five games alone which have seen him earn an average of 10.43 compared to Craig Adams at 9.09. Now, he is getting more than him but not much and he has only really had third line minutes in two of the five games which is the type of time he should be getting. With how bad the Penguins power-play has been lately I would also be tempted to give him some time there as well on the second unit to see if he is able to produce better with more space and to give that bit of confidence that is lacking in his game.

Lastly, his play has been poor irregardless of him playing on third line and get just above 12 minutes a game, which is falling due to his recent usage. He has just 11 points in 43 games this season which in a full season is a total of 21 points, far from what was expected of him when drafted. Bennett has now played 90 games in his career and has 32 points to his name. In a full, 82 game season that would be a 29 point pace which is better but still around 10 points below where you'd want him to be. Being fair to him, he is still just 23 so there is still time for him to develop and he is being affected by an unlucky, poor season this year.

Going forward, I would give him a one-year bridge contract this summer. I believe that he still has a lot to give the team and can still develop if given the chance here. It would be a typical Penguins thing to happen if he went elsewhere and became a decent top six player as predicted at the draft. His contract would be a low cost as well so wouldn't impact the salary cap too much. I think though that Johnson will let him go. I, personally, would prefer him to stay.

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EIHL and EPIHL play-offs set for finals weekend

EIHL and EPIHL play-offs set for finals weekend

The finals weekends are set in Nottingham and Coventry and there are only a few games left in both respective leagues to find a champion. Both series will take place on the 4th and 5th of April at the SkyDome in Coventry and the National Ice Center in Nottingham.

Starting with the EIHL play-offs, they will be contested by the Sheffield Steelers, Hull Stingrays, Belfast Giants and  Coventry Blaze. The preceding games took place on the weekend of the 28th and 29th of March to decide who would advance. The Sheffield  Steelers beat the Fife Flyers 6-5 (3-2 & 3-3), the Giants beat the Cardiff Devils 8-3 (1-0 & 7-3). The Coventry Blaze beat the hosts Nottingham 5-4 (3-3 & 2-1) despite being heavily out shot across both games. Finally, the Hull Stingrays required overtime to beat the Braehead Clan 3-1 on the 29th of  March to advance on aggregate 5-4 after losing the first leg 3-2.

In the finals the Hull Stingrays will face the Sheffield Steelers and the Coventry Blaze will go up against the Belfast Giants for the chance to play in the final. There are still tickets available and if I was to take an uneducated guess as to who will win I would go with the Sheffield Steelers.

The EPIHL play-offs were also decided on the same weekend and it saw Tony Hand's career prolonged for at least one more game as the Manchester Phoenix came back from a one goal deficit in a 5-4 home loss to the Basingstoke Bison by beating them 4-2 in the return leg. Joining them are the favourites, the Telford Tigers, who eased past the Sheffield Steeldogs 11-3 over the two legs. The Milton Keynes Lightning will take the short journey up the road after winning 7-5 against the Guilford Flames and the final place went to the Peterborough Phantoms who defeated the Swindon Wildcats 6-4.

From what I could see the event is sold out, which is good to see and if I had to take another uneducated guess to win then I'd go with the obvious, Telford Tigers. The Tigers dominated their league season winning the title by 18 points and enjoyed scoring goals for fun having scored 226 in their 48 games.

I won't be able to make it to either but I hope they're good events and enjoyable. I'm hoping to cover more British Hockey in the future so there will be more on the topic. I'll also be looking to learn more about it as I know little compared to the NHL. 

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Tony Hand, greatest British Ice Hockey player, retiring at seasons end

Tony Hand, greatest British Ice Hockey player, retiring at seasons end

Tony Hand, the greatest British Ice Hockey player is retiring at the end of the season. His reasoning being that, whilst he can still play, it is time to let the younger players come through and he can concentrate on bringing new players through as coach of the Manchester Phoenix. Tony Hand's career started as a 14 year old in 1981 and is finally bringing it to a close 34 years later at the age of 47 years.

Tony Hand's career started as a 14 year old for the Murrayfield Racers in the defunct, one season, Scottish National League in 1981-82 season where he maintained a 1.00 PPG rate through the eight games. He only originally played because of a player shortage and he scored his first assist on a Chris Kelland goal on the 17th of October 1981.

The Scottish  National League only lasted that season, but in the same season the  Murrayfield Racers also took part in the NIHA. The NIHA was tougher and Hand dropped to three points through 11 games. But Hand had started and was to begin to make his mark in the following seasons.

After scoring 42 points in 24 games in the 1982/83 season for Murrayfield he established himself and began to dominate. His production continued to increase as the seasons went on and in just in his second full-time season he had his first 50 goal season, scoring 52 in just 30 games for 8th in the scoring list. The following season (83/84) he earned his 100th career and took control of the assist lead in the leagues history surpassing Roy Halpin's 107.

Despite his dominance the Racers lost the first two seasons in the finals against the Dundee Rockets and the Fife Flyers. In the 1985-86 season they managed to win it and Hand started to attract interest from across the pond, being invited to a training camp with the Calgary Flames. In the end, he was drafted by the Edmonton Oilers with the 252 pick in the 12th round and he decamped to their camp instead earning the chance of training alongside Wayne Gretzky. He was only the second British born player to be drafted.

Despite being offered youth contract to play in the Western Hockey League with the Victoria Cougars, but he found issues with the stress and press attention and return to Scotland shortly after citing homesickness having scored eight points in three games. The NHL's loss was the British games gain as he returned to the more familiar surroundings of the Murrayfield Racers. He didn't hold back and completely destroyed the league scoring 105 goals and 111 assist for an incredible 216 points.

He briefly returned to Canada and played for the Edmonton Oilers, but again he turned down a deal. Something which he later said he regretted;

In his autobiography, Hand concedes that this was perhaps a mistake and that perhaps he should have re-negotiated the offer. In the foreword, Sather expressed his disappointment that "he didn't accept my deal because he could have advanced in North America. His progress would have been celebrated." Indeed, Sather also says "At the training camp I could see that he had a great ability to read the ice and he was the smartest player there other than Wayne Gretzky. He skated well: his intelligence on the ice stood out. He was a real prospect." Tony Hand

He returned to his dominance in the British League in the next three seasons putting together 220 goals and 328 assists for a total of 548 points in just 103 games for a great 5.32 PPG. Hand continued to play for the Racers until the 1993-94 season before they folded at the seasons end. In total for the Racers he put together an incredible 1932 regular season points in just 409 games for a 4.72  PPG pace.

After another 200+ point season with the Edinburgh Racers in 1994-95 season he moved to the Sheffield Steelers after the Racers also went bankrupt. He remained at the Steelers until the end of the century before returning to his homeland, where he became a bit of a journeyman playing for Ayr, Dundee and Edinburgh in just five seasons.

After a season spell in Belfast for the 2005-06 season and a brief return to the Edinburgh Capitals for the 2006-2007 he settled in Manchester taking a head coach position with the Phoenix, playing in the English Ice Hockey League. Hand had been a play-coach at Dundee, Edinburgh and Belfast before this move. He remained with the  Phoenix until the end of his career, this year and to date he has scored 708 points showing that, despite his advancing year he is still able to be a highly effective player.

Hand has left an indelible mark on the British game, but with him putting up his skates there is an opportunity for a new generation of British players to make their own names now. One to keep out for is a 2016 draft eligible player called Samuel Duggan, playing in Sweden for Orebro in the J-18 Elite system. He has potential to be drafted.

As for Hand, the  Manchester Phoenix managed to advance to the Finals weekend in Coventry on the 4th and 5th of April at the SkyDome. It would be a great way for him to end his career by winning the title.

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Penguins struggle to beat the Coyotes - again

Penguins struggle to beat the Coyotes - again

For the second time in just over a week the Pittsburgh Penguins faced the Arizona Coyotes and for the second time they struggled to beat them. Last week in Phoenix they edged out a 3-1 win thanks in part to a fluke goal by Sutter and an Empty net goal by Sidney Crosby. Today they won thanks to a dominant performance by Crosby in the third period which helped change the game in the  Penguins favour with them scoring three goals 4:08 minutes apart. 

The Penguins dominated on the shots again but Mike Smith stood firm to deny the  Penguins as much as possible, including some acrobatic saves. The Penguins were buoyed by the return of Evgeni Malkin and Patric Hornqvist before the game, which softened the blow of Perron missing out due to illness, but their first period play felt flat. The first period was quite even with the shots only just 14-13 in Pittsburgh's favour and the Coyotes wasted a good chance to go in the lead with a 5 minute power-play after Comeau was ejected due to what was perceived to be a boarding major.

The Penguins played with a lot more intent and purpose in the second completely wiping out the Arizona offense with a 13-3 shot differential. The Penguins started to get more extra skater opportunities as well with two powerplays in the period. The Penguins old issues of passing too much returned though and they failed to convert. Late in the second Kris Letang was involved in an unfortunate collision with Shane Doan which saw him fall into the boards. As a result Letang left the game and was taken to Hospital for an overnight observation, losing Letang for a prolonged period doesn't bare thinking about.

The third period was where the Penguins took control with another dominant shot difference, this time 19-8. The Penguins benefited from more penalties on the Coyotes thanks to Stone's double minor on Brandon Sutter and Campbell's high sticking on the same player. Crosby was the main beneficiary in the third with a goal, primary assist and secondary assist. His goal was under review due to a potential kicking motion but Toronto decided it was good.

The points put Crosby on 78 points from 70 games with just seven left. There is still an outside chance of him getting 90 points due to the Penguins final game being against the Sabres whom he scored five points against in one game earlier in the season. I hope he is able to hit 90 points.

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Eastside Hockey Manager is back!

Eastside Hockey Manager is back!

Yesterday SI Games and Miles Jacobson announced a return of Eastside Hockey Manager ('EHM'), of sorts. EHM was a game developed by SI Games in the mid noughties and it was ceased in 2007 due to struggling sales making it untenable to continue. Since then the original has continue with fan content to update it but there haven't been any new games. 

EHM is a great thing to have back and it is basically Football Manager but for Ice Hockey. Currently it is on Steam at £9.99 for Early Access but there is a brief 20% discount for those who own a FM copy through Steam. The benefit of having early access is that, as SI have stated, it allows people to play and test the game and to see if there is a market there that would be interested in the full game should it become an annual release again.

In terms of the actual game there is some work to be done for sure. The layout feels a little clunky in places and the text clashes sometimes. But overall the use interface is helpful to those who will be perhaps playing for the first time and also for those who are trying to find certain things. One improvement that I think could be made would be to have a bar across the top, similar to the old Football Manager's to make it easier to navigate. 

The game play is good and smooth. There is an incredible amount of detail in the game that surprised me when I first played it. For instance stats such as the shots taken in a match and what area of the net it was on are there to look at. You can also go in depth with statistical analysis to help you judge your team and manage them more efficiently. With the  NHL recently adopting advanced stats this is a good thing to have.

The level of options in the tactics is incredible and ranges from the option to choose where to shoot on the opposition goalie to what individual play styles you want each line to have. For instance, do you want to have a tough, rough, physical fourth line? Or one that joins in the scoring to take pressure of your top players. The only downside is that it is hard to navigate and I think it could do with tidying up to make it easier to use.

There are currently only a handful of leagues. Those being the NHL, AHL and ECHL in the United States. The Canadian Junior League system along with the Swedish, Finnish and Russian ones. It gives it an international feel and opens the game up to a number of possibilities. There will be more leagues added where there is interest and they're able to get help from the community. The game currently doesn't have licensing but that is something that can be fixed with fan made roster updates.

In all, I believe this is a good start for the franchise to begin again. Having worked with Sports Interactive and SI Games in the past I know that they will do their best to give this game a chance but they won't do so at the risk of affecting the Football Manager series. There are some areas that need to be worked on but for an early access it is promising as there are no game breaking or major bugs as is often the case with these types of releases. I'd give the game a 7/10 with the potential to improve.  I'm looking forward to playing it over the coming months and If It is successful I will return to it on this blog.

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Pens struggle to beat the Coyotes

Pens struggle to beat the Coyotes

The Penguins snapped their four game losing streak to remain seven points ahead of the advancing Ottawa Senators but it wasn't easy. The Coyotes made the game a lot harder than the Penguins would have liked it to have been. The Coyotes are tanking and it isn't a surprise that the Penguins won but it should have been easier and by a larger margin if we're being honest.

The Coyotes started the better of the two teams and scored early on a short-handed break-away by Rieder just 1:34 into the game. For the second game in a row the Penguins were dominated on the shot clock in the first with the Coyotes out-shooting the Penguins 13-3 despite the Penguins having two power-plays.

The Penguins took control in the second with their first goal coming from a fortuitous error by Mike Smith in goal for the Coyotes. Smith went behind his net for a pretty ordinary clear but Brandon Sutter skated in front of the net and bounced the puck in the net off his body. The Penguins used that as momentum to take forward and took the lead just after the half-way point with a tip-in by Daniel Winnik on a Kris Letang point shot.

The Penguins doubled the shots by the Coyotes in the second and lead them 22-11 and they continued their dominance in the third, out-shooting them 12-7. The Penguins struggled to convert their chances, which is a theme for them right now and they could only add one more goal. The Penguins scored an empty net goal through Crosby with a great bit of hustle from his own blue zone to get past the defender and slide it in. That goal gave Crosby his 74th point to give him the Art Ross lead.

The Penguins performance was worrying as they didn't take control until the second period and they should be scoring more on the chances they get. Crosby seem to pass it up a lot when it would be good to see him shoot more. The Penguins play again on Tuesday against the Blues. A team Crosby has yet to score against. 

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Dallas extend Penguins losing streak to four

Dallas extend Penguins losing streak to four

The Penguins losing streak was kept going thanks to a spirited performance by the Dallas Stars. The  Penguins came into this game having scored 1 goal in three games and little changed here. The Penguins didn't really threaten the Dallas net at times and it was a surprise that it wasn't a bigger win for the Stars.

The first period was terrible for Pittsburgh and possibly the worst period under Johnston in terms of performances. The Penguins were dominated in the first period by a dominant early defensive performance from the Dallas Stars which saw the Penguins restricted to seven shots, five of which came in the last 3:12 minutes. The most disappointing part of the first period was the abhorrent power-play which saw a total of 0 shots. Inexcusable.

The second period was where the Stars made their previous efforts count with two quick goals early in the second period 1:23 apart. The first goal resulted from some poor defensive pressure on the forward, Brett Ritchie, who was able to effortlessly skate into the goalies kitchen sink. The Penguins managed to threaten more on Even Strength in the second with three times as many shots in the first.

However, the only goal for the Penguins came on the power-play from Kris Letang off a sweet Crosby pass. That was the only goal the Penguins would score in the game despite dominating the Stars in the final frame 15-4 in shots. The Penguins scoring on even strength was again missing and it has been a recurring theme recently. The only bright point was that Crosby picked up a point to take him to second and 72 points. One behind Ovechkin in 1st.

The Penguins play Arizona next and that is a game they should be winning. Lets go Pens!

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Hamburgler making records with Ottawa as young players shine

Hamburgler making records with Ottawa as young players shine

The Ottawa Senators were all but consigned to miss the play-offs until a month ago when Andrew Hammond was given his first start in the NHL against the Montreal Canadiens. Since then he has gone a historic run which leaves him one game away from setting a record tonight. If he lets in two or fewer games tonight he will break Frank Brimsek's 77 year record of letting in two or fewer in his first 12 NHL starts and extend it to 13 starts. He is currently 11-0-1 in 12 starts with a GAA of 1.35 and a .956SV%. Those performances will stop at one point and he will return to more normal numbers but for now he will be attempting to ride it as long as possible.

Hammond's performances have helped propel the Senators up the table and close the gap on the Boston Bruins in the last Wild Card spot. Currently, the Senators are four points behind the Bruins with a game in hand. Tonight's opponent? The Bruins. This could be the game that makes the Senator's season.  A win and they're just two points off with an extra game to play. A loss, that would be a big set-back and it would be a big ask to claw back six points with just 13 games left.

Up the other end of the ice the Ottawa Senators are benefiting from break-out years from two young prospects in Mike Hoffman and Mark Stone who are both enjoying superb years with 42 and 46 points respectively. This was something a bit un-expected when you consider that they together before this had just 14 points in the 52 games they'd played. The Senators will be hoping that they are able to build on these performances and continue it through to next season to give the team a good chance of qualifying next year when they're more advanced in their development.

These performances have enthused the Ottawa fans and given them a big fan backing as they hunt down the last play-off spot in the East. The Senators are one team I would not want to face right now. If they get in I think they could surprise people.

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Missing: The Penguins secondary scoring

Missing: The Penguins Secondary scoring

The Penguins have struggled to score lately, being shut-out in two of the last three games and scoring just one goal in the other.  In total, so far in March they have scored 20 goals in eight games this month for an average of 2.2 goals. The trend in scoring has been going down throughout the season as evidence by Josh Yohe's tweet below;

Penguins goals per game by month this season: October - 4.00 November - 3.20 December - 2.14 January - 2.83 February - 2.58 March - 2.22
— Josh Yohe (@JoshYohe_Trib) March 18, 2015

That is a big worry and as you can see, it is trending down from an initial high in October. Of course, the high of 4.00 Goals per game in October is somewhat inflated by the Penguins power-play which clicked at 39.4% for the month. Since then it has plummeted partly due to the referees calling a lot less penalties for the Penguins. That has dropped from 4.13 PP's in the first 15 games to 2.85 since. The Penguins were robbed of a few power-plays last night but again the referees contrived to prevent them being given.

The Power-play issue is one thing, but another has been the drop off in production from the Penguins secondary players this month which has resulted in Crosby having to carry the team again. Crosby has done this before but he can't do it forever and it is taking its toll on him this season, part of the reason of his reduced points totals. The biggest culprit for this is Chris Kunitz, as mentioned in a previous blog post here. However, to pin it all on the Kunitz would be harsh.

The above image shows the changes in production at Even Strength for the Penguins top eight forwards outside Malkin and Crosby. It should be noted that one or two differences can be explained due to injuries. For instance, Hornqvist didn't really play in January, neither did Comeau. Likewise, Bennett missed the first month and some game time in November and December, as Bennett does.

What we can take from it is that there is a clear downturn in production from everyone in March outside Downie who has gone against the grain. A team as talented as the Penguins shouldn't be relying on the power-play to score. They should be able to score without it and currently, they aren't. Being shut-out twice in the last three games is unacceptable as is scoring one goal in nine periods.

"How do you fix it", I hear you shout. Well, change the lines for a start. Kunitz has ridden Crosby's left wing for too long and isn't benefiting from the extra ice-time that his performance is warranting. Right now we have Hornqvist and Malkin out for a week which means they will miss the games against the Stars and Coyotes, this does affect the choices briefly. For this trip I'd try Comeau alongside Crosby and Perron. Perron and Crosby have worked well together since he (Perron) joined from Edmonton and breaking that up would stupid. Comeau may be contentious, but he has worked well with Malkin this season and has a great shot on him that makes me believe he would do fine with Sid, even if for a short stint. When Hornqvist and Geno return I'd like to see the following lines with everyone healthy;

Hornqvist - Crosby - Perron

Comeau - Malkin - Bennett

Kunitz - Sutter - Winnik

Spaling - Lapierre - Downie

There is another thing that needs fixing as well. The power-play. When we do get called for a power-play the usual happens. We struggle to keep it in the zone and we don't get shots off because we pass it too much. Kunitz should not be seeing time on the 1st PP unit which should consist of Crosby, Letang, Malkin, Hornqvist and Perron. The first instinct should be to shoot and get a shot on goal because as Gretzky once said, you can't score the shots you don't take. Seeing someone with a great shot like Geno pass instead of shooting is frustrating. 

Johnston recently stated that the Penguins were ready for the play-offs and whilst it is obvious he will say that, I don't think we are. Our scoring is down and we're struggling at even strength. If we think that penalties are hard to come by now then just wait until the play-offs. Some changing of the lines could be the fire that kicks the team back into gear. Do I think the management will actually do it? I'm sceptical. Prove me wrong Johnston and Tocchet.

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Chris Kunitz's drop in production is a worry

Chris Kunitz's drop in production is a worry

To say that Chris Kunitz's play has dropped recently would be an understatement. For someone who is quite often a permanent fixture in the top six his offensive production has effectively disappeared after a decent start to the season. Right now Kunitz is seeing regular ice-time in the top six, but in reality he should be seeing third line minutes which more befits his play. Right now he is in a rut, not doubt, but can you call it a rut if it has gone on since late December?

Kunitz has played 61 games this year and currently has 16 goals and 23 assist for 39 points. He is currently 112th in the league in points behind players such as David Perron (40 & 106th) and Tyler Bozak (41 & 96th). Kunitz is currently on pace to finish with 43 points and have his worst full-season since the 2009-10 season where he finished with 38 points. Compared to last season he is on pace to finish with a 42% decrease in offensive production.

Looking deeper at Kunitz's production this season there is a correlation that links to the Penguins power-play when it was dominating and clicking at a near 40% to start the season. This stopped and it reduced a lot near mid-November. Looking at Kunitz's stats we can see that Kunitz started off excellently with 16 points in the first 13 games and of those 9 came off the Power-play compared to the remaining 7 at even strength. In the following 48 games he had 6 and 16 at even strength. In comparison his ES percentage has gone from 38% to 33% and his PP percentage has gone from 57% to a shocking 13%. There has been some rumbles in the local Pittsburgh media that Kunitz has been treated for an iron deficiency since January and hasn't been the same since the Olympics last year. There is no doubt that if true that would affect him, but iron deficiency is something that can be battled with relative ease thanks to the research that has gone into it. I don't think anyone can really can just use that as a reason for a reduction in play. If he is suffering then, why has he not had his ice-time reduced to help cope?

In all honesty being fair, Kunitz isn't the only player to see a reduction in their Power-play production this season. The power-play has been futile and how Rick Tocchet still has a job running it is beyond me. There has been little to no change in the personnel equipped or the play system when on the man advantage and teams have figured it out. To beat the Penguins power-play you just have to put pressure on the puck-carrier and put your body on the line. One of the biggest issues with the Penguins power-play is the inability to keep it in the zone and this is usually a result of the pressure put on them from the other team but also a lack of concentration.

In all, some people may think I am being harsh singling out Kunitz, but he is meant to be a top player so more is naturally expected of him. I wouldn't say that Beau Bennett has been great lately and in his first 82 games for the Penguins he had 31 points. However, he too is in a funk lately with just 5 points in 2015. What makes it tougher to take with Kunitz as well is his contract. The reason is that for a team that depends on Crosby and Malkin a lot to get offence having $3.85m being used in this way is hard to accept when it could be better used.

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Pens show fight against Bruins after losing stars but lose

Pens show fight against Bruins after losing stars but lose

The Penguins put up a valiant fight against the Boston Bruins in an early afternoon game, but ultimately couldn't break down Tuukka Rask in the Boston net. The Penguins job was made immeasurably harder by the loss of Crosby in the warm-ups due to an unspecified illness and then the gradual loss of Malkin throughout the game. Malkin was hit early in the first and seemed to be hurt as he sat hunched over for a good while before going down the tunnel. He returned but left again during the second period to leave the Penguins without their top centers.

The Penguins stated that they would be splitting the goaltenders this weekend with another game tomorrow against the Detroit Red Wings, who were embarrassed in Philadelphia by a large score of 7-2. Thomas Greiss was given the start tonight and after a shaky start he cemented himself with a decent performance with a .966 SV% performance with only Lucic beating him in the first off a close shot near the net.

Without Crosby and Malkin the Penguins needed their other offensive players to turn and I personally think that only two did, those being Comeau and Hornqvist. Together they accrued just above 30% of the total number of shots attempted by Pittsburgh. One player who was remarkably poor for Chris Kunitz, advanced stats can tell you one thing but sometimes watching individual games tell you another story. Kunitz cannot finish chances and that was evident in this game with a number of fairly straightforward opportunities going awry. No doubt, having someone in those positions is at least better than not being there, but if they don't finish is there any real difference?

In all the Penguins struggled to break down the Bruins defensive system and they never really troubled Rask enough to force him to make a hard save. Hopefully Crosby returns tomorrow and maybe Malkin too but I think Geno is more unlikely to return but I hope they both return as I don't know if another game with Sutter as our primary center is something I wish to watch. I mean, I know I would end up watch because it is like an addiction and I'd feel weird not, but it would be a lot more enjoyable with Crosby and/or Malkin were available.

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Pens endure scare from Edmonton but edge out win

Pens endure scare from  Edmonton but edge out win

The Penguins managed to avoid a four goal come back from the Edmonton Oilers to edge out a 6-4 win. The Penguins raced to a 3-0 lead in the first period led by a short-handed Brandon Sutter goal, depicted in the above image. Sutter added his second of the game after a lucky rebound off a point shot. Crosby added a bit of flair to the game with his pass to Perron for the third and final goal in the frame.

The Penguins had a couple of power-play opportunities, but the issues still remain. They struggled to generate offense against one of the bottom teams in the league and that is a worry, Crosby managed to score early in the second on the man advantage, but overall the power-play was hugely worrying. It then went south quickly. The Oilers changed goalie from Scrivens to Bachman and it seemed to start a fight-back starting with a power-play goal of their own and an Even strength finish by Eberle to cut the lead to two going into the final period.

The Oilers had momentum and carried it into the third period and by the mid-point of the period they had tied it up with another power-play goal from Pouliot and an extra tally from Derek Roy. At this point the Oilers were the more likely to win but the Penguins pushed back and closed the game out with two goals in 1:06 period with goals from Downie and Hornqvist. Going into this game the Penguins had struggled recently with a lack of depth scoring so to have three goals from players in their bottom six is good to see and something needed in the play-offs if you are to go far.

The most impressive player for the Penguins was no doubt Brandon Sutter who was superb on the penalty kill and seemed to have a renewed vigour about his game today. Crosby looked quick and it was evident that he was shooting more. Whether this was because of the quality of the opposition or the ability to do so just presented itself more is unclear. At the close of this game Crosby closed within two points on Tavares and he also has two games in hand. The scoring race is going to go the whole way I think. With a back-to-back for the Penguins this weekend though against the  Bruins and Red Wings he could end the weekend in the lead. Lets hope he does.

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Update: Partnership announcement

Partnership Announcement

One or two eagle eyed people may have noticed it on the right hand side but just in case you haven't, I have partnered up with HFBoards. HFBoards is the premier discussion board for Ice Hockey and one that I have used a lot in the past. The premise is that for the small section of advertising on the right hand side I am able to post content on the site as a partner. This is beneficial for both parties. I gain an extra platform to display my content and increase my viewership. HFBoards gets more, varied content and potentially extra members from those who view this blog and aren't members. I am very grateful for this partnership and hope it is able to remain for a long while.

 

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The Art Ross Trophy race is heating up - Who will win it?

The Art Ross Trophy race is heating up - Who will win it?

The Art Ross Trophy is a prestigious trophy that is at the top of the individual awards list for players in the  NHL alongside the Rocket Richard Trophy and the Vezina. Every season there is a battle to win it and this season is no different, if a bit tougher to predict. Last season Crosby won it handedly with a 17 point gap between him and second placed Ryan Getzlaf.

This season Crosby has struggled to produce at the rate he is more used to and a rate that we have become accustomed to. This has often led to the Art Ross trophy race being wide open with several players coming into play throughout the season. At the current time of writing there are five points between the players in 1st and 5th. This leaves it wide open to predictions and guesses as to who will win. The premise of this article is based around that and I'm going to put my neck on the line and give my own predictions.

John Tavares is in 1st with 72 points in 68 games and the most impressive thing about this is that he has achieved this without his regular line-mate, Kyle Okposo, who was sidelined with an eye injury. Okposo returns tonight against the Rangers and this could propel Tavares into the stratosphere and beyond his current 1.06 P/G pace. This pace sustained throughout the rest of the season would see him finish on 89 points. Tavares has benefited some what in that he hasn't missed any games this season.

In second currently is Alexander Ovechkin on 69 points through 66 games for a pace of 1.05 P/G. Ovechkin has dominated this season in terms of goalscoring and is the leader with 44 goals, six ahead of second placed Rick Nash. Ovechkin is on pace to finish with 85 points but he has benefited from increased production from his common partner, Nicklas Backstrom who is 3rd with 69 points in 67 games for a 1.03 P/G pace. He is currently on pace to break his last seasons total of 79 points in 82 and is on pace for his best full-season since the 2009-10 season. The Capitals duo have benefited massively from a dominant powerplay which is 2nd at a 24.9% rate.

Next up in 4th and 5th place are the Penguins duo of Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby. Malkin has been on a tear recently and is currently at 67 points in 61 games for a 1.10 P/G pace which is the best in the league right now. Malkin has had a number of different wingers throughout the season and has managed to produce despite the constant change on his wings. Currently his pace would put him on 85 points. Meanwhile, on the top line, Crosby has been battling to keep in touch with a below par season so far.  Currently he is on pace to have his worst full season with a finish of 84 his projected finish. However, if anyone can put a burst on, it is Crosby.

Now, my predictions. I believe that Tavares will benefit from getting Okposo back and continue to score points at a heavy rate. However, they have to do a two game swing against the Los Angeles Kings and the Anaheim Ducks in a Californian swing. Outside of that they have nine home games compared to five away games and I think home crowd support will him on to push. I see Tavares finishing on 88 points. 

Next and on to Ovechkin and Backstrom. There is no doubt that Ovechkin will continue to score goals but the Capitals have three games against the Rangers coming up and they are one of Ovie's harder teams to score on in the East. You can be sure that if Ovechkin scores then Backstrom will likely have a part to play in it. Based on their schedule and how they have played so far this season I see Ovechkin finishing on 84 points and  Backstrom on 81.

Lastly, Malkin and Crosby. Malkin and Crosby have both upped their play recently and with possibly the easiest schedule out of the three teams represented in the top 5 I think they will benefit most. However, I think that with two players going for the title will be detrimental affect and slightly pull down their totals. The Penguins schedule is split 8-8 home and away and I don't believe this gives either player the edge as Malkin has been more prolific at home with Crosby away. With the improvement in the teams play as a whole in recent weeks as demonstrated in the Californian road trip I think we'll see a determined effort. I predict that Malkin will finish with 86 points and Crosby with 87.

Although I'd love to see Crosby or Malkin win the Art Ross I'm avoiding being biased and going with my gut feeling of John Tavares. He has deserved this season and with a five point gap I think he won't look back. Crosby and Malkin will close that gap with their games in hand but I think it will be too much and he'll be crowned the Art Ross winner for 2015.

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Pens head to San Jose for a Californian sweep

Penguins head to San Jose for a Californian sweep

The Penguins head to the SAP Center tonight to take on the San Jose Sharks and look to make it a Californian sweep. The Penguins enter this game having won their last in a back-to-back with Anaheim and Los Angeles. The Penguins started the trip with a 5-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks on Friday which was followed up with a 1-0 overtime win against Los Angeles on Saturday. 

The Penguins entered the three game swing with a 3-1 loss against the Colorado Avalanche in a rather uneventful game that failed to incite much interest. Many predicted a tough trip with Anaheim and  Los Angeles being two tough teams to beat, even with LA outside the play-off picture. San Jose have had a tough time of late and didn't win a single game in February at home but the Penguins have a horrid record there which has seen them go winless in 17 years. 

The Penguins were outshot 29-21 by the Ducks last Friday but managed to make their shots count and raced into a 3-0 lead in the second with some a tic-tac-toe goal from Hornqvist and a rasping laser of a shot from Comeau which was unstoppable. Hornqvist added a second for himself with a tip-in on a shot from the point by Cole. Malkin scored a fourth early in the third before the Ducks attempted a come-back of sorts with 2 goals in 4:05 seconds. Crosby wrapped the game up with an EN goal late in the game after some hustle to get past the last defenceman back to skate to the goal and tap it in. One thing that was noticeable in the game was that the puck was bouncing about a lot and seemed to be taking odd bounces a lot. 

The Penguins were back at it after a nights sleep to take on the Los Angeles Kings in a game that was marked by the unveiling of a statue for Luc Robitaille who played over 1,000 games for the Kings which, for a player drafted in the ninth round, is impressive. The Penguins and  Kings traded blows for the whole game with Fleury in stellar form saving all 31 shots put on the Pens net. The Penguins had some offensive highlights, mostly from Crosby, but couldn't end the game until a defensive error by the Kings in over-time gifted the puck to Hornqvist just outside the goaltenders paint. There was no way he was missing and that goal meant that Hornqvist has more goals as James Neal has in Nashville but with 9 fewer games played.

I'm hoping that the Penguins put in a similar effort that we have seen in those games tonight against the Sharks but with the Penguins poor record at SAP it'd be a surprise to see them win. Saying that, this team appears to be in a strut right now and I think currently they could beat anyone in a one-off game so I see no reason why they can't beat the Sharks. Crosby and  Malkin are also 4 and 3 points behind Tavares in the Art Ross race so they'll be hoping to catch some ground on him as well although it is worth baring in mind that they had a few games in hand on him. Here's to a Pens win tonight.

Go Pens!

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The Penguins goaltending future has potential

The Penguins goaltending future has potential

It would be remiss to say that the Penguins brass are happy with right, especially those in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton with the baby Pens. The reason for this is the potential future picture that the Penguins face with regards to their goaltending and what their prospects are potentially going to develop to be. Most of this gives the Penguins a good mark as they've all been drafted (Which is discussed in more depth in a recent article) apart from Eric Hartzell and if they all pan then they can trade some for help up front.

Starting with the Penguins and their goaltending woes are well known in the play-offs through Marc-Andre Fleury's performances in recent years but this year he has had his best year to date and is looking in top form, just outside the Vezina top two in Pekka Rinne and Carey Price. If Fleury can continue his performances into the play-offs then the Penguins will be sitting pretty but the biggest problem for the Penguins in previous has been a lack of an adequate back-up. 

Since drafting Fleury the Penguins have probably had a couple of goaltenders who you could say did a good job of taking off pressure from Fleury and helped share the workplaces. I'd say you could include Tomas Vokoun (12-13), Ty Conklin (07-08) & Brent Johnson (10-11). Before the  Penguins played the Flyers in the play-offs in that series a few years ago this wasn't too much of a problem as Fleury normally played most of the games in the play-offs and was fine without needing help but since the Flyers series it has been imperative that the Penguins have a sturdy back-up just in case he isn't up to scratch again.

Ty Conklin in resplendent Penguins gear

This season Greiss has performed a bit below what was expected this season after his acquisition in the off-season in the free agency period on a 1 year $1million contract. He currently has a 2.76 GAA and a .908SV% through 15 games and whilst the numbers aren't that great If I was to be worried I'd be more worried about the GAA number but that is still more of a team effort. The save percentage is a better indicator a good goalie and he has an okay one there which puts him 36th in the league with goaltenders that have played 15 or more games. Of course, I'm not saying that I'd select a goaltender based on just the SV%. The GAA does still involve a goaltender as it indicates, well, how many goalies he lets in. It is just that it can be seen to be more a team stat than it is an individual goalie stat.

As mentioned above in the opening paragraph the Penguins have a number of prospects in their pipeline and one of those, Matt Murray, has been making some news this weekend in the American Hockey League (AHL). Although he did eventually let a goal in at 18:49 in the 3rd period he was able to set a new AHL consecutive shut-out record at 304 minutes and 11 seconds after todays 4-1 win against the Springfield Falcons. This record is impressive in itself but what makes it even more incredible is that Matt Murray is a 20-year old rookie, this stat is something you'd expect more from an experienced player, not to detract from Murray. If Murray continues his performances then with a potential vacant back-up spot on the Penguins next season I would tempted to look at the possibility of him being the back-up. However, having another AHL season may be more beneficial with a 1 year stop gap signed. 

Matt Murray playing against the Bridgeport Sound Tigers

Moving on from Matt Murray there is another Penguins player getting ice in the minor professional leagues in Eric Hartzell. Hartzell was signed after leaving Quinnipac as a free agent and hasn't lived up to his ability this season dropping down to the Wheeling Nailers as a result, although having three goaltenders on the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton  Penguins because of the emergence of Murray is also no doubt a contributing factor. He's now nearing 26 years old so now is make or break time I feel for Hartzell. His Penguins contract is up at the end of this season and I think it would make more sense for him to sign a contract with the Wilkes-Barre/Penguins to free up a contract spot on the Penguins and then if he performs exceptionally well he can be re-signed.

The third goalie is Tristan Jarry who is playing in the Western Hockey League, part of the well loved and treasured Canadian Hockey League. This is Jarry's fourth and last season in the WHL and after this he will move on to the AHL. His stats this season compared to last have dropped slightly but the Edmonton Oil Kings lost some key players in the off-season due to them being too old to return the most notable of them relating to Jarry being Griffin Reinhart. However, Jarry's career WHL stats are still impressive with a 2.33 GAA and a .914SV%. The problem now is where he goes next season.

I see the most likely course of action being Greiss signed for another year with Murray getting the starting job in Wilkes-Barre with Jarry as back-up alongside a veteran goaltender as well. I see Hartzell starting in Wheeling and with good performances being called up. If Murray can put in another good year next season as a start then he should be ready to move up to the NHL with a few back-up stints. Also, eagle eyed people may have mentioned I've not mention Sean Maguire, another goaltender prospect. He was red shirted by Boston University because of injury, hopefully he can rebound and join the bright future of goaltending for the Penguins. I'd also be interested to see what the Wilkes-Barre Scranton/Penguins can bring to the main team in terms of goaltender coaching as they're looking likely to win the Harry "Hap" Holmes trophy for the third time in the last four years. In all, the future looks bright.

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The Penguins don't have a good history on the West Coast trip

The Penguins don't have a good history on the West Coast trip

I was browsing reddit the other day and there was a discussion about the West Coast trip which centered around the Ottawa Senators and how they had completed the West Coast trip for the first time in their franchises history. That was impressive when you consider that they had their AHL starter, Hammond, playing a large part. I decided to look back at the Penguins history ahead of the game against the Anaheim Ducks tonight.

The three game trip means playing the Anaheim Ducks, San Jose Sharks and  Los Angeles in a row. Usually teams will play them over the course of a weekend with one back to back. In the case of the Penguins they have played 18 games away at the Honda Arena, SAP Center and Staples Center and have left with a record of 6-8-3-1. Below is a break down of it by the year and what the result was.

November 3rd '09 - November 7th '09; 1-2-0

November 1st '06 - November 6th '09; 1-1-1

December 10th '02 - December 15th '02; 0-2-1

October 27th '99 - October 30th '99; 0-1-1-1

December 15th '98 - December 18th '98; 1-2-0

December 10th '96 - December 13th '96; 3-0-0

The trip has only been able to be done since the  Mighty Ducks of Anaheim were founded in 1993. Looking at it we can see that the Penguins rarely win more than one game on the trip and also in 4 of the 6 trips the  Penguins have left with 2 or fewer points. Individually and in general the Penguins have a good record against the Ducks (15-8-2-2) but a losing one against the Kings (62-70-18-1) and the Sharks (12-13-3-3).

The Penguins first game is tonight at the Honda Center versus the Anaheim Ducks which starts at 03:00 GMT or for those in the USA, 10:00 PM EST. I will be catching the highlights in the morning GMT and then I will look to do a piece on the game tomorrow before the Los Angeles Kings game. Go Pens!

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The Penguins inability to draft and develop players is a big worry

The Penguins inability to draft and develop players is a big worry

The Pittsburgh Penguins have been incredibly lucky with some of their draft picks in their history picking up once in a lifetime players twice in 1984 with Mario Lemieux and Sidney Crosby in 2005. They also benefited from picking Evgeni Malkin in 2004. All these picks were top picks so they are really slam dunks. I mean, you'd have to be mad not to select Crosby, Lemieux and Malkin when called up to the clock if available. The problem for the Pens is who they drafted outside of those players. There were a few players who have excelled, namely Jordan Staal, Kris Letang and Marc-Andre Fleury. But other than those top players there isn't a lot there.

When you look back at the previous Stanley Cup Winners there is a frequent recurrence which comes to the boil. They all have players on their team who they have drafted and developed and they have been able to rely on to make the difference throughout their seasons. In the last final between the New York Rangers and Los Angeles Kings last year there were 17 players playing for the team they were drafted by (11 for Los Angeles and 6 for New York Rangers). There was also one player, Brian Boyle, playing for New York after being drafted by Los Angeles. Below is a chart for the last 9 Stanley Cup Winners, going back to the Lockout and the number of players they had on their team drafted by themselves.

One thing we can immediately see is that the Anaheim Ducks got by with only 4 drafted players on their team and although that is an outlier we can see that there is a trend towards teams relying more on drafted players. This is in part due to them being cheaper if they're younger due to them potentially being on ELC's or due to them being players that have excelled with their development and are now either key players or important team players. Another thing we can take from the above graph is that the Detroit Red Wings have benefited greatly from their drafting and their scouts should take some series plaudits. They had 14 of the 25 players that were credited with a Stanley Cup. That's 56% which is a big number taken up by drafted players. 

So, what is the problem? Well, currently the Penguins have 9 players on their roster who have been drafted by the Penguins. They are Crosby, Malkin, Letang, Fleury, Scuderi, Lovejoy, Pouliot, Bennett and when healthy, Maatta. Of those the first two where slam dunk picks and Fleury was a 1st round overall. Outside of those Lovejoy has recently been acquired in the trade with Despres, Scuderi recently rejoined in 2013. 

Toffoli showing how drafting can work well

How do the Penguins fix this?

Well, I think they need to look at other models around the league. Some teams have a stockpile of good prospects such as Buffalo and Arizona but that is through them being poor teams which results in them being at the top of the table. To me the top five teams in the league, in no particular order at drafting and developing, are the Detroit Red Wings, Tampa Bay Lightning, Anaheim Ducks, Los Angeles Kings and the New York Islanders. That is an impressive list and I have already mentioned above how the  Los Angeles Kings were stocked with drafted players in their Stanley Cup winning teams. The question is, How they do it?

Well, unlike the Penguins they have patience and give players time to develop. They also draft the right players from the right leagues. Under the era of Ray Shero the Penguins drafted a fair number of Collegiate players from the NCAA or other leagues. Whilst they may have been promising prospects the big problem was that they often wouldn't be able to enter the system and link between the Penguins and Wilkes-Barre Penguins until they're around the age of 22. This means that you're waiting longer for players to be committed to the AHL or NHL teams compared to junior players who can be available to move to the AHL at the age of 20, as in the case of Matt Murray this season.

Matt Murray is a bright prospect excelling this year in Wilkes-Barre

An example to follow I believe would be that of the Tampa Bay Lightning. This season their best line is without a doubt the line of Palat-Johnson-Kucherov. Palat and Kucherov were drafted by the Lightning in 2011 (208th and 58th overall). Johnson was undrafted but was picked up by the Lightning and whilst there were originally questions about his small size (5ft 9) they gave him two season in the AHL with the Norfolk Admirals and the Syracuse Crunch to give him time to develop and adapt before giving him time in the NHL which he has taken with both hands and is now in a chasing pack for the Art Ross this season.

Compare that to how the Penguins handled Simon Despres. They drafted him in 2009 and he had no consistency as to where he was playing as he was constantly up and down which I have belief affected his development. I believe this because the AHL and NHL are two different being completely. The AHL is all about preparing the players for the NHL and giving the competition to improve to get to that level whilst the NHL is the pinnacle and about being able to handle the best that the game can throw at you. If you're going from one to the other without any clue of where you'll be next week it will affect you.

Beau Bennett in his Denver days

I think that the best thing the Penguins can do is expand their scouting network specifically in Europe. They have started drafting more Europeans recently with Kasperi Kapanen, Theodor Bleuger and Oskar Sundqvist in the past few years. I think the Penguins have missed out in the past by focusing their efforts on the NCAA prospects which hasn't really yielded a return that warrant it's pursuit. The only player I can think of who has done well and made it to the  NHL is Beau Bennett but even then he has been beset by injuries and right now is being mis-managed and misused by the Penguins coaching team. I hope that the Penguins can fix this problem in the coming years because when they exit their cup window it is going to be a lot harder if they don't. If they fix it they might, just might be able to keep it open that bit longer and have a prolonged run in the play-offs like Detroit has enjoyed over the past 20+ years.

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The Penguins trade Simon Despres to Anaheim for Ben Lovejoy

The Penguins trade Simon Despres to Anaheim for Ben Lovejoy

Well, this was hard to accept. The Pittsburgh Penguins traded Simon Despres, a 1st round pick by this organisation to the Anaheim Ducks for Benjamin Lovejoy, an ex-Penguin who was originally traded to them for a 5th. This was a late trade done just minutes before the 3pm EST deadline chimed in and I'm struggling to make sense of this deal really.

Simon Despres was originally drafted by the Penguins in the 1st round in 2009 and originally spent time in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton with the Penguins baby team there. After some years there he was finally given some chances with under Dan Bylsma last season. There were times last season when he was mis-used and given bottom pairing minutes when his play warranted much more but it was refreshing to see him this season given more top 4 minutes to aid his development. 

Ben Lovejoy was brought in by the Penguins as a free agent way back in July 2008 after a year with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton  Penguins and immediately spent the majority of the next two years spent there with a brief, 2 game, appearance in the NHL with the Penguins in the 2008-09 season. From 2009-2013 he played 96 games for the Penguins and scored 25 points before, as mentioned above, being traded to Anaheim for a 5th. 

Since leaving the Penguins his production hasn't changed much maintaining a 0.26 P/G pace but he enjoyed a career best year in 2013-14 where he scored 5 goals and 13 assists for 18 points, besting his previous best of 17 in 2010-11. Below are a few graphs showing the difference in Corsi & Fenwick;

CORSI

Fenwick

From the above we can work out that Simon Despres was often in a better position when on the ice and saw more chances for the Penguins than against which either shows that he was able to shut down the other team well or that he was more offensive than his numbers let on. Fenwick is slightly different in that it also removes blocked shots and we can see that Despres % goes up which indicates that his game outside of blocking is impressive. Compared to Lovejoy his numbers supersede him on all years for both stats except for 2012/13 in the Fenwick graph.

In all, I don't really like this trade. Simon Despres was one of my most favourite players on the roster and I see this as a backwards move if anything. Rutherford stated that one of the big reasons was that he had more experience but I don't believe that we should have traded such a talented young player to get it. We had other available assets that we could have used. I hope Despres does well in Anaheim and I'll be hoping they come out of the West. To Lovejoy, welcome back. It's going to be a big ask to see you perform as well, good luck.

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