November Recap
The Blackhawks just keep on rolling, along with the top line in all of hockey right now, and they look to be the class of the league with only three losses through two months. The Predators have looked great as well, with stellar play from
Filip Forsberg (15-12-27) and a surprising run of good goaltending from backup
Carter Hutton (13-3, 5 shutouts, 2.13 gaa). St. Louis has been the hottest team in the West, winning eight in a row.
Tarasenko leads the way for them with 10 goals and 14 assists, while first line center
Paul Stastny is a +19 with 23 points. The Ducks are in the basement, new acquisition
Ryan Kesler is struggling (3-11-14, -8) and star center
Ryan Getzlaf is producing well below his point per game pace (4-13-17).
Detroit is still tops in the East, but only just barely. Datsyuk's return may push rookie
Dylan Larkin back down the lineup and slow his torrid pace (11-14-25).
Jimmy Howard has been elite between the pipes for them so far. The surging Penguins (6 wins in a row now) are enjoying excellent netminding from
Marc-Andre Fleury (6 shutouts already!) and, while seeing solid play from
Malkin (9-15-24) and
Crosby (7-14-21), they may be most pleasantly surprised by a potential breakout season from youngster
Beau Bennett (8-8-16) who is making the most of his top six opportunity. Their fierce rivals, the Philadelphia Flyers, are also hot though, on their own six game win streak, carried by their one two punch down the middle of
Claude Giroux (9-10-19) and
Sean Couturier (18gp, 8-9-17, +11). They also have to be impressed with the play of
Mark Streit from the blueline (7-9-16). The Rangers are on a three game skid down to the bottom of the cellar. They only have fifteen points all season so far. King Henrik has struggled, perhaps at 32 his age is catching up to him as he is 5-14-2 with a 2.74 GAA and a .910 save percentage. Their top line of
Rick Nash,
Derek Stepan and
Martin St. Louis has combined for only nine goals all season.
Team Stat Leaders:
GF/gm - Chicago (3.88), St. Louis (3.33), Colorado (3.21)
GA/gm - Pittsburgh (1.70), Detroit (1.79), Chicago (1.83)
PP - Detroit (31%), Chicago (25%), Nashville (22%)
PK - Dallas (93%), Detroit (93%), NY Islanders (89%)
Goalie Leaders:
GAA - Howard (DET) 1.50, Fleury (PIT) 1.69, Lehtonen (DAL), Crawford (CHI) 1.98
Sv Pct - Lehtonen (DAL) .937, Fleury (PIT) .934, Howard (DET) .933
GSAA - Lehtonen (DAL) 14.3, Bobrovsky (CBJ) 10.2, Fleury (PIT) 9.5
SO - Fleury (PIT) 6, Hutton (NSH) 5, Crawford (CHI), Halak (NYI), Howard (DET), Varlamov (COL) 4
Rookie Leaders:
Points - Larkin (DET) 25, Pastrnak (BOS), Draisatl (EDM) 14, Klingberg (DAL) 13
Other Stat Leaders:
Takeaways - O'Reilly (COL) 28, Weber (NSH) 24, Filppula (TBL), Giordano (CGY) 22
Hits - L. Schenn (PHI) 147, Borowiecki (OTT) 116, Bortuzzo (PIT) 105
Blocked Shots - Greene (NJD) 90, Alzner (WSH) 82, Beachemin (ANA) 77
PIM - L. Schenn (PHI) 80, Borowiecki (OTT) 69, Clarkson (TOR) 64
FO% - A. Desjardins (SJS) 58.6%, Bergeron (BOS) 57.9%, J. Carter (LAK) 57.6%
+/- - Saad (CHI) +27, Toews (CHI) +25, Kane (CHI) +24
Injuries:
D Torey Krug (BOS) DTD (wrist)
F Drew Stafford (BUF) OUT 2-3 weeks (shoulder)
F Jay McClement (CAR) OUT 1-2 months (hand)
F Jordan Staal (CAR) OUT 1-2 months (hand)
F Elias Lindholm (CAR) OUT 2-3 weeks (hand)
F Brandon Dubinsky (CBJ) OUT 2-3 weeks (abdomen)
D David Savard (CBJ) OUT 1-2 months (leg)
F Patrick Sharp (CHI) DTD (shoulder)
F Jarome Iginla (COL) DTD (elbow)
F Alex Tanguay (COL) OUT 1-2 weeks (jaw)
F Nathan MacKinnon (COL) OUT indefinitely (elbow)
D Brendan Smith (DET) OUT 2-3 weeks (knee)
D Erik Gudbranson (FLA) OUT indefinitely (knee)
F Tyler Toffoli (LAK) DTD (knee)
D Robyn Regehr (LAK) DTD (foot)
F Mike Fisher (NSH) DTD (ankle)
F Michael Grabner (NYI) OUT 1-2 weeks (hernia)
D Marc Methot (OTT) DTD (groin)
F Joe Pavelski (SJS) DTD (abdomen)
F Brian Boyle (TBL) DTD (knee)
D Anton Stralman (TBL) OUT indefinitely (knee)
D Dion Phaneuf (TOR) DTD (groin)
D Alex Edler (VAN) OUT 2-3 weeks (arm)
F Andrew Ladd (WPG) OUT 3-4 months (leg)
Transactions:
Nov 5th -
STL acquires D Josh Manson,
ANA acquires D Jordan Leopold, F Cody Beach
Analysis -
St. Louis gets younger on the back end, moving out a veteran in Leopold who had only played a couple games this year for a 23 year old minor leaguer with NHL upside in Manson. Anaheim gains a veteran presence in Leopold, who they will be expecting to play a more regular role for them than he did in St. Louis, and adds some minor league depth at forward with Beach. All in all, St. Louis wins this deal.
Nov 30th -
NYI acquires D Cody Franson, F Daniel Winnik, TOR 2016 3rd,
TOR acquires NYI 2015 1st, D Erik Gustafsson, D Lubomir Visnovsky
Analysis -
The Islanders are competing closely with the Penguins and wanted to add another top four blueliner. With a couple recent injuries in their forward group Winnik should bolster their depth up front as well. Toronto is struggling and this makes it clear they are selling. Rumours had been swirling that Franson was unhappy, that he was a locker room problem, and that he wouldn't be re-signing with the Leafs when his contract expires this summer, so they did well to procure the first round pick they were seeking for him. They also added a young defenseman in Gustafsson who in time could become a depth NHL defenceman with the ability to quarterback a powerplay. They take back Visnovsky to make the contract numbers work (the Isles were looking to move him anyways according to league sources). They also had to add a pick to sell the Islanders on the move, but managed not to give up a second rounder. This looks like a slight win for Toronto, but if the Islanders maintain their early success all year and Franson and Winnik play a role in a playoff run they aren't going to care.