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Welcome to another edition of the Hockeybuzz hotstove.
As we do every Monday, the hotstove will share some things they've learned from the week that was in the NHL.
Todd Cordell
The Ottawa Senators aren't as good as their record indicates.
The 4-2-1 record is impressive and about what I expected from them, it's how they've earned those wins that has been the problem. Ottawa has been outshot significantly on a nightly basis, and are above .500 because Craig Anderson and Robin Lehner have played exceptionally well.
Only the Sabres allow more shots per game (by .7) and Ottawa is currently sporting a 44% Corsi Close, only ahead of Buffalo, Calgary and Colorado. That's not great company to be keeping.
If they can't cut down the shots against and fare better in possession, it's only a matter of time before their unsustainable winning ways come to an end.
Ryan Wilson
The Sharks are going to be fascinating to watch this year. So much was made of their round 1 loss to the Kings last spring. The Sharks overreacted to defeat and publicly shamed Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau as evidence of all the trade talk surrounding them. Stripping Joe Thornton of the 'C' and signing guys like Mike Brown and John Scott show me that there is a potential for over reactive panic moves.
Four game losing streaks that are capped by a loss to a team like the Buffalo Sabres is exactly the kind of situation that could spawn over reactive panic moves. The Sharks had a nice win over the Ducks last night and Colorado is up next, perhaps back to back wins can right the ship. But another losing streak like that and you can expect talk about failed leadership and other intangible stuff like that to surface.
Trading for a player like Andrej Sekera would go a long way in helping them out. They need Brent Burns on forward to be the best team they can be and they need to acquire another defenseman to do it. I for one am very interested to see what ups and downs the Sharks have this season and how Doug Wilson plays his cards. Potential to be a great team, also potential to blow it up unnecessarily.
Tim Chiasson
The biggest thing I've learned in the past week has been that, whether the players want it to happen or not, the NHL is moving to remove fighting from the game.
Referee's are quickly getting in between players to break up potential scraps and, on some occasions, handing out ten-minute misconduct penalties to the parties involved. Players are essentially being handed an extra five minutes in the box for attempting to do something that is allowed and already defined by a 5 minute penalty.
Fighting is a part of the game, that's just the way it is. Players who don't want to fight don't fight; there's no mockery in the league for not dropping the gloves. The passion and intensity of NHL rivalries builds a tension that can boil over, deal with it.
I've also learned that Steve Yzerman is quietly becoming one of the best GM's in the NHL. The Tampa Bay Lightning have been riddled with injuries to start the season yet they continue to play well (minus the Minnesota game).
The talent and depth he acquired in the off-season in addition to the exciting group of players that were already there have given the Lightning one of the best rosters in the league. That will become very apparent when everyone is healthy and we're halfway through the season.
Adam French
1. The Jeff Carter Revolution. So Carter became a strong bit cog for the Kings in both their playoff runs, but was certainly more important in 2013. Gone were the expectations of 40 goals or even PPG play. It seemed inevitable that the defensive grinding Kings style simply isn't meant to churn out elite regular seasons (even Kopitar struggles to be a PPG player). Yet this season seems different, when on the ice with Toffoli-Pearson there never seems to be a safe moment for the opposition. I talked about "That 70's Line" last week, with slight hesitation, yet they continue to improve. I don't think we've seen Carter play this well 2013 playoffs included in this time frame) since his "breakout" season in ye olde 2008-2009. It's early, but is this the most dynamic three man line in the NHL (pushing it away from the duo's like Getz-Perry)? Well it's either them or Benn-Spezza-Seguin.
2. The Sedin's needed Vrbata as much as he needed them. The Sedin's have historically been able to raise peoples games. Often a grinder will be placed on their line and magically succeed offensively. Yet I was always baffled by the idea of "if it ain't broke don't fix it." Sometimes going outside the box can do wonders and getting a natural scorer as a winger in Vrbata has silenced critics who gleefully pointed to an inept Torts coached squad and the Sedin's drastic drop in points as a sign that they were finally on the decline. Vrbata hasn't had playmaking like this since Ray Whitney was relevant in the NHL, and it shows. With 5 goals and 10 points already, those who picked him in the late rounds of the their fantasy draft should be happy.
3. Scott Hartnell for RJ Umberger was a great trade for Columbus. I remember when this went down the Flyers faithful came to opine about how terrible the Zamboni-like Hartnell was and how he would be nothing without Giroux etc. Umberger is a better fit etc. It's still early and I think the idea of moving Hartnell and moving on was a good idea, just the execution was poor. With Horton out (maybe forever) this move is looking really good. And yes, I know, he still blows defensively.
Michael Stuart
I didn’t shy away from championing the Lightning’s Anton Stralman signing over the summer. I thought he’d be really good with the Bolts, but what I’ve learned this week (and to start this season) is that he’s better than really good. This is a player who is simply fantastic at what he does.
Per Joe Smith’s great piece in the Tampa Bay Times today, Jon Cooper thinks Stralman “is an outstanding defenseman.” Smith also notes that Alain Vigneault, head coach of the New York Rangers, told Rick Bowness that the Bolts would “love this guy.” The coaches aren’t wrong.
Since Victor Hedman went down with an injury, Stralman has stepped up and been better than anyone could have expected. In addition to the fact that the Lightning control 56.1% of the shot attempts (per Puckalytics.com) when he’s on the ice, Stralman is leading the team’s offensive charge from the blue line. He sits third in team scoring with seven points, behind only Steven Stamkos and Tyler Johnson. Nobody expects him to continue producing at that pace, but it’s absolutely apparent that he has more offensive ability than he’s displayed so far in his career. He’s contributing solid minutes at both ends of the rink, and is clearly thriving in Cooper’s system.
It’s still incredibly early, but Stralman’s $4.5MM cap hit is looking more and more like a steal with each passing day.
James Tanner
This week we learned that the Oilers, who never deserved to be 0-4 in the first place, are not the worst team in the NHL like some people claimed them to be.
People were seriously apoplectic and thing were spiraling out of control - not so much the team, as the fans. It was nice to see them pick up three wins in a row.
They might not yet be a powerhouse, but so much of the angst surrounding the team is backdated a few years and it's been building up. Hopefully the team can win enough this year to hold off the vultures and avoid making any stupid short sighted moves. Such as hiring Mark Messier as coach (!)
The team is going to be very good one of these days and what we learned this week was that one of these days is a lot closer than it might have seemed a week ago.
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What have you learned thus far? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section.
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