STUDS

Big Bad Bruins

Don’t look now but Boston won their fifth straight and are averaging six goals a game during that span. The Bruins had five players record multi-point games in their 6-2 win over the Sabres, with Brad Marchand and Tyler Seguin being the best of the bunch. Marchand had a goal and two assists, while Seguin notched two goals and an assist with four shots on goal. Both were a plus-3 on the night.

Benn there, done that

I thought with Dallas losing 5-2 to the Wings and Benn being a minus-1, that he would have no chance at making the Stud list. Despite all of this he still managed an incredible all-around fantasy night. He had an assist on the power play, seven PIM, four shots, two blocks, four hits, and won 11 of 18 face-offs.

Steve Mason

No need to adjust your computer screens, you read that right. The Blue Jackets were out shot by the Jets and Mason actually stood tall, stopping 35 of 36 shots in a 2-1 victory. This was partially a mercy Stud for Mason, and I figured he may never make it back on this list for the rest of the season!

Honourable Mention

Evgeni Malkin – Had 12 shots on net in a losing effort

Senators D’ – Ottawa blocked 29 shots in their victory over Toronto. Condra, Phillips, and Kuba led the way with five each.

Tuomo Ruutu – Scored two goals, had six hits, and was a plus-3 in the Canes’ win over the Penguins.

Ryan Johansen – Had both goals for the Jackets in their 2-1 victory and has scored the game-winning goal in all three Columbus wins this season.

DUDS

Luke Away

Even though he had an assist, Luke Adam had a rough night against the Bruins. He failed to record a shot on goal and finished a minus-4 with just one hit. The face-off dot was also unkind to Adam as he went just 4 for 11.

Semyon Varlamov

Varlamov’s struggles at home for the Avalanche continue. You can look at his numbers and see that stopping 16 of 20 shots against the Flames for a .800 save percentage isn’t going to get it done. The problem was he gave the game away before it really even started. The Flames scored on their first two shots and on three of their first six. At least three of the four goals had somewhat of an odour to them, and despite a valiant effort by the Av’s they couldn’t overcome it.

Power Outage

The power play league wide tonight was atrocious and that’s bad news for poolies. Around the NHL there were 86 power play opportunities and only five goals were scored with the man advantage. That runs at a click of just over five percent. Conversely there were four shorthanded goals scored on those 86 opportunities.


Dishonourable Mention

Brent Johnson – Gave up five goals on 26 shots and couldn’t make a big save when the Pens needed it.

Sabres Goaltending and D’ – I know Miller and Enroth couldn’t make a save, but Buffalo was letting the Bruins waltz in left and right.

Dan Boyle – Saw his two-game point streak snapped and was a minus-3.

Josh Harding – Worst performance of the season as he gave up 4 goals on 21 shots before getting yanked. Looked to get injured earlier in the game which may have had something to do with it.