I will be filling in for Praba for the next few weeks. I hope you enjoy my version of PG -13. Comments and discussion are definitely welcome and encouraged.

Cheers, Dean Youngblood.


1. Who is the biggest surprise for me this season?
Dustin Byfuglien. Big Buff currently has 120 SOG (8th in the NHL). The next closest defenceman is Zdeno way back at 92 SOG.(Tied for 32nd in the NHL). This isn't NEW news but I keep on waiting for him to slow down.

Dusty is on pace for 29 goals, 55 assists and 84 points. 84 POINTS! His shooting percentage is right about average for his career at 9.2% so his chances of reaching 25 goals is very high. Not bad for a guy drafted in the 8th Round (245th Overall) in 2003. He is still only 25 years old. SCARY!

2. Where's Wis?
On the other end of the spectrum, James Wisniewski has a league worst -21 rating and is pointless in 5 games.. The Wiz started the season RED HOT with 11 points in his first 7 GP. Wisniewski hasn't been the same since he was suspended 2 games for his "Lollipop Sucking Gesture" to Sean Avery. Since returning, Mr Wisniewski has 4 points in 17 games and is -16.

Obvious Statement of the Day: I hope you sold high on him back in October.

3. Omark Introduces the NHL to the Real Shootout.
I really don't understand what the uproar is all about with rookie Linus Omark's shootout goal versus the Tampa Bay Lightning last Friday. The shootout is a gimmicky part of our game so shouldn't these gimmicky goals be allowed?

Everyone needs to get onboard as long as it remains part of the game.
I am not a fan of the shootout but Omark didn't break the rules and the people saying "you wouldn't see the older guys do something like that" need to understand the following-- do what you need to do to score (within the rules) and win the game. Stop complaining!

Good on you Mr. Linus (although you probably could have lobbed the puck from center ice and STILL scored on Dan Ellis

4. Shootout Studs (To Date).
Staying with the Shootout. Buffalo(3-0), Los Angeles(3-0), Colorado(2-0), Pittsburgh (2-0), Florida (2-0) and NY Rangers (1-0) remain undefeated in the shootout.

5. Shootout Duds (To Date).
Surprisingly, there are a few powerhouse teams loaded with offensive talent who have yet to win when going to a shootout. Those include: Boston (0-3), Tampa Bay (0-2), Detroit (0-1) and Ottawa (0-1). Minnesota (0-3) and NY Islanders (0-2) are also winless.

6. Show Up Early.
If the Boston Bruins are in town then you better be scoring the 1st goal if you want a chance to win. The Bruins are 12-0-1 when scoring the first goal. Conversely, the New York Islanders have no chance of winning if their opponents score first (0-15-2)

7. Free Agent Impact.
Which team improved their chances of winning with a free agent signing this past season? My vote would go to the Vancouver Canucks and their signing of Manny Maholtra. The team got tremendously deeper. The Canucks currently hold the best faceoff % in the NHL at 57.2% and he is a large reason for that. The next closest is San Jose at 53.6%.

Possession is key in hockey simply because it forces opponents to expend energy defending and usually results in penalties being drawn.

8. Time Zone Advantage?
The Canucks also lead the NHL in 3rd Period GF with 41. Each season, the 'nucks seem to always be near the top of the league in 3rd Per GF. I wonder if the travel time influences these numbers. Do visiting teams have difficulty adjusting to the time change and just fatigue quicker as the game unfolds late into the night and then the Canucks pounce on them in the 3rd?

Seven of the NHL's 30 teams are located in either the Pacific or Mountain Time Zones and ALL 7 of them are in the Top 15 for GF in the 3rd Period. Coincidence? Maybe. Maybe not.Colorado sits in 2nd behind Vancouver. Is there a correlation? Sorry, It's the Geography teacher in me.

9. AHL Game of The Night.
After watching last nights' Oilers vs. Leafs game, I was shocked by the large representation of Leaf fans at Rexall Place. You could clearly hear "Go Leafs Go" chants over the Oiler fan base. The Leaf fans in attendance must have made up 60% in attendance. My first impression: both teams resembled AHL squads. Sloppy Game! It was not surprisingly that Toronto and Edmonton rank 1st and 2nd in giveaways.

10. "Nicklas Lidstrom, The Perfect Human "
Pierre Lebrun with an excellent article on future hockey hall of famer shoe-in Nicklas Lidstrom. In the article, Lebrun asks, where does he rank all time? Consensus is that he's behind Bobby Orr and close to Doug Harvey. What do you guys think? Vote in the poll above.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/column...rre&id=5918807

11. WJC: The Best Christmas Present.
The World Junior Championships begin in 11 days! Are you excited? The Team Canada Roster will be announced tomorrow morning. Sean Couturier, Ryan Hopkins-Nugent and Adam Larsson will likely be showcased for the upcoming 2011 NHL Entry Draft. 11 more sleeps until we hear Pierre McGuire rant on about underage teenage boys. Creepy!

Which player will be Pierre's MONSTER in Buffalo, NY this Christmas?

12. The Vanek Offer Sheet Revisited.
Cudos to Dirty Dangles for posting this in the forum. Back when the Oilers sent Vanek an offer sheet, if the Sabres refused to match that offers sheet then they would have recieved four (4) 1st round draft picks which would have been: Jordan Eberle, Magnus Paajarvi, Taylor Hall and 2011 1st Rd Pick (assumming the standings remained the same which is unlikely). Interesting.

13. The Power of the Soup Strainer Moustache Lives On.
Sporting a stellar soup strainer moustache, Crosby added two more assists to extend his point streak to a career high 19 games. In 2007, Crosby had 30 points in 19 games. Currently, #87 has 38 in his past 19 games playing with two plugs. Sid looks unstoppable this season. I have never been a Crosby fan but his drive and work ethic are unlike no other NHL player. The Penguins will have to be shutout in order for this point streak to end.

FYI, the longest point scoring streak record is owned by (of course) Wayne Gretzky where he recorded points in 51 straight games in 1983-84. To put that into perspective, Crosby will need to score points in each of the next 32 games until Saturday, February 26 vs. Toronto in order to TIE Gretzky's record (streak started on November 5th). IMPRESSIVE!





I hope you enjoyed it.

I don't think the Islanders have a chance of winning regardless of who scores first :P

That makes two of us waiting for him to slow down, but he straight up hasn't... I know in some of my leagues he's more valuable than Ovechkin and Crosby.

Definitely agree with Vancouver... can't forget about Hamhuis either.


All in all, great write up DY!

The Vanek offer sheet thing is insane! I was really hoping they'd stick it to EDM and send Vanek over but they got cold feet after losing Drury and Briere. Oh well, as a Habs fan I actually prefer the easier division opponent.

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I'll bring the Burt Reynolds back if Crosby busts that record!

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Fantastic write up DY, love it.

I guess I should go drop Wis now...

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Just a slight correction regarding Eberle here... I remember reading yesturday something about it, which is why I can post.

Edmonton's own 1st rounder (which, as we all know, would've been the 1st sent in the offer sheet compensation) was 13th overall that year. It was sent to ANA post-Penner offer sheet, then traded to LA and then later Buffalo. So it would've been Colton Teubert (13th overall in 2008) who would've been the one included with MPS, Hall and a top pick this year.

Eberle himself came in the Pronger trade. The 1st round pick going back to Edmonton was conditional to the Ducks making the finals. And we all know who won the cup that year - Anaheim.

So there you have it. And I'm a Leafs fan (which, in retrospect, thank god they're all in Edmonton and not Buffalo!)

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16 Team H2H - Dynasty

Start 3 C/LW/RW each, 5 D, 1 Util, 2 G (IR)

G/A/P/PIM/PPP/SHP/(+/-)/SOG
W/L/GAA/SV%/SHO

C - Berglund, Little, Ott
LW - EKane, Foligno, Kulemin
RW - Kessel, Backes
D - Weber, Green, Yandle, Meszaros, Voynob, Spurgeon, Stralman, Beauch
G - Lundqvist, Rask
Farm : Markstrom, MikGranlund, Tatar, Brodin, Orlov, Merrill, Stalock, Kabanov, Moore

Thanks for the compliments gentlemen. It was interesting and fun coming up with stuff to write about.



Thanks for the correction NIGHTS.

I am pretty sure Buffalo would still take Hall, MPS, Teubert and a 2011 1st Round pick for Tomas Vanek.