Due to Thanksgiving holidays here in Canada, Studs and Duds was taking a temporary leave of absence. However, I happened to find some time to fill in for a quick Friday night edition and didn't want to leave all the S&D readers without their Saturday morning reading. So without further ado:

Studs & Duds
October 7th, 2011

STUDS

3) Leht-one-en

Lehtonen has looked fantastic to start the season and nearly posted a shutout against the strong offense of the Hawks, finally allowing one to get through towards the end of the game. Nonetheless, he earned the win to go along with his 37 saves and .974 SV%.

2) Core Strength

The Los Angeles Kings are looking phenomenal down the center right now. Anze Kopitar posted 1 goal, 1 assist, 1 PPP, a +1 rating, 3 shots on goal, 1 hit, and 12 face-off wins. The newly acquired Mike Richards didn't disappoint either, posting 1 goal, 1 assist, 1 PPP, 3 shots on goal, 3 blocked shots, and 5 face-off wins. Stoll was held off the scoreboard but still put up 2 shots on goal, 3 blocked shots, 3 hits, and 6 face-off wins.

1) Trigger Happy

Tonight there were more than a few players letting the rubber fly on net. Taking home gold, Ryan Callahan led the pack with 11 shots on goal (42% of the teams total shots!) to go along with 1 goal and 3 hits. The silver medal goes to Thomas Vanek who had 9 shots on goal in addition to 2 goals (both on the powerplay), 1 assist and a +1 rating. The last spot on the podium goes to Marian Hossa who certainly wasn't shy about shooting the puck, posting 8 shots on goal to go along with 2 PIM, 2 Hits, and a -1 rating.

HM: While Jeff Carter just narrowly missed a top three finish, he arguably had the best stat line of all, managing 6 shots on goal to go with his 2 assists, +2 rating, 2 hits, 1 PPP, and 24 face-off wins (setting a franchise record) for a whopping 77.4%.

DUDS

3) The Big Three

Despite combining for a total of over 70 minutes, Anaheim's Big Three (Perry, Ryan, Getzlaf) were held off the scoreboard. However, they did combine for 7 shots on goal, 2 PIM, 1 blocked shot, 8 hits, 10 face-off wins, and an even rating. I guess that's alright - if you could combine them all into one player on your roster.

2) I Didn't Let in THAT Many Goals...

There were a few goalies across the league that had rough outings tonight. Jonas Hiller allowed 4 goals on 25 shots for a not-so-spectacular .840 SV%. However, he wasn't alone as Cam Ward joined the high-GAA party after allowing 5 goals on 34 shots for a SV% of .853; sadly, Craig Anderson did not fair much better allowing 5 goals on 39 shots for a .872 SV%.

1) Negative Impressions

There are high expectations around certain players and teams around the league this season, and some of them certainly disappointed tonight. Carolina's new top line of Staal, Skinner, and Ruutu combined for a brutal -6 rating and were largely held off the score sheet (Skinner had 1 goal and Ruutu had an assist). Another story of failure was that of Cam Atkinson, the CBJ rookie who shocked many by making the roster and being given the occasional shot on the top line with Nash and Carter. However, he finished a team worst -2 and did not put up anything on the score board or even much in the form of peripherals to make up for it. Some fantasy owners were looking for a bit of a bounce back from Daniel Alfredsson and if tonight was any indication, it's not looking good - although he posted a powerplay assist, he was an league-worst minus-3 and was held to roughly 14 minutes of ice time.

A Few Things to Keep Your Eyes On

Victor Hedman - Was second in TOI amongst TBL skaters and posted an impressive +3 rating.

Jamie McBain - Was a healthy scratch tonight. Certainly a situation worth monitoring.

Cory Emmerton - Despite being limited to 8 minutes of ice time, the young Red Wing managed to post a goal, an assist, a +2 rating, and 2 shots on goals.

Derek Roy - Received 3rd line minutes tonight and Adam played on the top line with Pominville and Vanek (both looked fantastic tonight, and Adam didn't seem too out of place).

NYR Defence - It's clear with Staal out, they are leaning heavily on a few guys - Girardi logged north of 30 minutes and McDonagh was just shy of 27. Lundqvist's numbers may not look as stellar as envisioned while Staal is MIA with post-concussion syndromes.

As far as I'm aware, there won't be any further Studs & Duds this weekend but hopefully this can whet your appetite for the meantime. Sorry for the sloppy writing, it was 2:30 AM!

great read dyz....thanks for taking the time to continue the studs and duds this weekend!
cheers
vozzy

__________________
16 team H2H 6 keepers
Weekly starts, 6F,4D,2G,5BN
G, A, +/-,PIM, SHOG, GWG
W,S,L

F: Ovechkin, Zetterberg, Iginla, Koivu, Heatley, Ribeiro, Clowe, Tanguay
D: Letang, Lidstrom, Pietrangelo, Karlsson, Liles, Zidlicky
G: Miller, Price