Puck Talk
Puck Talk
-I think you can pretty much sum up the Bruins season so far in one stat; 69 goals allowed. The only teams in the league that have given up more goals as of November 13th are the Penguins, Capitals and Blues. That’s it. You can talk about a lot of things but as long as you’re keeping company with that sorry lot in the bottom five for goals-against you’re probably in for a long season.
Unfortunately, to be perfectly frank, when you look at that roster I’m not sure how much you can realistically expect from the defense on this team. In my opinion, Brian Leetch was their best defenseman by a mile before he got hurt. Nick Boynton has been mediocre at best since coming back from his holdout. Jiri Slegr and Hal Gill do nothing for me. And then it’s a bunch of kids. Even if they patch things together enough to carve out a playoff spot in the East do you really expect them to make a run with that defensive core? I certainly don’t.
-As we near the quarter pole on the 2005-06 season, however, there are a handful of teams that do look like legit Stanley Cup contenders already. At the head of the list, without question, are the Ottawa Senators. I’ve seen them play Boston twice and now and in neither game did the Bruins look like they even belonged on the same sheet of ice. The only solace the Bruins can take is that Ottawa has pretty much made everyone look that bad. They’re not just winning games. They’re blowing people out. I can’t remember a team that seemed this dominant in the early season in a long time. They’re clearly the team to beat as it stands right now.
Outside of Ottawa there are six other teams that I consider virtual playoff locks at this point. Those teams would be Philadelphia (loaded on paper and quietly beating up a lot of teams of late), Montreal (even though every game seems like a one-goal game), Carolina (quietly racking up wins in what looks to be a weak division), Detroit (very good team in a terrible division virtually assures them a #1 seed in the West), Vancouver (not as consistent as you’d like at times but two wins over Detroit shows what they’re capable of doing) and Nashville (good team in a terrible division).
The Rangers, Avalanche and Kings have all looked like pretty good teams so far as well. I’m holding out judgment on them for a while longer, however, so I can see them each play just a little bit more. The only teams that seem like they have absolutely zero chance of making the playoffs, in my opinion, are the Capitals, Blue Jackets Blackhawks and Blues.
-I don’t know how many of you have had a chance to watch Call to the Hall, NESN’s 1-hour tribute to Cam Neely for his induction into the Hall of Fame, but I’d highly recommend it if you haven’t. The next airing, to my knowledge, is Wednesday, November 16th at 8:30. There’s not much in it you don’t already know but it’s worth it for all the highlights, interviews and Cam’s induction speech.
-Kevin Paul Dupont’s column in the Monday Globe (11/14) mentioned how the Bruins have only won two playoff series in the last 12 years. To put that into context a little bit, in the twelve years prior to that recent stretch of futility, the Bruins won 15 playoff series. And prior to their current 14-year wait to return to the Stanley Cup Finals (last visit was 1990) they had never gone longer than 11 years in the history of the franchise between Finals appearances.
-Joe Thornton’s in his 8th year in the league and just for comparisons sake I thought I’d compare him to some other guys at a similar point in their career to see how he stacks up. Here are a few players, selected at random, and their stats through their first 540-590 games in the NHL. See if you can guess who’s who:
Player A: 545 games. 209 goals. 221 assists. 430 points. .789points/game.
Player B: 525 games. 167 goals. 281 assists. 448 points. .853 points/game.
Player C: 581 games. 256 goals. 339 assists. 595 points. 1.024 points/game.
Player D: 541 games. 198 goals. 488 assists. 686 points. 1.307 points/game
Player E: 590 games. 285 goals. 461 assists. 746 points. 1.264 points/game.
A couple of quick disclaimers. First, these stats don’t take into account league averages for the years in which they were compiled. Thornton’s numbers, for example, would probably have to be adjusted upward to compensate for the fact that he’s played his entire career, before this year, in the low-scoring neutral-zone trap era. In addition, the stats for these players don’t take into account the quality of the teammates that played with them. I didn’t include anyone that played with Gretzky or Lemieux here but, you can imagine, anyone that did would have a built-in boost to their stats. And, of course, these stats can’t measure defense, intangibles and the like.
Now then, let’s reveal the identities of these mystery men. Player A is Jarome Iginla. He’s essentially a direct peer of Thornton’s, having entered the league a year apart. Player B is Thornton. Player C is Mike Modano. Player D is Peter Forsberg. And Player E is Joe Sakic.
Draw your own conclusions.
Questions? Comments? Please send feedback to Michael James at feedback@barstoolsports.com