TheFleetwoodMack Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 http://www.thehockeynews.com/blog/struggles-streaks-and-scoring-10-unexpected-stats-at-the-quarter-point-of-the-season/ There are always early season surprises. Thats just the nature of hockey. A lucky bounce here and there, and you have Jon Sim fighting for the lead in preseason scoring, which is something that has actually happened in the past. Over the course of the year, however, these things tend to even out. At the quarter mark of the season, trends are starting to develop. Of those trends, youll notice some are related, while others, not so much. These are the ten most unexpected stats at the quarter-pole. 10. Vladimir Tarasenkos 12 goals Its not that we didnt believe Tarasenko could be an NHL goal scorer. Rather, it was hard to believe Tarasenko would be halfway to his career-high goal total with three quarters of a season remaining. Not only has the 22-year-old Russian scored at a torrid pace, hes potted more beautiful goals than anyone in the league. By the time the season ends, you could fill a highlight reel just with different looks at some of the 12 gems Tarasenko has scored. 9. Mark Giordano leads defenseman in scoring Last season, Giordano put the league on notice. He came on strong late and made a serious case for Norris Trophy candidacy. While he didnt get the Norris nod, its hard to imagine Giordano wont be in the conversation this season. With 23 points in 22 games, the blueliner isnt just leading defenseman in scoring, hes tied for sixth in the entire league. It doesnt hurt that hes forming one of the most formidable defensive pairings alongside T.J. Brodie, either. 8. Pittsburghs power play WARNING: Do not take penalties against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Unsustainable or not, its hard to imagine any team having a power play that operates at the rate Pittsburgh is currently moving along at. On exactly a third of the power plays the Penguins have had yes, 33.3 percent the power play unit is finding the back of the net. The trade for Patric Hornqvist looks better every single day, especially when hes alongside Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin with the extra man. 7. Four healthy Blue Jackets The Columbus Blue Jackets have played 20 games this season. Only four Blue Jackets players have suited up for all of them: Ryan Johansen, Scott Hartnell, David Savard, and Jared Boll. With Nathan Hortons career in question, Brandon Dubinsky on the injured reserve, injuries throughout the year to Mark Letestu, Matt Calvert, Ryan Murray, Boone Jenner, Cody Goloubef, Sergei Bobrovsky You get the point. The Blue Jackets had high hopes for this season, but an injured reserve that reads longer than a holiday wish list has kept the Jackets from reaching their potential. 6. Marc-Andre Fleurys four clean slates Love it or hate it, Marc-Andre Fleury got a brand new contract this year and hes doing his best to reward Pittsburghs good faith. The Penguins goaltender has racked up four shutouts this season, including three in seven days from Oct. 25 to Nov. 1. Fleurys efforts helped the Penguins go on an incredible shutout streak of 205:28, one that was snapped at the hands of a Nino Neiderreiter shorthanded goal. Fleury has been wildly inconsistent over the past few seasons, but hes remedied that early this year with his four blankings. 5. Buffalos bad first periods The Buffalo Sabres are bad. This isnt news. It was pretty much a given that the Sabres would fight for if not end up in the NHLs basement this season. But just how bad have the Sabres been? Well, the Sabres have been so lousy that they went 13 games without a first period goal. Were talking 15 percent of the season that the Sabres failed to score a single tally in the first frame. They finally snapped the drought when they scored a first period goal in a 6-3 loss to the Minnesota Wild. Even more shockingly, the Sabres have won their last three contests. 4. Islanders stay hot after quick start The plight of the Islanders fan is, after any hot start, youre inevitably waiting for the fall. This season it has not reared its ugly head, however. After winning six of their first eight games, the Isles dropped two straight and it felt like the carpet was about to get pulled out from under the team once again. Instead, the team rallied off five straight victories and has won eight of their last nine games, including back-to-back wins over the Pittsburgh Penguins. If there has been a New York Islanders roster whose playoff contention you could actually get behind in the last decade, this is it. Led by John Tavares and new additions Johnny Boychuk (currently injured) and Nick Leddy, the Islanders look primed to make the playoffs. 3. Cant stop Calgary Like Colorado of last season, the Calgary Flames just keep finding ways to win. In the shootout, in overtime, with a blowout or in a last-second comeback, the Flames have done it all this season. Like the pesky Sens or improbable Avs before them, Calgary is somehow stringing together wins and making hockey exciting in Cow Town again. Though a fall back to earth feels somewhat inevitable, could you blame Flames fans for enjoying the ride right now? This is the kind of season you couldnt even script. Take Saturday night against New Jersey, for example. Down two goals with less than three minutes remaining, the Flames scored twice with their net empty, including a Curtis Glencross goal with five seconds left in the game. How Glencross got the puck up in such a hurry still boggles the mind. The Flames won the game 5-4 in a shootout. 2. The fabulous Forsberg Do you think Nashville Predators fans even remember Martin Erat at this point? It was Erat who was dealt to the Washington, along with Michael Latta, for Filip Forsberg in a trade that you can be certain Predators fans will make sure Capitals fans never forget. Coming over as a highly touted prospect, there was no doubt that Forsberg was a special player, but no one expected this. In his first full NHL season, Forsberg currently sits alone in 12th in NHL scoring with 22 points in 20 games, which includes a stretch of play in which the 20-year-old Swede posted 13 points in seven games. During that stretch, Forsberg also iced the Vancouver Canucks and Edmonton Oilres, scoring the game-winning goal in both contests. Everyone has been waiting for Forsberg to come back to earth, but its almost time to start asking if he ever will. 1. Jakub Voracek, NHL scoring leader Raise your hand if you had Voracek leading the NHL in scoring a quarter way through the season. Now put it down because youre a liar. Its hard to believe this is already Voraceks seventh season in the NHL, but hes sure making lucky number seven a big one. After setting career highs with 23 goals, 39 assists, and 62 points last season, the Czech Republic native isnt waiting long to eclipse those marks. Already with 22 assists in 19 games, Voracek is on pace for an astounding 125 points, which includes 95 assists. Will he get there? Probably not. Has he been fun to watch? Absolutely. If Voracek can keep it going, hell be worth every single penny of his $4.25 million contract. And if this bleeds into 2015-16, the Philadelphia Flyers are going to have little choice but to hand Voracek a blank check when their newfound star winger becomes an unrestricted free agent in 2016. For me, #8 comes as a result of putting Christian Ehrhoff on the ice with an Art Ross Winner, something he had the luxury of in San Jose and Vancouver. So, no surprise there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nas19 Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 For me, #8 comes as a result of putting Christian Ehrhoff on the ice with an Art Ross Winner, something he had the luxury of in San Jose and Vancouver. So, no surprise there. Ehrhoff isn't on the Penguins 1st PP unit. The 1st unit has Crosby, Malkin, Kunitz, Hornqvist, Letang. Ehrhoff is on the second unit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheFleetwoodMack Posted November 25, 2014 Author Share Posted November 25, 2014 Ehrhoff isn't on the Penguins 1st PP unit. The 1st unit has Crosby, Malkin, Kunitz, Hornqvist, Letang. Ehrhoff is on the second unit. I stand corrected. Surprising. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-AJ- Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 Pretty solid list, really. Nothing much I can disagree with. Some minor surprises in Vancouver but nothing groundbreaking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terrible.dee Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 I don't know that PITTS having a great PP is any kind of surprise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mustapha Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 MA Fleury might be looking good right now, but I have watched him play enough to know that he can't keep up the consistency for very long. That Pittsburgh/Philly series a few years back was so brutal. Fleury let in some stinkers that would have made Dan Cloutier blush. Easily some of the worst 'goaltending' I had ever seen. Yes Bryz was also bad? But Fleury was even worse Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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