-Ottawa plays Boston (26-11-4) tonight; the Bruins are lead by Jaromir Jagr (33 points) and backstopped by Tuukka Rask (17-8-4 1.99 .929). Inexplicably Matt Kassian slots into the lineup ahead of Guillaume Latendresse–I have to hope the latter has a nagging injury of some sort, since Ottawa’s inability to score has hurt them more than missing “toughness”. Craig Anderson will get the start.
–Jared Cowen is close to returning to the lineup:
It’s not even about the hip now, it’s just a matter of feeling comfortable, normal, out there.
Once upon a time I would have assumed Eric Gryba would be scratched with Cowen‘s return, but now I wonder now if it will be Andre Benoit.
–Chris comes to the defence of Zack Smith‘s low production by taking a look at what’s changed in how Paul MacLean has used him this year–he plays against the opposing team’s best opposition. Chris sums it up with:
All these numbers point to Smith being a better player this year despite finding the back of the net less. This goes to show how our perception of a player changes when he isn’t “getting the bounces”, even if on balance he’s playing better.
I’d also point out he’s on a slightly better points-per-game pace than last year, so the only real stumbling block statistically for him is putting the puck in the net and I agree with Chris that his luck is bound to change sooner than later.
-Binghamton lost controversially 2-1 (SO) to Adirondack yesterday, the controversy surrounding a Binghamton goal that could not be reviewed due to faulty AHL equipment. Marc Cheverie made 28 saves in the loss, while Pat Cannone scored the only goal. Here’s the boxscore. The point earned has clinched the B-Sens a playoff spot.
-Bob McKenzie highlights an article from the Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology looking at the effects of concussions in the NHL. It’s a dense read, but worth digging through.
–Lyle Richardson looks at potential compliance buyouts in the off-season and while a number of big names are included (like Roberto Luongo and Brad Richards), they seem less likely than the Mike Komisarek‘s and Rick DiPietro‘s of the world (which is largely Richardson’s sentiment).
-Edmonton fired GM Steve Tambellini today, but that’s less interesting me than the Oilers hiring Scott Howson–whatever anyone thinks of the former Columbus GM, I’m not sure how his addition to the Oiler team is supposed to inspire the fan base.
-ISS has released its latest 2013 draft rankings (for their previous list go here):
1 – Jones, Seth – D – Portland – WHL
2 – Nichushkin, Valery – F – Chelyabinsk Chelmet – RusS
3 – MacKinnon, Nathan – C – Halifax – QMJHL
4 – Drouin, Jonathan – F – Halifax – QMJHL
5 – Barkov, Aleksander – F – Tappara – FinE (+1)
6 – Nurse, Darnell – D – S.S. Marie – OHL (-1)
7 – Zadorov, Nikita – D – London – OHL
8 – Lindholm, Elias – C – Brynas – SweE
9 – Monahan, Sean – C – Ottawa – OHL
10 –Bo Horvat – C – London – OHL (NR) (+14)
11 – Ristolainen, Rasmus – D – TPS Turku – FinE (-1)
12 – Lazar, Curtis – C – Edmonton – WHL (-1)
13 – Shinkaruk, Hunter – F – Medicine Hat – WHL
14 – Pulock, Ryan – D – Brandon – WHL (-2)
15 –Alexander Wennberg – C – Djurgarden – SweJr (NR) (+3)
16 –Valentin Zykov – RW – Baie-Comeau – QMJHL (-1)
17 – Rychel, Kerby – F – Windsor – OHL (-1)
18 – Burakowsky, Andre – F – Malmo – SweAl (-1)
19 – Morrissey, JT – D – Prince Albert – WHL
2o – Gauthier, Frederik – C – Rimouski – QMJHL
21 – J. T. Compher – C – USA Under-18 – NTDP
22 – Santini, Steve – D – USA U18 – NTDP
23 – Hagg, Robert – D – Modo – SweJE
24 – Dickinson, Jason – F – Guelph – OHL (-10)
25 – Anthony Mantha – LW – QMJHL (NR) (+2)
26 –Max Domi – C – London – OHL (+2)
27 – Madison Bowey – D – Kelowna – WHL (-2)
28 – Ryan Hartman – RW – OHL (NR) (-2)
29 – Nic Petan – C – Portland – WHL
30 – Chris Bigras – D – Owen Sound (NR)
Falling out of the top thirty was Ian McCoshen (30).
This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)
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