-There are a lot of reasons to love Robin Lehner and here’s another:
My biggest dream right now is to stay in this organization and play hockey here for my whole career.
–Varada has a lot to say about Jared Cowen, worried that the blueliner really hasn’t established himself as the player the Sens think they have. It’s an understandable concern, particularly given his injury woes.
–Amelia L wonders what the Sens’ penalty killing will look like and I think her reasoning is sound (Methot-Cowen, Phillips-Gryba/Karlsson; Condra, Pageau, Greening plus Turris).
–Travis Yost has three questions about the current Sens roster:
1. How long will the Stephane Da Costa experiment last? My guess: not long (5-10 games, as I suggested on Monday).
2. Will Mika Zibanejad be the first call-up? It depends on who is hurt/underperforming, but in general I think he will be.
3. Are there big things ahead for Kyle Turris and Clarke MacArthur? I really don’t know–are “big things” scoring? I think they’ll play well, but that means different things to different people.
–Peter Morrow offers a potpourri look at Sens prospects and I have no idea why he’s listed Mike Hoffman as unsigned (it seems it’s because his contract expires after this season, but that applies to a lot of prospects in the system and doesn’t match his designation of other, actual unsigned players). He picks Chris Driedger to breakout, but he’s already had a breakout season (invite to WJC camp) and how can he decide Tobias Lindberg is due for a breakout when he can’t find much information on him? The post isn’t all bad, I just find some of his choices a little puzzling.
–H. Mikael wrote about when NHL players hit their goal-scoring peak and it’s an interesting theory:
NHL goal scorers tend to peak statistically earlier [age 25] in their careers than goalies, hard-workers and other less skilled positions such as defense (in general). Factors may include faster skating speed & a youthful willingness to sacrifice their bodies around opposing goal creases on a more frequent basis. After peaking relatively early, most goal scorers generally seem to “plateau” around the 30-45 goal mark for a number of years before fizzling out completely.
Mikael’s data-set is heavily focussed on players from the 80s because declining production in the NHL means very few players have hit his watermark of 500 goals since then. It would be interesting to see someone take his approach but put the bar low enough to see if the demographic he discovered fits for players over the last 15-20 years. Regardless, it’s very interesting food for thought.
–George Parros was hurt in a meaningless fight with Colton Orr–the league and many journalists have circled the wagons to defend the practice and will continue to do so until a) they get meaningfully sued by someone, or b) a player dies. Until then, brain injuries are good and everything like that.
This article is written by Peter Levi (@eyeonthesens)
eyeonthesens 