Wednesday Grab Bag 12.19

Welcome back to the Wednesday Grab Bag. We only have two weeks left in this hellscape known as 2018 and the craziest part, aside from The Olympics happening this year (roughly 124 years ago), is that there was not a Stanley Cup champion.

Anyway, the Pens head to DC tonight to take on the Caps.

The week brought us the resurgence of Bryan Rust, we won but were terrified Letang was out long-term, Phil Kessel sent the lowly Kings back west and Former Forward #41 was a non-factor against Anaheim. Also, Murray came back and made 38 saves, Letang returned Saturday night and Jack Johnson was awful as usual.

Let’s get into it.

Links

The Good

We’ve got some new numbers, stats nerds! Micah Blake McCurdy of Hockey Viz and @IneffectiveMath on the Twitter machine, has rolled out “Special Teams Summaries.” You can check out how the Pens draw penalties, take penalties, efficiency and so much more.

Mike Darnay, my Dying Alive co-host and editor of Pensburgh, had a great story about Juuso Riikola and a young fan.

Gritty is not the Flyers mascot, he is hockey’s mascot. Settle down, Gritty, those guys are going to replace Carter Hart when that meltdown comes.

Junior hockey, it’s not just for Canadians anymore.

Missed this one from a couple weeks back. Sean Leahy of NBC had an unreal profile on Nick Niedert, an emergency backup goalie that got a surprise start in the ECHL and win. He even made it home to work the next day. Nice little feather in the cap for the Twitter bio.

The Bad

Parents, right? The worst. Hockey parents? Somehow worse. I can’t imagine Mitch Marner contract talks going well for the Leafs if his dad is involved. This is borderline unhinged.

“I’ll just be honest with you, it drives our family nuts when we hear you guys all talk about who should be the captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Mitch never hardly gets any consideration. It’s because he’s like this happy-go-lucky little kid. But he championed the London Knights to the Memorial Cup with that same happy (personality). I watched a guy like Doug Gilmour who had a lot of joy on and off the ice but was a real competitor. And that’s Mitch.”

Tell your dad to take it down a notch. Or don’t, maybe Arizona can sign you to an offer sheet.

Trash move by Polak. In no world was this coincidental. Good to see Bishop was okay.

When your business partner is countersuing you and the description includes “especially scandalous” chances are you’ve done some shit. Senators fans, I am so sorry.

The Ugly

Leafs and Devils tonight on TSN. pic.twitter.com/VHNbvpIopH

— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) December 19, 2018

I’ve surveyed 100 Trusted Hockey Men and 100 Trusted Hockey Men could not speak due to violent vomiting.

Numbers

Standings

Metropolitan

Atlantic

Central

Pacific

Points

Save Percentage

What These Numbers Tell Us: First and foremost, the Anaheim Ducks are keeping themselves afloat (no pun intended) thanks in large part to John Gibson. I know wins and losses are a team stat, but Gibson is 15-9-4, good for 34 points in the standings, roughly 79% of their points. As Gibson goes, so do the Ducks. If they find themselves in the postseason, put Gibson in both the Vezina and Hart Trophy discussion.

How good is the Central Division? More so, how good is that top three? Winnipeg and Nashville have paced one another all season and Colorado is just lurking in third. Regardless of who wins that division, your first round matchup is one of Winnipeg, Nashville or Colorado. Good luck. Winning that division is probably crucial because it becomes likely a weaker Pacific Division opponent will be your first round match.

Here’s the thing, the Metro Division is weak, that’s become very obvious. However, here’s the real issue: there is no margin for error anymore. The Penguins sit seven points off the division lead. Good news! Bad news…New Jersey is seven points behind them and they’re in last. One good week could see them atop the division. One bad week and they’re in the basement. With a crowded field in the Atlantic, it’s probably best to get into the top three and stay there.

It didn’t show up in top point-scorers, but Ovechkin is once again operating at just under a goal-per-game clip. He’s 33 and showing zero signs of slowing down. Much like the vaunted Crosby vs. McDavid debate, the Ovechkin vs. Laine debate may be a bit premature. I’m not saying you have to like it, but damn it do you have to appreciate it. He’s the greatest goal-scorer of all-time. Full stop.

The Week Ahead:

As mentioned up top, the Penguins head to DC tonight for their third meeting this year with the Caps. The home opener was a wild 7-6 OT win for the Pens and since it’s December, their last matchup in November we saw TJ Oshie rise from the dead after a “match penalty” on Malkin. Expect the usual bullshit from Wilson tonight and settle in. Faceoff is at 8:00, you’ll be irrational by 8:05.

Know Your Enemy: Russian Machine Never Breaks

Quick turnaround after the Caps, the Pens return home to meet the Minnesota Wild, who surprisingly, still exist. Don’t worry, there are still SIX YEARS REMAINING on those Parise and Suter deals! They’ll be spending $15M on two players in 2024-25. Minnesota is coming off a 4-0 drubbing at the hands of San Jose Tuesday night.

Know Your Enemy: Hockey Wilderness

Finally, Saturday the Pens take on the Storm Surge in Carolina. Been a mixed year for the Hurricanes. They’re hanging around in the Metro Division. They say they want to acquire a scoring winger, but dealt Jeff Skinner to Buffalo for some movie theater popcorn this summer. Their defense is pretty fantastic, but their forward corps leaves a lot to be desired.

Know Your Enemy: Canes Country

Following their Saturday night matchup in Raleigh, the Pens will have four days off. I’m sure we’ll have plenty to discuss in that time. Obviously we’ll have an idea prior to this posting, but I wouldn’t be shocked to see a Murray-DeSmith-Murray rotation in net. If the Consistent Penguins show up tonight and play the way they should, another chance to bank six huge points. Talk to you next week!

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