New Year Updates

 

First of all I had no idea that these shirts even existed, kind of want one now, especially since this season will most likely be the last for Northwest Division. Anyway I thought I would take a look at the season thus far. Not exactly halfway through the season (39 games played), but close enough. 

Things have been going roughly how I felt they would be. They are leading the league in goals scored (129), Henrik and Daniel are dominating the regular season, and the Defence has looked solid thus far. The one thing that I was a bit worried about, from a statistics point of view, was the 96 goals against. This looked fairly high for the Western Conference, but looking at the Eastern they are actually in the top half of the NHL. Also both Schneider and Luongo's numbers are solid, but there is always room for improvement.

One of my biggest concerns was the state of the Defence after the loss of Christian Ehrhoff to the piles of money he received in the off-season. But as it turns out thy have looked solid and Ehrhoff having 17 points and a -11 rating in 37 games has made it even nicer. Edler has taken a step up getting 28 points in 39 games and Bieksa has 22 points in the same amount. They have four Defenceman averaging twenty minutes or more (Edler, Bieksa, Salo, and Hamhuis), and its always nice to spread the ball around.

As for the Forwards everything has been on pace for the most part. Kesler has had a slow start with missing the first few games, and has 28 points in 34 games, and has not missed a beat on the PK or PP for that matter. Raymond has looked solid with 8 points in 14 games, after coming back from his career threatening injury in the Finals. 

Chris Higgins has been playing well, when he is healthy, and I always like Lapierre, but I get frustrated. I still believe he can score more if he can focus and not be such a pest, but he plays his role well. The clear story for the Forwards though is Cody Hodgson. The guy has been playing above expectations this year, well mine anyway. He has 20 points through 39 games, with a plus 6 rating. He has looked aggressive in the games I have watched, sticking in his lane and fighting through the Defence. He has been picking up the slack left when Raymond and Kesler were out, and establishing himself as a force. I look forward to see how his season shapes up. 

As for the Goaltenders, I am happy to see Cory Schneider get more starts this year. I was screaming for that last year, although I don;t think fatigue was an issue in the Finals. A lot of his success is due to that six game starting streak he had, but he has played in 17 games this season so far, to Luongo's 26 with a 2.15 GAA and a .931 S% to Luongo's 2.50 GAA and .912 S%. I am confident in both these guys, so the only real story here is Mike Gillis refusing to trade Cory Schneider, allegedly.

I understand the need for a solid backup Goalie in the NHL, especially in Vancouver where there is no one close to play, and your Division goes across three time-zones. However, Schneider is going to be a worth a lot more this season than trading his rights in the off-season. If you think your backup Goalie is the key to this team winning, then it means you have no faith in your starter. I can not remember one time in my life where I have heard any front office express the importance of a backup goalie and its direct affect on the success of a team.