Anyway, I'm finally onto the 40 game mark! It's been a tale of two halves this quarter. We were playing like rubbish, so I decided to do a big overhaul on our tactics. I really have to thank the EHM Guide for our solid results
. Here's our record after my tactic change:
Dec 6 - @ CLB - W 4-1
Dec 8 - V TB - L 3-4
Dec 11 - @ BUF - W 5-3
Dec 13 - V ANA - W 5-1
Dec 15 - V PIT - L 3-5
Dec 18 - @ FLA - W 5-2
Dec 20 - V SJ - L 3-5
Dec 22 - @ PIT - W 5-4
Dec 23 - @ NJ - W 4-2
Dec 26 - @ MTL - OTL 1-2
Dec 27 - V BUF - W 4-3
Dec 29 - @ NYR - W 3-2
Dec 31 - V STL - L 2-3
Jan 3 - V WSH - W 7-4
So, in that 14 game stretch, we have gone 9-4-1, and overall we have finally climbed over .500 with a 18-17-5 record!!! We are 3 points behind Washington, with a game in hand. We're still 23rd on the PP, but our PK (85.2%) is 6th in the league (it's a positive, because our team loves taking penalties). In this quarter, we have gone 11-8-1 and we scored more goals than we allowed for once
. Player wise, Jake Virtanen is our saviour, with 27G and 19A in 40 games. At this pace, he'll be nearing his career high of 56 goals. He's nowhere near last year's pace (100 pts in 67 games!) but we would be closer to 30th in the league standings without him.
Other players contributing:
Aberg - 14G, 23A in 40 games, 7.3
Vandersteen - 13G, 19A in 38 games, 6.97
Skoda - 13G, 19A in 38 games, 7.39 (he's especially been amazing, We were struggling and I benched Owens and put him on the second line and he's playing like a beast. Leading all rookies in scoring)
Schenn - 5G, 23A in 37 games, 7.30 (he's doing the two things I want him to do: win faceoffs, and give Virtanen the puck)
Jacobson - 12G, 15A in 39 games, 7.62 (if he can survive a full season and play 90% of our games, he will have career highs in everything)
Skudra - 9G, 11A in 39 games, 7.54 (can't really ask much more since he only plays 10 mins a night. Surpassed his rookie output already)
Khomutov - 8G, 11A in 35 games, 7.46 (only a 3rd line center, but I think he's really improved in that role. Would be very happy if he keeps his current pace and reaches 20 goals)
Defense also improving. Pairings Carrier-Gormley, Severson-Berthet, Liebsch-MacKinnon/Prikryl are great. Riekkinen hasn't had much of an opportunity to play, because we're on a roll and I'm not gonna mess with the lineup.
I've been playing Bernier for the majority of games (he's played in 35 already) and he's holding up well. Reijasalo has been average in spot duty, but Woodcroft (P-Bruins) and Jimme Astrom (S Carolina) have been great in the minors. Our AHL affiliate sucked last season but this year they're fighting for 2nd in the division.
Prospects:
Top prospect Ted Schroeder doing okay, 29 points in 40 games. Plays good defense, but he's tiny (5'9", 165).
#2 prospect Dicks sucks. Still trying to find a good trade for him.
#3 prospects Hans Downing averaging ppg pace at Michigan Tech, will go to Providence.
We have 4 prospects (#4 Prikryl, #5 Skoda, #6 MacKinnon, #11 Noble) who have made their debuts in the NHL this season.
Trade wise, I'm narrowing it down to Dicks or Owens. Still can't find a good trade. I won't trade any of our older players (Bernier, Gormley, Schenn, Aberg) because they're worth much more than a 2nd rounder and I need them for my playoff push...
