On Saturday night Tampa Bay Lightning GM Steve Yzerman shocked the hockey world when he announced that captain Steven Stamkos needs surgery to remove blood clots and will miss the next 1-3 months.
Obviously Stamkos’ health is what is most important, but this is a huge blow to the Lightning as well; especially with another key player in Anton Stralman out for the foreseeable future.
While Stamkos hasn’t put up the ridiculous point totals people have come to expect, he is still quietly having a very productive year for the Bolts.
Only three players (Alex Ovechkin, Jamie Benn and Patrick Kane) have scored more goals than Stamkos and few have been as impactful as No. 91 of late as he has tallied 12 points in his last nine games.
The Lightning once seemed like a good bet to go deep into the playoffs but with Stamkos, as well as Stralman, out long-term, it seems more likely the Lightning will be one and done.
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There are still a few games left in the season, but it seems more likely than not the Dallas Stars will win the league’s hardest division, the Central, while finishing atop the Western Conference in the process.
Scoring goals like there’s no tomorrow certainly helps their cause, but it’s impressive that they’ve enjoyed such success despite horrible goaltending.
On the season the Stars rank 28th in 5 v 5 save percentage as their goaltenders have stopped just .918 percent of the shots they’ve faced at full-strength.
The Stars have dealt with sub par goaltending all year, but it’s been particularly bad of late. Since February 1st the Stars have a team save percentage of .907, which ranks ahead of only Winnipeg and Toronto in that span. The Stars have been without Tyler Seguin for much of that time, too, which makes their ability to pull away from the pack even more impressive.
Among teams that rank bottom-8 in 5 v 5 save percentage on the season, only Dallas possesses a playoff spot. That they’ve found a way to not only make the playoffs but win the toughest division in the NHL despite that is remarkable.
Whether they go deep into the playoffs or not, the Stars deserve credit for what they’ve been able to accomplish at such a disadvantage.
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The 2015-16 rookie class is one of the best we’ve seen in a while with the likes of Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel, Artemi Panarin, Dylan Larkin, Shayne Gostisbehere and Colton Parayko, among others, making significant impacts on their teams.
One rookie who has flown under the radar is Red Wings rookie Andreas Athanasiou, who has quietly been an effective player for the Wings since joining them full time in early February.
His counting totals won’t wow anyone – he has 11 points in 28 games since being recalled – but he has been very efficient in limited minutes as he only plays a little more than nine per night.
While the sample size is small (280 minutes) Athanasiou ranks 9th in the NHL averaging 2.35 points per 60 minutes at 5 v 5. It’s unlikely he’d pile up the points at that rate over a long period of time, but early signs suggest he can certainly produce at the NHL level.
Even if Athanasiou’s point totals dry up a bit, he will still be an effective player as he is one of the best skaters in the NHL and has used his speed to help draw penalties at an extremely high rate.
Andreas Athanasiou’s speed is mesmerizing. 2.75 penalties/60 he’s drawing is the most since ’05. More than even Peak Late-00s Dustin Brown.
— Dimitri Filipovic (@DimFilipovic) March 30, 2016
Athanasiou hasn’t been in the NHL long, but if his play to date is any indication of what’s to come, he’ll be a very good player for a long term.
Written by Todd Cordell, who can be found on twitter @ToddCordell.
