So there are times in every hockey player’s life where the puck gets poke checked away from you. Some guys react by hacking away at the guy that outsmarted/outplayed him. Last night, during the recording of Tuggin’ Strings, coach got me pretty good with a poke check. I was caught off my game with his question about the top lines in the NHL right now. So instead of hacking away, I did what a good hockey player should do. I hustled back to try and salvage whatever I could of said play, and did some homework to learn from my mistakes. Across my studies I found this wonderful site called dobbersports. This website is phenomenal. You can look at any player individually and see which line combinations have yielded the most points that include said player. Looking at the top line combinations in the league, Coach and I didn’t do too bad as we mentioned the top three most productive lines from a points standpoint. A couple of items of note, I mentioned that I thought Vancouver could be a sleeper, I did not however think after 8 games into the season they would have the number 4 and 5 most productive lines from a points standpoint. We also sang the praises of Ryan Johansen, but who knew that he, Nick Foligno and Scott Hartnell would be the 7th most productive line in the league ahead of the likes of the top lines in Anaheim, San Jose, and Chicago. It is also noteworthy to remember that Corey Perry and Ryan Getlaf have scored with like 5 different players on their wing, so that may skew the data.
Speaking of Nick Foligno, foiled up hope he gets well soon after this injury he sustained on Sunday’s evening game. Reports are that he did not need to be hospitalized and is recovering.
You can view Joe Thornton’s quote that we referred to on the podcast here. My paraphrase work was close, but it is even better when you read exactly what he said.
Reports are that Olli Maata could have a form of thyroid cancer. Good news that this should be something operable, and in true hockey player fashion, Roly Poly Olli is going to play the next three games until his surgery.
As promised, check out the Travis Hamonic story. Man what an excellent story and an even better human being. I will have a whole different perspective when watching the Pens play against the Islanders.
If you feel so inclined, before our next podcast recording sometime next weekend, let us know who you think will be the most productive line for the month of November. Tune in and we will let you know if it will be more of the same, or if another set of forwards will rise to the top of point production paradise.
Cheers!
Kerm
Foiled Up with Coach and Kerm 