Wilde Horses
- Sven Andrighetto seems to have figured it out. He's a different player. Michel Therrien said he had a talk with him. Good talk! He's skating like the wind with purpose. He's on the puck. He's dangerous. I didn't think he had it at this level one month ago. He has it.
- Alexander Radulov with a gorgeous shot for a power play goal, then a second goal with the one-man advantage that he made look so easy--that was not easy at all. A menace on just about every shift again. A bull to take off the puck.
- Some praise for the penalty killers for a change. A shorthanded goal for Tomas Plekanec was the bonus. The basic vital was killing a 5-on-3 Calgary power play so effectively that the Flames didn't even get a shot. Plekanec was excellent on it. He had his head in the game, giving his stick to Shea Weber and then even without a stick managed to cut off passing lanes and be aggressive to hurry the Flames players.
- Shea Weber with a stellar game. He angles players off the puck so effectively,they look like they just kind of give up against him.
- Carey Price needed a good one. He made some remarkable saves against Buffalo. You won't see better than the last minute against the Sabres. He lost though and that is all that matters to Price. Last week he was even asked if he felt his blocker was weak. Price isn't used to questions about weakness. I'm not used to defending the best goalie in the world but I will totally do that all day long. The reason I am prepared to is simple: He is the best goalie in the world and a bad month isn't going to change my opinion, nor that of anyone who is smart in the upper ranks of the hockey world. Shame he lost his shutout. It is hard to believe that Weber's clearing of the puck didn't work; he whipped it off the glass with great force. Doesn't matter. Price was technically perfect again. That's all that counts.
- Max Pacioretty had a strong night setting people up who did little with it. I liked his vision in this one.
Wilde Goats
- Paul Byron with two clear looks and didn't get a shot away. He hesitated twice and got nothing. (This goat column seems harsh some nights. It's not like Byron isn't playing great hockey. He just kind of messed up twice. )
Wilde Cards
- Word is from Friedman that the Coyotes offered Mantal Hanzal for a first round pick, a conditional pick, and Mike McCarron. Apparently this was a serious offer. The entire point of getting a 2C is to really significantly upgrade your roster. Plekanec is not all that different on the scale than Hanzal. I am not big on Hanzal, as I am sure you can tell, and I am sure not big on him for that price.
- Matt Duchene will cost Mikhail Sergachev and another piece. Everyone has an opinion on this. Here's mine: Duchene is the best prize out there. A 30-goal guy and somehow even playing well and putting up numbers on a horrible team. In Montreal, he would elevate so much more. However, how do you make this trade for 7 years of defensive talent? The most valuable player in the cap era is the 7-year asset, the player who you get to keep his salary in check for 5 of those years. You then offer him big cash when the free agent status is close to changing. Sergachev is the MVP. I am 50-50 on this. Duchene is an outstanding player. I love this player. I started watching the Avs more to watch him (wow are they bad) and he's the real deal. However, Sergachev is the real deal too and he's cheap and he's a defenceman and he's yours for 7 years.
