On the Forecheck
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Hip hip, Rinne!
by Forechecker on 12/02/08 at 09:49 AM ET
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Congratulations go out this morning to Pekka Rinne, the Nashville Predators backup goaltender who logged his first NHL shutout last night in a 2-0 victory in Buffalo. For fans of just about any team in the 6-10th spots in either conference, the long grind of the NHL season is a rollercoaster of emotion, as your team alternates between disciplined, convincing wins like this, and sloppy, depression-inducing defeats like the loss against Minnesota last Saturday.
But for today, let’s enjoy this one…
It should be noted that Rinne’s opposite number, Ryan Miller for Buffalo, also had an outstanding night in goal; this game should have been more like 4-3 than 2-0. Colorado comes to town Thursday night, and it will be interesting to see whether Trotz plays his “shutout earns another start” card for Rinne, or “Dan’s our #1 guy” card and starts Dan Ellis. At this point, both seem to be playing pretty well, and more importantly, team defense appears to have improved from the early days of the season, when back-door plays and juicy rebound opportunities left the goaltenders hanging.
As a Nashville fan, you also have to love the line that opened BfloBlog’s open thread during last night’s game: ”In hindsight, I guess the whole Max Afinogenov or JP Dumont question is a little clearer today than it was three years ago, huh?”
The real mystery that fans are wondering about has to do with Patric Hornqvist and Ryan Jones, who were sent down to Milwaukee a couple weeks ago. The press release announcing the move had a secondary headline that read, ”Rookie duo expected to be called up next Thursday, Nov. 27”, but that date has passed and there is still no indication that either player is returning soon. In fact, this morning’s update in the Tennessean said that both of them returned to Nashville on Monday, but only to pick up clothes and personal effects to tide them over down on the farm.
Personally, I’d leave Hornqvist down there to work things out, and find a way to make room for Jones, despite his team-worst Corsi number, which represents, per 60 minutes, the net of Total Shots for and against while a given player is on the ice (Total Shots meaning Shots, Goals, Missed & Blocked). Here are the latest 5-on-5 figures for the Predators, courtesy of Behind the Net:
| Behind the Net Statistics | SCORING | GOALS FOR/AGAINST | ||||||||||||
| NAME | POS | GP | TOI/60 | RATING | CORSI | GOALS/60 | ASST1/60 | ASST2/60 | PTS/60 | GFON | GAON | GFON/60 | GAON/60 | +/- |
| KEVIN KLEIN | D | 7 | 8.59 | 5.07 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2.99 | 5 | 2 | 4.99 | 2 | 3 |
| JEAN-PIERRE DUMONT | RW | 24 | 12.9 | 1.09 | 6 | 0.78 | 1.16 | 0.78 | 2.71 | 22 | 19 | 4.26 | 3.68 | 3 |
| RYAN SUTER | D | 24 | 15.43 | 0.79 | 5.7 | 0.32 | 0.32 | 0.65 | 1.3 | 17 | 15 | 2.75 | 2.43 | 2 |
| ANTTI PIHLSTROM | LW | 4 | 12.34 | -2.15 | 4.9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1.22 | -1 |
| SHEA WEBER | D | 24 | 15.83 | 2.04 | 3.6 | 0.95 | 0.95 | 0.16 | 2.05 | 21 | 14 | 3.32 | 2.21 | 7 |
| JASON ARNOTT | C | 21 | 12.58 | 1.8 | 3.4 | 2.04 | 0.23 | 0.68 | 2.95 | 20 | 15 | 4.54 | 3.41 | 5 |
| RICH PEVERLEY | C | 15 | 8.72 | -1.59 | 2.3 | 0.46 | 0.46 | 0.46 | 1.38 | 6 | 10 | 2.75 | 4.59 | -4 |
| MARTIN ERAT | RW | 21 | 12.09 | 1.6 | -0.2 | 1.18 | 0.24 | 0.95 | 2.36 | 15 | 11 | 3.54 | 2.6 | 4 |
| JOEL WARD | RW | 22 | 10.41 | 0.94 | -2.9 | 0.26 | 0.52 | 0.26 | 1.05 | 8 | 6 | 2.1 | 1.57 | 2 |
| DAVID LEGWAND | C | 24 | 11.95 | -0.63 | -5.7 | 0.21 | 0.84 | 0.21 | 1.26 | 8 | 11 | 1.67 | 2.3 | -3 |
| PATRIC HORNQVIST | LW | 15 | 11.28 | -0.61 | -6.7 | 0.71 | 0.71 | 0.71 | 2.13 | 11 | 12 | 3.9 | 4.25 | -1 |
| DAN HAMHUIS | D | 24 | 14.93 | -2.05 | -8 | 0 | 0.17 | 0.5 | 0.67 | 10 | 19 | 1.67 | 3.18 | -9 |
| VERNON FIDDLER | C | 20 | 9.46 | -3 | -8.2 | 0.32 | 0.32 | 0 | 0.63 | 4 | 12 | 1.27 | 3.81 | -8 |
| JORDIN TOOTOO | RW | 24 | 10.85 | -1.93 | -8.8 | 0.69 | 0 | 0.46 | 1.15 | 6 | 13 | 1.38 | 3 | -7 |
| JERRED SMITHSON | C | 24 | 10.32 | 0.23 | -9.2 | 0.24 | 0.73 | 0 | 0.97 | 7 | 7 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 0 |
| WADE BELAK | D | 18 | 4.79 | 0.33 | -9.7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1.39 | 1.39 | 0 |
| RADEK BONK | C | 22 | 11.33 | -0.81 | -10.8 | 0 | 0.24 | 0.48 | 0.72 | 5 | 8 | 1.2 | 1.93 | -3 |
| GREG DE VRIES | D | 24 | 14.68 | -2.33 | -12.8 | 0.17 | 0.17 | 0.34 | 0.68 | 12 | 22 | 2.04 | 3.75 | -10 |
| VILLE KOISTINEN | D | 17 | 11.06 | 0.21 | -14.7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 9 | 3.19 | 2.87 | 1 |
| GREG ZANON | D | 24 | 13.98 | 0.8 | -17.7 | 0.18 | 0.54 | 0 | 0.72 | 13 | 11 | 2.32 | 1.97 | 2 |
| SCOTT NICHOL | C | 23 | 8.26 | -0.71 | -17.7 | 0.95 | 0.63 | 0 | 1.58 | 6 | 8 | 1.89 | 2.53 | -2 |
| RYAN JONES | LW | 15 | 9.64 | 0.9 | -21.2 | 0.42 | 0.83 | 0.42 | 1.66 | 6 | 5 | 2.49 | 2.08 | 1 |
So what should the Preds do? For the time being, I like the lines of Ward-Arnott-Dumont and Pihlstrom-Legwand-Erat leading the way. That leaves only 3rd- or 4th-line roles for Hornqvist or Jones, so for now, perhaps leaving them in Milwaukee, filling a top-line role, is the prudent choice. I suspect that what we’re seeing is an audition for how this team will look in the 2nd half of the season, and a shakeout may be coming among the depth players. Nothing to burn up the headlines like a potential Marion Gaborik deal, but significant for the Predators playoff prospects nonetheless.
Filed in: Nashville Predators | On the Forecheck | Permalink
Tags: patric+hornqvist, pekka+rinne, ryan+jones,
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About On the Forecheck
Dirk Hoag is the Forechecker, churner of NHL stats and analysis. Having started over 10 years ago writing for websites like In the Crease and e-Sports, Dirk launched On The Forecheck in 2005 to cover the Nashville Predators as well as apply statistical analysis to NHL hockey.
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i just like the title of this entry, it made me laugh out loud here in my cubicle.
Posted by Animal Drew from The Mitten on 12/02/08 at 01:24 PM ET