The Puck Stops Here
Highest Scoring Team
by PuckStopsHere on 12/15/10 at 02:47 PM ET
Comments (4)
So far this season the Colorado Avalanche have been the top scoring team in the NHL. They have 3.53 goals per game so far this year. This is about 0.2 goals per game more than any other team and a 0.6 goals per game improvement on last season.
For the most part this improvement has come from a deep young offensive team. Matt Duchene, Paul Stastny and Milan Hejduk are all scoring at about point per game rate. Duchene is a talented second year man in the NHL who seems to be on his way to stardom. Paul Stastny has been a good scorer in Colorado for a few years, but has also missed time to injury.
Milan Hejduk is having a comeback season at age 34. In 2002/03 he scored 50 goals and 98 points, but he hasn’t had a point per game season since. It has helped him to be surrounded by better quality linemates.
John-Michael Liles has been a very good puck moving defenceman this year. This is a bit of a surprise. He is on pace to significantly exceed his career bests this year.
David Jones and Kevin Shattenkirk have also been important offensive cogs. Chris Stewart has done well also, but he has a broken hand and will not play until the new year.
This is a talented young team, but there are also signs of overachieving. Their top scorers are on pace for career bests or in the case of Milan Hejduk bests since the lockout. Sometimes young teams have strong seasons where the entire core has a career year together. The Colorado Avalanche may be doing that this season. I don’t see Colorado as the most talented offensive team in the league, but they currently hold that position. They are a good team who should stay near the top in scoring in the league, but I bet another winds up the top scoring team by the end of the season.
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Tags: Colorado+Avalanche, John-Michael+Liles, Matt+Duchene, Milan+Hejduk, Paul+Stastny,
Comments
Like I said, Fleischmann with the 3rd period Hat Trick tonight. That’s 5G, 5A in 7 games with the Avs. Great trade for them.
Posted by John W. from a bubble wrap cocoon on 12/16/10 at 01:27 AM ET
The fact they’ve managed to be the top scoring team is a little suprising when you consider 2 of their top 6 forwards have been out for a good chunk of their season (duchense and mueller), of course what you forget to mention is that they are also one of the worst teams for goals against average, so while the offense is kicked in to high gear they don’t seem to be playing as well defensively (that and anderson has been injured as well)
Posted by Josey Wales on 12/16/10 at 01:59 AM ET
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They’ve got a talented young team for sure. And don’t forget the newly acquired Tomas Fleischmann, who has 2G, 5A in 6 games since joining the Avs. He always lit it up for the Caps when he got to play with other top players, like when he filled in on the top line last year when Ovie missed some games. He’s getting top line minutes with the Avs, and he’s producing nicely.
On the other hand, Hejduk will likely drop off because, as in most recent seasons, the injuries are going to hamper him. He’s currently missing time with a groin injury, and it likely won’t be his last injury this year.
Posted by John W. from a bubble wrap cocoon on 12/15/10 at 04:21 PM ET