The Jets are getting good goaltending, the Red Wings are on the rise since Datsyuk’s return, a star in the making in Nashville, lineup news, Fantasy tips and more in Scott Cullen’s Statistically Speaking. HEROES Jets Goaltenders - Ondrej Pavelec had a 38-save shutout in a 1-0 shootout win over the Rangers Saturday; then Michael Hutchinson delivered a 33-save shutout, in his sixth career NHL game, against Chicago in Sunday’s 1-0 win. Getting quality goaltending is a major step forward for the Jets, considering Pavelec has ranked 24th, with a .907 save percentage (out of 26 qualified with minimum 150 games) over the past four seasons. Additionally notable about Pavelec’s play in this first month of the season is that, compared to last season, he’s facing shots from a closer distance, on average (33.02 feet last season, 30.54 feet this season, according to Sporting Charts), yet is delivering a higher save percentage. PAVELEC SHOT DISTANCE vs. SAVE PERCENTAGE YEAR AVG. SHOT DISTANCE SV% 2009-10 33.7 .906 2010-11 34.3 .914 2011-12 34.1 .906 2012-13 34.2 .905 2013-14 33.0 .901 2014-15 30.5 .921 (data from www.sportingcharts.com and www.somekindofninja.com) Taking small samples of goaltending performance doesn’t tell a whole lot. It’s great that Pavelec has a .921 save percentage this season – it would be a career-best for him – but if given the choice between using four years or one month of data to project future goaltending performance, the odds side with the larger sample of games and if Pavelec is facing closer shots this year than ever before, the odds are further stacked against maintaining this level of play. Red Wings forwards - Pavel Datsyuk and Gustav Nyquist each had two goals and an assist in a 5-2 win over Los Angeles Friday. Then, in Sunday’s 3-2 shootout loss to Buffalo, Datsyuk had a goal and an assist while Datsyuk, Nyquist and Henrik Zetterberg held better than 82% possession against the Sabres. Filip Forsberg – Scored two goals, and added an assist, in a 3-1 win at Vancouver Sunday, generating a dozen shot attempts with eight shots on goal. Forsberg has put up a point-per-game through 11 games this season, and has strong possession stats, with the Predators getting 55.7% of the shot attempts when he’s on the ice for 5-on-5 play. ZEROES Anaheims top line - The Ducks’ No.1 line of Patrick Maroon (returning from injury), Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry was pinned into their own zone – all under 20% possession -- Friday night, getting the worst of their most frequent head-to-head matchup against Antoine Roussel, Cody Eakin and Ryan Garbutt, a Stars trio that generated at least 78% of the shot attempts when they were on the ice. Zac Rinaldo - The Flyers agitator wasn’t on the ice for a shot attempt in Saturday’s loss at Florida, the second straight game in which he’s drawn a blank, compared to 17 shot attempts against during 5-on-5 play. Travis Zajac - New Jerseys top line centre failed to register a shot attempt in 21:46 against Columbus Saturday. SHORT SHIFTS Maple Leafs G James Reimer turned back 45 of 47 shots (including 26 in the third period) in a 3-2 win over the visiting Chicago Blackhawks Saturday...Maple Leafs RW Phil Kessel and LW Daniel Winnik both had a goal and two assists, while C Nazem Kadri had a goal and an assist in Toronto’s 4-1 win at Columbus Friday…Predators RW James Neal scored two goals in Friday’s 4-3 loss at Calgary, then added two assists in Sunda’s 3-1 win at Vancouver…Red Wings D Niklas Kronwall and C Henrik Zetterberg each had two assists against Los Angeles Friday…Flames C Sean Monahan and LW Johnny Gaudreau both had a goal and an assist in a 4-3 win over Nashville Friday, then Gaudreau added two assists in Sunday’s 6-2 win against Montreal. Penguins C Sidney Crosby tallied three assists in 15:27 during a 5-0 win over Buffalo Friday…C Evgeni Malkin had a goal and two assists, LW Chris Kunitz had two goals and an assist, while RW Patric Hornqvist chipped in a goal and an assist…Kunitz and D Olli Maatta had the Penguins’ best possession stats (both 21 shot attempts for, 6 against, 77.8%)…Bruins LW Matt Fraser scored a pair of goals in a 4-2 win against Ottawa Saturday…C Carl Soderberg assisted on both…Blackhawks D Brent Seabrook recorded a goal and an assist in a 3-2 loss to Toronto Saturday…Lightning C Tyler Johnson picked up a couple of assists and RW Nikita Kucherov had a goal and an assist in Saturday’s 4-3 win over Washington. Panthers G Roberto Luongo stopped 36 of 37 Philadelphia shots in a 2-1 win Saturday…Blue Jackets LW Nick Foligno had a goal and an assist in a 3-2 loss to New Jersey Saturday…Devils D Marek Zidlicky contributed a goal and an assist, both on the power play, in Saturday’s 3-2 win over Columbus…Hurricanes RW Elias Lindholm scored two goals in a 3-0 win over Arizona Saturday, then added a goal and an assist in Sunday’s 3-2 win against Los Angeles…Hurricanes G Cam Ward recorded a 25-save shutout against Arizona…Avalanche C Nathan MacKinnon and RW Ryan O’Reilly each had a goal and an assist, while D Erik Johnson had a pair of assists in a 3-2 shootout loss at St. Louis Saturday…MacKinnon also had Colorado’s worst possession stats (4 shot attempts for, 14 against, 22.2%)…Blues RW Vladimir Tarasenko buried a pair of goals in Colorado’s 3-2 shootout win over Colorado...New Jersey’s top three possession players against Columbus Saturday: RW Reid Boucher (78.6%), D Jon Merrill (70.8%) and D Adam Larsson (68.7%). Capitals LW Alex Ovechkin ended his five-game point drought with an assist at Tampa Bay Saturday, registering 10 shot attempts (6 SOG)… Ovechkin put up a goal and three assists, and C Nicklas Backstrom chipped in three assists, in a 6-5 loss to Arizona Sunday. Ovechkin generated 14 shot attempts (7 SOG)…Flyers D Mark Streit had 10 shot attempts (6 SOG) at Florida Saturday. Coyotes D Oliver Ekman-Larsson had 10 shot attempts (5 SOG) vs. Carolina Saturday then 13 shot attempts (4 SOG) at Washington Sunday…Jets RW Dustin Byfuglien had 11 shot attempts (5 SOG) in a season-high 23:03 against the Rangers Saturday. Flames D T.J. Brodie had three assists in Calgary’s 6-2 win against Montreal Sunday...D Mark Giordano, and LW Curtis Glencross also had two points in the win…Flames rookie C Josh Jooris scored a pair of goals against Montreal…Sabres G Michal Neuvirth stopped 36 of 38 shots in Sunday’s 3-2 win against Detroit…Sabres D Josh Gorges was stuck in his own end (5 shot attempts for, 23 against, 17.9%) in the win over Detroit…Hurricanes rookie LW Chris Terry contributed a goal and an assist in a 3-2 win against Los Angeles Sunday…Coyotes captain Shane Doan had two goals and an assist in a 6-5 win at Washington Sunday. C Antoine Vermette tallied a goal and two assists…Coyotes C Martin Hanzal had a dominant possession game (14 for, 3 against, 82.4%) in the win over Washington…Jets LW T.J. Galiardi was stuck in the defensive zone (1 shot attempt for, 14 against, 6.7%) in just 3:56 of even-strength ice time against Chicago Sunday…Flames D Dennis Wideman had 11 shot attempts (6 SOG) against Montreal Sunday. LINEUP NEED TO KNOW Oilers LW Taylor Hall left Saturday’s loss to Vancouver with a knee injury, suffered when Chris Tanev knocked him off balance into the Canucks’ net. Hall will be out 2-4 weeks. That could mean more ice time for David Perron, who has been playing three fewer minutes per game this season. Maple Leafs LW Joffrey Lupul is out three weeks with a broken hand. As a result, Daniel Winnik has moved up to the Leafs’ top line and RW David Clarkson moved up to play with C Tyler Bozak and LW James van Riemsdyk. Red Wings D Kyle Quincey suffered an ankle injury Friday, opening the door for Brian Lashoff to play his first game of the season against Buffalo Sunday. Rangers D Ryan McDonagh left with a dislocated shoulder and Kevin Klein suffered a foot injury Saturday against Winnipeg, leaving Daniel Girardi to play 34:50, the high water mark for an individual player’s ice time this season. Bruins C David Krejci missed Saturday night’s game against Ottawa with a hip injury. Veteran Chris Kelly moved up to play with LW Milan Lucic and RW Seth Griffith. Blackhawks D Trevor van Riemsdyk played a career-high 19:21 at Toronto Saturday, putting up stellar possession stats (23 shot attempts for, 8 against, 74.2%). Lightning RW Ryan Callahan scored a goal Saturday night in his return to the Tampa Bay lineup after missing 11 days with a lower-body injury. LW Alex Killorn, however, left with an upper-body after playing 6:32 against Washington. The Panthers had to dig into the minors to fill out their lineup Saturday night, with Jonathan Huberdeau (illness), Sean Bergenheim (lower body) and Aleksander Barkov (lower body) all unavailable. Wild D Jared Spurgeon is out indefinitely with a shoulder injury, suffered against San Jose Thursday night. The Hurricanes, getting LW Nathan Gerbe and RW Patrick Dwyer back into the lineup, made RW Alexander Semin a healthy scratch Saturday and Sunday. Stars RW Ales Hemsky left Saturday’s 4-1 loss to Minnesota with an upper-body injury. Hemsky is off to a miserable start with zero goals and one assist in 11 games this season. Sharks LW Tomas Hertl played on the fourth line Saturday, a season-low 9:30 time on ice, but did score a goal, snapping an eight-game goalless streak. Ducks G John Gibson suffered a lower-body injury Sunday, leaving Jason LaBarbera to start against Colorado. Red Wings LW Johan Franzen returned to the lineup, after more than two weeks out due to lower body issues, playing 16:19 against the Sabres Sunday. Second-year Sabres D Rasmus Ristolainen played a career-high 25:30 against Detroit Sunday. Kings C Anze Kopitar returned to the Los Angeles lineup in a 3-2 loss to Carolina Sunday, one week after suffering an upper-body injury and LW Marian Gaborik played his first game since October 12. Canucks D Kevin Bieksa left Sunday’s loss to Nashville with an eye injury, leaving Alex Edler to play 28:09 on the Vancouver blueline. Capitals RW Tom Wilson tallied a goal and an assist, playing a career-high 15:04, against Arizona Sunday. Avalanche RW Daniel Briere has been scratched for each of Colorado’s last two games, and played under 10 minutes in each of the five previous games. FIRSTS Panthers D Aaron Ekblad scored his first NHL goal, and had superb possession numbers (14 for, 3 against, 82.4%) in Saturday’s 2-1 win against Philadelphia. Coyotes rookie LW Tobias Rieder scored a goal in his first NHL game, playing 11:30 at Washington. Rieder had four goals, six points and was plus-2 in nine AHL games before getting promoted. Playing in his first NHL game of the season with Columbus, LW Brian Gibbons notched a pair of assists in Saturday’s 3-2 loss to New Jersey. Flames LW Michael Ferland, who had nine points in nine AHL games, played his first NHL game Friday against Nashville and suffered a concussion. That led to LW Sven Baertschi playing his first NHL game of the season against Montreal Sunday. Baertschi had three points and was minus-8 in 10 AHL games prior to getting called up. Avalanche RW Dennis Everberg scored his first career NHL goal Sunday, his eighth game in a Colorado uniform. Maple Leafs LW Sam Carrick played his first NHL game Satu-12rday vs. Chicago, getting 4:15 of ice time. Panthers RW Rocco Grimaldi played 6:11 in his first NHL game Saturday against Philadelphia. D Colby Robak and C Vincent Trocheck also played their first games of the year for the Panthers. Blue Jackets G Anton Forsberg made his NHL debut at New Jersey Saturday, stopping 26 of 29 shots in a 3-2 loss. Enforcer Tom Sestito played his first game of the season for the Canucks Saturday, chipping in an assist in 6:25 of ice time against Edmonton, then left Sundays game with an injury. FANTASY FOCUS Some players available in more than 50% of TSN leagues: Nikita Kucherov – The Lightning right winger has five goals and nine points in the past six games, yet he’s still available in nearly 55% of leagues. Michael Raffl – In a great spot, playing the wing with Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek on Philadelphia’s top line, Raffl has scored four goals and five points in the past five games. Carl Soderberg - The second-year Bruins centre has seven points in the past eight games, and 10 points in 13 games this season to lead Boston’s scoring race, yet he’s available in more than 60% of leagues. Jason Zucker – After producing early in the year on the fourth line, Zucker moved up the Minnesota depth chart and has three goals and five points in the past five games, and played a season-high 18:55 last game. Much of the data included comes from www.war-on-ice.com, www.puckalytics.com, www.hockeystats.ca and www.naturalstattrick.com Scott Cullen can be reached at scott.cullen@bellmedia.ca Cheap Yeezy Shoes For Sale . On Sunday, hell attempt to become the youngest driver to win a NASCAR Nationwide race on Iowas short track. The 20-year-old Blaney wont be the only kid pushing a podium finish. Authentic Cheap Yeezys .Y. - Phil Varone was the lone scorer in the shootout as the Rochester Americans edged the Toronto Marlies 3-2 on Sunday in American Hockey League action. http://www.discountyeezy.com/ . Former San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds made his longshot request of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. A three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit upheld Bonds conviction in September. Yeezy Wholesale Authentic . - Loosening up for their first training camp practice, the Miami Dolphins high-stepped sideways up and down the field while House of Pains song "Jump Around" blared on the loudspeakers. Cheap Yeezys For Sale . No surprise there. Kershaw, who also earned the title after throwing his first career no-hitter in June, had a 1.Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn.ca! Hi Kerry, Upon watching Datsyuk`s goal against Dallas the other night, I could not help thinking what the referee who was watching his incredible deke was thinking. This also made me remember Mike Cammalleris referee high-five. Have you encountered any goal celebrations where the player used you as a prop? How about ones where you just couldnt help but laugh? Also, were you ever just in awe of a goal that was scored on the ice? All The Best, Eric G.Montreal Eric, During my 30 year NHL Officiating career, there was countless times when my jaw dropped in awe as I watched the sheer magic performed by some of the games greatest stars. I had the best seat in the house every night while following the play from a safe distance a mere 15 feet away. When the stars shone, I was able to maintain my focus and duties as a referee but my love of the game and true appreciation of their unique talents often caused me to become the biggest fan in the building. In the early days of my career, Wayne Gretzky and then Mario Lemieux provided highlight reel moves and goals on a nightly basis. There was never a game I worked involving these superstars that they failed to do something really special. The two of them had amazing vision of the ice like no other players I encountered. They were truly the best of the best during their time on the ice. The precision with which their no-look passes and shots found the intended target through sticks, skates and bodies was uncanny. The Great One was always four to five moves ahead of the game and the albatross-like reach and grace with which Super Mario swooped around opposing players and goalkeepers was mesmerizing. I remember my jaw dropping as Mario scored on a breakaway in the 1990 All-Star game which I worked and then again in the Stanley Cup Final against the Minnesota North Stars that same year. Kent Nilsson was the guy they called “Magic” for his soft hands and the tricks he could perform through his exceptional puckhandling skills. Mike Bossy always knew where the net was and his accurate shot penetrated the smallest opening imaginable, often while carrying a defender on his back or while wheeling around with his back to the goal and falling to the ice. Alex Kovalev had the hands of a surgeon. While playing s a member of the Montreal Canadiens, he scored a highlight reel goal against the Florida Panthers in my last game in Sunrise. I approached Alex immediately afterward and told him if I ever required open-heart surgery, I wanted the knife placed in his hands. It was a little unnerving when Kovi responded, “Some nights maybe not!” I was amazed by the leadership demonstrated by New York Rangers captain Mark Messier in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Final against the New Jersey Devils. Mess promised a victory that afternoon but with the Rangers down 2-1 at the end of the secondd period and about to start the third killing a penalty I had assessed to Esa Tikkanen for kneeing Stephane Richer, I made a bold prediction of my own.dddddddddddd In the our dressing room, I told linesmen Pat Dapuzzo and Gerard Gauthier they could stick a fork in the Rangers because they were done, out of gas and unable to solve Devils goalie Martin Brodeur! Messier then proceeded to take the game upon his back, making good on his called shot by scoring his first hat trick as a Ranger (a natural one at that) to force Game 7 two nights later. The feat has been described as one the greatest individual efforts in the history of the game. The modern game is blessed to have so many young players like never before with soft hands and exception skills that bring us out of our seats. While I was never “high-fived” the way Erik Cole celebrated with referee Greg Kimmerly, I want to share a couple of unusual moments I encountered on the ice with two, shall I say, less gifted scorers. Steve McKenna played eight seasons in the NHL from 1996 to 2004 with four different teams (LA, Minnesota, Pittsburgh and NY Rangers). In 373 NHL games, the 68”—255 pound left winger scored a total of just 18 goals, all of which Im sure were cause for an outburst of celebration. The big guy wasnt there to put the puck in the net and picked up a total 824 penalty minutes during those seasons, most of which were for fighting. Steve was really a funny guy and kept what little hair he had cut close to the wood. We got along really well together on the ice. One game in the Igloo in Pittsburgh, McKenna was in the middle of a scrum and before he got rolling, I grabbed the giant by the sweater to get his attention. I only stood as tall as McKennas belly button but I told him if he didnt break it up, I was going to “kick the %^&* out of him myself!” That immediately got the Penguins tough guys attention. Steve got a big grin on his face and, looking downward lightly, speed-bagged my chin with his two fists as he rolled his tongue with a “bdllllllllllt” sound. McKenna then picked up his gloves and skated to his players bench! The altercation was over before it even got started as my chin was used a prop. The most bizarre goal scoring celebration ritual I ever saw occurred from John Flesch, who, like Steve McKenna, shaved his head to the wood. For his own personal safety, given Fleschs unorthodox method of celebration, he is probably fortunate to have scored just 18 goals in 124 NHL games during parts of four seasons with Minnesota, Pittsburgh and Colorado. Whenever Flesch dented the twine and the red light flashed, the big guy would charge full speed and launch into the glass with his bald head. I also saw Flesch crank himself in the head with his hockey stick in celebration of scoring a goal while playing in the Minnesota North Star organization with the New Haven Knighthawks of the AHL. Being just an 18-goal scorer was a gift to the mans health! ' ' '