NHL's surprising players so far this season
While some top players have hardly hit the score sheet in terrible weeks of the NHL this season, some other players have come up surprisingly this season. Here is a list of the top 5 players who gave surprising performances so far this season.
5. Andrew Ladd, Atlanta Thrashers’ Left Wing
Andrew Ladd (Newly named Thrashers captain) leads the team with 24 points while ranking tied for first in goals (8) and assists (16). He scored his second shorthanded goal of the year against Detroit Red Wings on November 24 and moved into a tie for second
place in the league with two shorthanded tallies and a tie for fourth with his third shorthanded point.
He has notched 12 points (4g, 8a) in his last 10 games from November 6 - November 26 and is averaging 1.04 points per game Ladd is developing a solid two-way game, leadership, character and toughness.
Ladd is now on a four game point streak, with one goal and five assists for six points in that span. He also has a plus-1 rating on the season and has been consistently scoring points all year.
4. John-Michael Liles, Colorado Avalanche’s Defenseman
John-Michael Liles has been amazing throughout his career. Liles, who had two goals and five assists in Colorado's four consecutive victories, was named the NHL's Second Star of the Week for November 15-21.
He leads the Avalanche in assists (18), plus-11 rating, ice time (22:39) and blocked shots (45). Liles is the top scoring defenseman with 22 points on the season. His achievements are much more than “a bit of a run”, as Liles has recorded at least one
point in 14 of Colorado’s 20 games this season while also posting five multi-point games.
Showcasing the generally humble nature of most hockey players, Liles passes along a good deal of credit to his teammates for his recent success.
3. Ondrej Pavelec, Atlanta Thrashers’ Goalie
Pavelec has been the norm for the Thrashers with his strong play in this NHL season. He is now 5-4-1 with a 1.57 GAA and .950 save percentages. He has allowed only two goals, including two shutouts in Atlanta's last 11 games and in his last four starts.
He has stopped 161 of 166 shots for a .969 save percentage over his last six games (November 14 - November 26). Pavelec posted his first shutout of the season on November 19 vs. High Octane Washington in a Thrashers 5-0 victory.
He stopped all twenty-nine shots faced against the high octane Washington offense, which also made him the night's first star. For his second shutout, he stopped 25 shots faced in an Atlanta 3-0 win against Washington.
2. Tim Thomas, Boston Bruins’ Goalie
At 11-2-1, Thomas is one of the top fantasy goalies of 2010-11. He had his career’s best eight-game win streak to start this season, which is the longest win streak ever by a Boston goaltender to start his season (Tiny Thompson, 6-0-0 in 1937-38). He has
4 shutouts–18-21 career and is in the 7th place on Boston’s all time shutouts list.
In his last five games, Thomas is 3-1-1 including a league-best fourth shutout of the season, in which he turned aside all 28 shots faced in a 3-0 win vs. New Jersey on November 15 and in his last start on November 26, Thomas stopped 18 of 21 shots in a
3-0 loss to Carolina.
1. Carey Price, Montreal Canadiens’ Goalie
Leading Montreal in wins, Carey Price rebounded from last season. He started 12 consecutive games, a career-high (October 30 to November 24) and exceeded anyone’s expectations with his amazing performances.
He made 22 saves on 23 shots and was named the 1st star of the game on October 15 at Buffalo Sabres. Price stopped 19 shots for his fifth career shutout on October 23 at Ottawa Senators and stopped 35 shots for his 6th career shutout on November 9 vs. Vancouver
Canucks.
He was named the NHL 1st Star for the week ending on November 14 with a 3-0-0 record, a 1.00 goals against average and a .970 save percentage. Price stopped 41 shots (new personal-high in a shutout) for his 7th shutout on November 16 vs. Philadelphia
Flyers and stopped 30 shots for his 8th career shutout on November 20 vs. Toronto Maple Leafs.
Tags: