National Hockey League at the quarter-mark
The National Hockey League schedule has past the quarter-mark of the 2010-11 season, a time of the year in which coaches and general managers have properly gauged their talent and may be ready to make changes to better their line-ups.
It is also the point in the year when players have sunken into their roles. Included below is a list of the most and least impressive teams and players so far in 2010-11.
Most impressive player
Steven Stamkos – F – Tampa Bay Lightning
Not enough can be said about how impressive Steven Stamkos has been up to this point in the 2010-11 season. The 20-year-old is making a case for himself as the best sniper in the League. A pure goal scorer, Stamkos is closing in on Alex Ovechkin and Sidney
Crosby as one of the League’s top talents.
The Markham, Ontario native was said to have not lived up to the hype in his first season in the NHL. But in 2009-10 he answered his critics, by cruising to a 51-goal, 95-point season and sharing the Rocket Richard Trophy with Crosby. This season, Stamkos
has been even more impressive. The youngster has registered 21 goals and 38 points in only 22 games and has many wondering if he will be able to pot 50 goals in 50 games.
More impressive is the fact that Stamkos is at the centre of a Tampa Bay resurgence, which sees the club second in the Southeast Division and fourth in the Eastern Conference. Along with Martin St. Louis, Stamkos is leading a high-power Lightning offence,
which is challenging the Washington Capitals as the most dynamic team in the League.
Most impressive team
Phoenix Coyotes
The Phoenix Coyotes may not have the most points in the League or play the most exciting brand of hockey, but they once again have managed to put forth great performances on a thin budget and with a group of players who would struggle to garner first line
minutes on any other club.
The Coyotes success can attributed to head coach Dave Tippett, who has gotten the entire club to buy into his defensive brand of hockey, which centers around goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov and timely goal scoring.
Now sitting second in the Western Conference, expect the Coyotes to keep up their strong play and qualify for the post-season for the second year in a row. Now, if only they could get fans to their games.
Least impressive player
Rick DiPietro – G – New York Islanders
Despite the fact that the New York Islanders have been one of the worst teams in the League again this season, goaltender Rick DiPietro remains the least impressive player in the NHL a quarter of the way through the campaign.
One need only look as far as DiPietro’s 2-3-4 record, .871 save-percentage and 3.91 goals-against-average, to understand how poor his play has been in 2010-11. However, the worst part is the former first overall selection is five years into a 15-year deal
worth $67.5 million. Once thought to be the Islanders franchise net-minder, DiPietro, thus far, has been one of the NHL’s biggest draft busts.
Least impressive team
No question that the title of least impressive team belongs to the New Jersey Devils. The Devils have simply been horrible this season. The Ilya Kovalchuk signing seems to have altered the fabric of an organization, which was always built around getting
the most out of players, impressive draft day selections and development.
The Devils were expected to make a splash in 2010-11, but have fallen flat, currently sitting 14th in the Eastern Conference with a dreadful 7-13-5 record.
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