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 Minnesota Vikings Jerseys Online . The Yankees made the moves before Tuesdays game against Baltimore. Robertson was listed retroactive to Monday. Robertson posted two saves in three games as the replacement for retired Yankees closer Mariano Rivera before getting hurt. Minnesota Vikings Jerseys China . -- Wichita State is all alone in the record book. http://www.cheapvikings.com/.com) - The game was all punts and field goals before Kodi Whitfields catch. Wholesale Minnesota Vikings Jerseys .Y. -- Mark Steenhuis scored four goals and added two assists to lead the Buffalo Bandits over the Toronto Rock 12-10 in National Lacrosse League action on Saturday. Custom Vikings Jerseys . Booth picked up 65 caps after making her national team debut in 2002 at the age of 17. She most recently played for Sky Blue FC of the National Womens Soccer League. "It just felt like it was my time to move on," she said in a phone interview from her hometown of Burlington, Ont.THE FORMATIONS: The New York Red Bulls showed up in Vancouver without some of their key players - Thierry Henry and Jamison Olave, to be specific. Head coach Mike Petke chose to line up his team in a 1-4-4-2 formation, with Peguy Luyindula partnering Tim Cahill up front. The Red Bulls played a flat four across midfield, with Lloyd Sam on the right, Jonny Steele on the left, and Eric Alexander partnering Dax McCarty in the middle. This decision proved to be a fatal one for New York, as Vancouver dominated the game in midfield, especially in the second half. At the back, two former Toronto FC players were in the fullback positions for the Red Bulls - Rickard Eckersley on the right and Bobby Convey on the left. Ibrahim Sekagya and Armando defended centrally, with Luis Robles in goal. The Vancouver Whitecaps lined up in a 1-4-2-3-1 formation, in Carl Robinsons first game as a head coach. Darren Mattocks led the line, with Sebastian Fernandez, Kenny Miller and Russell Teibert lining up from left to right in the attacking midfield three. The impressive Matias Laba partnered Nigel Reo-Coker as defensive midfielders. At the back, Steven Beitashour and Jordan Harvey flanked Jay DeMerit and Andy OBrien, with David Ousted in goal. THE GAME: The Vancouver Whitecaps got the 2014 MLS season off to the perfect start, claiming a 4-1 victory over the New York Red Bulls at BC Place on Saturday. The game started slowly for Vancouver, which can be put down to it being the first game of the new season under a new coach. Players are always a little tense when the season kicks off, and it can take some time to get into the flow of the game - especially when playing alongside new teammates. Once Vancouver settled into the game, though, the midfield partnership of Matias Laba and Nigel Reo-Coker began to dictate the game. Laba showed all of the qualities that tempted Robinson to bring him to the club via a trade with Toronto FC; he broke up countless Red Bull attacks, was composed on the ball and precise in his distribution. The defensive solidity of the two midfielders meant that it was a reasonably comfortable game for the back four. In fact, had it not been for a mistake from David Ousted, the Whitecaps would have kept a clean sheet. The first goal came in the 34th minute, as Kenny Miller converted a penalty kick after Richard Eckersley was adjudged to have handled a Matias Laba strike inside the penalty area. The referee initially waved play on, but his assistant spotted the infraction and raised his flag immediately; replays showed that it was the correct call. The second Whitecaps goal came five minutes into the second half. Some excellent link play from Darren Mattocks allowed Vancouver to catch New York on the counter attack. Mattocks received a clearance just inside Vancouvers half, set the ball back and spun left to get behind the Red Bulls back four. When he received the return pass, he fed the ball to Sebastian Fernandez - who had made a fantastic run to join the counter attack. Fernandez dropped his shoulder to wrong-foot Richard Eckersley, and once the Uruguayan had a half a yard of space, he unleashed an unstoppable strike into the top right corner. It gave thee Whitecaps some breathing room, which they used to tear apart New York.dddddddddddd When Pedro Morales entered the game in the 64th minute, he delivered a mouth-watering performance over the final 25 minutes. It was a master class from the Chilean designated player, and it left Whitecaps fans craving more. Morales set up Vancouvers third goal with some exquisite control and a perfectly weighted through-ball to spring Kenny Miller (who clinically dispatched his second goal of the game), and then scored the Whitecaps fourth, firing home a centering pass from Reo-Coker. When substitute Bradley Wright-Phillips flicked home a cross just in front of the fingertips of Ousted in the 90th minute, it took the shine off of an otherwise impressive Vancouver performance. THE TURNING POINT: Sebastian Fernandez put in an outstanding performance on his debut for Vancouver, and it was his goal that swung the momentum in the Whitecaps favour. The strike itself was first class, and the buildup play from Darren Mattocks was crucial. Mattocks has a point to prove this season and his performance on Saturday was one of many bright spots for Vancouver. His link play throughout the game was excellent, and it allowed the Whitecaps to dominate the game in midfield because they retained possession when the ball went forward. THE POSITIVES: Vancouver showed real attacking prowess, and their new players - Steven Beitashour, Sebastian Fernandez, Matias Laba, Pedro Morales and Nicolas Mezquida - have added genuine quality to Robinsons squad. Morales, in particular, looks like a great addition. Tactically, Robinsons formation trumped Petkes, as Vancouver outnumbered New York in the middle of the park and used that to dictate the tempo of the game. Strong contributions from Kenny Miller and Darren Mattocks in attacking roles also helped the Whitecaps stay in control of the game. THE NEGATIVES: New York was flat - literally and figuratively. The midfield duo of McCarty and Alexander never managed to assert themselves in the game, apart from the opening 15 minutes or so. Had New York played a diamond midfield, rather than a flat four, they would have had more depth to their game, both offensively and defensively. This would have allowed them to tighten up in the middle of the pitch, where Vancouver controlled the game, and also to ask more questions of the Whitecaps defensively - it was a reasonably David Ousted will be kicking himself for conceding a late goal. Mistakes happen, but Robinson will need to ensure that this was a one-off, and not an indication of a developing trend. A similar slip up in preseason by Ousted means that everyone will now be watching that much closer. THE STAR MAN: There were plenty of excellent performances on Saturday; Darren Mattocks and Kenny Miller did very well, as did Matias Laba and the back four. I gave the Man of the Match award to Sebastian Fernandez on Saturday for his overall performance as much as for his fantastic goal. But it is hard to ignore the contributions of Pedro Morales. He was only on the pitch for 25 minutes, but if that short period of time is any indication, Morales is going to be a star for the Vancouver Whitecaps. 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