It's been very up and down this year for Sean Monahan but as we approach the end of the year, his numbers are exactly in line with last season. After scoring a goal and adding two assists on Monday night against the Coyotes, Monahan is sitting at 27+32 with 184 shots on goal after 31+31 and 191 last season. With six games left, it looks like he will slightly best last season's big breakout. The 21 year old isn't going to end up a top 20 player, that's not his offensive ceiling and he doesn't contribute in penalty minutes (16 this year is a career high) but he should be around 50th overall in drafts next year since there's a good chance he can get to 70 points with some progression. Here's what else I saw around the league on Monday night:
Coming off an ugly loss to the Predators, it was a near certainty that the Kings would come out firing on Tuesday night. They certainly did but it wasn't enough because of Devan Dubnyk. Dubnyk had arguably his best start of the season stopping 38 of 39 shots, including a few massive point blank saves, in the 2-1 win over the Kings. After laying a huge egg against the Devils, Dubnyk has had three excellent starts in a row with this one being the best. The win puts the Wild one point ahead of the Avs for the last playoff spot in a battle that should come down to the wire. This is perfect for Dubnyk owners because he should start at least 7 of the Wild's final 8 games, if not all of them. Keep him in your lineup every time he starts. Here's what else I saw around the league on a busy Tuesday night:
Alex Ovechkin’s first hat trick in two years fueled the Washington Capitals to a 5-1 win over the New Jersey Devils as part of a 12-game Saturday in the NHL. Ovechkin scored twice in the third period when the Capitals scored four times to break open a 1-1 game. Please, blog, may I have some more?
Ottawa goaltender Craig Anderson pulled his best Neo imitation when he turned aside all 42 agents, er, shots in a 2-0 blanking of Buffalo last night. Mr. Anderson has been taking the red pill and giving opposing offenses cold doses of reality through the first quarter of the season. Please, blog, may I have some more?
Sergei Kostitsyn is the lesser known brother of the hardly known Andrei.. Uhhh yeah, lesser known, or something… Sergei merits strong consideration to the Waiver Wire All Star roster, unfortunately he plays for the non-scoring Pred’s. Please, blog, may I have some more?
You know that feeling you get in your stomach when you get pulled over by a cop? Yeah that’s the feeling I got when I read this. Stupid clumsy Kunitz! Please, blog, may I have some more?
I wrote this about J-Quick back on November 16: “And oh yeah, J-Quick is the most underrated Goalie in the NHL right now.” I for one second that notion. In fact I third, fourth, and fifth it. Please, blog, may I have some more?
