#( and yes i know i talked a bit more in depth about nikita here but it's because i never talk about her post s3 much so

[lazarus-harp]

I think A LOT about what the survivors do post-season. would nikita try and pretend that nothings happened? would mat watch the videos the dead made to humanize those who had to die for him to survive?

you're the survivor connoisseur, what do you think?

for one, i'm very flattered to be seen as the 'survivor connoisseur'! so thank you immensely for the kind words. and secondly, oh boy, this question couldn't of come at a better time ... considering how much post canon mat & nikita have been pingponging around my head! i'll try to be as coherent as possible, but if a lot of this is pure word vomit then i do apologize. it is merely the passion taking over haha.

nikita is someone who fascinates me greatly in the aftermath, because there's a level of realism within her that's lacking in mat. but it's cynicism mixed with denial! she doesn't believe they can bring everyone back i don't think, or at least that's what she tells herself over and over again. a mantra. a safety net. she is so scared to hope and she's even more scared of what might come after that ; there's a sense of shame inherent in her when faced with colleen's bitter coldness. unlike mat, she is all too aware of her horrible actions and what might follow. an awful nightmare of, even if i saved them, would they forgive me? would they want me around? would things be the same? and nikita knows the answer, or at least thinks she does. so much of her post everlock is trapped inside this in-between, which naturally makes her come off as wishy washy and contradictory. a perfect fit for her bizarre behavior in s4. she's willing to go through with the rescue mission because her desire aligns with mat's, yet she staunchly refuses to wallow in grief. she accepts people have died ( in her memorial to manny and roi, via the tear tattoos ) and has made progress in finding a life outside the death games, via bretman. she nurses her new best friend close and yet mostly keeps him separate from everything everlock has touched and tarnished. i like to imagine bretman is her secret and crutch for moving forward, into a future that won't ever have manny again. he acts almost like a replacement in her heart. makes that loss hurt a little less. and i also think matthew can tell that's what it's about, naturally causing some resentment on his end ... because to him, manny can't be replaced. nobody can. it's why we have to do this, nikita! in lots of ways, he views her more 'healthy' behavior as her giving up on this, on them, and he loathes it.

but, obviously, nikita's behavior isnt healthy and mat ( in typical him fashion, where it concerns her ) is completely misreading her actions. nikita isn't acting callously, she's just scared. it's not about forgetting or pretending, it's a matter of selfish safety she's more hellbent on having than ever before. putting her heart out there only for it to be crushed beneath the grim world she now knows they're apart of? putting hope out there, indulging in wishful thinking and fantasy, just for those dreams to be taken from her, again? it's staggering losses she's nervous to take, and she's already made this mistake with manny ; believing he could live despite the odds, trusting in a faulty system, seeing a light at the end of the tunnel that would have them stepping out into the morning together ... but she was wrong. manny surviving all those challenges, even ones he shouldn't have, was nothing more than being lucky. a fluke, if she could be that cruel and discredit his skills so easily. in the end, he was still ripped away, in a way so horrible, nikita might secretly wish he would've just died beforehand. hope and optimism are soiled for her, reality is all that's left. you see this no nonsense attitude from her a lot in s3 to begin with! she's keenly aware of their time limit and keeps their group moving onward, sparing little theatrics on the dead bodies of innocents paving their way. vocally acknowledges that whoever was chosen to be brought back could arrive pissed and vengeful, openly calling attention to the fact it's likely for vendettas to breed when the game they're playing isn't blameless. really, the troublemaker is more calculated and clever than most fans give her credit for, in my opinion. these are traits normally passed over to mat instead, despite his intense emotions getting the best of him multiple times in the show! he is prone to listen to his heart and his grievances, weaponizing grudges when he deems it fitting while nikita is forced to swallow them, and really let them go because emotions hinder her determination and path forward. it's no different here ... except isn't it? just a little bit? nikita falters under her own desires for things to be as they were and she can't fully fight the need to see manny again, or to save the day when she feels responsible for so much pain that night.

though this goes against some core traits of hers and i think that's where the struggle really lies. i want to see manny, but what if he hates me? would i rather live in a world where he can hate me or would i rather stay in one where he'll never get that chance? very selfish of her, i suppose, to potentially value those things over an entire human life, but it's so realistic and human i can't help but sympathize. especially when she sets aside everything she thinks anyway! the troublemaker goes into purgatory knowing it might fail, and that if it does, it's going to reopen every wound she's haphazardly stuck bandaids over. she knows bretman might see her for who she truly is, a liar and a killer and a betrayer and someone who can't love another enough, and forces him to come because fine, it's the end isn't it? and most importantly nikita goes in thinking she could be turned on and hated and this is exactly the reality she faces with colleen, leaving her frustrated, and angry, and turning her shame into vitriol just like before. post s4, with bretman pissed at her, mat broken, joey gone, and everything destroyed again ... nikita then has little else to do ( in her mind ) except to move on for good this time. here might come the pretending act : shrugging off devastating losses and a world full of horror, settling into strange contentment after everything. a false calm, but one she'd wear perfectly nonetheless. would probably quit the society and go back to mundane things, like shopping sprees and creation. live a quiet life. everlock, purgatory, and the year between nothing more than the teardrops on her face and a man she still can't rid herself of. she can't look colleen or bretman in the eye. little things carry over into her manicured life : a refusal to wear pink despite forever adorning blonde hair, never holding the cool steel of a gun in two hands, doesn't say “i love you,” anymore, and plenty of other burdens. but she tries to ignore these signs as much as possible.

still, nikita seems healthy when compared to mat! at least there's a level of acceptance from her, at least she no longer holds the dead. maybe she's too keen on shoving them away now -- but maybe it's a better alternative, when paired with the detective's obsession with them? so much of mat post s3 or even post s4 to me is about his love and desperation outweighing logic, reality, and whatever else stands in his way. stubborn in all the wrong ways for all the wrong reasons. he is a character who needs to be loved and he found a group ( as imperfect as it was ) who adored him so much they wouldn't even let him stay dead. it's a turning point he can't go back from, because now mat owes these people everything. it doesn't matter to him that, really, only safiya and joey brought him back ... because when he stumbled through that door, everyone was so happy. they smiled and grabbed at him and it's probably the most welcome he's ever felt! it's a warmth he won't ever feel again but is chasing. so unlike nikita he can't play into denial. he can't move on or confront what'll happen if he fails. he can't fail, not again, because mat has to save somebody and he has to make the pain worth it. he was killed by the strongman? well, at least it wasn't manny, at least it wasn't permanent, at least mat came back to nothing but love and affection, and how could he ever trade that for anything? all his friends died because of a game they were forced to play? well, mat's out of everlock, he's free, he doesn't need to play by invisible rules anymore and he can bring everyone back and they can be together, and then the suffering will pale in comparison to the reunion awaiting them, right? it's scary for him to consider death and what it means : being forgotten, having everything you've done amount to nothing, laying in the dark of some terrible night all alone, permeant. so he does whatever he can to rebel against these fears that he believes are universal, but are merely his own. he'll get his hands on everything his group was in ( pictures, videos, articles, ) and he'll religiously consume them to remember. he'll think of them always, as ghosts in the corner of his eye, and will never do a single action without thinking about them in some way, to make them still amount to something beyond the veil. he'll heroically save them from a permanent slumber, like they did for him, so they can lay in the sun or in the comfort of a shared room and they can be permanently alive, at least for now. it's loving and it's devotional and it shows how deeply matthew cares and how big his heart is, but it's selfish too.

mat is preventing himself from pain this way, necessary pain. he's stalling the grieving process by entertaining a world in which they'll all be saved and will be able to move on together. he's leaving his wounds open and prodding at them so they won't ever close because finding a life outside of this is horrifying for him. and reasonably so! he died, and now he's just back? he's supposed to ... what, exist? be his old self? what's the protocol for revival? is he allowed to mourn someone he still is, or is he meant to pretend it's a life continued rather than a brand new one? scary ideas, scary theories, not a single guiding hand in sight. clinging to everlock and who he was then is safe, it's who he is now. except, is it? or is that the identity he's carved for himself because facing this world with brand new eyes makes him want to die? how can he move on from the very place he died in? it doesn't seem fair! or ... right. it's unnatural and mat is confused and he's floundering. clinging is all he can think to do. this also shuts him off from forming new connections or rekindling with old ones and that's safe too, not having to look at someone and think about if they'd survive the vote. if they could make it to the end with him, if it ever happened again. it also doesn't help that mat just has a chronic 'i'm a good guy!' problem and if he can undo everything he won't have to confront the fact he's not as perfect as he thought he was. like, while nikita is scared of hope and what it might do to her, mat is scared to look in the mirror and acknowledge he'd do anything to survive. that he's callous and cruel, that he's someone who would save his own skin rather than sacrifice himself for another. that's not who he is -- was? identity is a huge part of his conflict here!

it's a big bag of worms! there's many complexities at play, butting heads with their new natures and desires ... with each other too, clearly. mat obsessively drowns in the past and only works towards his ideal future ( i don't even think s4's failure would deter him ) and everything else just falls in-between. nikita lives life normally for once and maybe tentatively branches out to find new friends again, just because it's a sign she's making progress and it's something that'll show mat that moving on is possible, thanks. ways of dealing that take them down different roads eventually but they'll never let each other go so there's that new constant at least! and they're both actively hiding all the while, whether they know it or not. tragic!

anyway, i know this is ungodly long and ramble-y but i do hope it somewhat answered your question! i know i mostly talked about their mindsets and inner workings rather than what they specifically do in the aftermath, but! i think you can infer a lot based on their mindsets here. like, oh mat would rather start a scrapbook full of dead people's photos he's lovingly collected versus ... taking up journaling. nikita would rather follow an online course on cooking just because she's bored as fuck versus ... reaching out to the society so she can train with swords again. that kinda thing <3

[sablelab]

Covert Operations - Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER: This is a modern AU crossover story with Outlander and La Femme Nikita.  LFN and its charactnters do not belong to me nor do those from Outlander. This is a complete work of fiction and as such is an entirely fabricated tale created in my imagination.  

There may be some suggestive chapters (S) and scenes of a violent (V) and or sexual nature (NSFW) through the course of this story. 

Manip - @sassylover-stuff SYNOPSIS: James Fraser and Claire Beauchamp are Section One operatives from the most covert of all antiterrorist organizations that wages war against those who would destroy ... or at the very least reorder... society. Its adversaries, who have remained beyond the reach of normal police and intelligence agencies, are many, and they are ruthless, and so Section resorts to measures that would be unacceptable for most government organizations. For this reason, Section jealously guards its anonymity. It recruits criminals and killers and gives them a choice: death or life as a Section operative. It's usually a rather short life for operatives are expendable, and losses are high, but then so are the stakes in a global power struggle against sinister terrorist organizations such as the Triad group called The Rising Dragons.

I HOPE YOU ENJOY!!!

 Covert Operations - The Rising Dragons  

  The Dragon rises up his back In daylight near and far He soars at night with deadly eye Beneath the moon and star The Rising Dragon! Be cautious of its ruthless ways This enigma to the night For the Dragon bears upon his wings A chilling tale of fright The Rising Dragon! “Death with Honour” its way of life With motto “Strength by Dare” Once you yield fear nought … but When it seeks you, beware! The Rising Dragon! CHAPTER 1 (S) In the early hours of the morning Section One operative Claire Beauchamp was in a sound but restless sleep. Her mind, however, was filled with the images of her partner and mentor Jamie Fraser and herself on last night’s mission together. Waiting in a darkened city street outside the nightclub, we wait to seize the two heroin dealers and lovers whom we are to replace on an upcoming mission. They are to be our point of entry to our target’s party circle and his dealings with Red Cell. I keep glancing into the alleyway to see if they are coming … but Jamie is somewhat distracted … which is most unusual for him. I have been a little flippant with him tonight joking about our so-called “date” and the setting where it was happening and I feel like teasing him just a bit more. “You always take me to such nice places, James Fraser.” He keeps looking at me as if he wants to commit me to memory … as if he can’t get enough of me. I watch his eyes as they caress my features over and over. Moving right into my space … Jamie overwhelms me. I can barely breathe let alone think properly. He is so close to my face that I can taste his lips and feel the soft, warm caress of his words.

 ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Laying in her bed, Claire smiled languorously in her dream-induced sleep as Jamie Fraser’s words and actions washed over her.

 Leaning into me while we are waiting for the targets to appear, the soft timbre of Jamie’s voice affects my senses.

“Where are you staying tonight?” 

His words sent a tingle running down her spine and she recalled the soft whisper of his breath near her cheek as they were uttered. Unconsciously Claire sighed in her sleep as her body had seemed to gravitate to the gorgeous man who was her enigmatic partner. Jamie’s words had sent her heart fluttering as to the underlying innuendo of those five softly spoken words against her cheek.  It had been dark in the alleyway but she wondered had he been able to see the vein throb in her neck or see that her face was a little flushed or that her eyes had slightly glazed over with a hopeful but questioning look?

 Her eyelids twitched and a little grin crossed her mouth as if she was remembering the satisfied reply of her answer.  

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ “They’ve assigned me to temporary quarters not far from my little apartment.” I look disdainfully around the alleyway that we are waiting in observing the background of noisy traffic, rubbish bins and drunks walking by. Taking one look at the setting and then looking at James Fraser, I can’t help but laugh at the absurdity of our surroundings. Catching his gaze as he studies me I reply light heartedly, “I’ve got to say, my new pad’s almost as nice as this.” Jamie smiles at me with this quirky little grin that I just love when the sides of his mouth bow in a conspiratorial way. “For how long?” He inquires hopefully. “Two weeks.” I answer. I know that thought processes are obviously churning over in Jamie’s head. I know those blank stares of his. They infuriate me at times but they speak so much without words. He replies somewhat tongue in cheek, but I’m sure he means every word he says. I can see it in his eyes. They sparkle with mischief. “You could stay with me.” Jamie strokes my shoulders leisurely with his gentle but strong hands. Caressing my body through my clothes … it feels as if I have nothing on at all. The heat of his touch is scorching me. It burns right to the core of my being. I’m on fire for more than just my partner’s potent caresses. I close my eyes ... I can’t look at him for fear I will be roasted alive. I feel the heat shoot through my body at his nearness as my nerve endings tingle with desire. I can’t help it … I groan. “Ahh! Jam -ie!” ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Tossing and turning Claire called out again to Jamie in her sleep. Groaning incoherently, his name echoed in her room as she writhed in her bed feeling his tender touch on her body. Jamie’s caresses never failed to set off alarm bells ringing inside her. Even the mere thought of this man touching her ignited her senses making Claire long for something real from him … something that was a little bit more intense … something that would leave her smouldering with unbridled want and need. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ “Are you asking me to move in with you?”

 I say to him … but in my mind I relay my real thoughts and answer, “Oh my God! I hope that IS what he is asking …YES! YES! YES! Please…” I yearn to say instead. 

He is so hard to read at times but the next words out of his mouth in that sexy Scottish brogue nearly render me speechless. “You’d be more comfortable.” I can hardly believe what I am hearing from James Fraser.  I feel faint. Oh, how I have longed to hear such words uttered from his mouth … but I can’t help but wonder how serious Jamie is about his proposition so I ask.

 “Well, is this for two weeks or were you thinking of something a little more … permanent?” 

Before I have barley finished speaking his eyes seize mine. I cannot breathe … I’m riveted. His eyes are mesmerizing. Trapping me in his sights, Jamie’s eyes show he means every word. I stand transfixed before him … lost to him. “We’d have more privacy,” he says. We are so close that every time we talk, we are almost kissing. In fact his lips do brush mine but it is not enough … not nearly enough. However much I love his soft caresses … I want him to deepen the connection and ravish me like he’d done once before.  I want to go off like a firecracker … just like I did on that special night on the boat in Lyons. Primal … feral … wanton.  If only he would take me … here … now … in the alleyway … I really don’t care … I just want him to kiss me passionately, deeply ... and senseless. Although my mind wants more, my lips are content to feel Jamie’s lips gently caress mine as each wonderful word leaves his mouth with sincerity and intent. His eyes … the windows to his soul are laid bare for me to see the depth of his feelings. I know what he wants to do because I want the same thing. But I lower my gaze to his fingertips lightly caressing my lips then gaze back up into his eyes saying, “And how is it, that you think that we’re going to get away with that?” But James Fraser doesn’t answer me … his lips zero in on mine and he begins to...

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Brrr brrr ... brrr brrr … Before Claire even had enough time to waken properly from the wonderful erotic dream she was having, her cell phone echoed in her apartment. Brrr brrr ... brrr brrr … “Aarrgghhhh!” she mumbled incoherently as the incessant ringing eventually woke her up.

 Grunting, Claire rubbed her eyes, then reaching out her hand searched for where she had left the phone. Moaning loudly into her darkened bedroom she picked it up reluctantly from the bedside table. With eyes still closed and her body tingling from the visions of her pleasurable dream Claire lay back on her bed and reluctantly answered in a husky voice, “Yeah …?” 

Surprisingly enough the main focus of her vivid dream was the very person on the other end of the line.

 “Jos-e-phine …”

The sexy timbre of Jamie’s voice caressed Claire’s ear as if a kiss had been planted there instead. In her dream, he had just been about to kiss her … but here he was using her code name and asking her to come into Section. Begrudgingly glancing at the clock illuminating the room in the darkness, Claire focused on the early hour of the day. Although this was not unusual procedure for Section One, Claire hated these early morning wake up calls, but Jamie had called her in as a matter of urgency for a new mission was being profiled. Turning off her cell phone, Claire moaned into her pillow.

  ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~to be continued

[thrashermaxey]

Ramblings: Chiarelli Fired; OEL Update; All-Star Game; Datsyuk, and More – January 24

  Arizona defenceman Oliver Ekman-Larsson is set to have an MRI Thursday which should help determine the nature and extent of the injury he sustained Tuesday night. We’ll have a better idea of what’s going on in the next couple of days.

As a small aside: can we mention how good the Coyotes have been this year? Sure, they’re not currently in a playoff spot, but they’re also just two points out of a wild card position (as of Wednesday afternoon). They’ve done this with significant (and in some cases, season-ending) injuries to the likes of Alex Galchneyuk, Antti Raanta, Jason Demers, Jakob Chychrun, Christian Dvorak, Michael Grabner, more recently Nick Schmaltz, and now Ekman-Larsson. That’s their top-line centre, third-line centre, a top-6 winger, a top-9 winger and penalty killer, two top-4 defencemen, and their starting goalie. Each of those names (save for OEL) has missed at least 10 games, and some will miss much, much more than that. And yet, they’re two points outside of a playoff spot. John Chayka has put together a very solid roster. They absolutely need more top-end talent up front, but this is a team to watch in 2019-20.  

*

Some bad news for the Ducks and their fans:

  Ondrej Kase out 5-6 months with a torn labrum. Will have surgery — this comes from Ducks GM Bob Murray …

— Josh Cooper (@JoshuaCooper) January 24, 2019

  Kase had been playing extremely well since returning from his early-season injury and then this. He's an invaluable part of the roster, being the team's second-best (possibly even best) winger on a team with very few scorers on the wing. His defensive game is extremely solid as well. There's no replacing him if you're Anaheim. If you're a fantasy owner, he was likely a late pick or a waiver addition so it's not as big of a deal. 

On the bright side, they could be getting Corey Perry back sooner rather than later. 

*

Don’t forget to grab your copy of the 2019 Dobber Hockey Midseason Guide! With the All-Star break here, it’s the perfect chance for those in striking distance of a championship to get the edge they need to push for that title. There is also many pages covering prospects and potential call-ups, so even those out of the running for a league win can put their keeper/dynasty teams in a better situation for 2019-20. Get the Dobber Midseason Guide in the Dobber Shop today!

*

The Leafs re-configured their PP units to put Auston Matthews back with their big guns. The last change (thankfully) didn’t last very long. Now, please just put William Nylander on that PP unit as well.

*

Erik Johnson seems to be fine for the Avalanche. He didn't play Wednesday night, his second in a row, but was skating at the game-day skate. We'll circle back after the All-Star break. 

*

Reilly Smith was back skating with the team but in a non-contact jersey. He obviously didn’t play in Wednesday night’s game, but it sure does bode well for him returning after the All-Star break.

*

Not immediately fantasy relevant but it appears that Pavel Datsyuk may be eyeing a return to the NHL? There’s a lot of time between now and October so who knows what he ultimately decides. With his style of play, simply being a bit slower probably wouldn’t be the biggest impediment to playing in today’s game. It’s whether his body could hold up. Surely some team could use him for 14-15 minutes a night on the third line and power play?

*

Both Tyler Bozak and Zach Sanford were activated from the injured reserve and played in Wednesday night’s contest. The result was Jordan Kyrou (and Jordan Nolan) being sent to the AHL. It doesn’t appear that this will be the year for Kyrou to break out, but he’s definitely a player to remember for next season.

*

I don’t really have a lot to say on the topic of Peter Chiarelli getting fired. Everything I’ve ever had to say about him as a GM has been said in these Ramblings or on my Twitter feed (and you can read Cam’s take here). I’m kind of stunned they actually did this a month before the trade deadline (Edmonton is generally known for picking the worst of all the bad options) but that might be the saving grace for the team.

Until they give up the 200 Hockey Men mentality, the franchise won't improve fundamentally, and fans of both the team and the game in general will have been done a disservice. 

*

Although, on the other hand, maybe another rebuild isn’t on the way:

  “We’re not into a rebuild. I truly believe we’re not into a rebuild.”—#Oilers Bob Nicholson

— Eric Engels (@EricEngels) January 23, 2019

  All they need is intangibles:

  Nicholson touched on the need for character. A primary focus will be on bringing in secondary leadership to help McDavid.

— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) January 23, 2019

  Light a candle for Edmonton Oilers fans tonight. If Nicholson means what he says, there is a lot more darkness ahead.

*

While all the talk was about Auston Matthews getting Mitch Marner as a winger for Wedneday’s home game against Washington, it was Nazem Kadri and William Nylander who did the damage. In fact, that whole line did as they combined for nine points: Kadri had a hat trick and one assist, William Nylaner had three assists, and Connor Brown chipped in a pair of helpers as the Leafs defeated the Caps 5-3.

For Nylander, it was his first three-assist game of his career, and he added three shots on goal for good measure. He and Kadri have been a very good duo on the third line, if a bit unlucky. It appears that fortune is (predictably) starting to turn in their favour.

Alex Ovechkin scored his 37th goal of the year in the loss.

*

Alex Galchenyuk had a goal taken away late in his return to Montreal as the Coyotes lost 2-1. Charles Hudon drew in on the third line and assisted on Mike Reilly’s game-winner.

With Oliver Ekman-Larsson out of the lineup, Alex Goligoski played just under 25 minutes. It was his third-highest mark of the season and his highest in a month. He also skated on what would be called their top PP unit with Galchenyuk and Clayton Keller. Something to keep in mind. Check your waiver wires if you need some depth on defence. If the OEL injury is serious, Goligoski stands to be the immediate beneficiary (as morbid as that is, let’s hope OEL is ok).

*

More in the morning. 

*

With the NHL All-Star Game nearly upon us, I wanted to do something a little fun. What would All-Star teams look like if they were chosen for fantasy production? Let’s take a look at that. A quick rundown of the qualifications:

Assuming standard Yahoo! scoring (goals, assists, +/-, shots, PPPs, hits for skaters; wins, goals against average, save percentage, shutouts for goalies).

Four rosters, one for each division.

Each roster will include six forwards, three defencemen, and two goalies.

Each team needs to be represented.

It’s a fun exercise about how hard it is to actually pick teams in this format. All stats as of Wednesday afternoon and either from Dobber Tools, Natural Stat Trick, or Corsica. I’ll do the East today and talk about a few of the players. We’ll touch on the West tomorrow.

  Atlantic

F – Nikita Kucherov (TB)

F – John Tavares (TOR)

F – Jeff Skinner (BUF)

F – David Pastrnak (BOS)

F – Dylan Larkin (DET)

F – Aleksander Barkov (FLA)

D – Thomas Chabot (OTT)

D – Morgan Rielly (TOR)

D – Jeff Petry (MTL)

G – Andrei Vasilevskiy (TB)

G – Jaroslav Halak (BOS)

  This is why it’s so hard. Say you want to remove Dylan Larkin for someone like Mitch Marner. Ok, fine. You still need someone from Detroit, so you need to take a player whose team is represented by multiple players off the list. Let’s say we remove Halak and add Jimmy Howard (he’s actually going to the real one). Howard isn’t even a top-25 fantasy goalie at the moment, but is now on his way to a fantasy All-Star Game because we wanted Marner over Larkin. Not so easy, is it?

People might laugh at Jeff Petry, but let’s break this down. He has 34 total points, 12th among all defencemen, and one more than Victor Hedman. Among all defencemen with at least 500 minutes at five-on-five this year, he’s 15th in points/60 minutes. The two defencemen directly above him are Roman Josi and Tyson Barrie. At all strengths, he’s 17th, just behind Matt Dumba. He’s also in the top-20 for defenceman shot share at five-on-five. He’s averaging over 2.5 hits and over 2.25 shots per game. Why wouldn’t he be a fantasy all-star?

Here’s something I want to bring up: when are we going to start the Thomas Chabot For Norris Trophy campaign? I’m not kidding, either: his point production is elite, his play-driving is elite, and his goal-driving is elite; among d-men, he’s top-10 in points/game, top-10 in relative shot share, and top-10 in expected goal share. Even for actual goals, he’s top-25 among all defencemen in the league in relative goal share (all of this relative to his team). I imagine guys like Mark Giordano, Brent Burns, and John Carlson will all get heavy consideration, being established stalwarts on playoff teams. And maybe Chabot will get his due someday, but he’s been outstanding this year and it’s not just because of his point total.

  Metropolitan

F – Alex Ovechkin (WSH)

F – Sidney Crosby (PIT)

F – Cam Atkinson (CBJ)

F – Kyle Palmieri (NJD)

F – Chris Kreider (NYR)

F – Jake Guentzel (PIT)

D – Kris Letang (PIT)

D – John Carlson (WSH)

D – Justin Faulk (CAR)

G – Robin Lehner (NYI)

G – Carter Hart (PHI)

This was a lot harder than you’d expect for this reason: the Metro has been mostly devoid of top-end fantasy talent this year. For example, only Ovechkin, Crosby, and Sebastian Aho are top-25 skaters so far this season, while Letang, Carlson, Faulk, and Radko Gudas (yes, really) are the only top-25 defencemen. It gets even worse in net as the Islanders goaltending tandem of Lehner and Thomas Greiss are the only Metro goalies in the top-15 fantasy netminders. MacKenzie Blackwood is also there but he’s not even in the league at the moment.

I suppose one change we could make would be having Henrik Lundqvist instead of Hart, taking out Kreider, and adding Claude Giroux. But this is my list and I’m a big Krieder fan so I’m going to do what I want. Get Carter to the All-Star Game!

Justin Faulk is a favourite punching bag for some, and that’s fair given his calamitous fall in fantasy over the last couple seasons, namely in the goals department. All the same, his hit and shot totals are very stout (he’s on pace for his most hits in four years) and a 30-point season with his level of peripherals (he’ll fly past 200 shots as well) has a lot of value. Imagine if his shooting percentage ever reverts to what it was a couple years ago?

Can I just say that despite Faulk having more value than Jaccob Slavin in fantasy so far this year (at least in this format), that Slavin is probably the most under-appreciated defenceman in the NHL, and I wanted to put him in the All-Star Game for that reason. He drives the play exceptionally well, defends his blue line about as good as anyone, and is really an engine for the team on the blue line. He reminds me a lot of Oliver Ekman-Larsson, minus the shot-happiness. There are some areas the ‘Canes still need improvement, but their defence is certainly not one of them.

from All About Sports https://dobberhockey.com/hockey-rambling/ramblings-chiarelli-fired-oel-update-all-star-game-datsyuk-and-more-january-24/

[lazarus-harp]

Biggest otp and biggest notp and why

( just wanna say thanks for all the engagement ! it really means the world and i love talking to other etn fans & answering questions so !!! thanks again for all the asks aaah )

My biggest otp is probably very obvious to anyone who knows me, or even follows this blog in any capacity, but I'm still delighted to answer because ... You can never get tired of talking about your otp right? So to answer your question, it's Matny! Aka Manny x Matthew from season three of Escape the Night! Despite this being my own blog, I've been reluctant to bring this ship up as of late— though that doesn't change the fact it's one of my favorite pairings ever! To answer the why part ; gosh, I could make a whole essay over the chemistry they both had on the show together! There was so many moments between these two, a lot of tells that hinted to how much they cared about one another, and that's why I'm usually peeved when I see how their relationship is treated in works sometimes! Ship it or not, if you watch s3 it's obvious how close they were ; despite their minor hiccup in ep7.

Their bond starts as early as episode two, where Mat immediately hugs Manny after the traumatic event on the carousel and proceeds to work with him in the tent group activity. In episode five, he praises Manny for his strength and agrees he does everything well ( this moment could be regarded as Mat buttering Manny up to go against Joey, however, it's clear he didn't want Manny to die in ep5 ; he only wanted Manny to win and off Joey for good— so there's no ill will towards the producer here ) And when Mat dies later that very ep, Manny feels nothing but guilt over it and wonders if they "really screwed up". Implying that he feels as though he should've died instead, which is another line of many that is typically glossed over when it concerns these two. Not to mention the “Mat, I love you” as well that occurs before said challenge.

Ep7 comes around and the moment the detective notices Manny, he doesn't hesitate to rush in his arms!

( as you can see here! mat's completely engaged in ro's hug until he finally looks up and looks straight at manny! the moment he does, he promptly ends his hug with rosanna to reach up towards him! he doesn't even bother looking around the room, just sees manny and reacts )

There's more moments I could go in depth with. The way Mat doesn't blame Manny for his death, the way he roots for Manny to win in ep9 despite Nikita being right there, and the time the detective hid behind the record producer when scared ... But I'll save you the details! All in all, it's my otp for etn because of how much they respect one another and trust each other! I suppose it helps that Manny Gutierrez himself actually admitted to having an IRL crush on Mat behind the scenes! Either way, it's just an amazing ship with tons of canon evidence and I think they're fun to explore, especially in the slowburn regard which is my favorite trope! There's a lot of things I feel like they would both have to get over before they could actually become a couple and that's the fun of all my otps! The build up to when they can finally make out and date and hold hands! Anyway aaah, I'll shush, but here's more photo evidence of their bond :

( his reaction towards manny's death! though he has that really amusing confessional after, in the moment he was devastated and upset. "you shot him? you shot him!" along with his loud "no!" when the gunshots went off )

( iconic moments where manny had all of mat's attention. when they engage, they get lost in each other! especially in ep5 when they're being suspicious of joey )

Obviously, there's more moments and photo evidence I could share, but I'll save the remaining 'why' bits for an essay if anyone's interested. Again, they're totally really good friends at least ; or totally crushing at best. Shame it's not a bond more explored by the fandom, I'd kill to see more fics focusing on their friendship at least.

Now onto the tricker question ... My ultimate notp! This one doesn't really have a solid answer, because I've grown a lot since watching this show and I mostly ship everything now. And even the ships I frown upon, I don't necessarily dislike them to the point of a notp! As stated in a previous ask, etn is a really amazing show and some really amazing people like it— so it wouldn't take much to sell me on any pairing. For the sake of answering something ( and not repeating myself from the last ask ) I can say Safpat used to be one of my biggest notps when I first delved into Escape the Night!

As long as I can remember, I've always had a strong distaste of MRS, simply because it feels rather overhyped by the fandom when it was barely a thing in the season. So naturally, when I found out Safpat was fairly popular ( which isn't the case anymore ) I disliked it immediately. In the show, I didn't think it held any ground nor did I think it would actually work. Mat cared for Safiya yes, respected her even, but this bond didn't even kick in until ep7 which was her literal death episode— and, besides, Saf never seemed to return these feelings in turn. It held my ultimate notp spot for a long long time, though it doesn't anymore! If you couldn't tell by my pfp, I've warmed up to it! I'm even working on a thing for them behind the scenes. So all in all, that's my old biggest notp. That and Roila, which also used to be a big notp for me! Again, I've warmed up to it, though it's a ship I still have criticisms for!

Hopefully, that answered both of your questions! Thanks for reading!!!!!!

[lazarus-harp]

Do you have any otps or notps for escape the night?

i know this might be a bit shocking, but i'm actually a very hyper, very big shipper! especially when it comes to etn ( because there's so many characters! ) so the answer's yes, i do! once this blog started getting traction, i tried to dull down the ship content because i know it makes some etn fans uncomfy ; but i adore talking about ships! thanks so much for the ask!!

since there's a lot of ships i have for etn, i have quite a few otps! though because these are 'one true pairings' and not 'ships you vibe with' i'll try to limit it to three otps per season! for s3, i'm also leaving out matny since that's an obvious one and i go in depth about why its my otp in another ask!

season one :

lierra - ( lele x sierra )

jarthur - ( joey x arthur )

mattothy - ( matt x timothy )

season two :

tabbie - ( tana x gabbie )

alestorm - ( alex x destorm )

andrvera - ( andrea x vera )

season three :

joeypat - ( joey x mat )

teafiya - ( teala x safiya )

mortileen - ( mortimer x colleen )

season four :

rostorm - ( ro x destorm )

tanstine - ( tana x justine )

matkita - ( mat x nikita )

these aren't the only ships i love in escape the night, though! just a select few i'm more passionate about then most others! now onto the notps section ... i wanna state that i'm actually down to be sold on any etn ship! as a person who loves romance, it's hard for me to be completely shut off to a ship ; so any pairings listed below are moreso ... ships i need to be sold on, or ships i'm not passionate about, like at all. this doesn't mean it's a bad ship, i just haven't found the way i like it yet! and if any of these are one of your personal faves, please feel free to share why! but without further ado, here's a quick ( small ) list of etn pairings that don't hit for me :

mortipe ( mortimer x calliope ) mele ( matt x lele ) eli ( eva x oli ). bretlex ( bretman x alex ) joi ( jc x roi ) glostine ( glozell x justine )

[thrashermaxey]

Ramblings: Thoughts on Pacioretty, Tavares, the Draft, Carlson, Wideman and more (June 25)

  Ramblings: Thoughts on Pacioretty, Tavares, the Draft, Carlson, Wideman and more (June 25)

***

Hope you enjoyed draft weekend, even if the trade action was a bit of a lull. I believe that this year the quality defensemen were in abundance and the forwards were lacking in terms of high-end talent. At least, compared to other years. Obviously these guys are talented so I’m speaking in relative terms. But the salary cap era has teams in such desperate need of cheap help sooner rather than later, you saw many of them take a B-type forward ahead of an A-type defenseman. We had four defensemen ranked in the Top 7 and yet just two actually went in the Top 7. You saw Montreal reach ahead and take the top-ranked center (Jesperi Kotkaniemi) two or three spots above his overall ranking. You saw the Senators grab a forward in Brady Tkachuk who will likely join the team by 2019-20 at the latest, even though they are in serious danger of losing their franchise defenseman. You even saw Arizona grab a forward many outlets had ranked out of the Top 10 – at No.5. I find it curious, because in real hockey as it is in fantasy, defensemen are valued more. This obviously wasn’t about trade value but to me was about getting a guy on their roster within two or three years (forwards) as opposed to three or four years (defensemen).

On the plus side, this allowed some very deserving teams to get their hands on real good quality defensemen. Kudos to Vancouver on getting Quinn Hughes at 7 and to Edmonton for Evan Bouchard at 10. Then again, it also allowed other teams to get quality defensemen as well – such as Chicago getting Adam Boqvist. The Hawks have won enough Cups lately, shouldn’t they suffer for a bit now? I kid.

I’m sure you’ve read all the articles giving Detroit pats on the back for the players that landed in their lap much later than expected. Filip Zadina was ranked third on a lot of lists (including our own in the Fantasy Prospects Report), yet Detroit got him sixth. Joe Veleno was ranked 11th on our list and Detroit got him 30th. But here is the Devil’s Advocate point of view – they got a couple of players who sank for a reason. I don’t question Zadina’s talent. I think that one was luck in that Montreal wanted a center and Ottawa wanted a sure-fire scoring-line player who can help very soon. But now I question Veleno, who has seen his stock fall for almost an entire year now. Reminds me of us celebrating the Penguins for drafting Angelo Esposito back in the day. There was a reason Esposito fell, is there a reason Veleno fell? I’ll let someone else take a chance on Veleno for now in my league.

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My favorite pick of the first round: Edmonton taking Evan Bouchard

My favorite dark horse pick of the first round: Dallas taking Ty Dellandrea

These are from fantasy standpoints. That’s just how I always think.

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The big news of the weekend may not have even come from the draft, or from a player moving at all, but rather from a player staying. John Carlson signed with the Capitals for eight years at $8 million per season. On the open market he would have been capped at seven years, unless Washington traded him. But my guess is he would have gotten $8.5 million per. This way he gets that extra season. This deal was made possible, and happened quickly, once the team got Brooks Orpik off the books in the Grubauer trade.

Just a thought, but why wouldn’t a superstar sign for one year at a time? Make $10 million next year, $11 the year after, and $12 the year after. If you’re the top UFA available, you’ll always make the most in the league, right? Then at 31 or 32 you sign your six or seven year deal. Three years from now, Carlson will be 15th or 20th among defensemen for salary and yet he still might be Top 10 in talent. Just thinking aloud here…”rambling”, if you will.

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Speaking of UFAs, John Tavares has reportedly cut his list down to the following teams: Toronto, San Jose, Dallas, NY Islanders and “possibly” Boston as well as one of Tampa Bay and/or Nashville. Vegas now off the list.

How hard is Lou Lamoriello working to keep Tavares an Islander? Well, he’s following Tavares around California as he interviews with teams. I guess the next step is to start sticking bananas into the exhaust pipe of Doug Wilson’s car to make sure Wilson is late. I love the dedication here – he clearly knows what is riding on this and is acting accordingly. Leave zero to chance.

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The NHL buyout window ends June 30, which this year is Saturday. Here are the players who are going to be bought out:

Brooks Orpik, COL; Xavier Ouellet, DET;

  And here are the players who have agreed to be released from their contracts unconditionally:

Eric Gryba, EDM; Paul Martin, SJS; Sergey Zborovskiy, NYR;

I don’t know why the above players are allowed to just be released. I understand that they have to also agree to it – but what’s to prevent a team from strong-arming them? Or bribing them with head office jobs? I thought the CBA protected players from this stuff, even at their own detriment at times.

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Minor trade yesterday – Vancouver traded Michael Chaput to Chicago for Tanner Kero. The latter is signed for the season ahead whereas the former is not, but both are depth players playing in a depth role.

Another minor trade – the Red Wings traded Robbie Russo to the Coyotes for a conditional seventh-round draft pick. That’s about as low a return as possible. Russo is all about offense, so to me he’s the quick replacement in case Trevor Murphy fails to pick up where he left off to end last season. Either way, we’re talking about the No.6 or 7 defenseman with secondary PP time and a bit of upside to move higher. Not unlike what Kevin Connauton brought to the table last season.

*

You’re seeing an interesting power swing this year when it comes to coaches, and this is the domino effect of Mike Babcock leaving the Red Wings on his own terms and making a big pile of money with the Maple Leafs. This past season, unless I’m having a brain fart, saw zero coaches fired. Yes, the two New York teams fired their coaches after the season. But in-season there were zero firings. And in the offseason, two coaches resigned and then signed elsewhere for big money. Now instead of coaches making $500,000 the good ones are starting to make $5 million. And this is happening without a union! Good for them, well deserved. Looks like organizations are thinking twice before firing a coach now.

*

Nikita Soshnikov signed a one-year, one-way deal with the Blues. It’s worth $800,000 so the contract can easily be buried, though he’d have to clear waivers. Playing down the stretch he was only seeing about 10 minutes of ice time per game, his hit totals were disappointing and his linemates were nobody of note.

Chris Wideman was enjoying a great start to his season with eight points in 16 games, with two of those on the power play. But then he suffered a hamstring injury that required season-ending surgery. The 28-year-old was set to become an unrestricted free agent but instead signed with the Senators for $1 million. Not really the defenseman Sens fans were hoping to get signed. The background numbers, based on limited data since he only played 16 games, indicates that his 0.50 points-per-game average was too high for him. But we already knew that. Still, if he can remain healthy he’ll be a 30-point guy. He once had 19 goals and 61 points in the AHL.

*

The Max Pacioretty situation is getting complicated. We all know that he’s on the trade block, and you probably heard that he switched agents on the weekend – Allan Walsh is his new guy. And Friday Pierre LeBrun reported that the Habs had a deal done with the Kings but it hinged on Pacioretty signing an extension and he didn’t so the deal fell through. So perhaps Pacioretty stays now and gets an extension from Montreal. But with Evander Kane getting a ludicrous $49 million deal, that pretty much makes Pacioretty worth a hell of a lot more. Had Kane signed a contract that better reflected his value, then perhaps Pacioretty could have been had for $6.5 million per season. Now the Habs are either forced to trade their captain, or overpay him. There’s really no way for Marc Bergevin to look good here, but at this point his reputation as a GM can’t get any worse.

*

I think Phillip Grubauer will be the starter for the Avs in a year. But this season? It will be messy. I’d expect Semyon Varlamov to get 40-45 starts, Grubauer to get 35-40 and Pavel Francouz to get a couple. That breakdown is a nightmare for fantasy owners. So expect a rough season for owners of the 26-year-old before you finally get stability a year from now.

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DobberProspects team pages and player profiles have a new look. We’re still fixing the team prospect depth charts to fit different screen sizes, but if you’re on a PC you can check out the teams here. From there you can choose a team and click a player profile. You can see where we’re going with it, even if it’s not 100% ready just yet.

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At the draft, here is our own Peter Harling (left), Cam Robinson (right) and former Dobber Nation host Andrew Walker (now with the FAN 650)

*

See you next week

    from All About Sports https://dobberhockey.com/hockey-rambling/ramblings-thoughts-on-pacioretty-tavares-the-draft-carlson-wideman-and-more-june-25/

[thrashermaxey]

Ramblings: Anaheim Eliminated; Pittsburgh Rolls; More on Defence Scoring; Johns – April 19

The second elimination of this postseason came at the hands of the San Jose Sharks as they sent Anaheim packing in a four-game sweep following a 2-1 Game 4 win.

The story of the series was Martin Jones. He allowed just four goals in the four games, allowing one or none in three of them. Not that San Jose didn’t play well but Jones was the reason why this series ended in four instead of six or seven.

It’ll be interesting to see what the Ducks do this offseason. Their core is locked up for a lot of money, they don’t have a lot of cap space, and they have to sign restricted free agents Nick Ritchie and Ondrej Kase. Even if they aren’t expensive, it won’t leave them much wriggle room. That necessarily excludes a splash in free agency so anything they do will have to come via trade. Is the core good enough to make another run? Getzlaf/Perry/Kesler will all be at least 33 years old next year. Maybe a lengthy offseason is just what the doctor ordered.

*

The big news all day Wednesday was whether Sean Couturier would be in the lineup for Philadelphia. He was inadvertently injured in practice by Radko Gudas and was a game-time decision. He was eventually ruled out just before warmups and Nolan Patrick took his spot on the top line.

It did not go well for the Flyers.

Pittsburgh was up 2-0 after 20 minutes and 4-0 after 31 minutes. They were basically on cruise control from that point, with the game ending up 5-0. Sidney Crosby, Phil Kessel, and Evgeni Malkin each had a goal and an assist while Matt Murray stopped all 26 shots he faced.

The Flyers still have the offence to get back in this series but if Couturier can’t return, things are looking bleak.

To his credit, Patrick played well enough. Regardless of line mates, matching up against Crosby is difficult for any centre, let alone a rookie. If he can hold on to his top power-play status next season, he could have himself a nice fantasy campaign. He’s been impressive over the last couple of months and showed a lot of progression.

*

It was a, shall we say, feisty game between the Devils and Lightning last night. Tampa Bay extended their series lead to 3-1 with a 3-1 win. Nikita Kucherov had a goal and two assists, figuring into every marker. There were 11 power plays between the two teams and Kucherov found a way to hurt the Devils in more way than one as Sami Vatanen left the game following this hit:

Sami Vatanen headed to the locker room after this hit from Nikita Kucherov. pic.twitter.com/tw3Bap5zHK

— NHL on NBC (@NHLonNBCSports) April 19, 2018

I’ll leave it up to you guys to discuss if there will be supplemental discipline. There was no update from the coach after the game on Vatanen.

It was nice to see Damon Severson stay in the lineup, and he managed eight (!) shots on goal in this game. He had been a healthy scratch for the team at times in the regular season and the playoffs. I’m still a believer in his talent but with the emergence of Will Butcher, there won’t be much in the way of meaningful power-play minutes for Severson next year. Without those power-play points, he’ll be hard pressed for 30-point seasons until the offensive depth on this roster greatly improves. I’m still bullish on him as a talent but bearish on his situation. I’m not sure he’ll have much fantasy relevance outside of deep leagues and dynasties for the 2018-19 season.

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I’m not sure what it is with Filip Forsberg and this Colorado blue line, but, uh, this was amazing:

That deserves another look. pic.twitter.com/dVxPgK0T6p

— NHL GIFs (@NHLGIFs) April 19, 2018

Nashville put their foot on the throat of Colorado with a 3-2 road win to go up 3-1 in the series. Colorado fought back from a 3-0 deficit to make it 3-2 in the third period, and hit a post late, but just couldn’t find the tying goal.

Jonathan Bernier, by the way, was injured at some point in the second period and did not start the third. Andrew Hammond will be the goalie going forward if Bernier’s injury lingers.

Don’t forget about Craig Smith in your fantasy drafts next year. I’ve written about him before but he was a pretty consistent 20-goal scorer before a rough 2016-17 campaign. He’s bounced back on that Nashville second line this year with Kyle Turris and Kevin Fiala to go with top power-play minutes. All the big names will be popular in drafts (Forsberg, Arvidsson, Josi/Subban/Ellis, even Fiala), but don’t forget about Smith as a bench option. He had a goal in this game on an absolute snipe which was a nice reminder of what he can do for your fantasy squads.

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The Selke Trophy finalists were named Wednesday night. The trophy is handed to the top two-way forward in the league. And they are:

Selke Finalists, as voted by the @PWHA…Bergeron (BOS), Couturier (PHI) & Kopitar (LA).

— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) April 18, 2018

I don’t want to get deep into it here but I think there’s a good case could be made for both Aleksander Barkov and Mikko Koivu. Of course, then you have to take a name (or two) off the list, and which name(s) do you remove? Not so easy to pick just three.

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Josh Morrissey has been suspended for one game by the NHL for his cross-check on Eric Staal in Tuesday night’s game. If Tyler Myers isn’t ready to go, the Jets will be a little short-handed on the blue line for the next matchup.

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A couple of days ago in these Ramblings, I discussed how goal-scoring by defencemen had been changing and continues to change in the NHL. If you haven’t read it, you can do so here. The long and short of it is that defencemen are scoring a higher percentage of their team’s goals at five-on-five but a much lower percentage of their team’s goals on the power play. Naturally, this has an effect in fantasy because if defencemen are scoring fewer power-play goals, they have less of an impact in leagues that count power-play goals as their own category.

One thing I failed to consider was how power plays themselves are changing. Tyler Dellow has written about this extensively already, so for those with subscriptions to The Athletic, you can check out his work there. To get you started, I recommend this read on 3F-2D power plays and how they compare in production to 4F-1D power plays, and how it pertains to the Leafs. It was written a year ago but the principles still apply.

Of course, that is what I had failed to consider: teams moving to using four forwards on the power play. With power-play conversion rates at their highest in decades, the sharp declines in PP goal-scoring from defencemen didn’t make sense without a mitigating factor. That factor is defencemen are on the ice for less ice time per minute of their team’s available PP minutes and the rate is declining every year. Here you go (all data from Natural Stat Trick):

That chart shows us how many minutes defencemen are on the ice for every minute of their team’s available power-play time. Four years ago, there was 1.6 minutes of ice time allocated to defencemen for every minute of their team’s power play. This year, there was 1.33. Knowing that teams aren’t going to five-forward power plays with any sort of regularity, this means teams are shifting to four-forward/one-defenceman PP setups.

It bears out this year, too. If you look at the top-10 teams in goals per minute on the PP, they all use one defenceman on the top quintet. They also have a lot of talent, too, but putting more offensively-gifted players in offensive situations leads to more goals. Shocking, I know.    

Yes, while defencemen are scoring fewer power-play goals, there’s a reason for that. Not that it comes as a surprise to you astute fantasy players, but guys locked into top PP roles (Shayne Gostisbehere, Victor Hedman, Brent Burns) carry a lot of value.

Anyway, just wanted to clear that up.

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While I’m talking about defencemen, I’m a bit excited for Stephen Johns next season in the fantasy hockey game.

Ken Hitchcock dragged the Dallas Stars from a wildly entertaining offensive team into a defensive slug. I don’t think there’s much debate about that. Hopefully the next coach takes the leash off all the offensive talent has, and will potentially have (hey Valeri Nichushkin), and this team can return to being as much fun to watch as they used to be.

With regards to Johns, among the 152 defencemen with 1000-plus minutes last year at all strengths, he was fourth in blocked shots per 60 minutes. Of the top-15 defencemen in blocked shots, he was second in shot attempts per 60 minutes (just behind Alex Edler). Blocking shots is one thing, being able to chip in offensively is another, and very few do both. Johns is one of them.

He put up monster peripheral numbers with over 200 hits and over 150 blocked shots. He averaged over 1.6 shots per game. He scored eight goals despite not being very far off his career shooting percentage mark. He did all this while playing fewer than 18 minutes a night. He’ll never touch the top PP unit, but if he can earn a couple more minutes in ice time under a new coaching regime, he has the makings of a very, very solid multi-cat roto performer. Keep an eye to see what the Stars do with their blue line in their offseason. Hopefully he’s earned top-4 minutes. We shall see.  

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There were some interesting tweets from Micah Blake McCurdy on Twitter Wednesday morning pertaining to the Vegas-Los Angeles series. This one stuck out to me from Vegas:

Vegas continues to (v. unusually, I think) not use the centre of the ice very much. This is their regular season shots, showing the same bifurcation – both circles, not crashing the netfront, not using the slot as much. pic.twitter.com/0aabaX4YOc

— Micah Blake McCurdy (@IneffectiveMath) April 18, 2018

Honestly, it’s not often we see teams shooting from the angles and not the mid-to-low slot. Sure, there are teams who can’t get to the net, but you often at least see them shoot from further out.

One thing that popped into my head: royal road passes. These are passes made across the slot in order to get the goalie moving laterally. You can read up on the math here from Hockey Graphs, as well as other pass types, but basically it boils down to high conversion rates. Players who can get a good shot off following this type of pass score much more often.

I haven’t seen anyone tracking playoff data for Vegas for these types of passes (if someone has, let me know in the comments), but my guess is Vegas is often looking for royal road passes. I just found it interesting.

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An observation from former Toronto Marlies assistant coach Justin Bourne:

Every single NHL team should see Vegas’ success and think, “hey, maybe we should give that buried player who we insert in the lineup every fourth game for 10 mins a better opportunity? Maybe he can do more with a legit chance?”

— Justin Bourne (@jtbourne) April 18, 2018

My thought is coaches play not to lose rather than play to win. They’d rather give a guy they know is average-to-below-average ice time than a guy whose future they’re uncertain of. Human beings avoid uncertainty like the plague, coaches are no different.

There is a fantasy hockey lesson in here: don’t be afraid to swing for the fences in drafts, particularly in the later rounds. I preach this all the time and it won’t be the last time I mention it this offseason.

Look at ADPs last year: Brandon Dubinsky and Bo Horvat drafted next to each other; Andrew Shaw and Anthony Mantha a half-round apart; same for Evgeny Dadonov and Scott Hartnell. Different categories factor in – hits and penalty minutes particularly – but people drafting guys whom we know won’t excel offensively are drafting for fifth place instead of drafting for first place.

from All About Sports https://dobberhockey.com/hockey-rambling/ramblings-anaheim-eliminated-pittsburgh-rolls-more-on-defence-scoring-johns-april-19/