#Man my art style has changed since last time I drew him 3 years ago

[chromaticcrazyass]

Hm yes triangles

[lokis-army-77]

If You Please

Chapter three

Bucky Barnes x Reader

Word Count: 1994

I'm bad at writing descriptions, so this is basically a reader insert into The First Avenger and then we'll see how it goes from there.

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Masterlist

The afternoon passed quickly and soon it was almost time to go to bed. I was sitting in a chair, reading, in the living room. Steve was sitting in the chair to my left, drawing away in his sketchbook. For as long as I could remember growing up, Steve had wanted to become a comic illustrator. When we were younger he drew small comic strips about the adventures Bucky, himself, and I would go on. They were always fun to read, but then the US entered the war 3 years ago and Steve stopped drawing all the time and focused on trying to join the fighting. He even got Bucky to help train him at the local boxing gym in the afternoons. Now he only drew when he was anxious or if something was on his mind. I knew if I asked he would just deny it and put everything away.

“I’m off to bed Stevie. Don’t stay up too late,” I yawned. I placed my bookmark in between the pages and quietly pulled myself up from my chair. Steve followed and gave me a short hug.

“I won’t, I’ll probably head to bed here in a few minutes. Thank you for helping me pack today,” he said quietly.

“You’re welcome, I’ll see you off in the morning. Goodnight.” I headed out into the small hallway and into my bedroom. I got myself ready, turned off the bedside lamp, and then crawled into bed. The day had been fast but exhausting. I let my eyes close and my mind drifted to thoughts of Bucky on the ship headed to Europe. Was he okay, did he miss me yet, was he alone? I knew he would be fine, but I prayed anyway. I prayed that he would come back to me safe and sound. I also thought of Steve and how he would be going off to training. I knew Dr. Erskine had some plan involving Steve in Project Rebirth, but I just hoped that he knew what he was doing and that Steve would be safe.

Project Rebirth wasn't something to take lightly. We were creating stronger, faster, and better soldiers. Steve had no clue what he was getting himself into and even though I couldn’t tell him I was involved with this project yet, I would be by his side each step of the way.

Finally, tiredness overtook my worried thoughts and I drifted into a deep, dreamless sleep.

The next morning started like any other, I woke up to the jarring sound of the alarm clock by my head. After stretching I got out of bed and walked to the bathroom to wash the sleep from my face. The warm water helps to wake me up. When I was through with that I made my way into the kitchen to start making breakfast for myself and Steve like always. I had just placed the bread in the toaster when Steve strolled groggily into the room. He went over to the counter where I had placed our bowls of cereal and grabbed one. Then he walked over to the table to take a seat. When the toast was ready I put the pieces on a plate and took them over to the table after grabbing my cereal bowl. Steve grabbed a piece of toast off the plate and slowly started to eat.

“You look like you’re about to pass out, did you even go to bed like I told you,” I questioned him and took a few bites of my cereal.

“Yes, I went straight to bed a few minutes after you did,” he replied while glancing up from his cereal and through his lashes.

“Well, the dark circles under your eyes prove otherwise. You won't be able to stay up late and sleep in after you move into the barracks.” He shook his head and kept eating. “Well,” I started with a sigh, “I’ve got to head off to work in a few, I can walk you as far as the subway.”

“Thanks, It would be nice if you could come with me but I know you can't take off on such short notice.” I smiled at him and we continued to eat our breakfast in peaceful silence. After we finished I went to grab the empty dishes but Steve grabbed them before I could. “Here, let me. You go get ready.” I thanked him and went on to get ready for the workday.

When walking to the subway Steve and I cut up and joked like we always did. It wasn’t until we were almost at the subway stop that we became quieter. I grabbed Steve and pulled him into a tight hug.

“I’ll see you later. Try not to get into too much trouble during training,” I joked before pulling away.

“I can’t guarantee that but I’ll try my best not to. Have a good day at work, and remember to lock the door when you get home, I know you forget to do that at times. I won't be there to lock it behind you if you forget.”

“That was one time, but I’ll remember to check it before I go to bed. Now go or you'll miss your ride.” I watched as he walked away, I waved to him when he turned around to me. I stood watching until he walked down the subway stairs. After he was gone I started on my way to the recruitment office, which was just about three blocks away.

It was a peaceful walk, the city was starting to come alive around me as I went. Women and men on their way to work and children on their way to school. The recruitment office was slowly coming into view, I could already see a line of young men standing from the door and down the sidewalk.

Once I made it to the building I maneuvered my way through the crowd of boys and headed to the back office where a short old woman sat at a desk sorting through some files. She looked up at me and smiled while she said, “Beautiful morning, do you have the time?”

I responded quickly with the other half of the code phrase, “Unfortunately my watch has stopped at 4:18.” She nodded and reached her hand under the desk to press a tiny button that would unlock a secret door that was hidden behind four large filing cabinets. I quickly headed in before anyone could come into the back room. The door closed softly behind me and locked back into place. I continued to walk down the dimly lit hallway until I found the women's locker room. Part of keeping the secret of working for the military was that I had to keep my uniform in the hidden base and change into it when I went into work.

After quickly changing into the uniform I left the locker room to go to the elevator that was directly at the end of the hall. I pressed the down button and the doors opened up. While inside I pressed the third level button and waited for the elevator to jerk to life.

As the doors slid open onto the third level basement floor I saw many people running around the yellow-lit hallways. I walked out into the hallway and was greeted by Agent Peggy Carter, who was walking towards me from the meeting room to my left. “Morning Carter, what's on the agenda today,” I questioned.

“Good morning Rogers, I believe today you and I will be going to Camp Lehigh to scout out the new recruits for Project Rebirth. We will be helping with their training starting before lunchtime today.” She kept walking as she explained the plans for today, I followed closely behind her.

“Then we should get to the car, it is almost nine,” I noted as we kept going through several corridors to the garage. “I have some things to tell you as soon as we leave.” Peggy nodded but kept quiet. After about a minute of walking, we made it to the large parking garage. It had been built under the secret base as a quick getaway escape or just a way to move discreetly in and out of the city. Some of the tunnels that were connected to the garage went on for several miles. The one we would be taking surfaced only a few miles away from Camp Lehigh.

As we reached the car, Peggy and I both opened our doors and slid into the back seat. A young army man was already in the driver's seat ready to drive us away. “What is it you wanted to tell me about earlier,” she asked.

“Do you remember me telling you about my older brother Steve?” I questioned while looking over at her.

“The one that keeps trying to enlist? I remember.” She nodded her head as she spoke.

“Yeah, that's the one. Well, yesterday he told me that he’s been recruited, and by Dr. Erskine. So that means that he is going to be one of the candidates for Project Rebirth. He has no clue what my job actually is, but with me being heavily involved in this project, will it be a problem? Are there any protocols that need to be followed?” She shook her head and let out a soft chuckle when mentioned Dr. Erskine. Then she looked out the window and seemed to think for a minute.

Turning back to me she said, “There isn’t any protocol that I can think of, other than that you have to treat him exactly like you would treat the other recruits. This is a sort of gray area because of your heavy involvement with this project over the last several years and the fact that Dr. Erskine himself chose your brother to be in this program.” I slowly nodded my head as she continued. “That being said, If we encounter him, I would give him a small explanation of why you are there without giving him any information about the project, and that while he is there in training, you are his superior, not his sister.”

“Okay, thanks. That's what I was thinking but I just wanted to ask you just in case. When I see him I’ll pull him over to the side and explain.” I paused for a second and lifted my hand up to grab at the necklace I had been wearing. Dangling from the small chain was a dainty art deco style ring, which once belonged to Bucky’s mother. I turned in between my fingers and watched as what little light there was, bounced off the small square diamond in the middle. I placed it back under my blouse. “James left yesterday with the 107th, I still haven’t said anything to Steve.”

“You’re going to have to tell him eventually, it will be better if it’s sooner than later. Since James is his friend he shouldn't be that mad. Trust me, I know from experience.” After saying this she looked out her window and for the briefest moment, I saw a look of sadness go across her face.

“I know I should tell him, but Steve has it in his head that James is someone who isn't going to settle down anytime soon.”

“That’s probably because neither of you has given Steve reason to not believe that James is that way. He’s your brother and he trusts your judgment, if it doesn't go over smoothly just give him time, he’ll come to realize that you and James love one another, and there really isn't anything he can do about it,” she stated matter-of-factly. “Here,” she handed me a small stack of manila folders, “look over these. They’re the files on all the project recruits.”

I opened the first folder and started to skim over the information and thought this was going to be a long drive.

[toogoodmusic]

THE TOO GOOD TEN with Drew William

The Canadian Football Player and up and coming singer-songwriter Drew William follows up the early 2021 debut EP Room with the latest Message In A Bottle EP.

While playing music in coffee shops and restaurants for the past few years the athlete took advantage of the canceled football season last year to really dive into his musical passion. Now with six songs released, William has proven his ability to pull at your heartstrings with raw and honest songs that while personal to him can be healing and relatable to anyone who listens. A genuine level of intimacy blossoms in every song that gives way for his music to be both enjoyable alone or with close friends and family.

The latest EP release continues that level of intimacy that his fans have come to expect.The two song project features a brand new original release, “California Coastline” that gives ode to William’s home state while also paying respect to a song close to the singer’s heart with a cover of Post Malone’s “A Thousand Bad Times.” Find out more about Drew William and the latest EP by checking out his Too Good Ten below:

1. Starting from the beginning, when did music start for you? How did you realize you wanted to make a career out of it?  

DREW WILLIAM: The beginning is in a one bedroom apartment on Morley Ave. Some discreet little red building in a town most of the world has never heard of; Winnipeg, MB. I picked up the acoustic guitar three years ago in that apartment and have played it every single day since. I came into music naturally. Playing for friends, playing open mics, playing restaurants, pubs, and now going for it in the real music world. Have my first full-set show at Burt Cummings Theatre on April 20th. I feel this is my first big stepping stone.

DREW WILLIAM LIVE STREAM ON RED TIE LIVE’S FACEBOOK ON APRIL 20TH @ 8:00pm EST / 5:00pm PST. CLICK HERE TO WATCH.

2. You were born in California, went to college in Minnesota and now live in Canada. How have those three experiences make their influence into your music? Any of the (3) stick out as being most influential? 

DW: I like the surfer rock style a lot, that nostalgic almost drunk atmosphere that it places you inside. And when I moved to the Midwest it was a lot more folk and ballads. I guess I kind of have two sides to myself: this very twenty-six year old feeling his way through life and this old soul that feels like it’s already made the mistakes and is trying to come out and wisen me up. It’s an interesting mix of the two.

3. Congrats on the release of the debut EP, Room. What was the biggest learning from putting together and releasing a debut EP?

DW: To trust in my gut, and to not be so critical on myself. I knew that mixing and producing my own music was a risk, because It was a lonely venture into a world I was just learning about. I knew that I might not have the skills of a veteran who has been doing it for years. But at the same time, I wanted to enter music absolutely as myself. From the get go I wanted to share myself; no matter how rusty or beginner that sounded. I look at all this as a growth of music and a growth of self. I’m having to learn to let go of a lot of insecurities and fears, and for that I have to thank my own music.

4. And now fans have an additional taste of your music with the release of the Message In A Bottle EP.  What’s the EP title mean to you?

DW: “Message in a Bottle” came to me from a line in the lyrics: It says, “On that California Coastline / We’re fire and rain at the same time / I found a bottle on the sea / With a message on the inside / Is a tale about a lost love / From a boy who held these memories.” It’s this goodbye to a past version of myself, to the old loves and it’s this intimate goodbye because it’s more than just memory it’s a part of soul, too, that no longer serves. 

So the throwing of the bottle is this closure; a letter written and sealed by the same person. An opening up and a goodbye. This seems to be what growth feels like now. Maybe that will change in appearance, or feel differently, I’ll find out. But for now, this feels like a goodbye to an old self, with a mindset of growing up whilst not losing that child inside that makes all of this fun and freeing. 

5. You’re not only a musician but also a wide receiver for the Canadian Football League team Winnipeg Blue Bombers. How do you balance being both an artist and an athlete? What’s the biggest challenge of pursing both careers? 

DW: This past season was cancelled so it became a focus point to work on my music. This year as we anticipate a season, I have to tread carefully because it’s something I have never done, two things simultaneously.  I used to believe these two worlds had to be separate, music and football. But it has proven to be quite the contrary. It has opened the doors for my music to be heard, and I will continue to see them as supporting roles in my life.

6. As an athlete is it tough for you to show a more vulnerable side through your music? 

DW: It is. I’ll be straight up honest. There is a lot of insecurity on a football team. Egos, hyper masculinity, these things exist everywhere. But there are guys who are so much more than this sport. I hope to be an example to kids who are afraid to show their emotions, show them that you can be so many different things in life and still maintain your truest essence. I just live passionately, whether that’s on the field or on stage, I’m putting it all on the line.

7. Do you have any funny/fun/weird fan interaction stories you can share? 

DW: I was supposed to play this little curb-side concert, this family won it in a little raffle I held and when I showed up it was just one couple. The wife was wasted and the husband was 30 years older than her. Their son came in and out of the room where I half heartedly played for them (he was schizophrenic but was the most normal person in the house). And then there daughter came up from the basement wearing all leather like she was about to hit the corner. She was probably thirty-five, filming me on her phone.. I was very weirded out. The wife had made bacon pirogi's for me. I told her I was a vegetarian. She didn’t understand why someone would do that…. And she kissed me on the cheek when I left. I was very disturbed ha-ha.  

8. If you could headline a music festival – which one would be the dream festival? And who would be your choice for the other (2) acts that would headline the other two nights of the festival?

DW: I really think me, The Lumineers and Ziggy Alberts could all put on a nice little folk fest. I wanna play the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in CO. Just an unbelievable venue. Not sure if there is a festival there though! I’ll go to anywhere that will take me at this point!

9. If you could only listen to (5) artists for the rest of your life who would they be? 

DW: So basically my life anyway? Ha, I kid I kid. Truthfully: Mt. Joy, The National,  Angus & Julia Stone, Cat Stevens & Zella Day

10. What’s the rest of 2021 look like for Drew William?

DW:  A whole lot of learning, relationship building, collaboration, and diving deep inside and bringing out The best and truest art. I can feel my life changing before me, it’s frightening but exhilarating. Ready for this ride!

We’re ready for that ride as well! Shout-out to Drew William for hanging for this Too Good Ten. Keep updated with Drew by following along with the links below and be sure to tune TOMORROW, April 20th @ 8:00pm EST / 5:00pm PST right HERE. 

Facebook

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Website

YouTube

The Too Good Ten interview series is dedicated to giving you a quick glimpse at some of the freshest voices in music. Ten Questions. One Artist. Too Good. Let’s go.

While The Too Good Ten is dedicated to just highlighting ten questions from an artist, Too Good Music was lucky enough to score an additional two questions from Drew...check them out below:

BONUS QUESTION #1: Congrats on the new releases of “California Coastline” and the cover of Post Malone’s “A Thousand Bad Times.” What surprised you/or what might people not know about the process of covering and releasing your own version of another artist’s song?

DW: The part I was focused on was really making it my own version. Something people know but don’t know, so it feels like an entirely different ride. I wanted also to pay my respects to the song. It meant a lot to me. I’m sure it helped a lot of people. It’s also a message I needed to hear, especially now. We all need this reminder. We’re all feeling something right now, no need to hide that. This is a very hard time. But we are resilient people and it’s been a gift to witness and a gift to make music that continues to carry this message of resiliency and strength.

BONUS QUESTION #2: Your Quarantine Campfire series on IG live – where you perform, do Q&A’s and bring along friend’s and guests – is awesome. How’d you come up with that concept and would be a dream guest on the series? 

DW: This was an extension of the in-person curb-side-concerts I was doing throughout the summer. Creating an intimate and safe place to share music, highlight some local artists and just have fun with the community. Man… My dream guest. Probably Zella Day cuz I got a lot respect for her music and I once saw her sing “Man on the Moon” on YouTube, all acoustic, and I was blown away. It would hit perfectly on my quarantine campfire.

[iesorno]

As promised, we’ve got part two of our two-fer from the team bringing Department of the Peculiar – Goes Pop to Kickstarter RIGHT NOW. This time artist Robert Wells. Part one of the two-fer featured Rol Hirst, writer of DotP.

Rob’s been on zine love before, so this makes him our first returning interviewee for the site (stealing the position at the last moment from someone else that I was slow to respond to!!).

DotP 2 page – pencils

DotP 2 page – inked

He seems to be constantly busy drawing something and collaborating with creators whose work I enjoy, which is how I came across his work in the first place. He has really strong chops when it comes to drawing and designing characters and a lovely turn in understated snipe, so that’s been a bonus – as well as being lovely to chat to.

You can buy from him here, check out some free downloads of DotP here and back it here, and socially follow him on    twitter     instagram     or facebook

DotP 2 Heroes? stretch goal!!

  Over to you Rob – tell us a bit about yourself and your tastes

Can you tell us a bit about the first creator whose work you recognised?

The first comic creator was John Byrne. I remember thinking that the art in X-Men, which he was still drawing at the time, looked similar to the art in a Marvel Premiere two-parter featuring Ant-Man (#47 and #48), then I noticed the credits in a comic for the first time and realised that people actually drew these things.

Marvel Premiere-47-48

Outside of comics, I was about to give the same answer as Rol (Hirst – writer of Department of the Peculiar – see interview here) and say Stephen King, as I’ve read quite a lot of his books (probably less than half of them but that’s still a lot). Then I remembered that when I was a kid, I really liked James Bond films and that I read a lot of Ian Fleming’s James Bond books (and some written by other people) when I was at secondary school. That was probably the first time I ever saw a film or TV series and then went and on to discover the source material, which was often quite different. (I have no interest in James Bond at all now.)

James Bond covers

Which creators do you remember first copying?

Maybe John Byrne but I probably copied things out of comics before that not knowing the names of the artists I was copying.

  More generally I’d say Charles Bukowski, whose work I probably wouldn’t enjoy much at all now and may even find quite offensive, but I liked it a lot when I was in my early-20s. ‘Copied’ may be an exaggeration but around the time I was reading a lot of his stuff I started going to a writers’ workshop to improve my writing and in the couple of years I was going there I wrote a lot of semi-autobiographical short stories that often involved a lot of drinking.

Charles Bukowski covers

Who was the creator that you first thought ‘I’m going to be as good as you!’?

I don’t know how to answer that really. I’ve hoped to be as good as a lot of creators, but I don’t know that I’ve ever thought that I would be as good as someone, not even artists whose work I dislike. I’ve certainly seen a lot of art that’s made me think ‘I could do better than that’ but that’s generally the work of amateurs who I wouldn’t be able to name. Art I tend to dislike in professional comics I usually dislike because it’s bland or conforms to some dull house style (I’m thinking of a lot of DC comics from a decade or more ago) but even then the artists involved probably have a better grasp of anatomy and better basic drawing skills than me, they are just working to tough deadlines and drawing characters who have to be drawn in a certain way.

  Which creator or creators do you currently find most inspiring?

Cult of Luna – Mariner with Julie Christmas

Sean Phillips, who I still can’t believe I was cheeky enough to ask to do a pin-up for DOTP Goes POP! #1 after he told me he liked my book. Not only did he agree, he even posted me the original art.

Other than that, I can’t think of one particular example right now but like Rol I love Better Call Saul and watch a lot of TV in general, particularly US TV, and I’m sure that influences my storytelling. I also listen to a lot of music – particularly metal – while I’m drawing and that really helps me to switch off and lose myself in my work.

  Which creators do you most often think about?

Jaime Hernandez = Love and Rockets

For comics it’s Jaime Hernandez. He was already great when I discovered Love and Rockets in 1986/1987 but he has somehow kept getting better. I often go for long periods without engaging with his work at all (I haven’t bought any issues of the current Love and Rockets series yet and because I rarely get to visit good comic shops, I haven’t even seen them) but I always pick up the collections and come back to it eventually.

More generally? Now I will say Stephen King, even if what I’m usually thinking is just: ‘Bloody hell, he’s somehow written three more huge books since the last one I read, and I still haven’t read at least 20 of the ones I picked up in charity shops a decade or more ago!’

  Can you name the first three creative peers that come into your head and tell a little bit about why?

Rol, Paul Rainey (who encouraged me to start drawing comics again at a time when I had almost given up on it), and Martin Eden (who I exchange long emails with very regularly).

Paul Rainey – Thunder Brother Special -cover

Martin Eden – Zeros

                      Finally, can you tell us a bit about your recent work and yourself?

I’m 51, married, no kids, two dogs. I live in Kent. I self-published my first comic in 1991, when I was 22, published a handful of other comics in the ‘90s, didn’t do much at all in the 2000s, but got back into it big-time in the 2010s, when I was in my early-40s. It’s only since I did my graphic novel (which even I didn’t think I’d actually finish when I started it) that I feel like I’ve developed any confidence and really got going. I’d be happy for everything I did before that point, along with the years I wasted doing things other than drawing, to be stricken from the record. I write and draw but now I seem to be mostly drawing and I’m quite enjoying collaborating with other people on comics for a change.

  I’m currently working on Department of the Peculiar Goes POP! #2 (just finishing off a 3-page back-up strip but the rest is done)

  About to start drawing a 6-page sci-fi strip, written by Paul Duncan, for The ’77 #3

  Malty Heave #2 (with Phil Elliott). I have written most of my story for this horror-themed issue, which will probably be out for Halloween now, but Phil and I have both been distracted by other things and haven’t really got going with drawing it yet (although Phil has drawn at least two pages of his strip).

  Thank you very much for taking the time to fill this out and let us into your mind.

  all art copyright and trademark it’s respective owners.

content copyright iestyn pettigrew 2020

    as promised - we have @RobertDWells as 2 of the two-fer with @rolhirst up now on https://zinelove.wordpress.com/ he seems to know people - so there's a lot of links took ages, so please click them all #comics #minicomics #music #funny As promised, we’ve got part two of our two-fer from the team bringing Department of the Peculiar – Goes Pop to Kickstarter RIGHT NOW…

[thrashermaxey]

Ramblings: Ovechkin Clicking at Career-Rate, Rantanen On Another Planet, Meier, & Johnsson (Dec 12)

Alex Ovechkin – USA Today Sports Images

  William Nylander hit the scoresheet for the first time this season. The 22-year-old led the way for the Leafs with two even-strength assists as they beat the Hurricanes 4-1 on Tuesday evening. Nylander continued to skate alongside Nazem Kadri and Patrick Marleau on the team's third line. He's also working the half-wall on the team's second power-play unit. 

  It isn't exactly the ideal spot to push his metrics to the next level, but it should be enough for him to play at a 60-point pace – about where I'd peg his floor to be. 

  **

Freddie Andersen continues to roll on. The 29-year-old has been the best fantasy netminder in all setups. His win tonight pushes his record to 17-8-0 with a 0.928 save percentage. He's posted a quality start rate of 72 percent. That's a puck-stopper you can rely on. 

  **

Andreas Johnsson scored a goal on Tuesday night but it was quickly changed to give credit to Morgan Rielly. Despite the pointless night, Johnsson has been playing well of late. He was a sleeper pick by many last offseason to break out in Toronto this year. He started his season by watching up in the press box as a healthy scratch. When he did get into the lineup, it was in a depth role.

  Well, Willy Nylander is back in Leaf-land and things are moving and shaking. Johnsson has been lining up on the left side of Auston Matthews at even strength the past few games. He's also seeing his fair share of second power-play unit duties.

  The 24-year-old has made the most of his upgrade in deployment.  He came into the game against Carolina with two consecutive games with a goal and an assist. He’s owned in just 16 percent of Yahoo leagues but that number is climbing.

  Patty Marleau doesn’t look like a true fit beside Matthews, and Johnsson’s speed, skill and tenacious-style fits well to pursue the puck and cause turnovers for the big pivot to operate with. I love this type of streamer. A young player with upside who is in a good spot. He won’t see PP1 time, so the results will be held back to some degree. But he could become a staple on that line with a few more strong performances.

  Buy-in if you can.

  **

It was reported that Ryan Miller will miss six weeks with a sprained MCL. The Ducks wasted no time in claiming Chad Johnson off of waivers from St Louis to provide some support to John Gibson.

  Jordan Binnington is the new back-up in STL. The 25-year-old has a single NHL game on his resume. He managed to wrestle the starting gig in the American league from Ville Huuso who has been projected as the up and comer for a few seasons.

  With the way the Blues are playing these days, it is conceivable that Binnington sees some ice, but the results will likely be very muted.

  **

It was Jake Allen who got the start and the win against the Panthers on Tuesday. St Louis needed this one. After getting shelled on home ice by Vancouver on Sunday, the media was all over the practice tilt involving Bortuzzo and Sanford. Perhaps that was the gelling moment for a squad that should be much better than they've been. 

  David Perron (2+0), Brayden Schenn (1+1) and Jaden Schwartz (0+2) led the way for the Blues. 

  **

Speaking of bad teams, the Blackhawks dropped their eighth consecutive contest on Tuesday. They fell 6-3 the Jets on the road. 

  Winnipeg was led by Kyle Connor and his two tallies. Dustin Byfuglien chipped in with three assists. He seems to be back to his old ways after that terribly managed concussion. 

  **

More injuries in Anaheim? You don't say. This time it's the team’s top left-wing, Rickard Rakell who continues to be out with a sprained ankle. There is no timeline for his return at this point.

  That’s another gaping hole on a team that has been decimated with injuries this season. It was Pontus Aberg who rolled next to Getzlaf and Ondrej Kase on the team’s ‘top line’ during the last game. Aberg and Sprong both took turns on the team’s top power play unit.

  No one is replacing Rackell in the short term, but Sprong or Aberg could provide some streaming options if they are getting exposure to Getzlaf in all situations.

  **

Boston and Arizona squared off in a cross-conference battle that drew…very little attention. While it didn't have the heat of a divisional matchup, this was a good game. The Coyotes jumped out to a 2-0 lead after Nick Schmaltz and Nick Cousins potted first-period tallies. Schmaltz has seven points in the seven games since landing in the desert. Here's hoping you bought in when we told you to. 

  The Bruins stormed back to score four unanswered goals. Brad Marchand popped two. David Pastrnak chipped in with a goal and two helpers. The Bruins haven't been their dominant self with Patrice Bergeron on the shelf. But they're finding their way. 

  Of note, Ryan Donato skated on the team's second line and top power-play unit. He saw 3:35 of PPTOI and recorded an assist and two shots on goal. That's the type of deployment you want to see the young sharp-shooter receive to start considering him an asset for this season. 

  **

The NHL has its first 50-point scorer in 2018-19. Mikko Rantanen buried his 13th and 14th goals of the season and added two assists on Tuesday in a 6-4 loss to the Oilers. That extended his point streak to 12 games and 23 points. This dude is on another planet. 

  He has a six-point lead atop the Art Ross race. 

  **

Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl combined for five points in the victory. Drai was chucking some backhand sauce out there. 

  https://dobberhockey.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/12/Drai-to-McD.mp4

  The big German has quietly slid into the top-15 point producers with 37 points in 31 contests. He and McDavid belong together. I don't ever want to see those two split up again. 

  Mikko Koskinen was good once again. Ken Hitchcock appears to have cleaned the squad up defensively, and it's Koskinen who is thriving the most. He sporting a 0.928 save percentage in 15 games played. He has two regulation losses in his last 11 games and has posted a quality start rate of 60 percent. 

  The crease is his. 

  **

  The LA Kings are dreadful. Leading the Sabres 3-1 heading into the third period they managed to blow things. Jeff Skinner ended up potting the overtime winner, his 21st of the season. His captain and linemate, Jack Eichel contributed a goal and an assist. It was his fifth multi-point outing in the last six games. 

  Eichel now sits tied for ninth in NHL scoring with 38 points in 31 contests. The 22-year-old has officially arrived. And so have the Sabres. Buffalo is solidly in the playoffs and third in their division. Just three points behind the Leafs for second. It's been a long road in upstate New York, it's good to finally see some success. 

  Rasmus Dahlin was held off the scoresheet in this one. But the 18-year-old played 28:34, had eight shots and three blocks. He played 10:04 on the man-advantage! 

  Fret not keeper league owners, his counting stats may not jump off the page just yet, but he's out there doing things like this before he even has to shave. Imagine what he'll do in a year or three. 

  https://dobberhockey.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2018/12/Dahlin-dangles.mp4

  **

Nick Backstrom and Alex Ovechkin teamed up to lay a beatdown on the Red Wings on Tuesday. Ovi proceeded to score three goals to push his league-leading total to 25 in 30 games. The 33-year-old has never had that many tallies through 30 games in any of his previous 13 seasons. 

  Let that sink in for a moment. He's 33 years old and on pace for his highest output yet. The man is pacing for 68 goals!

  What a legend. 

  Ovechkin is currently riding an 11-game point streak where he's scored 13 goals and 19 points. 

  Meanwhile, Backstrom continues to be the most underappreciated fantasy star ever. Left for dead by many after a 'disappointing' 71-point campaign a year ago and looking like his days of dishing to Ovi at even-strength were over. Well, turns out he's far from dead. The 31-year-old has 38 points in 30 games to be living in the top-10 league-wide. 

  I keep trying to trade for him in my main league and you should too.

**

Rick Roos is rolling again with his annual Cage Match Tournament. Check out the forums to vote for The New Normal edition.

  **

Gus Nyqvist potted a goal and an assist. The 29-year-old has produced nine points in the six games since Anthony Mantha went down with a hand injury. Nyqvist is having his best start to date with 28 points in 32 games. A quiet but effective producer who is seeing high-end deployment.

That's a good combination.

**

The requisite Elias Pettersson tidbit.

  Heading into Tuesday’s contests, Pettersson had 15 goals and 30 points in 26 career games. Here’s a look at some other current stars and their totals after 26 contests.

  Some current NHL stars and their points totals after 26 career games:

  Elias Pettersson – 30

Evgeni Malkin – 30

Alex Ovechkin – 29

Sidney Crosby – 28

Connor McDavid – 28

Patrick Kane – 27

Patrik Laine – 21

Johnny Gaudreau – 20

Auston Matthews – 20

  {source}<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Adjust for scoring era and this changes but worth noting.<br><br>Some other comparables in their first 26 games:<br><br>Yashin – 34 pts<br>Selanne – 34 pts<br>Lindros – 34 pts<br>Sakic – 33 pts<br>Makarov – 32 pts.<br><br>All but the first guy are in the HHOF.<br><br>Pettersson is tied with Malkin for 6th.</p>— Stephen Burtch (@SteveBurtch) <a href="https://twitter.com/SteveBurtch/status/1072623138553368576?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 11, 2018</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>{/source}

    **

Since we're talking about Pettersson (when am I not?), the 20-year-old rookie posted a goal and an assist in Tuesday's 3-2 win over Columbus. His 32 points in 27 games vaults into the top-30 for skaters league-wide. His 1.19 points-per-game represent the 18th best mark. 

  As amazing as that is, the thing that really stands out is that 1.19 points-per-game is only good for 18th in the league! We are living in a high-scoring and enjoyable time. Perhaps the 22 skaters that played at or above a point-per-game last year wasn't an aberration after all. The goalie pads are slimmer, and the red lights are warmer. 

  Good times. 

  **

The Wild laid the boots to Canadiens 7-1 on home ice on Tuesday. Matt Dumba scored two goals, while Zach Parise added a goal and two helpers. 

  Dumba has been good again this season. The 24-year-old has 12 goals and 21 points in 30 games this year. His 12 markers lead all blueliners and he's on pace for another career year. That would be five seasons in a row where the former WHL stud improved on his goal and point total. 

  **

Jeff Petry may not be working the top power-play unit in Montreal now that Shea Weber is healthy, but that hasn't slowed him down yet. The veteran defender has five points in the five games since Weber rejoined the team. 

His five-on-five shooting percentage is a bit high, but the rest of his metrics remain solid. Better not drop him yet.

  **

Let's talk about Timo Meier for a moment. The 22-year-old is tied for 10th in the NHL with 26 even-strength points. His 3.6 P/60 is 17th most – tied with Crosby, Wheeler, Eichel, Pasta, and Malkin.

  He's putting 3.31 shots on goal per night and is on pace for 44 goals and 82 points in 79 games.

  PLUS! his name is really fun to say.

Teeeee-moe!

  People need to be waking up on this kid. He’s a play-driver and he’s driving the bus in San Jose as a third-year player. We keep waiting for his numbers to slag, but there have been no signs of slowing down yet.

  **

Feel free to follow me on Twitter @Hockey_Robinson

    from All About Sports https://dobberhockey.com/hockey-rambling/ramblings-ovechkin-clicking-at-career-rate-rantanen-on-another-planet-meier-johnsson-dec-12/