Der Fremde » ink its time to tweak it a little bit,

Tampa Bay’s sensational sophomores, the Isles’ supporting cast, Detroit’s stifling defence, lineup news, Fantasy tips and more in Scott Cullen’s Statistically Speaking. HEROES Palat, Johnson, Kucherov – This is hardly the first time noting their outstanding play but, after putting up four of Tampa Bay’s five goals in a 5-1 win at Buffalo Wednesday, with three at even strength, the trio of Lightning second-year forwards took over as the league’s most productive line, scoring 24 goals. LW Ondrej Palat led the way against Buffalo, with a goal and three assists, while C Tyler Johnson had three helpers and RW Nikita Kucherov had two goals and an assist and all three were on for 20 shot attempts for and three against (87.0%) at even strength. TOP SCORING LINES LINE TEAM GOALS Palat-Johnson-Kucherov Tampa Bay 24 Marchand-Bergeron-Smith Boston 23 Raffl-Giroux-Voracek Philadelphia 19 Tarasenko-Lehtera-Schwartz St. Louis 18 Forsberg-Ribeiro-Neal Nashville 17 Strome, Nielsen, Lee – The Islanders’ second line scored four of their five goals in a 5-2 win at Winnipeg New Year’s Eve. Strome, one of the most efficient point producers in the league, led the way with a goal and three assists and all three were on for better than 75% of the shot attempts against Winnipeg. Among players with at least 300 5-on-5 minutes this season: POINTS PER 60 MINUTES, 5-on-5 PLAYER TEAM POS. PTS/60 Tyler Johnson Tampa Bay C 3.79 Nikita Kucherov Tampa Bay RW 3.66 Rick Nash N.Y. Rangers LW 3.59 Ryan Strome N.Y. Islanders RW 3.33 Tyler Seguin Dallas C/RW 3.05 Detroit Red Wings – In a 3-1 win over New Jersey on New Year’s Eve, the Red Wings outshot the Devils 28-13. This was practically a perfect storm for stifling shots, at least in a game not involving the Buffalo Sabres. The Red Wings allow a league-leading 45.30 shot attempts against per 60 minutes of 5-on-5 play this season, while the Devils generate a paltry 47.23 shot attempts 60 minutes (only the Sabres, at 39.52 are lower). Detroit’s best shot suppressor is C Riley Sheahan, who starts more than 62% of his shifts in the offensive zone and allows a league-best 37.7 shot attempts per 60 minutes of 5-on-5 play. Among players with at least 400 minutes of 5-on-5 play this season: SHOT ATTEMPTS AGAINST, PER 60 MINUTES AT 5-on-5 PLAYER TEAM POS. CA/60 Riley Sheahan Detroit C 37.7 Tomas Tatar Detroit LW 40.3 Jaromir Jagr New Jersey RW 42.9 Anton Stralman Tampa Bay D 43.6 Brendan Smith Detroit D 43.8 Travis Zajac New Jersey C 44.5 Steven Stamkos Tampa Bay C 44.6 Ryan Callahan Tampa Bay RW 44.8 Patrice Bergeron Boston C 45.0 Jonas Brodin Minnesota D 45.1 ZEROES Boston’s fourth line – Though they didn’t start a single shift in the offensive zone in their 4-3 shootout loss to Toronto New Year’s Eve, the line of Gregory Campbell, Dan Paille and Craig Cunningham were all crushed in termf os possession, with Campbell at the low end (1 shot attempt for, 12 against, 7.7%) against a team that has its own puck possession woes. Bo Horvat – The Canucks rookie started 75% of his shifts in the offensive zone against Los Angeles Thursday, but managed to be on the ice for just one shot attempt for and 13 against (7.1%) and has a team-worst (minimum 20 minutes of 5-on-5 play) 43.1% Corsi; further evidence that it’s not easy to play in the league as a teenager. Nicolas Deslauriers – The Sabres winger put the finishing touches on his league-worst Corsi percentage in December with 11.8% of the shot attempts (2 for, 15 against) against Tampa Bay on New Year’s Eve. Here are the leaders, and trailers, in Corsi% for the month of December. Among players with at least 120 5-on-5 minutes in the final month of 2014: CORSI% LEADERS - DECEMBER, 2014 PLAYER TEAM POS. CORSI% Trevor Lewis Los Angeles RW 65.4% Brad Boyes Florida RW 63.3% Tyler Toffoli Los Angeles RW 62.5% Marian Gaborik Los Angeles LW 62.4% Tomas Tatar Detroit LW 62.1% Joe Thornton San Jose C 61.7% Brayden McNabb Los Angeles D 61.5% Tanner Pearson Los Angeles LW 61.2% Jason Demers Dallas D 60.6% Pavel Datsyuk Detroit C 60.4% At the other end of the spectrum: CORSI% TRAILERS - DECEMBER, 2014 PLAYER TEAM POS. CORSI% Nicolas Deslauriers Buffalo LW 30.8% Drew Stafford Buffalo RW 33.6% Rasmus Ristolainen Buffalo D 33.9% Brian Flynn Buffalo C 35.9% Nikita Zadorov Buffalo D 36.0% Chris Stewart Buffalo RW 36.3% Josh Gorges Buffalo D 36.4% Tyler Bozak Toronto C 36.7% Phil Kessel Toronto RW 37.1% Zemgus Girgensons Buffalo C 37.2% LINEUP NEED TO KNOW Kris Versteeg – Left the Winter Classic early after suffering an apparent hand injury as he blocked a shot from Washington’s Eric Fehr. The Blackhawks have the luxury of being able to slide a player as skilled as Patrick Sharp into Versteeg’s spot with Brad Richards and Patrick Kane if Versteeg is going to miss significant time. Joffrey Lupul – Toronto’s frequently-injured winger suffered a lower-body injury after an awkward collision with Boston’s Milan Lucic. Peter Holland is also out for the Leafs, so they have recalled Greg McKegg from the AHL Marlies. McKegg has 15 points (7 G, 8 A) and is minus-2 in 23 AHL games this season. Beau Bennett – The oft-injured winger assisted on both of Pittsburgh’s goals in a 2-1 win over Carolina, in his first game in five weeks, skating on a line with Chris Kunitz and Brandon Sutter. Corey Perry – Returned to the Anaheim lineup, after missing nearly four weeks, in Wednesday’s 3-0 loss to San Jose. Joe Thornton – Played only 3:35 at Anaheim on New Year’s Eve after getting hit by Ducks D Clayton Stoner, though the Sharks downplayed the severity of the injury. Ryan Murphy – The Hurricanes recalled their young puck-moving blueliner after he spent a couple of months toiling in the AHL, where he had 17 assists and a minus-7 rating in 23 games. Mason Raymond – The Flames winger was a healthy scratch against Edmonton Saturday. He had seven points (5 G, 2 A) in seven games to start the year, but has gone scoreless in 13 games since. Micheal Haley – The agitating centre was called up to the Sharks, and played three games in the past week. He has three points (2 G, 1 A) and 168 penalty minutes in 55 career NHL games and had 13 points (10 G, 3 A) with 60 penalty minutes in the AHL when he got the call. SHORT SHIFTS Jets LW Andrew Ladd scored both of Winnipeg’s goals in the 5-2 loss to the Islanders. In the past 12 games, Ladd has 13 points (6 G, 7 A)…Rangers C Derek Stepan had three assists in a 5-2 win at Florida, giving him 11 points (4 G, 7 A) in the past seven games…Maple Leafs RW Phil Kessel contributed a goal and an assist in a 4-3 shootout win at Boston on New Year’s Eve; Kessel has 18 points (7 G, 11 A) in the past 16 games…Bruins C Carl Soderberg had a goal and an assist in the loss for Boston, and has nine points (3 G, 6 A) in his past seven games…Blue Jackets D Kevin Connauton picked up a goal and an assist in a 3-1 win over Minnesota New Year’s Eve, giving him nine points (5 G, 4 A) in the past nine games…Sharks RW Joe Pavelski scored a pair of goals in a 3-0 win at Anaheim Wednesday, and has nine points (7 G, 2 A) in the past nine games…Avalanche D Brad Stuart had a pair of assists in a 4-3 win against Philadelphia, and has four assists in the past four games. Those are Stuart’s first points of the season, but he could use some positive recognitition after getting slammed twice for puck possession shortcomings this week. Capitals D Mike Green recorded a pair of assists in Washington’s 3-2 Winter Classic win over Chicago; he has eight points (1 G, 7 A) in the past seven games... Capitals LW Alex Ovechkin had a goal and an assist in the Winter Classic, while generating 13 shot attempts (4 SOG)…In his past 11 games, Ovechkin has registered 120 shot attempts (10.9 per game)…Blackhawks LW Patrick Sharp, who is second to Ovechkin in shots on goal per game, scored a goal and generated 15 shot attempts (10 SOG) in the outdoor game…Canucks RW Radim Vrbata had a goal and an assist in Thursday’s 3-2 loss to Los Angeles, giving him five points (3 G, 2 A) in the past five games…Colorado’s fourth-liners, Cody McLeod (12 shot attempts for, none against, 100.0%) and Maxime Talbot (13 for, 1 against, 92.9%) had dominant possession games against Philadelphia Wednesday, crushing the head-to-head matchup against Philadelphia’s Vincent Lecavalier and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare. Stars G Kari Lehtonen recorded a 32-save shutout against Arizona New Year’s Eve…Sharks G Antti Niemi had 28 saves on a shutout at Anaheim, and had a .929 save percentage in December…Blue Jackets G Sergei Bobrovsky had 28 saves on 29 shots in a 3-1 win over Minnesota, and had a .937 save percentage in December…Hurricanes G Cam Ward stopped 37 of 39 shots faced in a 2-1 loss at Pittsburgh; Ward has a .926 save percentage in 22 games since the start of November. FIRSTS Brett Ritchie – The 2011 second-round pick scored a goal in his NHL debut against Arizona Wednesday, playing 10:21 on the fourth line with Travis Moen and Vernon Fiddler. The 6-foot-4 winger had 18 points (11 G, 7 A) and was plus-10 in 22 AHL games. Joe Whitney – The 5-foot-6 winger scored his first NHL goal, in his third career NHL game, at Detroit Wednesday. Whitney had 27 points (11 G, 16 A) in 30 games with Albany before he was promoted. Nikita Nesterov – The 2011 fifth-round pick of the Lightning played 15:02 in his NHL debut against Buffalo Wednesday. He had 14 points and was plus-4 in 32 AHL games before getting the call, with Radko Gudas still nursing FANTASY TIPS A few under-the-radar players to consider for your lineup Friday: Lars Eller – On a modest three-game point streak, the Habs’ pivot played a season-high 18:56 at Florida last game. Matt Read – He has just one goal and six points in his past 18 games, but joined Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek on the top line last game. Patrick Maroon – By the same token, Maroon hasn’t done much for the Ducks this year, scoring only two goals, but he was re-united with Ryan Getzlaf and a healthy Corey Perry New Year’s Eve against San Jose. Much of the data included comes from www.war-on-ice.com, www.puckalytics.com, www.hockeystats.ca and www.naturalstattrick.com Scott Cullen can be reached at scott.cullen@bellmedia.ca Danny Welbeck Jersey . Eller scored the midway through the third period after Dallas scored twice to tie it, leading Canadiens to a 6-4 win over the Stars on Thursday night. Gary Cahill Jersey . - Considering where Jeff Gordon was after Richmond, left out of the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship in part due to some late-race shenanigans, he couldnt have been happier on Sunday. http://www.englandsoccerpro.com/Danny-Ro...and-Jersey/.com) - Coming off a pair of tough losses last week, the Syracuse Orange will try to put an end to their first losing skid of the season when they pay a visit to the Maryland Terrapins at the Comcast Center on Monday night in Atlantic Coast Conference action. Marcus Rashford England Jersey . The Brazilian-born strikers brace drew him level with Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo as the leagues leading scorers with 17 goals apiece through 16 rounds. "The important thing is to help the team win, not the goals," Diego Costa said. After a first half dominated by defence, Atletico pressed Valencia into its area and Diego Costa did the rest. Jamie Vardy England Jersey . Earnshaw, 31, most recently spent time on loan in Israel with Maccabi Tel Aviv from Welsh club Cardiff City, which plays in Englands second-tier League Championship. Earnshaw began his career with Cardiff Citys youth program and turned professional in 1998.SAN FRANCISCO - Homer Bailey heard frequent reminders that he had a no-hit bid in progress. Not anyone on the Cincinnati bench mentioned it, however. "I wasnt really thinking about it, other than the fan just above our dugout who kept yelling at me about it," Bailey said. "That was nice of him." Bailey made a strong bid for yet another no-hitter, shutting down San Francisco until Buster Poseys two-out single in the seventh inning and pitching the Reds past the Giants 4-0 Sunday. Bailey has thrown no-hitters in each of the last two seasons, and did it against the Giants at home last July 2. He came close to pitching the latest gem at AT&T Park — the ballpark was the scene of Tim Lincecums no-hitter Wednesday against San Diego. "I had pretty good stuff, got a lot of early outs and we scored enough runs," Bailey said. "It was our lucky day, I guess." Bailey (8-4) finished with a three-hitter as the Reds completed their first four-game sweep in San Francisco since 1972 at Candlestick Park. Billy Hamilton, Brandon Phillips, Brayan Pena and Skip Schumaker drove in runs as the Reds won their season-best fifth straight and eighth in nine overall. The Giants were swept in a four-game series for the first time in their ballpark that opened in 2000. San Francisco has lost 15 of 19 while watching its lead dwindle in the NL West. "We got them at the right time," Schumaker said. "Its still a playoff team, in my opinion. They are too good of a team. Im just happy to get out of here while they were struggling a little bit." Bailey walked one and struck out seven in his fourth career shutout and sixth complete game. Bailey walked Gregor Blanco leading off the fourth, but later caught him taking off early for third base and threw him out. That was all the Giants got into Posey singled cleanly to right-centre field. Pablo Sandovals bloop single moved Posey to third, but Bailey struck out Michael Morse looking to end the inning. "We ran into four starters as dominant as four starters Ive ever seen before," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "They caught everything we hit. They are as hot as any team, and as cold as we are, its what we have to deal with.dddddddddddd" Bailey was trying to become just the sixth pitcher with at least three career no-hitters. Nolan Ryan leads that list with seven. "He pitched efficiently and we played great defence," Reds manager Bryan Price said. "When the outs are coming so early in the count, he has a chance." Tim Hudson (7-5) allowed two runs on five hits. He did not walk a batter and struck out six. Hes lost his last two starts at home after opening the season with seven straight wins. "My delivery felt a lot better and my timing was good," Hudson said. "They had one or two opportunities to score and they took advantage. I felt like I made a pretty good pitch on Hamilton. Every little run counts in a game like this." Hamiltons two-out double in the third drove in the Reds first run, and with the way Hudson was pitching — he retired 12 of 13 following the double — Bailey needed to be nearly perfect. The Reds tacked on three runs in the ninth against Jeremy Affledt, who took over for Hudson after Todd Frazier started the frame with a single. Affledt balked, hit a batter, threw a wild pitch, allowed three hits and an inherited runner to score and got his only out on Phillips sacrifice fly. NOTES: Bochy announced before the game he would be going with a closer-by-committee for the time being, with RHP Sergio Romo in the mix. "I think its time to tweak it a little bit, get guys on track," Bochy said. ... Giants 1B Brandon Belt (thumb) could rejoin the team Friday in San Diego, but not likely before then. ... Lincecum (6-5, 4.42) makes his first start since throwing his second career no-hitter. Hell face the Cardinals and Marco Gonzales (0-0, 9.00) on Tuesday night. ... Mat Latos (1-0, 2.89) will start Monday nights game in San Diego for the Reds. ... The Reds have won their last five series and are 6-0-1 in their past seven. ... Hamiltons 16th double gives him the lead among NL rookies, breaking a tie with Arizonas Chris Owings, who is on the DL. ... The other pitchers with three or more no-hitters: Sandy Koufax with four and Cy Young, Bob Feller and 1880s pitcher Larry Corcoran with three. ' ' '