A couple of Russians with hat tricks, a rookie goaltender with a shutout on the road, an embarrassing effort from the Buffalo Sabres, a pile of injuries, lineup news and more in Scott Cullen’s Statistically Speaking. Johnny Manziel Jersey . HEROES Vladimir Tarasenko – The sturdy and skilled Blues winger notched three goals, including the overtime winner, to go with an assist in a 4-3 overtime win at Dallas. He and C Jori Lehtera, who had a goal and two assists, carried the day for the Blues. The third-year forward has had a major spike in shots on goal, from 2.13 per game last season to 4.50 per game this year. According to Puckalytics, among players with at least 75 minutes of 5-on-5 play, Tarasenko ranks second in shots per 60 minutes. SHOOTERS PLAYER TEAM POS. EV SHOTS/60 Nick Bjugstad Florida C 14.90 Vladimir Tarasenko St. Louis RW 14.78 Marcus Kruger Chicago C 14.12 Rick Nash N.Y. Rangers LW 13.56 Brendan Gallagher Montreal RW 13.50 Zach Parise Minnesota LW 13.26 James Neal Nashville RW 13.01 Mike Cammalleri New Jersey LW 12.58 Jason Pominville Minnesota RW 12.41 Max Pacioretty Montreal LW 12.38 Lightning Sophs – Nikita Kucherov registered his first career hat trick, giving him seven points in the past three games, and C Tyler Johnson put up four assists, leaving him with 12 points in the first 10 games of the season. Between them, they also sent 15 shots towards the Arizona goal and were Tampa Bays top two possession forwards in the game. As little as Kucherov has played (12:25 per game), his recent run has thrust him among the top point-per-minute scorers in the league: EFFICIENT POINT PRODUCERS PLAYER TEAM POS. EV PTS/60 Rick Nash N.Y. Rangers LW 6.22 Tyler Toffoli Los Angeles RW 4.90 Jeff Carter Los Angeles C 4.82 Tanner Pearson Los Angeles LW 4.80 Jakub Voracek Philadelphia RW 4.76 Nikita Kucherov Tampa Bay RW 4.64 Brock Nelson N.Y. Islanders LW 4.37 Ryan Strome N.Y. Islanders RW 4.36 Jamie Benn Dallas LW 4.29 Tyler Johnson Tampa Bay C 4.20 John Gibson – The Ducks rookie goaltender posted a 38-save shutout in Chicago. Whether the Blackhawks have been going through some offensive troubles or not – and they have – a 38-save shutout at the United Centre is an accomplishment. ZEROES Buffalo Sabres – There will be many nights over the course of the season that the Sabres could qualify for this dubious honour, but 10 shots on goal against a Maple Leafs team that was allowing 33.9 shots per game previously is an extra special level of mailing it in. Mike Smith – The Coyotes goaltender surrendered six goals on 33 shots, in 49 minutes, against his former team, the Tampa Bay Lightning. Its early, of course, but Smiths .858 save percentage in six games could start opening the door for backup Devan Dubnyk to earn more playing time. Cory Schneider – Gave up five goals on 23 shots and was pulled after the second period in an 8-3 loss to Pittsburgh. Over the previous four seasons, Schneider has the best save percentage (.928) among goaltenders to play in at least 100 games. This season, hes sitting at .901. SHORT SHIFTS Bruins rookie RW Seth Griffith scored two goals and added an assist in a 4-3 loss to Minnesota…Jets LW Andrew Ladd scored a pair of goals and C Bryan Little added three assists at the Islanders…Islanders LW Brock Nelson had a goal and an assist and D Johnny Boychuk had a pair of assists against the Jets…Senators LW Clarke MacArthur scored two goals and added an assist in a 5-2 win at Columbus, while D Erik Karlsson had a goal and an assist and C Kyle Turris chipped in two assists…Penguins C Sidney Crosby had a couple of goals and nine shot attempts (6 SOG) against New Jersey, while wingers Blake Comeau, Pascal Dupuis, Patric Hornqvist and Steve Downie each contributed a goal and an assist…The line of Crosby, Hornqvist and Chris Kunitz was on for better than 82% of the even-strength shot attempts. Maple Leafs C Tyler Bozak and RW Phil Kessel both had a goal and an assist against Buffalo…Avalanche G Semyon Varlamov stopped 49 of 51 shots in a 3-2 shootout loss to San Jose…Canucks C Brad Richardson scored a pair of goals in a 4-1 win over Carolina…Canadiens G Carey Price turned aside 37 of 38 shots in a 2-1 shootout win at Calgary…Bruins D Zach Trotman led the team with eight shot attempts (3 SOG) in 11:16 of ice time vs. Minnesota…Kings RW Justin Williams was up to his old possession tricks (29 shot attempts for, 12 against, 70.7%) at Philadelphia…Blue Jackets enforcer Jared Boll had nice possession stats (14 shot attempts for, 2 against, 87.5%)in the 5-2 loss to Ottawa…Senators enforcer Chris Neil was on the other end (2 for, 12 against, 14.3%)…Stars RW Tyler Seguin had a goal and an assist, with a dozen shot attempts (6 SOG) in a 4-3 overtime loss to St. Louis. Seguin now leads the league with 15 points in nine games…Sharks D Brent Burns had a goal on 11 shot attempts (5 SOG), with dominant possession stats (27 for, 5 against, 84.4%) and RW Joe Pavelski recorded 10 shots on goal at Colorado…Colorados fourth line – Cody McLeod, Daniel Briere and Marc-Andre Cliche – started two-thirds of their shifts in the offensive zone, yet had fewer than 10% of the shot attempts at even strength…Flames rookie LW Johnny Gaudreau had an assist and a career-high six shots on goal, with the Flames best possession stats (18 for, 6 against, 75.0%) against Montreal. LINEUP NEED TO KNOW Blues C David Backes left Tuesdays game against Dallas with an upper-body injury. Its a good thing the Blues have such depth down the middle if theyre going to be missing both Backes and Paul Stastny. Jets D Zach Bogosian missed Tuesdays game at the Islanders with an upper-body injury. With Bogosian out, Paul Postma played a season-high 19:23 and scored a goal. Wild D Jonas Brodin sat out against the Bruins, one night after being sent into the boards hard by Rangers LW Chris Kreider, so Mathew Dumba ended up playing a career-high 16:43 for Minnesota. Islanders LW Nikolay Kulemin was ejected after hitting Jets D Mark Stuart from behind. Blue Jackets C Artem Anisimov is going through concussion protocol, and likely out at least a week, after getting flattened by Senators D Eric Gryba. Blue Jackets D James Wisniewski joins the growing Columbus injured list, out one-to-two weeks with a broken finger. With Wisniewski out, David Savard should be the likely candidate to move up to Columbus first power play unit. G Curtis McElhinney started for the Blue Jackets, with Sergei Bobrovsky out for the next one-to-two weeks with his own broken finger. Thats a notable downgrade, as McElhinney has a career .901 save percentage. A little bit of good news for Columbus. Blue Jackets RW Cam Atkinson returned to the lineup, joining C Ryan Johansen and LW Scott Hartnell on the top line. With Kings C Anze Kopitar out, Mike Richards moved up the depth chart to play between Dwight King and Dustin Brown at Philadelphia. Richards played 17:51 and scored his first goal of the year. Lightning LW Alex Killorn returned to the lineup, recording an assist in 18:13 of ice time. As a result, LW Jonathan Drouin ended up playing 11:50, second-lowest among Tampa Bay skaters. With Corey Crawford out, Scott Darling made another start for the Chicago Blackhawks, and stopped 24 of 25 shots in a 1-0 loss. Canadiens C Lars Eller was benched, playing just 5:46 for Montreal at Calgary, not taking another shift after a roughing penalty at 16:01 of the second period. Flames centres Joe Colborne and Matt Stajan were hurt against Montreal. Colborne left with an upper-body injury and Stajan took a knee-on-knee hit from Canadiens D Jarred Tinordi. Senators D Mark Borowiecki had an excellent possession game (15 for, 3 against, 83.3%) against Columbus before leaving with an upper-body injury. D Carl Gunnarsson played in his first game for the Blues, logging a modest 12:53 of ice time, at Dallas. Hurricanes C Eric Staal returned to the lineup after missing two-and-a-half weeks. He played 19:50 against Vancouver, picking up an assist and five shots on goal. FANTASY FOCUS A couple of players to have an eye on in a light night on the NHL schedule: With Washington at Detroit, keep tabs on the Red Wings Darren Helm, who has recently been skating on the left side with very skilled linemates, Pavel Datsyuk and Tomas Tatar. Nashville is in Edmonton and Predators D Ryan Ellis has been playing a much bigger role. More minutes leads to more points for a puck-mover like Ellis. 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 Rickey Henderson Jersey . The former world No. 1 Djokovic, who is the top seed here despite being ranked No. 2, snuck past 35-year-old Czech showman Radek Stepanek in four high- quality sets, 6-4, 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 7-6 (7-5), on Centre Court. Djokovic appeared relieved when he converted on his first match point by swatting a cross-court forehand winner that just caught the line to end an affair that featured only two service breaks. Rollie Fingers Jersey . The Argentine midfielder made the announcement himself on Twitter on Tuesday and posted a picture of his swollen left foot. His message said he would be out "at least three weeks. http://www.baseballpadresofficial.com/randy-jones-jersey-c-12/ . The Extreme Heat Policy was enacted at Melbourne Park just before 2 p.m. Thursday, suspending all matches on outer courts until the early evening and requiring the closure of the retractable roofs at Rod Laver and Hisense arenas before play could continue on the show courts.When you grew up in Ottawa, back in the days before the Sens, you really had just two choices when it came to NHL teams to cheer for: the Habs and the Leafs. If I could afford a therapist, I imagine the good doctor would tell be that my affection for the Leafs was part of an ongoing and pathological need to be alone and unhappy. Though, quite simply, its more likely that its because thats what was on local TV in Ottawa. I admit I could be wrong. I dont have a PhD. Thats right. I was a Leafs fan. I had a Leafs sweater that I slept in, that my dad bought me after some endless whining in the aisles of a Canadian Tire. An Allan Bester poster hung above my bed. I wore number 9 in Little League because of Russ Courtnall, and I may have cried when he was traded to the dreaded Habs for John Kordic. My parents werent sports fans, but they let me bring an old black and white TV into my room to watch Hockey Night in Canada, to fall asleep to the third period charms of Bob Cole and Harry Neale. I cant often remember my postal code, or where I lived in 2009, or the name of that girl, but I easily recall the names of Dale Degray, Peter Ing, Brad Smith, Ken Yaremchuk, and Dan Daoust, forgettable Leafs from a forgettable era.The arrival of the Ottawa Senators coincided with the arrival of my first love. Well, the first reciprocated love. Fittingly I used this sea change to shift my affections to the Sens, whose losing was familiar but who provided a new hope, a virginal slate upon which to build a new love. The Sens got better, but love did not. Like it tends to, it left, mostly my doing, as I had found affections for all sorts of other things one does as they enter their 20s.The Sens and I remained true to each other, even though I carried the relationship. I lived in Vancouver for a few years, but never felt any connection to the Canucks, nor for any West coast girl. Well, there was one girl, but she left me for my best friend. In that manner, she was not unlike the Sens. All kinds of promise, ending in sure disappointment; the better looking, more mature Leafs beating the Sens in the playoffs year after year.With both the Sens and the Leafs the pain was the same: expectations were crushed by reality. No matter what I did, season after season they hurt me. They left me alone in June, as other teams and their fans moved on to full playoff beards, Cup parades, and what I can only assume is happiness.Years passed. I moved back to Ottawa. I watched hockey less. I dated seldom. I grew a playoff beard in January. My mother worried. She had nightmares that I was floating through life without RRSPs, without a mortgage, without a wife, and without kids. My dad seemed to understand, even though he wasnt much for hockey. I moved to Costa Rica. My beard got longer. My tan was superb. Televised hockey was difficult to find. Beer was cheap. There was no fear of commitment, because everyone was transient, moving on, moving forward, or at least sideways.But the rains came and I returned to Canada, but this time to Montreal, a city that truly appreciates the lovelesss. Erick Aybar Jersey. A city where the bars are open late, and life exists only in the present. And I found myself watching hockey again, with people who didnt know about my past, about the Leafs and the Sens, who didnt know of my failings in my mothers eyes. And I found myself cheering for the Montreal Canadiens, the longtime enemy of both the Leafs and the Sens. Outwardly I was a fan, but inside I was in turmoil. I felt like I was cheating on myself, as if I was committing hockey adultery, even though I was single and every team I ever loved sucked.And then came 2010. And a magical run through to the Conference Finals. And Halak signs. And PK Subban. And overtime wins. And there was a girl. A girl I loved. And for a brief moment I thought about breeding, about ceremony, pageantry, making my mum happy, a parade down Ste. Catherine, about my dad in a tuxedo, about rings.But, as hockey and love have taught me, all good things end in horrible, crushing, debilitating disappointment sometime in June. The Habs lost to the Flyers, and someone else won the Cup, and Halak was traded, and the girl left because I was afraid she might not, and summer arrived with condolence beers and late nights on terrasses and waiting for next year. Always next year. My mum didnt say anything, but I could see her deleting imaginary grandchildren in her mind, and transferring familial hope to my sister and her young family.And life went on. Seasons changed, both on the calendar and the NHL schedule. I still rocked a playoff beard, out of both laziness and hope, so Id be prepared in case of victory. The Habs sunk back to middle-of-the-pack mediocrity. The Leafs and the Sens lived in that same ether. My mum would send me promotional materials for post-graduate programs and ask how my married friends were doing. My dads tuxedo remained in the back of his closet, dry-cleaned and at the ready. I still watched Habs games, but my interest has waned, my commitment faltered.Then, two weekends ago, I was having a few adult beverages and watching the Sens and Habs battling each other in an important late-season game. It was like watching the past fight for your affections. With just under four minutes left, it looked like the Sens had the game won. But the Habs scored once, twice, and a third time with only .3 seconds left to tie it, before winning it in overtime.So buoyed by the victory, and spirited by the spirits, I headed out to the local to meet a friend and celebrate the victory. And in the back of the bar, a bar cheered by the win and the hour, was the girl from 2010. And we talked for a bit. And she asked about my folks. And we smiled when youre supposed to smile. And we spoke longingly about spring coming. And after a silence, and a pause, she had to leave, and as she did she looked back and said, "Maybe Ill see you soon." Maybe. And maybe the Habs will make a run, and my mum will stop worrying about matrimony, and my dads tuxedo will be content in its stasis, and maybe I will see her soon. That wouldnt be so bad. Better than being a Leafs fan. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '