Another taking-care-of-business weekend for Seattle. They play twice, win both times and now sit alone atop the Western Conference, as well as U.S Division standings. And it's not like they played the bottom teams either. The combined record of Seattle's two opponens this weekend; 72-23-3-5. The two teams, Red Deer and Portland, were atop their respective divisions at the time Seattle played them. Add up their goal totals this season and together they have scored 395 times. The Thunderbirds outscored them 12-1.
So much talk of all the offensive fire power Seattle now has. The team now has three of the top eight WHL point producers from last season on their roster in Kyle Crnkovic, Dylan Guenther and Jared Davidson. But what's the old saying? Defense wins championships and over their last four games the Thunderbirds have surrendered just three goals.
Good players, elite players, are that because they can play a complete game, not just put the puck in the back of the net. Guys like Crnkovic, Guenther and Davidson can score, but they can also defend. Also, part of being a good defensive team is being a good offensive team. The more you have the puck in the attacking zone, the less time you spend in you own zone.
So has Seattle settled on line combinations now? I think they like the way their lines played this weekend. But remember, the Thunderbirds will get Colton Dach and Jordan Gustafson healthy within the next two to three weeks (knock on wood), so the work in the lab will continue. Do you keep the top two lines you utilized this weekend together and insert Dach and Gustafson on the third line when they come back? Do you juggle your top nine once again upon their return? What current top nine forwards get pushed down to the fourth line? What fourth liners lose ice time?
It had to be a tough decision Saturday to sit Ashton McNelly. He's done everything the coaches have asked of him since his arrival in December. He's contributed a few points and been a physcial presence. It will be interesting moving forward to see how the Thunderbirds spread around those fourth line minutes.
It's a good problem to have as Seattle will be looking to mix and match seven NHL drafted forwards, two more who are most likely to be drafted this spring and a high scoring undrafted 20 year old, while getting games for their bottom five. I think they've created good chemistry among their top six defenseman, but they also know those pairngs are interchangeable.
Curious about the chase for the top of the Western Conference? Here are some numbers to mull over.
Going forward Seattle will play just five different teams in their last 19 games. They still have five left against Portland, six against Tri-City, three versus both Victoria and Kamloops and two against Everett. They have 11 left at home and eight on the road. The combined record of their remaining opponents is currently 136-94-19-7. Their remaining opponents are a combined 42 games over .500
Portland, right on Seattle's heels has 17 games left. They will play eight teams over those final 17 games. They have six home games remaining and 11 on the road. The combined record of their remaining opponents is currently 160-162-20-9. Their remaining opposition is a collective two games under .500
Kamloops, the B.C. Division leader and just six points back of Seattle for the top of the conference, has 19 games left. Twelve of those games will be on the road with just seven at home. Those 19 games will feature 12 different opponents. The combined record of their remaining opponents is 269-277-39-15. That means the teams left on their schedule together are eight games under .500.
Wondering about the Scotty Munro Trophy as WHL regular season champions? Winnipeg is currently the front runner. They are three points ahead of the Thunderbird with a game in hand. Of their final 20 games, eight will be at home and 12 on the road. They play ten different opponents the rest of the way. The one Eastern Conference team they don't play anymore is Saskatoon The combined record of the teams left on their schedule is 240-226-32-15 or 14 games over .500.
My Thunderbirds Three Stars for the Weekend:
Third Star: D Nolan Allan. Allan was solid as a rock on the back end this weekend, blocking shots, knocking pucks out of harms way and constantly taking pucks off the sticks of opposing players. He plays a heavy, physical game and his strength in in the defensive zone. Still, he chipped in with three assists in the two games. He's +5 in his last three games.
Second Star: C Brad Lambert. Lambert's biggest contribution has been helping Seattle get the power play to be a more consistent piece of the T-Birds arsenal. On the weekend he scored one power play goal and assisted on another. In eight games since being assigned to Seattle, he has six goal. Three of them are power play goals. His even strength goal Saturday in Portland was just another of example of getting pucks on net and good things happen. Not every goal has to be pretty. This one deflected in off a defender's skate. Just two games in and you can see the chemistry developing between he and another newcomer, Dylan Guenther.
First Star: G Thomas Milic. Milic went 2-0-0-0 on the weekend, pitching a 36 save shutout against Portland on Saturday. He was dialed in with a number of saves being of the spectacular variety. Too many to choose from but two of his best were in the second period, right before Seattle scored and then right after. In a span of a few minutes he created momentum for his team and then squashed it for the opposition. In two games he stopped 60 of 61 shots. He finished with a GAA average of 0.50 and a save percentage of .984. In his last three starts Milic has turned aside 80 of 82 shots.
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