Three is the Magic Number

When putting this trio together, we debated long and hard about a name for the feature. The number three comes into play a lot in ice hockey: five on three, third man in, third period… The number three got stuck in my brain and as a result, for my topic I’ve chosen to put a topical number-related question to my colleagues:

With playoffs fast approaching, and the fitness of key team members foremost in the minds of coaches up and down the NHL as they start to look to April and beyond, which three players do you think will be the most valuable assets to their teams down the stretch? Not necessarily the most talented players, but those who have the mettle to come up big for their teams, when the biggest prize of all is on the line. The indispensible netminder. The MVP defenceman. The game-winning forward. Who will have the honour of being selected by our illustrious trio? Have at it, team – Katy.

Jonathan:

There are so many players that could be key to whichever team finally holds the Stanley Cup aloft in June. These are my 3 to watch out for as the regular season comes to and end and playoff hockey looms.

My choice of forward has to be Evgeni Malkin. This year, ‘Geno’ has been immense and will probably win the Art Ross Trophy if he carries on his rich vein of form. The Penguins haven’t really missed Sidney Crosby, which should be a crazy statement, because of Malkin. His natural ability is of genius proportions and could carry the Penguins deep into the playoffs. Malkin is the sort of player to give defensemen nightmares because of his puck handling, skill off both forehand and backhand and his pace.

As defensemen go, Zdeno Chara is huge in stature physically and metaphorically. Chara at 6 feet 9 inches is a behemoth for the Bruins and has the fastest slap shot in the league. However, I feel he brings so much more that these because of his leadership qualities. If the Bruins are to retain the Stanley Cup, Chara will be fundamental to their success. He’s sitting at plus 30, as I write, and in good form in front of the oppositions net too having chipped in 3 goals and 3 assists in the last 6 games.

Key to whether the St Louis Blues take their success this season into the playoffs, it is Brian Elliott who I feel will be key. He’s currently leading the league with a .943 save percentage and 1.43 GAA. Also, 9 season shutouts are giving the Blues a fantastic platform. The key stat for me is that he is .943 on the road as I feel that if the Blues fail it will be because of their road form. Perhaps Ken Hitchcock should compare Elliott’s road stats to Jaroslav Halák’s to decide his number one going into the playoffs.

George:

In terms of a forward, after a lot of thinking, I am going to go for James Neal, the Pittsburgh left winger who has had a phenomenal season so far. He has a career-high 78 points this season, scoring 37 goals. This tally may have been a few more if Crosby had played throughout the year. Neal is a good finisher, has slick hands and great spatial awareness on the ice. I think the Penguins are going to be very tough to beat in the post-season this year, with one of the most dangerous powerplays on paper you will ever see.

Choosing a defenseman was an easy one for me. I have gone for Ottawa’s Swedish star, Erik Karlsson. It is not often that you see a defenseman as the seventh highest scorer in the league at this point of the season. Karlsson has racked up 76 points, a truly remarkable effort. He compliments the likes of Jason Spezza and Daniel Alfredsson perfectly and he is undoubtedly the best offensive defenseman in the NHL. If the Sens make the playoffs, this man is the key to success.

For my goaltender I am going for Kari Lehtonen of the Dallas Stars. Yes, I am a fan of the Stars but words can’t describe how awesome this man has been this year. Kari is given a lot more ice-time than the average starting goaltender but this doesn’t seem to faze him. His consistency is sublime and he will always pull out a save that you have to watch 10 times over to see how kept the puck out of the net. It is going to go to the wire to determine if the Stars make the top 8, but if they do, Kari Lehtonen will be in the spotlight.

Katy:

100-odd words cannot do justice to why Ryan Callahan is comparatively one of the most valuable players for his team in the league right now. A key forward is more than just goals, and Captain Cally leads from the front: he’s level-headed, covers the ice like a rash, skates like a dream, is surprisingly 5th in the NHL for hits made, and has scored game winning goals in spades for the Rangers all season. His influence is undeniable; the Rangers dip in form could largely be attributed to Callahan’s hand injury and since his return he has been indispensible. Despite the Rangers’ ‘team play’ ethic he really is the crux of the matter for their playoff challenge.

I agonised over this selection but kept coming back to the same name. If it’s youthful exuberance and form you’re after, Alex Pietrangelo or Michael Del Zotto could be worse names to stick on your team sheet. But we’re looking for the instruments of victory here. The go-to guys. The towers of strength. Therefore, good people, I put to you: how could you NOT choose the 6’9” monolithic Boston Captain Zdeno Chara as your defenceman. He’s imperious, assured, a brick wall, a GIANT, mentally and physically. He still leads the league for most valuable defenceman on the ice. When it comes to a playoff run, Chara is IT. End of.

I can’t believe I’m not choosing Lundqvist but thanks to slight recent wobbles from the King and on reflection, I can’t think of a netminder who I’d rather put my faith in down a long playoff stretch than Pekka Rinne, who has had a standout season for the Predators and leads the league in both game wins and number of saves made. The workhorse Finn is a big character and has come up trumps for Nashville time and again this season and is arguably the reason why they are in such a strong position and why they will compete for the Cup once again this year.

Jonathan: There should be notable mentions for Henrik Sedin and Claude Giroux, Shea Weber and Kris Letang, Marc-Andre Fleury and Jonathan Quick.  All have demonstrated great form this season and could well have made my final choices.  Pekke Rinne and Henrik Lundqvist were my joint second choices as both are a barometer of their team’s success.  I too considered Erik Karlsson as my number one choice for defenseman and could have easily mustered an argument for him rather than Chara.  I am convinced though that one of my six will decide where Lord Stanley spends this summer!

George: It was very interesting to see who Katy and Jonathan had gone for in the respective positions. There have been some really great players chosen, all of which will have a big impact if their team makes the playoffs if they haven’t already done so. The only thing I disagree with is the fact that both Katy and Jonathan had gone with Chara as their defenseman. At just 21 years of age and in his third year of NHL hockey, Karlsson has been so pivotal in the Sens‘ success this season, and he was the easiest choice of my three by far.

Katy: I enjoyed reading the reasons behind George and Jonathan’s selections and I think that between us, we have assembled the makings of quite some team! The fact that two of us went for Chara is testament to his influence but I agree with George that Karlsson has had an incredible season for the Senators. Lidstrom of the Redwings came close for me in that position. Malkin is impossible to argue against and I found it interesting that George also chose a Penguins forward; it serves to underline the remarkable year that Pittsburgh have had. All the netminders selected are great choices and I agree that Lundqvist could also have featured, in terms of a goaltender who is indispensible to his team.

Join us again soon as we debate another hot topic from the NHL!