World of Captains, Ship of Fools

after this mission it will let you go
help you to forget everything and everyone you know
in a world of captains baby, ship of fools
don't you know they're lying when they're telling you it's been all right?

Once again I'm stealing from LT, but it's both an easy an appropriate segway into the subject matter. The lyric by the way is from Near Fantastica from Matthew Good's first solo album Avalanche. This picture of Good is definately before his solo days, I'd put it around 1999 and he's holding one of the most beautiful guitars in the world, a Gibson ES-335 I'd say.

The point of the lyric in this context is thus: Expectations this season for the Edmonton Oilers are about as high as I've seen them in the last 10-15 years, besides from maybe 05-06. Everyone seems to think this is the year, and I think it's at least a somewhat reasonable proposition; the Oilers have some legitimate prospects (Gilbert, Gagner, Cogliano, Nilsson, Grebeshkov, Brodziak) who made real strides near the end of last season, they have a mobile defensive group and a goalie who seems poised to lead.

Expectations probably explain why MacTavish still has a job with the Oilers-this small market franchise with it's limited resources has really only been expected to compete once, and that year MacTavish delivered.

MacTavish has also probably been helped by the fact his good friend Kevin Lowe has been the one evaluating his competency - not saying MacTavish has ever deserved to be fired up until this point but I think lesser GMs would probably have done away with him some time ago - after all, coach is a very time sensitive job.

Here are IMO some of the top reasons fans should be wary about the upcoming Edmonton Oiler season. Bare in mind I am not the only person voicing these concerns but I don't think I've seen them all consolidated in one place as of yet.

1. Garon's Play and Shootout Victories

I think it would be hard to argue Garon didn't have a great season last year, but the question is, can he keep it up? His NHL experience beyond last year was pretty limited - 60 wins and 56 losses over a span of 7 seasons. That included a couple seasons of backup in Montreal with not great .884 SV%, an AHL demotion and then recall for more backup duty the following couple of seasons with Montreal with an outstanding .931 SV%.

Two uneven season in LA with a .901SV% and, impressively, held a winning record, 44 wins and
36 losses.

Last year Garon had 26 wins and 18 losses, although it has to be noted he had 10 shootout wins and stopped 30 of 32 shootout shots.

Garon has a lot of question marks around him; one or two seasons does not a number 1 goalie make. That said, I think Garon is very much worth a gamble; we didn't see a lot of holes in his game last season, but we have to expect him to come back towards the middle of the bell curve. MC79 had a terrific post up just the other day.

The better places on that list have some starrier names. If I was a betting man - and I’m not - my guess for Garon would be pretty close to league average, as opposed to last year, whereas his scaled save percentage for last year was .914. I have a hard time seeing how the Oilers make the playoffs with that, no matter what that knob/idiot Mirtle says. (Source)

I think it's unreasonable to think that Garon will have a similar shootout record this year. I think it will be hard for anyone to ever beat 30 for 32 in a season ever again - that's a mark that we could see stand for many years to come.

The Oilers need regulation wins this year; they will not be as successful this year once time expires.

2. Development Trends

People have this idea in their head that player development is a steady curve, but it's not, at least not always. Some players figure shoot above the curve and they look great short term but end up mediocre long term (look at Angelo Esposito's Jr. records for instance, although he's a very short term example of what I'm talking about). Some players start slow and play uneven hockey year after year until something clicks.

I think Oilers fans have to prepare themselves for the likelihood that one or all of Gagner, Cogliano, Nilsson, Brodziak, Gilbert and Grebeshkov will take a step back for part or all of the year. The glare of the spotlight will be on them this year, and so will the burden of expectations, and rather than having a reduced or more sheltered workload, they will have an increased and heavier workload.


3. The Stoll/Reasoner Workload

I keep referring back to this post by Jonathan which was based on some great work by VF. It shows how heavily MacT relied on Stoll and Reasoner for defensive zone coverage. While Hemsky is the remaining Oiler from 07-08 who played the top competition, it was Stoll and Reasoner who were ranked 1 and 3 last year respectively. And while Hemsky got to play with top quality linemates, Stoll and reasoner were pretty much given the bottom of the rung.

Now somebody has to take over that workload.

Now I'm not saying Stoll or Reasoner did a particularly great job last year; much of the time they got eaten alive. But while they were taking their lumps they were opening up holes for the rest of the roster, holes of opportunity for the likes of Cogliano, Gagner and Nilsson.

Now someone has to pick up the slack, and I'm not sure on this roster who has the horses to do it.

Brodziak and Pouliot are being nominated as centers for the job from various sources, as well as the possibility of Pisani, Cole or Penner on the wings. This is going to be a wild and possibly disasterous experiment.

It might not be worse than Stoll and Reasoner, but I think it's reasonable to think it could go pretty wrong.

4. Healthy Horses
A lot of this year's plans are built around guys with questionable health. Sheldon Souray has historically not been the type of player to lace them up for all 82 games; nor has Hemsky. Eric Cole seems to miss around 15 games a season, and let's not even get into poor Ethan Moreau's last couple of seasons.

I don't necessarily think these guys are the most worrisome of the group - I tend to have this belief that all players get injured eventually. That is, I think we can expect someone unexpected (that is some clumsy phrasing, sorry folks) to get injured. If that's Horcoff or Garon, god help this team.

---

It's not really a bold prediction to say a coach might be fired, but I really think the chips are stacking up against MacTavish this year. He has to deliver on this mission or they'll let him go.

Andrew Cogliano

Andrew Cogliano first came to my attention during Coaches' Corner (see, Don Cherry still does in fact have a purpose) while Grapes was bemoaning the fact the Toronto Maple Leafs skipped over the Ontario native for some 'foreign goalie.' He was partly ignorant by slagging Tuukka Rask who went on to have two stellar World Junior Hockey Championships, but he was also pretty much correct because Toronto traded Rask for Andrew Raycroft, and then of course Rask's first win came against Toronto a couple of years later. Oh, and it turned out Andrew Cogliano is a pretty damn good hockey player.

Cogliano was known as a somewhat offensive guy in the minor ranks and I'll never forget his lack of offence for Canada in those World Juniors. He kept getting top line minutes, tons of minutes and chances ad infinitum, and last but not least, a top gear that was unmatched. The comp that kept coming to my mind was Todd Marchant. Great sense, great wheels, no finish. Turns out that prediction, at least for Cogliano's rookie season, was only 2/3s right.

There's no denying Cogliano had a stellar rookie season, and I think in most seasons it would have been at least Calder nomination worthy. Toews, Kane, Backstrom, Gagner, Price and Cogliano were all probably nomination worthy, but Cogliano isn't flashy like Backstrom and Kane and he wasn't a national hero like Toews, doesn't have the raw talent of Gagner or Backstrom.

There's no denying Cogliano was sheltered by MacTavish last year. He didn't play against high level competition (although he didn't have high level linemates) but somehow he found a way to put the puck in the net - a lot.

All his offensive stats are incredible for a rookie G/60, PTS/60, GFON/60.
His defensive stats, not so awe inspiring. Not surprising for a rookie though.

A couple words of caution though for Cogliano's upcoming season: like Jordan Staal who had an awesome first year offensively, Cogliano has a sky high and possibly unattainable shooting percentage. His shooting percentage was 18.37% last year, while say Iginla averages about 15% on a good year. Staal had a 22% on his first year, while about 7% during his second. Now Cogliano actually has a history of a high shooting percentage with a 26.97% shooting percentage in his final college year. Some in the Oilogosphere have argued Cogliano is predisposed to a high shooting percentage because of the sorts of high quality chances he creates with his speed - whether that's true or not will probably be determined this year.

Another word of caution - with Reasoner and Stoll gone, Cogliano will most likely have to play tougher minutes. If that happens, I think it's fair to say that treading water is probably progress.

Projection: 2nd line
Key Stat: 3rd overall GFON/60

Hammer to Fall

What the hell we fighting for?
Just surrender and it won't hurt at all
You just got time to say your prayers
While your waiting for the hammer to hammer to fall

Now, I'm stealing my introductory statement from the LT style of writing, and I can only say that this imitation is simply the most sincerest form of flattery. However, watching the Oilers climb the standings and put on what can only be described as a unbelievable performance, I keep thinking back to Queen's lyrics.

Now, don't get me wrong, the Oilers have truly suprised me, and my end of season predictions have been a complete bust. By any measure made at the beginning of the season, I think I can classify this run as making this season a success and keeping it really entertaining, especially compared to last year's sucksplosion.

Still though, I just can't help but wait for the Hammer to Fall. I think this whole thing is just one big playoff dink tease, as CIO so succinctly put it.

Now, unbelievably, the path to the playoffs is actually within the Oiler's hands, their last 8 games are against divisional opponents. Running the table on even one of those teams might be enough to make the playoffs. Unfortunately the Oilers divisional record almost completely accounts for the current separation between the Oilers and the rest of the NW division playoff hopefuls. The Oilers' 9-13-2 divisional record pales in comparison to Colorado's division best 15-8-1. Every other opponent is at least 3 games over .500.

Now, the Oilers are probably most likely to tank these next 8 games, and if so, well, that's just life. This team shouldn't even be competing in the race, let alone challenging for a podium finish. This is like the Jamaican freakin bobsled team in 1988. But like LT has said, it seems like this team is too young or ignorant to realize they're supposed to lose.

Hey, at worst, this season ends up like the last 6-7 preceding it besides 05-06. Regular season suckage followed by a very late season playoff push that ends up just short or just past success. I think most smart fans would have been pretty satisfied if at the beginning of the season someone had offered them 8 games left in the season all against divisional opponents with a 5 pt playoff separation.

Not only that, but this season, and it's been harped on in most of the Oilogosphere, has had a lot of suprise positives. Sam Gagner has been far more effective this season than I would have ever expected, Andrew Cogliano has got more of a scoring touch than I ever would have given him credit for, Robert Nilsson is looking like a legitimate skill guy...holy crap there's a lot to look forward to.

I think if there's one thing the run should prove is MacT's coaching ability. MacT was the first one to admit that good goaltending makes you look like a good coach, he claimed that's why the Oilers beat the Wings in 06. I beg to differ, I believe a lot of times good coaching makes your goaltender look good (or at worst a good defensive structure). Look at the Toronto Maple Leafs and their goalie woes over the last few years: here's a hint guys, it aint the goalies, its the defence...then look at the goalie successes of the Minnesota Wild. It's not a suprise that goalies continuously flourish on some teams and continuously fail on others.

In this case, I think MacT has simply done a nice job with the cards he was dealt. This team had every reason to fold the cards, but a little trade by Lowe to get Gleneration X (the new Stempniak) and all of a sudden the Oilers have an alright pest/shutdown line, Nilsson and Gagner step it up, and MacT gets top notch efforts out of the rest of the guys.

Whether the hammer falls or not, it's really been quite the ride.

9 Games

The news has come down today that Sam Gagner, Andrew Cogliano and Robert Nilsson (as well as JF Jacques and Kyle Brodziak) have made the Oilers' opening night roster, while Ladislav Smid, Patrick Thoresen and Zach Stortini have been sent down to the minors, this raises a number of questions.

Firstly I think we have to ask whether these three players are truly ready for the big show. While I have strong feelings about Cogliano being ready for the bigs, at least in a small role, and think it's reasonable to try out Nilsson, it seems like there could be ulterior motives for Gagner making the team.

Now I have been regularly singing Gagner's praises. I loved his fight in his first World Junior tryout, and obviously he had a fantastic Super Series. Gagner however only had a mediocre World Junior tournament, and it's obvious he matured significantly in that 8 month gap, both physically and mentally. The question to me is whether he has matured enough from dominating mediocre 20 year old Russian players to be good enough to be a good player in the NHL (let alone an impact player). I didn't get to see him when the Oilers came to the 'Dome, but I know his preseason numbers weren't overwhelming.

So was the motivation to put Gagner in because he is ready for the NHL (or close) or was the motivation to put Gagner in the lineup because management is hoping he is ready for the NHL? Kevin Lowe is still trying to desperately keep his head above water and having his 07 1st rounder arrive to the big show early would be great 'proof' he's doing his job well.

Adding fuel to the fire, a 'typical' MacT guy, Patrick Thoresen, has been a victim of this training camp competition and has been put on waivers to be sent down to the AHL. It's a move that forces idle observers like me to at least raise the question.

Now Gagner, as well as Nilsson and Cogliano, have 9 games to prove they belong on this club.
I think Bob McKenzie explained it best:

Now it's up to Gagner to prove what he can do against NHL talent in NHL regular-season games. The Oilers will evaluate him over the course of nine games played – by him, not the team – and decide before his 10th game whether they want to burn the first year of his contract or return him to junior and have the contract kick in next season. Even if Gagner plays 10 or more games, it does not count towards a year of pro service for the purpose of determining free agency down the road unless he plays in 41 games, or a half season.

So the Oilers have plenty of time - before his 10th game and again before his 41st game – to make a call on where he's best to play this season, both from a development and business point of view. (Source)

update: I think BD highlights the the important question regarding Ladislav Smid's send down:

Of course sending Smid out just emphasizes what a complete joke last fall was when they played him with Staios on the second pairing rather then paying a little bit of money for a veteran Dman and letting Laddy get his feet wet on the third pair or playing big minutes in the AHL. The kid is likely going to be a good Dman but the handling of his situation has been a farce since day one. (Source)

Could Smid's early callup been a result of Lowe trying to prove his return for Pronger was decent?

Obviously there's a huge potential I'm way off on this, but I still feel these are questions worth asking. In 9 games we'll have an idea of the answer.

Calgary Flames vs. Edmonton Oilers - Preseason Scouting Report

I got a chance to take in the pre-season Battle of Alberta at the Dome last night so I took the opportunity to take some notes on the new names and faces (or more accurately, numbers) to see if I could predict this season's booms and busts.

I took most note of the freshman Oilers for two reasons; firstly it's pretty hard to observe the cause and effect of actions from two different perspectives simultaneously, and secondly, there is simply more drama from the Edmonton perspective. There is maybe space for one rookie roster spot on the Flames roster (does anyone else have a feeling it's going to go to Sutter now that Prust is MIA?) while the Oiler's roster is littered with holes.

Anyway, here are my quick notes along with some general thoughts (along with some thoughts about the vets).

Note that I missed 3/4 of the 1st period due to the awesome traffic situation around the dome.

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1st Period

Pouliot - sometimes you put the puck on net and it goes in, good shot decision and we finally see a spark from Pouliot.

Stoll - nice PK effort near the end of the first, Stoll looks quick

Horcoff - same as Stoll

2nd Period

Brodziak - nice looking forecheck on Regehr, and then a nice finish with the bodycheck, Brodziak's speed has improved significantly

Nilsson -nice read on the play and and a nice pass into the slot 15:30

Moreau - great physicality in the defensive zone, and then a great play read 12:30

Cory Sarich - Terrible defensive read and then takes a penalty

Staios - absolutely sick pass to Cogliano

Cogliano - terrific speed and second effort leads to a great goal 12:02

Schremp - terrible shot decision 3:04 2nd

Anders Eriksson- massive giveaway to Nilsson gives Horcoff a SHG, good finish by Horcoff -2:30

Souray - massive giveaway 2:05

3rd Period

Pouliot - bad defensive read 11:40

Nilsson - bad dump in on PP 11:00

Schremp - miss on keep in, poor puck retrival, then bad pass

OT

Greene - misread defensive play leads to Flames PP

Stoll - continues great PK play

Dion Phaneuf - in front of net on PP

Cogliano - right place right time, nice finish

-

Overall I felt Robert Nilsson played a very smart hockey game, he read plays well and made the most of his chances. Cogliano bounced back nicely from a goat like first period to show that he in fact can put the puck in the net (even though I thought Kipper and Roloson both looked shakey all game). His speed his still very much apparent in the NHL and seems like he could use limited ice time in an effective fashion. Schremp did not impress me at all, despite MacT describing Schremp's game as his best so far. I didn't think he made decisions particularily well and he didn't look confident with the puck. Brodziak looked very good and although he didn't do anything spectacular he read the play well and used his speed effectively. The vets looked very on top of their game, and Stoll and Horcoff in particular both dominated the PK.

If I were to guess at the best of the group I would say Nilsson on this occasion, but it was pretty close, especially considering Cogliano got a couple goals.

On Calgary's side I think the top line looked good (Iginla, Tanguay, Langkow) with the rest of the team, especially the defence, lagging behind. Sarich looked slow and confused, Eriksson had a massive giveaway and Regehr and Aucoin got dominated by Andrew Cogliano.

Tonight lead me to two possible conclusions; either Edmonton is going to be better than most think, or Calgary is going to be much worse...

I guess I should relax, it's only the preseason.

The Price is Right or Toewed by the Bell

In a game where everything seemed decided by the start of the third period, Canada gutted out a 7th round shootout victory over the United States to advance to the U-20 World Jr. Championship gold medal game.

The Americans, counted out by many (including myself) early in the tournament, looked like a completely different team than the one the Canadians faced last week. With a forecheck and puck possession game that seemed to befuddle team Canada, the Americans lead at the halfway mark with a goal by Oilers prospect and team USA captain Taylor Chorney. The goal was a PP that banked in off of Marc Stall's skate, who looked to the sky in frustration after surrendering the first go-behind goal against Canada. While the American PP dealt a crucial blow to the Canadians, the Canadian PP looked anemic at best.

Halfway through the game my idea was to give my 'therealdeal' of the night award to the American PK unit, who dominated the Canadians by blocking virtually every Canadian shot and forcing the Canadians into bad plays. Kris Russel, the player who Pierre Maguire has been lauding for having the ability to get shots to the net, looked absolutely lost and had his worst game of the tournament by far.

During the 2nd intermission, things looked bleak for Canada. Bob Mackenzie talked about how this was a test for Canada, and how this was the first time they faced adversity in this tournament. I couldn't have agreed more with Bob, although my particular conclusion was that Canada was done. They looked terrible, they looked defused, they looked broken. The two bright spots were Carey Price, making what was essentially a perfect effort and keeping Canada in a game they shouldn't have been, and Marc Stall dominating defensively, using his body to make some big hits and using his long reach to defuse several potential scoring opportunities for the Americans.

But from the first faceoff in the third, the Canadians looked like a different hockey team. Players like Kristopher Letang began to win battles along the offensive zone blueline. Eventually the Americans were forced into taking another penalty, then another, leading to a Canadian 5-3 advantage. While the Americans killed off the first penalty, they were not so lucky the second time around, with an otherwise lacklustre Luc Bourdon nailing a one timed shot top corner. While the Americans complained 16 year old Sam Gagne (who was the penalized player the Americans scored their PP marker) was in the crease, the replay clearly showed it was a clean goal.

In overtime, the Americans once again used their speed and puck control to dominate the play. Eventually Kris Letang made a mental mistake and he lazily one handidly high sticked Jack Johnson who was in on the forecheck. The Canadians caught a very lucky break in that the referee only called a 2 minute minor on a high stick that undoubtedly drew blood.

Enter the Carey Price show once again. Up 4 men to 3 because of the 4-4 overtime format, the Americans patiently waited for their chances on the PP. Eric Johnson masterfully quarter backed the PP, even as the boos reigned down upon him from the Canadian fans, still bitter after Johnson's last minute cheap shot on Downie in last years matchup. But every time the Americans got a chance, Price shut them down, and as the last seconds of the 2 minute straight without a whistle PP for the Americans died down, Ryan Parent, after heroically playing the full PK got off the ice, and the Canadians again bent but did not break. With nothing solved in the OT period, even with the Americans outshooting Canada 12-2, the game headed to the dreaded but dramatic shootout.

This is where I witnessed what I believe to be possibly the single greatest individual effort in all of sports history. While Canada won the cointoss and elected to shoot first, initial shooters for both teams (Downie for Canada, Patrick Kane for USA) were shut down, the second scorers for both teams potted a goal (Bryan Little for Canada, and Peter Muller for the Americans). That is where Jonathan Toews stepped in. After scoring a penalty shot goal against the Americans in the round robin matchup of this year, I felt it was unlikely Toews would be successful again. Just look at shootout percentages for NHL shooters in SOs and penalty shots. 50% is an impressive number in the SO. But Canada needed this goal, now.

But score Toews did, nailing a perfect shot low blocker on American goalie Jeffrey Frazee, who played an outstanding game himself. Jack Johnson replied for the Americans a shot later.

After 3 shooters each, the SO moved to 1 round sudden death, in which you could use any shooter you wanted from the previous rounds. Bryan Little, on his second shot, missed, and the Americans had a chance to put the game away. But once again, Carey Price stepped in, stopping Kane on the shootout. Canada went back to Toews for the next shot? What was it I said earlier about successive shots? But again, Toews confidently fired the puck into the top right corner of the net, hitting post and in on what could only be described as a perfect shot. Jack Johnson once again replied for the Americans, an impressive feat by itself. Cogliano shot next for Canada, slamming one in low glove side, and once again, the Americans replied with a goal, fending off elimination.

Finally, Toews stepped up one more time. As he went in it looked like American goaltender Fracee had Toews beat. Toews however had other plans, and he fired it past Frazee for what is essentially a 4th straight one-one goalie battle, (one penalty shot, 3 shootout shots). Peter Muller shot for the Americans, but Price once again stood tall, shutting down Muller's attempted 5 hole shot.

And thats the way the game was. Canada faces the winner of the second semi-final today in the final on Friday.

therealdeal of the night: Obviously Carey Price and Jonathan Toews played a huge role in this game, but for my money, the best non goalie of the match had to be Marc Stall. While the rest of this vaunted defensive group looked tentative, unprepared, overmatched, slow, Marc Stall lead the way, dominating everytime he came near the puck. He was Canada's best player over 70 minutes of play, getting in the way of American players, eliminating opposition offensive efforts down low, making fantastic breakout passes (which were sorely lacking today), getting his long reach and big stick involved in the play, and just generally staying calm amidst what was at one point a sea of panic.

edit: and for those readers wondering why I spelled it 'Muller' instead of 'Mueller,' well I originally had it 'Mueller' but the official game summary provided by Hockey Canada had it spelled 'Muller.' Officially, I'm almost positive it's spelled 'Mueller.'

Team Canada U-20 Intrasquad Game Roundup

I attended the Team Canada U-20 intra-squad game tonight so I thought I'd quickly post my thoughts.

The shots may have been close after the first period, but team White dominated team Red with their forecheck and cycle. Red had absolutely no counter when team White gained the zone, and the chances for White were about 8-1.

In the second period team Red decided to show up and held zone control for long periods of time. They actually managed to tie it up 2-2 at one point. However, the 2nd half of period 2 saw White adapt and mostly keep Red to the outside, and in fact they pulled ahead later on.

The third period was more domination for Red. They scored two (including a highlight reel 3-1 goal) to put the game away, then scored a 6th to really put an exclamation point on the win.

Of particular interest to Flames fans is goaltender Leland Irving who played the 2nd half of the game. I was impressed with him, he seemed very composed and had excellent rebound control. Hard to say a lot more about him as he didn't have to make very many saves, but he only let in 1 goal, the least of any goalie in the game. I would say he's the front runner for the number 1 position. Price didn't look very impressive, and Cann really didn't make the saves when he needed to either. Bernier let in a couple but he was being bombarded so he looks like the possible backup.

Of interest to Oilers fans was Andrew Cogliano. I thought he played a real sharp game. He made an excellent defensive play in the 2nd period to check a man in front with the puck, he used his speed to create room for his teammates, including a dominating shift in the third where he simply owned the ice which resulted in a goal. He had one breakaway in which he went glove side on Price, but was denied. I thought he got better as the game went on. He ended with an assist and a tip in goal.

Therealdeals of the night had to be Sam Gagner and Steve Downie for team white, Brendan Mikkelson and James Neal for red. The 17 year old Gagner had an 'encouter' with Bourdon in the first after the whistle, and as he skated off the ice he kept his eye on Bourdon. On his next shift he challenged Bourdon a second time, proving that he wasn't going to back down from the returnee. From then on he dominated in the offensive zone and transition for the rest of the game, getting a goal and two assists, including a shorthanded highlight reel marker (seriously, its on TSN's highlights of the night) on a 3-1 from Downie.

Downie had 3 assists and was nasty all game. He took two penalties in the first and went after Bourdonwith a slash in the offensive zone in the third, resulting in Bourdon retaliating with a roughing penalty. I really respect Downie a lot and he reminds me of Messier the way he retaliates to get room for himself. He's proven that he can hold back when he needs to as well.

James Neal created a few of the few offensive zone chances for team Red all night and got one of their 3 goals. He did have some neutral zone giveaways though.

Brendan Mikkleson in my opinon was Team Red's best defenseman. He provided good outlet passes all night, made good defensive decisions and he skated well. He got Red's first goal as well, not a bad night for a new fish in a sea of returning defenseman. I would say he's got a very good chance of being the 6th or 7th defenceman based on tonight's performance.

Also of note was 17 year old Drew Doughty on defence for team White. He looked extremely composed with the puck, making several very good outlet passes and dominating on the point in the offensive zone. Cogliano's tip in was shot by Doughty, and in tonight's game he was one of the top 4 defenceman.