The Illegal Curve Hockey Show on TSN Radio 1290 airs Saturdays from 12pm-3pm on TSN Radio 1290 (NHL Mid Week on Wednesdays from 6pm-8pm on TSN Radio 1290). The following discussion has been transcribed and paraphrased from the latest episode which will be available for download at IllegalCurve.com. Alternatively you can subscribe to the podcast on iTunes and have it automatically downloaded when it becomes available.
Drew: Now that the Winnipeg Jets have played one third of their games, I thought we could go back and review our predictions. Richard and Ezra’s original selection appears after their name in brackets, either were offered a chance to change their prediction (which they declined). Each comment provided has been paraphrased from Saturday’s Illegal Curve Hockey Show.
Winnipeg Jets. Over/Under: 24 wins. Actual: 7 wins. On pace: 21 wins.
Richard (over): I feel like Pavelec is starting to play better hockey, and while Enstrom is out, they haven’t been hit too hard by the injury bug. Too many players have had slow starts, I still feel comfortable with my pick.
Ezzy (over): I’m not going to change my prediction. After 16 games they are 7-8-1, that isn’t that bad considering their home record (which has room for improvement). I still think they will be 6 to 8 points out of a playoff spot.
Evander Kane. Over/Under:20 goals. Actual: 5 goals. On pace: 15 goals.
Richard (over): I’m going to stick with my pick. He shoots the puck from everywhere, some of those will pop in. He hasn’t played his best hockey as of yet, and is still on pace for 15 goals. He would benefit from a shuffling of the lines; he did not have any chemistry with Olli Jokinen.
Ezzy (even): I’m going to keep my prediction the same. He’s going to get to twenty goals; he’s not on a pace that you would expect him to be at, he’ll probably be right around twenty. He hasn’t got going yet and shoots from everywhere.
Blake Wheeler. Over/Under: 35 points. Acutal: 13 points. On pace: 39 points.
Richard (over): I’m not going to revise anything here. The point with him is that his past two games have been his best. He accumulated points over the first ten games while not playing his best, now he’s getting into gear playing his best hockey.
Ezzy (over): I’m not revising anything here. Blake Wheeler was the best player against Buffalo on Tuesday. I commend him for his comments about the negativity before the road trip; he has gone out and led the team with Andrew Ladd and Bryan Little.
Andrew Ladd. Over/Under: 30 points. Actual: 16 points. On pace: 48 points.
Richard (under): I’m not making any revisions here, but if I was smart I would. It looks like he is going to pass that total, full credit to him; he has been terrific this year. He’s led; he’s scored goals and created offense.
Ezzy (over): He hasn’t missed a game for Winnipeg Jets 2.0, he’s always the best player on the ice for the Jets. I’m keeping my prediction for this one.
Olli Jokinen. Over/Under: 35 points. Actual: 4 points. On pace: 12 points.
Richard (under): Jokinen has been brutal, they need him to be better.
Ezzy (under): That’s probably my worst prediction out of the five, but I’m going to stick with it. He was brought in to give them some scoring; you could argue he has been the most disappointing player on the Jets.
Dustin Byfuglien. Over/Under: 30 points. Actual: 7 points in 11 games, 0.64 PPG so far (needing to average 0.63 PPG in 48 games to get 30 points)
Richard (over): I’m going to stick with this pick; a key is where he is on the power play. I don’t love him in front of the net.
Ezzy (over): I like it; I’m going to stick with my pick.
Toby Enstrom. Over/Under: 25 points. Actual: 13 points in 13 games, he is now injured and needs to average 0.52 PPG in 48 games to get 25 points.
Richard (under): Well I knew he would get injured (ed note: said tongue in cheek). His injury history is a factor. He was a reliable player for a stretch but is a smaller player, was injured last year and now again this season. I don’t think he will get to 25 points.
Ezzy (over): Did I just go over for every pick?
Ondrej Pavelec. Over/Under 38 games started. Actual: 13 games started. On pace: 39 games started.
Richard (under): He’s been bad. I don’t think he has won them any games. You could argue that the Buffalo game was the first game that he stood on his head. If the Jets don’t have him playing at a high level, they will have a lot of difficulty. The past two games he has played a lot better, and that’s why they have had success. The Jets need him playing at a high level if they want to win.
Ezzy (over): He was given a big contract and has to live up to it.
Ondrej Pavelec. Over/Under: 20 wins. Actual: 5 wins. On pace: 15 wins
Richard (over): Sticking with this pick.
Ezzy (over): No revisions here.
Zach Bogosian (30 games played). Actual 4 games played. 32 games remaining.
Richard (over): Barring an injury, this looks like it will be over.
Ezzy (under): I’m happy that I will likely be wrong.
