Fire On Ice

01/24/2010 6:23 PM -  Evan Reynar

 

Niklas Kronwall

Contributed by Evan Reynar

 

Benoit Pouliot, LW, MTL (29GP-12g-2a-15pts, with a +3 and 29 PIMs)

Every once in a while a trade seems to work out just right for both parties involved. Such is the case for the recent deal that saw Pouliot shipped from Minnesota to Montreal in return for Guillaume Latendresse. At the time the deal looked rather lacklustre with both of the wingers’ careers being underwhelming to this point, especially Pouliot, with whom the Wild had seemingly wasted their fourth overall pick on in 2005. It appears as though it was just a change of scenery that was needed for these guys. We mentioned Latendresse in this report last week, but it’s Pouliot who is gaining momentum now. Picking up a goal in nine of his 15 games with the Habs so far, Pouliot has stepped in just in time to replace the injured Andre Kostitsyn as a first/second line-type LW. It remains to be seen where he will fit in when Kostitsyn returns, but he’s a safe bet for the time being.

Jussi Jokinen, LW, CAR (49GP-14g-20a-34pts, with a -2 and 24 PIMs)

Shootout specialist Jokinen scores in spurts, and that’s what he’s been doing lately. Over his last seven games, Jokinen has nine points (3g-6a), with six of those points coming on the man advantage. You may also remember Jokinen for his playoff run last season (seven goals in 18 games), which made him look like a steal for the Hurricanes off waivers from Tampa Bay during the middle of last season. Since the Hurricanes will likely be major sellers at the trade deadline, Jokinen is also a good bet to be traded to a team where his plus/minus could improve. (Editor’s note: Jokinen recorded three points on Sunday, giving him 12 points (4g-8a) in his last eight games.)

Niklas Kronwall, D, DET (21GP-5g-8a-13pts, with a +3 and 18 PIMs)

Act quickly on this one. Kronwall is set to return this week from the knee injury that knocked him out of action two months ago. I probably don’t need to tell you that Kronwall is on the cusp of becoming an elite d-man in the NHL. With Nicklas Lidstrom (39) and Brian Rafalski (36) in the twilight of their careers, Kronwall’s role with the team should gradually evolve in to top d-man status.

Brian Elliott, G, OTT (30GP-14W-11L-3OTL, with a 2.67 GAA and .903 SV%)

We mentioned Mike Brodeur last week as a solid pick-up after he started his NHL career with three brilliant starts in the wake of Pascal Leclaire’s broken cheek bone, but Brodeur is having a tough time stealing starts away from the more experienced Elliott. With Leclaire slated to miss a month of action and the rest of the Sens’ squad relatively healthy, you can expect some more quality starts from this goalie tandem. Elliott gets the nod for now with his experience and a four-game win streak in which he’s let in a measly five goals.

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