Unbelievable

Take a good look at the image to the left. I am completely in awe when it comes to this kind of artwork. The image to the left is chalk on a sidewalk, drawn in a three-dimensional pattern so that it becomes almost an optical illusion. The amount of planning, foresight, and ability that this takes is beyond me in all capacities, so I have a great respect for anyone who can do this. It's kind of like hockey in that I have a great respect for a vast number of players based on their abilities and talents. Today, we look at a couple of interesting numbers that may make you shake your head when considering the talent these players have.

• Jordan Eberle, currently with the Edmonton Oilers, played 34 games with the AHL's Oklahoma City Barons. In those 34 games, Eberle tallied 51 points. Eberle is still leading the AHL scoring, and is ahead of second-place scorer and teammate Justin Schultz by three points. Third-place scorer Jonathan Audy-Marchessault was just returned to Springfield by Columbus, and he trails Eberle by seven points. How long can Eberle lead the league in scoring? Unbelievable.
• Justin Schultz, also with Edmonton, played 34 games with the Barons. Schultz is leading all AHL defencemen in scoring by 15 points! TJ Brennan, the second-leading scorer, is currently playing in Buffalo. Mike Kostka is third, and he's playing with the Maple Leafs. Tim Erixon, sitting in fourth, is playing with Columbus. So who is left? Mark Barberio of the Syracuse Crunch trails Schultz by 20 points! Schultz could end up being the top-scoring defenceman in the AHL this year despite playing the majority of the year in the NHL. Unbelievable.
• The Calgary Flames signed Danny Taylor from Abbotsford to help alleviate their goaltender injury woes. Taylor, however, wasn't the best goalie in Abbotsford. Barry Brust is putting up walls around the league as he has posted a 1.69 GAA, a .940 save percentage, and four shutouts in his 19 appearances this season. In Danny Taylor's defence, though, his 1.77 GAA, .930 save percentage, and two shutouts in 26 appearances is pretty darn good too. Abbotsford has the top two goalies in the AHL, yet are only third in the Western Conference! Unbelievable.
• Evgeni Malkin hasn't played in the KHL in over two months, yet he's still third in scoring in Russia. He has a 17-point lead over fourth-place Patrick Thoresen, so it appears that Malkin may hang around the top-five scoring leaders for a while yet. Unbelievable.
• The Montreal Canadiens played Vanilla Ice's "Ice Ice Baby" on a PK Subban icing call against Boston tonight. Horrible music choice. Unbelievable.
• Total goals for Jussi Jokinen, Guillaume Latendresse, RJ Umberger, Devin Setoguchi, Paul Gaustad, Brandon Dubinsky, Mike Cammalleri, Andrew Cogliano, Max Talbot, Jochen Hecht, Frans Nielsen, Henrik Sedin, Phil Kessel, Alex Steen, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins? Zero. Unbelievable.
• St. Louis is the only NHL team without an overtime or shootout loss for teams with two or more extra-time games. New Jersey is 1-3 in games requiring extra time. Unbelievable.
• San Jose has scored the most first-period goals with 16. Ottawa has the most second-period goals with 13. Tampa Bay has the most third-period goals with 18. Chicago, Winnipeg, and Edmonton all have two overtime goals. Unbelievable.
• Justin Schultz, for as good as he was in Oklahoma City, is currently tied with Winnipeg's Paul Postma for the lead in rookie defenceman scoring at five points. Unbelievable.
• The two guys who lead the league in minor penalties? Philadelphia's Brayden Coburn with 12, and Detroit's Niklas Kronwall with 10. Unbelievable.
• For all the crying about Shanahan's disciplinary system, there have been just two match penalties handed out thus far. St. Louis' David Backes and San Jose's Andrew Desjardins are the two men tagged with the match penalties. And Desjardins didn't deserve his match penalty. Unbelievable.
• There have been eight penalty shots handed out thus far into the season. The only two goaltenders not to stop a penalty shot? Philly's Ilya Bryzgalov and Nashville's Pekka Rinne. Unbelievable.
• The fact that TSN personalities are already picking the Canadian Olympic team is bloody ridiculous. Worse yet, the fact that they are leaving Boston's Patrice Bergeron off the team is downright comical. Unbelievable.
• This is my 2020th post on HBIC. I've lasted six years. I'm still shocked that people read this blog daily. Unbelievable. And I thank you.

There are my unbelievable findings for the night. I'm sure things will change as the season progresses so that a few of these items fall into line. The law of averages seems to even things out eventually.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!