Savard point total no longer uneven
WASHINGTON - For stretches of his first two Black-and-Gold seasons, Marc Savard was like a Ferrari without a racetrack, hindered from flaunting the full horsepower of his skill set.
Savard, considered one of the NHL's top playmakers, could count the following players as former linemates: the defensive-minded P.J. Axelsson, a fading Glen Murray, and current AHLers Peter Schaefer and Brandon Bochenski - not exactly the sharpshooting wingers who could maximize the center's dish-first acumen.
As a result, Savard leaned on the power play to jack up his point production. Over the last two seasons, 80 of his 174 points (46 percent) came on the power play.
This season, Savard looks to his left and right and sees two rising youngsters in Milan Lucic (7-10 -17) and Phil Kessel (17-9 -26), who have proven worthy recipients of his passes. Finally, the Ferrari has some real estate on which to jack up the pace.
Only 9 of Savard's team-leading 32 points (28 percent) have come on the power play (three goals, six assists). That's a dropoff from last season, when Savard totaled 31 of his 78 points (39.7 percent) on the man-advantage. And it's an even steeper plunge from his first season in Boston, when 49 of Savard's 96 points (51 percent) were scored on the power play.
"I think he's got some pretty good linemates with him right now," said coach Claude Julien. "Phil has obviously excelled at scoring goals so far this season. I think that combination with Lucic, who's able to create some space for those guys, has without a doubt helped also. Without taking any credit away from [Savard], he's also played a really good, sound game. I find Savvy skating more this year than he has in the past. So he's been involved in a lot of plays at both ends of the ice. That's really helped his game grow as well."
The production from the Bruins' top line has forced opposing coaches to send out their best checkers to limit its five-on-five scoring chances, one reason the third line of Blake Wheeler, David Krejci, and Michael Ryder has been seeing more offensive space.
"If I can continue to provide even strength," Savard said, "that's good for our hockey team."
Savard's dip in PP scoring hasn't translated to a team-wide fall. Before last night, Boston had the fifth-best power play in the league, scoring on 23.5 percent of its man-advantage chances. While Zdeno Chara serves as the quarterback, the offense flows through Savard on the right boards.
"I think right now, it's just coming five on five," Savard said of his offense. "I've had success on the power play, so I look for that to get better through the season. Maybe it will flip-flop a little bit."
Turnaround for Yelle
When Stephane Yelle skated smack into linesman Mark Shewchyk Monday and was knocked out of action with an upper-body injury - most likely a bruised back - the Bruins brought up Vladimir Sobotka from AHL Providence on an emergency basis, figuring the veteran center might be unavailable for a short stretch.But Yelle felt much better Tuesday, skated yesterday morning, and was back in the lineup last night, making Sobotka a healthy scratch.
"The hit took me by surprise," said Yelle. "I was sore for a couple days. But I felt good tonight."
Yelle skated 16 shifts for 11:00 of ice time, landing three hits and winning 5 of 10 faceoffs. He was in the box for interference when the Capitals scored their first goal.
Medical district
The Capitals were projected to be one of the top clubs in the Eastern Conference, but they have been felled by injuries all season, including boo-boos to sniper Alexander Semin and puck-rushing defenseman Mike Green. Off the ice, according to owner Ted Leonsis, the franchise is expected to lose a significant amount of money despite being the top club in the Southeast Division. "I would be celebrating if we lost $5 million this year on our hockey team," Leonsis wrote on his blog. "That would mean we would have won a Stanley Cup in four seven-game series. Even then, I bet our loss would be more than $5 million." . . . Aaron Ward (leg) and Marco Sturm (neck) practiced yesterday morning but weren't in the lineup. Julien said both are making progress . . . While Kessel stretched his scoring streak to 13 games (10-7 -17), Krejci's nine-game streak was snapped . . . The Capitals improved to 11-1-1 at home.