Spooner said:
He was one of the top players on a team that had the best record in all of the NHL for the last 20 games of the season.
Can only perform with 10,000 people in the stands? Did you not notice him helping the Pens win IN Toronto. Or was this one of those Leafs games where only 10,000 people showed up? The Leafs have horrible fan support, I know...
You do realize he played 1 game in Toronto and scored on Trevor Kidd, right? Stop bringing that up, because Kidd allowed 30 goals in his last 7 games, that Pittsburgh game being his second last start. That's the same as a Leafs fan saying Wade Belak scored on Norm Maracle, it's Belak's year to make a run at the Norris!
Someone has to rack up the points for Pittsburgh? Well, Ryan Malone was doing a damn good job, as was Dick Tarnstrom, Milan Kraft, the such... but someone has to score the goals, right? I mean, when you're going 6 games undefeated oftentimes someone is scoring goals. Usually. Most the time. On rare occasions, people also get assists. This never has to do with the team playing like it's on the playoffs for the bubble, and not like it had been eliminated months ago. Never. In fact, it's impossible. Playing hard != victory.
I'm not sure what you're trying to say here. I'm not trying to offend the Pens, because I like Koltsov, Tarnstrom, Surovy, etc... but on any team that lacks offense there will be opportunities to score goals and if you're on the ice for 90% of the PP's and 25:00+ a night, you're going to somehow rack up some points. A good example being Drake Berehowsky, he had
21 points in 47 games, that's on pace for almost 40 points on the season with the Pens... but he was Toronto's #9 or 10 defenseman.
There have been guys that have played on bad teams and have put up career numbers because of the icetime that was available. An example being Donald Audette in 2000/01. Scores 71 points in 64 games for a team consisting of Ray Ferraro, Jiri Slegr, and Steve Guolla. They finish in the bottom 3 in the league and Audette plays in 5 different cities (Dallas, Buffalo, Hamilton, Montreal, Florida) before he retires.
It's also not a coincidence that Jackman managed 8 of his 24 points on even strength, 15 on the PP, and 1 shorthanded. When you get 25:00 a night and are designated as a QB on the PP, you're going to end up with some points.
Here's the problem we seem to have here: You remember the times when Ric was bad, I remember the time afterwards when Ric was good. One of us is partially connecting the upcoming of the Penguins to the acquisition of Ric, the other is saying it's obviously random occurence and the direct result of the inevitability that goals will be scored. Usually 3-4 at a time. Sometimes, more goals than the other team scores. Entirely at random.
But goals have to be scored, right?
Goals will be scored by a team no matter how bad that team is, there will always be opposing players that will be benched or not dressed against the Penguins, most of the time the starting goalies from the opposing team. Goals have to be scored, and players will get credit for points.
Hell, here are the goalies Ric Jackman scored points on with the Pens...
Secondary Assist - Robert Luongo (SS)
Powerplay Goal - Mikael Tellqvist
Powerplay Goal - Garth Snow
Primary Assist - Martin Prusek (PP)
Secondary Assist - Brian Boucher
Goal - Brian Boucher
Secondary Assist - Evgeny Nabokov
Powerplay Goal - Garth Snow
Secondary Assist - Garth Snow
Secondary Assist - Tomas Vokoun
Powerplay Goal - JS Giguere
Primary Assist - Jason Labarbera (PP)
Powerplay Goal - Trevor Kidd
Secondary Assist - Olaf Kolzig (PP)
Primary Assist - Olaf Kolzig
Primary Assist - Kevin Weekes (PP)
Primary Assist - Kevin Weekes (PP)
Primary Assist - Mike Dunham (PP)
Secondary Assist - Mike Dunham (PP)
Primary Assist - Jamie McLennan (PP)
Secondary Assist - Jamie McLennan (PP)
Powerplay Goal - Matt Yeats
Secondary Assist - Matt Yeats (PP)
Secondary Assist - Matt Yeats
I don't think it's awfully difficult scoring on Matt Yeats, Trevor Kidd, or Garth Snow taking shots on the PP.
I'm not trying to discredit his performance in Pittsburgh, but there's a reason he was a bust in Dallas, Boston, and Toronto. Don't expect anything more than an Andy Delmore type career from Ric Jackman. A guy that'll produce without being anything more than an average reserve player in the NHL on any team that's contending for the #8 spot in the conference.