And yet, he scored at a higher rate than any player in the bottom 6. Including Lowry. Him and Harkins scored goals at a higher rate than everybody except Scheifele, Ehlers, Neiderreiter, and Connor. While playing with much worse linemates. Team could have looked a lot better if they'd played their best options for depth.
Fjallby and Gustafsson got scored on on the penalty kill at almost half the rate that Stenlund did. Gustafsson's face-off percentage had nearly caught up to Stenlund by the end of the season, while having a much better face-off percentage in the defensive zone. Both Gustafsson and Fjallby scored at higher rates than Stenlund. What the f*** did Stenlund bring to this team?
And before I get the "it wouldn't have made any difference" comments, switching a player out with one that's more likely to score and less likely to get scored on makes a difference. Maybe it wouldn't have been enough of a difference, but the goal should always be to give yourself the best odds to win and for some reason we don't. Nice to see Harkins carry the Moose kicking and screaming to game 5. Nice to see Eyssimont signed to a one way contract with a perennial contender. Nice to see Fjallby, who again, produced better than any player in our bottom 6 while having good defensive metrics, walk for nothing over 1 game.
I'm cranky after the Moose game, that's probably obvious though
Which reminds me, you know who put the dagger in the Moose's season? A guy the Jets were playing in the top 6 last year while fighting for a playoff spot. It's frustrating to see the Jets never being good enough when they won't even use what they have to be the best version of themselves.
