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Friday Take: Regin Returns; Couturier/Talbot Making an Impact

May 4, 2012, 3:29 PM ET [45 Comments]
Travis Yost
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The Ottawa Senators and Bryan Murray wasted little time in making a move this off-season, announcing the re-signing of C Peter Regin to a one-year, one-way deal at $800k.

For the Senators, it's a logical move to bring back Regin for another look. Regin's shown signs of being a capable National Hockey League player, but injuries have riddled him earlier in his career.

His 2011-2012 campaign was about as underwhelming as it gets, but that's largely due to the shoulder problems that have plagued his game for the past couple of years. Regin managed to log just ten games this season(2G/2A) before the injury sidelined him indefinitely. After deliberation, Regin opted for shoulder surgery, and is hopeful that he'll be ready to go when training camp opens up in the summer.

For Regin, it could have the feel of a last hurrah. With so much talent at the forward position coming through the ranks, Regin's going to have to win back a coaching staff and front office that may have soured on him a bit over the past year and a half. At his best, Regin's a flashy playmaking center that's creating in the offensive zone with regularity.

The last two years, though, we've seen the other end of that spectrum; a player who is beaten too easily off of the puck, or a common placeholder on the injury list.

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Watching the Philadelphia Flyers through the first two rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, I couldn't help but notice the effectiveness of a handful of TOI-limited depth players and their respective performances for Peter Laviolette's club.

The two standouts? Maxime Talbot(3G/1A -- 9GP) and Sean Couturier(3G/1A -- 9 GP). Talbot's averaging 17:29 TOI so far; the younger Couturier's clocking at 15:25 per. Offensively, they're producing a pretty respectable number of points for the limited ice time they're getting. But, when you consider some of the peripheral numbers, their nine-game sample of work is even more impressive.

Perhaps most indicative of their success is an almost innate ability to drive the opposition up-ice. With such an absurdity of scoring talent in the forward ranks, Peter Laviolette has the luxury of employing some of his more defensive-minded talents in high leverage situations, and they've pretty much dominated against the likes of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers.

Looking at their zone start / zone finish splits at even strength, Talbot and Couturier aren't just leading the Flyers -- they're leading all of the qualified talent currently playing in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The differentials are almost absurd, and this is after the pair struggled a bit in game three vs. the New Jersey Devils. Couturier starts just 14% of his shifts in the offensive zone, yet ends 39% of his shifts there. Talbot's even better. The grizzled-veteran is starting just 9%(!) of his shifts in the offensive zone, yet ends 44% of his shifts there.

It's a case study in exploiting talent for the best possible outcome. Laviolette's using his defensive weapons to drive back the opposition(Pittsburgh, and now New Jersey), then rolling out the hired guns like Claude Giroux(7G/8A -- 52% OZs), Daniel Briere(8G/4A -- 72% OZs), and Jakub Voracek(2G/8A --66% OZs).

They're picking up the points. But, Couturier, Talbot, et al. are equally deserving of the credit this offense is getting.

Know who else deserves credit? The above-mentioned Peter Laviolette. Guy just understands hockey.

Back with more tomorrow.

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