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A Little Concern Over Bryan’s Production |
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The Thrashers go into tonight’s game in Montreal with an offense that produces goals at a 3.40 per game clip. San Jose and L.A. also have that same G/G line and only Philadelphia’s 3.67, Washington’s 3.64, Calgary’s 3.58 and Dallas’ 3.43 are higher.
Only once have they been held to as low as one goal in a game…two weeks back when they were last in Montreal…and only one other time have they only been able to muster a just pair of goals…game #3 in Ottawa. The other eight games have seen Atlanta notch at least three goals.
So, when your team is clicking along at such a pace, players whose number are off just a skosh don’t seem to cause much of an alarm. I mean, with so many others producing, one figures that playing time will sort out their kinks.
However, when an Ilya Kovalchuk type goes down with a broken foot for a few weeks…it’s only natural to look around the locker room to try and see where the void is going to be filled. And normally eyes fall upon those players who you usually look towards to contribute offensively…but for some reason just aren’t.
One such player for the Thrashers right now is Bryan Little…the 12th overall pick by the Thrashers in the 2006 draft…who has yet to deposit the biscuit into the basket this season. He does, however, have 5 helpers to his credit and is a +3.
Bryan started the year off in OK fashion, netting 4 points in the first three games and five after six games while playing on the top line with Kovy and Nik Antropov. No goals…but contributing by setting up those who were.
However, since he was moved to the second line with, primarily, Slava Kozlov and Todd White…he has zero points and is an “even” in the +/- rating.
Adding to the concern here is the fact that Little’s production numbers haven’t just recently taken a turn for the worse…the fact of the matter is, going back to last season, he hasn’t scored a goal since the 6-3 loss to Detroit on March 20th. Since that time he has played a total of 20 games with zero goals and just 6 assists on 35 shots on goal.
Those numbers over an 82 game schedule equates to about 24 or 25 points…and that’s just not good enough for someone considered a top-six forward.
Now, can these numbers simply be Little’s problem, or are they the product of his surroundings? Like I said before, all of his points came while plying up with Kovalchuk and Antropov….but nothing since.
However, the last two months of the previous season, he and White were both promoted up to Kovy’s top-line and we’ve already discussed how those last ten games went for him. So….shrugs
If you consider the “traditional” second line of Little, Kozlov and White, only Todd White has scored a goal this season…3 as a matter of fact to go with one assist…Kozlov has but 4 assists so far and, like Little, has yet to sound the goal horn.
So, that’s 3 goals and 10 assists after 10 games between the trio of forwards.
Under normal conditions I wouldn’t be alarmed by those numbers…keep these guys together and let ‘em work things out. After all, this is a line that racked up plenty of goals together throughout much of last year. But with the loss of the team’s top scorer, the amount of patience that can be afforded to those struggling to find the net is cut a bit short.
To that measure, coach Anderson’s lineups tonight versus the Habs will have Little on the line with Atlanta’s leading scorer Rich Peverley on the left and White in the center. The top line will see Kozlov moved up to play with Antropov and Afinogenov… Kane, Reasoner and Armstrong will makeup the third line while Boulton, Slater and Thorburn take care of the fourth.
Bryan Little is a dynamic player and possesses the ability to deliver timely goals for his team. And, with the captain on the shelf, now would be a pretty darn good time to see him return to that form.
Or pretty soon my “little” concern for Bryan’s production may become a “large” worry for Little and the rest of the team.
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