In today's edition of the hotstove, we try our hand at picking the best forward duo in the NHL this season, which is really hard because there are a lot of great ones.
Todd Cordell
I'm going with the Sidney Crosby - Conor Sheary duo.
When they're on the ice together at 5v5 the Pens control more than 54% of the shot attempts and almost 66% of the goals, which is incredible. In simpler terms, the Pens have scored two of every three goals with that duo on the ice.
Sheary leads the NHL in 5v5 points per 60 minutes played while Crosby sits 4th. They're the best duo in terms of 5v5 production and while a few other duos come out ahead in possession (Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand, for example), Crosby and Sheary are as good as it gets when it comes to getting it done on the scoreboard.
Honorable mentions go to Connor McDavid-Leon Draisaitl and Patrice Bergeron-Brad Marchand.
James Tanner Matthews / Nylander - they're rookies. One leads the NHL in 5v5 goals and the other was just on a 12-game point streak.
They're fun to watch, leading their team to the postseason and should be nominated for the Calder.
Technically, I suppose Bergeron/Marchand is the best combo, but Matthews / Nylander is the one I want to watch.
Peter Tessier This is a tough one because there are quite a few dynamic duos in the NHL right now. What's happening with McDavid and Draisaitl is pretty incredible and the fact that Sheary just seemed to be Crosby's latest sidekick out of nowhere is also cool.
There's a lot to enjoy with the NHL when to comes to looking at tandems on teams and what they do. Heck, one might even make a case for Mathews and Hyman right?
I'll be that homer guy and say Scheifele and Laine. In even strength minutes together they have a goals for/60 of 4.26. That's insane. They also seem to see each other well and have set up some incredible goals, not just going to Laine but back to Scheifele too.
Mark Scheifele is 7th in NHL scoring and the one player he has spent the most ice time with at even strength is an 18-year-old rookie who has 61 points. Now Scheifele is no McDavid, no one is, but what he has done with Laine is incredible and probably gets overlooked by many.
Give them a knock for being on a team missing the post-season but that's not their fault. While they may not be the best duo right now, they're very close and could be the top duo very soon.
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