Tuesday's Daily Dosage - Lovejoy, Kunitz, Smyth...

I've had my eye on the Pens Ben Lovejoy for a little bit and the points are starting to come as he has 1+3=4 & 12 shots during a four game point streak.  He doesn't get any PP time so he's not going to be a big point producer but among dmen who have played at least 20 games this season, he ranks 5th in ESP/60mins (1.41), so that's an encouraging sign. 

Chris Kunitz has a four game streak of his own going as he has 4+4=8 during the stretch.  Not sure what it is but he seems to be doing better without Crosby than with him.

Ryan Smyth's slump is getting epic as he doesn't have a goal in his last 13 games (0+4=4 & minus-8) and only one goal to show for his last 23 games.  His production has really dropped of the map this year and he's not even getting any PP minutes any more.

This seems like a rush to judgment but Ottawa has signed Craig Anderson to a 4-year deal.  Anderson's a decent goalie and has been great in 11 games with the Sens so far but locking him up long-term seems a little unnecessary.  Good for him to get ahead of the summer's UFA goalie market and snatch up one of the vacancies.  Bad news for Robin Lehner as this would seem to indicate that they want him in the AHL for at least another year.  Ottawa also announced that they won't be re-signing Pascal Leclaire.

Jimmy Howard was giving out juicy rebounds last night and was pulled after being beaten for four goals on 15 shots.  He's still tied for the league lead with 34 wins but his averages have slowly declined throughout the year (2.79 & .908) and are well off what he put up last year (2.26 &.924).  Depending on how well he performs in the playoffs, it wouldn't surprise me to see the Wings go after another goalie in the summer to split time with Howard.

Jordan Staal with 2A last night to extend his point streak to four games where he has 3+4=7 & plus-8.  He's doing better than I thought he would filling in for Crosby as the #1C but I'm still not sold on his long-term upside.  

A nice evening for Pascal Dupuis as he had 2+1=3, SHG, plus-3 & five shots last night... too bad you would've had to have been pretty desperate to have him in your lineup as he came in with one goal over his previous 23 games.

Alex Kovalev has just 1+1=2 & 15 shots in 11 games with Pittsburgh... all while eating up a lot of ice-time & seeing nearly five mpg on the PP. 

Dustin Penner is scoreless over his last three and only has 11 shots in his 10 games with the Kings... so anyone expecting him to takeoff with his new team would like to see a little more activity, I'm sure.

Another King slumping at the wrong time is Jack Johnson as he is 0+1=1 & minus-10 over his last 12 games and this is taking the lustre off his tremendous first half where he looked like he was emerging as a fantasy force.

Nashville prospect Atte Engren is going to finish the year in the AHL now that his SM-Liiga season is over.  He's had two solid seasons in the top Finnish league including a championship and being named the league's top goalie last year.  The Preds are pretty stocked up on young goalie prospects so I'm not sure how this will all shake out.

The Avs signed 2009 2nd round pick, Stefan Elliott, to an ELC... he's put up big numbers in the WHL the past few seasons including leading (tied) the league in points by a dman with 31+50=81 in 71 games.  I like the look of this kid and think he has a chance to be a good one in a few years. 

The Leafs signed 22-year-old college FA Tyler Brenner out of RIT, he's had a few decent years there including 26 goals in 37 games this season... I'd call him a project, as are most of the college FAs.