With a new NHL season upon us, hopefully this will be a refreshed blog, with plans to post every day Monday-Friday, and include

With a new NHL season upon us, hopefully this will be a refreshed blog, with plans to post every day Monday-Friday, and include stats, lineup notes, injuries and other details from the night before. Oliver Torres Jersey . Im also going to try to use it as an outlet for responding to e-mail and Twitter questions, and -- please note -- Ill be doing chats on TSN.ca every Friday. So come with questions, whether they involve fantasy hockey or analytics and lets have a great season. Today, its Grabovski making a point, Eller in fine form, Troubas instant impact and some recommendations for stats-oriented hockey fans. 1. After one game for the Washington Capitals, it turns out that Mikhail Grabovski is still a pretty decent hockey player. Grabovski scored three goals, added and assist while starting more of his shifts in the offensive zone, at least compared to last year, when his usage was drastically different in Toronto. Its only one game, of course, but its notable that Grabovski was among the Capitals leaders in offensive zone starts and hes being used in an offensive capacity, which plays to his strengths. This comes on the heels of Maple Leafs coach Randy Carlyle saying that he wants the Leafs to be more of a puck possession team this year, as though the decisions made in the summer (like buying out Grabovski and re-signing Tyler Bozak, for example) have no bearing on the teams ability to play an improved puck possession game. Even after being put into a defensive role last season, Grabovskis puck possession numbers have been better than those recorded by Bozak over the past three seasons. Why compare Grabovski specifically to Bozak? Because the decision to buy out Grabovski only came into play because the Maple Leafs were choosing to re-sign Bozak, who was an unrestricted free agent in the summer. If they let Bozak leave, Grabovski would fit in an open scoring centre slot, not unlike the one hes found in Washington. While Grabovskis buyout doesnt affect the Maple Leafs cap, it still required more than $14-million and I dont care how much revenue pours in to MLSE, no one likes paying a player $14-million to play somewhere else, especially if turns out that he could be better than the guy theyve agreed to pay $21-million over the next five seasons. 2. Now, in the interest of fair play, it should be pointed out that Bozak scored a shorthanded breakaway goal and took 27 (winning 15) of the Maple Leafs 55 face-offs against Montreal Tuesday, his 21:13 of ice time leading all Maple Leafs forwards. His possession numbers werent ideal but, again, this is one game and Grabovski did much of his damage (two goals and one assist) on the power play, so his even-strength possession numbers werent great either. At the same time, these comparisons are going to get made. When teams choose one player over another, especially at the same position, its inevitable. 3. The Canadiens had a productive game out of what is ostensibly their third line -- C Lars Eller (2 G, 1 A, +2, 6 SOG) , LW Alex Galchenyuk (2 A) and RW Brendan Gallagher (1G). The oddity of it all is that Montreal didnt seem to use Galchenyuk and Gallagher as much as they could. The sophomore wingers played 13:23 and 11:26, respectively. Brandon Prust and Travis Moen both played more than 12 minutes against Toronto, so there was more of an emphasis on the physical game, it appears. For Eller, whose 2013 season ended when he was knocked out by Senators D Eric Gryba, it was an ideal return to action from an individual standpoint, showing that he is strong, healthy and capable of being productive right away. 4. Jets rookie D Jacob Trouba announced his presence in his first NHL game. After one year at Michigan, the 9th overall pick from 2012 stepped into the Jets lineup, played 25:02 to lead both teams, and scored his first NHL goal along with an assist. If hes a top four (or even top pair) defenceman right out of the gate -- he was paired with Zach Bogosian -- then Trouba can be a difference-maker for the Jets. 5. Blackhawks sophomore LW Brandon Saad (1 G, 2 A, +2) opened the season on Chicagos third line, with Andrew Shaw and Jimmy Hayes, but was still plenty productive. Bryan Bickell, who has the top line left wing spot, alongside Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, had one shot on goal in 15:05. 6. Capitals RW Alex Ovechkin (1 G, 1 A, -2, 9 SOG) had a strong opening game. In 126 games over the previous two seasons, hed registered nine shots or more twice, so doing it in Chicago, against the Blackhawks, seems like a decent initial indication that hes on his game. 7. Oilers LW, er, C Taylor Hall played 23:30 against Winnipeg, a threshold hed crossed twice in 171 previous NHL games. Playing primarily with Ryan Smyth and Ales Hemsky, they took puck possession lumps against the Jets. 8. Were going to wrap up todays blog with a few recommendations. First, for anyone interested in hockeys advanced stats or simply taking a different look at the game, this seasons Hockey Prospectus is a must-read. I wrote the Foreword to the HP annual a couple of years ago, emphasizing that hockey analytics should be a growth industry, and appreciate the work that some very smart people put into the analysis every year. Ive been fortunate enough to meet some of them at the Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, including editor Timo Seppa and Brian Macdonald. Ive worked on a few things with Rob Vollman (who published his own, also recommended, Hockey Abstract this summer too) and have chatted with a few more on Twitter, including prospect ace Corey Pronman and I appreciate people challenging the status quo when it comes to player and team analysis. Its good stuff. 9. Not to be confused with TSNs Fantasy Hockey League Manager (which is also great!), Ive started playing Franchise Hockey Manager, a hockey simulator presented by OOTP, makers of Out of the Park Baseball. Ive played their baseball game and enjoyed it, but was anxious for their release of the hockey product. I spent way too much time in my youth playing Hockey League Simulator II and loved the idea of picking my teams, setting lines, making trades etc -- this was really before fantasy hockey had taken hold online -- and you could play through a season in a night. Maybe a long night, but it could be done. The amount of detail involved is great -- they have rosters and prospects for all NHL teams, but also for junior and European leagues -- and its still fun to mix and match line combinations. If youre into that kind of stat-nerdy thing, give it a look. 10. Finally, research is the heart of this job. I watch and I listen and I read and I dig for more and there are many websites that I turn to in order to have a handle on whats happening in the NHL. These are some that I will link to a lot throughout the season: www.behindthenet.ca www.capgeek.com www.leftwinglock.com www.hockey-reference.com stats.hockeyanalysis.com www.extraskater.com www.hockeyfights.com www.hockeydb.com Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. Juanfran Jersey . The Raptors had an early deadline Sunday, a dreaded afternoon game, and they left the bulk of their work until the last minute, as theyve done so many times before. Miguel Angel Moya Jersey . DETROIT LIONS AT ATLANTA FALCONS, 9:30 AM (ET) Detroit - RB Reggie Bush, TE Eric Ebron, TE Joseph Fauria, WR Calvin Johnson, QB Kellen Moore, TE Brandon Pettigrew, OT LaAdrian Waddle Atlanta - CB Javier Arenas, DT Jonathan Babineaux, OT Cameron Bradfield, WR Freddie Martino, QB Sean Renfree, OT Jonathan Scott, LB Tyler Starr SEATTLE SEAHAWKS AT CAROLINA PANTHERS, 1:00 PM (ET) Seattle - DT Jordan Hill, CB Byron Maxwell, OT Andrew McDonald, TE Zach Miller, C Max Unger, LB Bobby Wagner, WR Bryan Walters Carolina - CB Bene Benwikere, LB Chase Blackburn, WR Philly Brown, G Amini Silatolu, G Trai Turner, RB Fozzy Whittaker, RB DeAngelo Williams HOUSTON TEXANS AT TENNESSEE TITANS, 1:00 PM (ET) Houston - OT Jeff Adams, DB Josh Aubrey, LB Brian Cushing, DB Darryl Morris, WR DeVier Posey, QB Tom Savage, LB Jeff Tarpinian Tennessee - RB Antonio Andrews, WR Kris Durham, TE Richard Gordon, DL DaQuan Jones, CB Coty Sensabaugh, OT Will Svitek, TE Taylor Thompson BALTIMORE RAVENS AT CINCINNATI BENGALS, 1:00 PM (ET) Baltimore - CB Chykie Brown, LB Arthur Brown, DL Chris Canty, TE Owen Daniels, G/C Gino Gradkowski, RB Bernard Pierce, OT Jah Reid Cincinnati - RB Rex Burkhead, DE Will Clarke, WR A. http://www.socceratleticomadridonline.us/Jan-Oblak-Atletico-Madrid-Jersey/ .ca MLB Power Rankings, the third consecutive week that the As have held top spot and the third straight week that they have been one ahead of the Toronto Blue Jays.CINCINNATI, Ohio -- The Cincinnati Reds used a well-rounded effort to end their losing streak on Saturday. Jay Bruce homered and drove in three runs and the Reds snapped a three-game losing streak with a 6-5 win over the Phillies. Todd Frazier also homered and the Reds played strong defence, throwing out two runners at the plate to end innings and overcome homers by Marlon Byrd, Carlos Ruiz and Jimmy Rollins to send the Phillies to their seventh loss in eight games. "Talk about a complete game," first-year manager Bryan Price said. "Those two perfectly executed relay throws were a big deal. We had a lot of good things, defensively and offensively." Centre fielder Billy Hamilton, second baseman Brandon Phillips and catcher Devin Mesoraco teamed up to throw out Byrd at the plate to end the sixth inning and Ruiz to end the seventh. "Those are fun plays," Mesoraco said. "Those are always my most fun plays. You certainly dont want to give up the doubles to get into that position." Alfredo Simon (8-3) allowed seven hits and three runs with three strikeouts in six innings. Jonathon Broxton pitched a scoreless eighth inning and Aroldis Chapman pitched the ninth for his eighth save. The Reds wasted no time snapping their 17-inning scoreless streak, scoring in the first inning. Hamilton drew a leadoff walk, stole second on the first pitch to Skip Schumaker and hustled to third on Schumakers groundout to Rollins at shortstop, setting up Bruces sacrifice fly. "As a team, you need the small things," Bruce said. "Those are what lead to the bigger things." The Phillies answered with Byrds two-run homer in the second, his ninth of the season. Frazier led off the bottom of the second with his team-leading 13th homer of the season, giving him home runs in three of his past four games. Frazier sparked Cincinnatis fourth-inning go-ahead rally with a single to right field and stolen base. Zack Cozart drove him in with a sinking line drive to right-centre field that Ben Revere got a glove on with a diving try before the ball trickled away. Cozart went to third on Ramon Santiagos single and scored on Hamiltons sacrifice fly. The Phillies threatened in the fifth, getting runners to second and third with one out, prompting manager Ryne Sandberg to pinch-hit John Maybberry Jr. Guilherme Siqueira Jersey. for starting pitcher Roberto Hernandez. Hernandez (2-4), is 0-3 in seven starts since his most recent win on May 4, allowed four hits and four runs with three walks and two strikeouts in four innings. He also hit a batter. Bruce followed Brandon Phillips fifth-inning leadoff walk with his fourth homer of the season and first since April 20 against the Cubs in Chicago. The homer was his first in Cincinnati since April 3 and the 100th of his career at Great American Ball Park. "Thats one of those things I knew was coming," Bruce said. "You just have to keep on keeping on. Ive been trying to keep the same approach. It felt good to put a good swing on a pitch I should have driven." Ruiz led off the sixth with his second homer of the season, and Rollins hit a two-run shot in the seventh, his eighth homer of the season and second in two days. Byrd was thrown out on a double on Domonic Browns double to right-centre field. He collided with Mesoraco, prompting umpire crew chief Tom Hallion to ask for a review to make sure Major League Baseballs new rules governing plays at the plate werent violated. "I cant give you an educated response because I dont know what the rule is," Byrd said. "I was waiting for a lane. I was going to slide outside and get my hand in" When the replay confirmed the initial ruling, Sandberg came out of the dugout to argue, which is automatic grounds for ejection. The umpires tried to wave him back into the dugout, and Hallion ejected Sandberg when he persisted. "My argument was the catcher blocked the plate before he had the ball," Sandberg said. "Byrd almost twisted his ankle with indecision. It has gone against us three times with different scenarios. Everyone wants to know what the rule is." Notes: Reds 1B Joey Votto will begin an injury rehab assignment with Triple-A Louisville on Sunday. Votto hasnt played since going on the disabled list on May 21, retroactive to May 16, with a quadriceps strain in his left knee, the same knee on which he had two surgeries in 2012. ... Bruces walk in the third inning was his first in 16 games since he was walked three times by Milwaukee on May 1. ... Sandbergs ejection was the first of his managerial career. ... Rollins needs six hits to pass Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt and become Philadelphias career hits leader. Cheap Jerseys 2018 Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Online Discount NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys 2020 Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Online ' ' '