Gens need more than their stars to score

By Chris Jones/Column

The Oshawa Generals are not a team lacking offense, that much is clear this season. However, what they do lack is secondary scoring.

The Danil Antropov, Jack Studnicka, and Serron Noel line has scored 24 of the Gens 72 goals. That’s one-third of their total offensive output.

Outside of their top scoring line, the Nando Eggenberger, Eric Henderson, and Kyle MacLean line has produced 22 goals between the three of them.

So between these six players, that’s 46 of 72 goals, or 64 per cent. Take away Antropov, who has the fewest goals with five, that’s still 41 goals for five players.

Outside of these six players, the next highest scorer is defenseman Matt Brassard with four. Giovanni Vallati, Allan McShane, Tyler Tullio and Nick Wong have all also scored three so far.

The fact of the matter is, the third and fourth lines aren’t scoring enough for the Gens. Albeit, these aren’t lines that will regularly score a ton of goals.

However, when looking at the numbers it is important to note that if these five main scorers are all having an off night, that means the onus of the scoring is on Antropov and his five goals that, like his father before him playing on a line with Mats Sundin, are largely attributable to the hands of his centre, Studnicka.

Outside of those two top lines, and to be generous I’ll add Antropov’s goals, other players have scored 31 goals.

Now, let’s take away the goals scored by defenseman. That’s twelve goals taken away, leaving the third and fourth lines plus Antropov with 19. Taking away Antropov, that’s 14 goals.

For a NHL example, let’s look at the Tampa Bay Lightning.

As of the Oshawa Express’ production day, Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov, the two biggest stars on the Lightning, have a combined total of 13 goals. This means that the team with the best record in the Eastern Conference, and team that has scored the most goals in the NHL, doesn’t need to rely on its star players.

The first line for the Lightning has combined for 18 of their 63 goals. While this means that they are scoring slightly more than one goal per game, there is scoring elsewhere on the team.

The second line for the lightning, which features Brayden Point and his team leading nine goals, has scored a total of 22 goals. Combine the two, and that means that the two lines have scored 40 of the 63 goals for 63 per cent of their goals.

Now, while this is largely similar to that of the Generals, much of that can be attributed to regular goal scorers like Kucherov, Stamkos, and Point. The Lightning know where their goals will come from. Do the Gens?

While looking at the Gens, it’s safe to say that Studnicka is the pinnacle of consistency, because if he isn’t scoring a goal, he’s finding other ways to contribute with the puck.

But what about the other five players in those top two lines?

Noel has 12 goals so far, a pace which he hasn’t accomplished since he entered the OHL, but his highest total before this year was 28. He also only has one goal in his last five games. That’s not something you want to see from your top goal scorer.

He’s also already had a five game goal drought between Oct. 6 and Oct. 19.

Then there’s Henderson, who’s 20 years old, and has scored eight goals thus far. But he’s also only scored more than 10 goals in a season once before, and that was in the 2016-17 season. Five of his eight goals also came in two games. So the question here is, can he break 10 goals again and continue the breakout season he’s already having?

Onto Nando Eggenberger. In his first season in the OHL, the Switzerland born winger has had a solid start with seven goals in 19 games. But he’s a rookie. He’s bound to go on a cold streak at some point this season.

Finally, there’s Kyle MacLean. While he has been consistent in his OHL career, he’s never scored more than 10 goals in a season. While he has seven so far this season, the question is, can he keep it up?

Some of the lack of scoring depth can be attributed to the fact that the Gens have suited up five rookie forwards so far this season, with only one of them contributing consistently.

This past weekend is a good example. The Generals split the weekend, winning one and losing one. When looking at the game they lost against the Kingston Frontenacs, their top scorers were nowhere to be found with Brassard scoring their lone goal.

When looking at their overtime victory against the Ottawa 67’s, two of their four goals were scored by their top two lines, with the winner coming off the stick of Noel in overtime.

Now, I am of the mindset that when a defenseman is on the ice, he’s not there to score, he’s there to help make sure that the other team doesn’t. If he can score on top of that, bonus, but defense is their top priority.

However, some bright notes have started to show, as rookie Tullio, after scoring his first goal on Oct. 21 against the Peterborough Petes, now has three goals in four games. It might just be possible now that he’s finally hit the back of the net, he might start unloading.

Eggenberger, another rookie, is also having a very good season so far, having made his way onto the Gens top two lines already.

In the end, the Gens are a team that needs their rookies that aren’t scoring to step up and do so, because the stars can’t maintain this pace forever, and it’s still early in the season, but it’s never too early to think about playoffs.