Christmas comes early
It wasn’t that long ago things were looking pretty rosy for the Hamilton Bulldogs. Goals were coming in bunches, wins were easy to come by and the arena was a happy place. Throw in some ice cream and a pony and you’d have a full-on perfect world.
A few weeks later, however, the soundtrack to the highlight reel has morphed into Everybody Hurts.
Since that eye-popping 7-2 start, this team has been bad. Not mediocre, not sort of all right if you squint, not average. Bad. The 16 points it’s collected over the past 19 games — coming on only six wins — has dropped Hamilton into the bottom half of the Ontario Hockey League standings. Apples in Sir Isaac Newton’s garden didn’t fall this fast.
Only three teams have collected fewer points since that hot start came to a screeching halt in mid-October.
Considering how good they looked back then, this is a stunning turnaround. Concerning, too. After all, this is a franchise bidding to host a Memorial Cup in 2018 and one of the criteria is guaranteeing a good team on the ice. What’s happened? First of all, the Bulldogs have forgotten how to score. They found the net 49 times in their first nine games, but only 48 times since. That’s a problem.
Yes, a couple of their best players have been out with injuries, which doesn’t help.
Still, every team has to deal with absences and still win when the goals aren’t coming. Instead, Hamilton has lost nine one-goal games in those past 19.
Besides, if two missing players can sidetrack your entire team ….
Then there’s the problem that the power play remains anemic. It was firing at just 15 per cent in that first stretch and has stayed weak at an even-poorer 14 per cent since. That’s ugly.
But as bad as the power play is, the penalty kill is magnificently worse. After being a strength early on, it’s an absolute killer now. In that initial burst of success the Bulldogs killed 93 per cent of their opponents’ penalties. That would be best in the league if it continued. Instead, it faltered, badly. Since then it’s killed just 73 per cent of shorthanded situations. It’s really ugly. It all sounds rather bleak, right? Yet in the midst of the gloom comes a bit of Christmas cheer. Some potentially good news. Some much-needed glad tidings of comfort and joy.
Being in the Eastern Conference has been a gift. Living in the weaker side of the league (by far) has given Hamilton a cushion to soften its fall. Rather than being buried in a spot that almost guarantees a horrible playoff matchup, a turnaround now could still mean home-ice advantage in a series or two and a favourable post-season path.
Better yet, Hamilton’s schedule over the next few weeks is, shall we say, fortuitous. With World Junior Championship training camps opening and then the tournament getting underway, nine out of the Bulldogs’ next 10 games will be against teams likely missing their top players.
They will play Erie twice without having to deal with the Otters’ three superstars (Taylor Raddysh, Alex DeBrincat and Dylan Strome), Sault Ste. Marie without two of its best players (Zachary Senyshyn and Blake Speers) and Oshawa without leading scorer (Anthony Cirelli). Those teams are first, second and third overall in the OHL.
This is a huge advantage. Especially as the Bulldogs will only be without Marian Studenic, who will play for the Czech Republic.
Finally, Niki Petti is back from injury and Matt Luff will be arriving soon. Not only are they two-thirds of the team’s top line, but they’re Hamilton’s best two penalty killers. Maybe, just maybe, this solves two of the big problems at once.
The point is, this is exactly the gift the Bulldogs would want to get things headed in the right direction again. A perfect present wrapped with a big bow.
We’ll just have to see if they can open it.