Daniel Sedin for the Art Ross
March 2, 2011 by Niko
Filed under Hockey Predictions
With about 20 games left in the regular season the Art Ross hunt is on. At the moment it looks like Daniel Sedin or Steven Stamkos should be able to take down the prize at the end of the season. At the time of this post Daniel is leading the league with 79 points, while Stamkos is just one behind at 78. Stamkos also has two games in hand, which actually has him if you expect him to keep his pace for the remainder of the season. Third and fourth positions are held by Martin St. Louis and Henrik Sedin, not coincidentally line mates of the top two contenders. Then there is a large drop off to find Zetterberg with 69 points. The fact that Stamkos will get points on a lot of the same goals as St. Louis and the same goes for the Sedin twins, it will be very difficult for them to catch up, so this should be two horse race down the stretch.
My money is on Daniel and here is why:
Why Daniel Will Win
- Daniel and Stamkos have both slowed down and each have only 6 points in their last 8 games. That being said Daniel is a much more consistent producer and has never had a stretch of two games without a point this season. He is on one of these two game stretches at the moment.
- Henrik won it last year and being the good twin that he is, will go out of his way to ensure his brother wins the Art Ross this year. This includes passing up on scoring opportunities if Daniel has not touched the puck on the play. I watched a Canucks game a few days ago and it was already evident that Henrik was doing more than he should have been to get his brother the puck. This could be a detriment, but I think Henrik has the skill necessary to help his brother get points more often than not.
- Stamkos is almost a lock for the Maurice Richard. He doesn’t need both…enough said. It’s been three years since someone (Ovechkin) won both the Maurice and Art Ross.
- It would make for a great story. Who doesn’t like a great story. One twin wins it one year, then the other follows suit the next. The Sedins do everything together, why not have matching Art Ross trophies as well.
**Take Daniel on your nightly FanDuel NHL fantasy teams down the stretch. Henrik picked it up in the last few games last year and I expect the same from Daniel.
In all honesty Crosby should have won this award hands down. He was having a tremendous season and he didn’t even have a sidekick like each of these stellar players have in Henrik and St Louis. But alas a concussion has taken him out of a good portion of the season and we might not even see him back this year. This gets me to my next point.
How Players Can Sustain a Full NHL Season
Staying healthy for a full NHL season is tough and if you want to win a scoring championship it is almost a must to play every single game during the year. One way players stay healthy is by sticking to a hockey meal plan that is built according to the sport and meant to allow them to perform at the highest level every night. Protein is a key ingredient in the diets of professional hockey players and one supplement that is key is Whey Protein for hockey players constantly replenishing muscles. Every top NHL player puts their health at a premium. It’s not easy playing NHL games 3 times a week.

