flames Martin Pospíšil is a new unsung hero.
Martin Pospíšil, who has only played 42 NHL games, has swiftly established himself as a key player for the Calgary Flames. Despite scoring two goals in his previous two games, including his sixth of the season in Saturday’s 6-3 victory over the Oilers, he doesn’t rack up many points or play a lot of minutes. Pospíšil’s physicality, determination, and ability to get under opponents’ skin compensate for his lack of point production and ice time. He must have picked up some tips from Nazem Kadri during the course of their five-plus months working together.
Martin Pospisil goes top corner! 🎯
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Pospíšil excels at hockey’s most important statistic: wins and losses. Pospíšil’s presence in the lineup is crucial to the Flames’ season-long success. Calgary is 25-13-4 when he plays, with a.643 point % that ranks seventh in the NHL. Compare that to the.526 point % in 58 games, which is the joint-tenth-lowest rate of return.
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Without him, the Flames are 3-12-1, with only 20% of possible points. That point percentage, although a tiny sample size, is the lowest in the league, worse even the struggling Chicago Blackhawks (.293). For a variety of reasons, the Flames make considerably fewer mistakes when the Slovakian plays. Pospíšil, a relatively obscure player, does not exhibit the same level of dominance as Connor McDavid.
Pospíšil is an important part of the Flames’ winning formula.
Pospíšil averages only 11:56 per game, ranking 10th among Calgary’s forwards. He has 15 points in 42 games (six goals and nine assists), is ranked 12th, and has no game-winning or multi-point goals. Despite this, his presence is undoubtedly the most important factor in ensuring consistent team success. He is a rare and precious asset, which the hockey club has recognized by signing him to a two-year extension for a discount price of $2 million.
The 24-year-old participated in all four two-game and three-game winning streaks, including the current one. He also participated in the recent four-game victory streak from Jan. 9 to Jan. 16 and three of four straight victories from Jan. 27 to Feb. 10. Pospíšil did not participate in the six-game losing run at the beginning of the season, and missed one game in each of the two four-game losing streaks. He has yet to lose four games in a row, which is impressive given the Flames’ tendency to be streaky.
Pospíšil can throw his body about with the best of them
The Slovakian winger has 146 hits, including six on Saturday in Edmonton, the most on the team and second-most among rookies. Only the New York Rangers’ Will Cuylle has more (186). The Flames’ winger has played 16 less games than Cuylle, with an average of 3.48 hits per game to Cuylle’s 3.21. Pospíšil has the most penalty minutes among rookies, with 53, 12 more than Columbus Blue Jackets’ Dimitri Voronkov, who ranks second.
His cutting-edge style has several disadvantages, such as a higher proportion of indisciplined penalties. That comes with the territory, however. Pospíšil’s coach, Ryan Huska, wants him to reduce unnecessary penalties, but he is unwilling to restrict his physical play. He enhances his Basham-Brothers approach with a greater ability to manage play. Pospíšil has a Corsi rating of 52.7%, ranking third best behind Blake Coleman (52.7%) and Mikael Backlund (54.1%).
The Flames, who selected Pospíšil with the 105th choice in the fourth round of the 2018 NHL draft, were aware of Pospíšil’s potential but did not anticipate such an instant and significant return. Pospíšil has a significant impact on both victories and defeats, surpassing even Jacob Markstrom.
