Pat Svoboda is on a Hot Streak

[StamkosFan 72]

Pat Svoboda leads his linemates by their bench and collects fist bumps after scoring his second goal of the night against the Yukon Rush.

 

In the 3-2 victory over the Yukon Rush, Pat Svoboda was the first star after he netted two goals, including the game winner. The Ottawa right winger has been on fire over the last few games, with 5 goals and 4 assists over Ottawa's last 7 matches. For comparison, he only had 1 goal and 1 assist over the previous 9 games. Svoboda is now shooting 14.63% on the season, third on the team, but the figure is not blatantly unsustainable; he simply has been generating a lot of shots, as he is known to do. And his time for when he converts on those shots is impeccable; two of his six goals were game winners. While he got off to a slow start, his offensive game has now started to translate, and he's showing up on the score sheet under every stat line. He is on pace to hit double digit goals before the end of the season. Svoboda seems relieved that he has finally started lighting the lamp.

 

"It took a little while, but once I got the first one, I really took off. The pressure was just gone, and now I think I'm playing my best hockey. When I first got here, I was worried if I had one bad shift I was going to be stapled to the bench or scratched next game. Now, I'm confident in my role here, and I think it's showing on the ice. The last game against Yukon, that had to be my best one yet," said Pat Svoboda. "Coming out after the game and waving to the fans, hearing my own name announced as first star? It felt really good and made me very proud of myself. That was my first multi-goal game, so obviously the next thing on the list is a hat trick. I intend to get one of those in the very near future."

 

The big bodied winger is also delivering peripherals, which he was not expected to do when he was signed. With 24 hits in 17 games, it seems that he is using his size to his advantage after all. However, maybe that is not such a good thing, since he has received 35 penalty minutes in those appearances; his discipline needs work if he is going to have a sudden flare for physicality. Sitting in the box does little to help lead his team to victory. Well-rounded defense could go a long way to improving his -4 rating, but while there are some areas to be critical of, the 25-year-old Swede has been adapting well to the VHLM and North American ice.

 

"Svoboda isn't a scrapper, so he should really just stick to his scoring game and leave the dirty work to the enforcers and his defensemen. He's never played like this in the past, so it's really confusing why he's getting chippy and laying guys out all of a sudden. I hope he stops worrying about fitting in and puts all his energy into standing out," said the Lynx's assistant coach. "We need goals, not hits."

 

Word Count: 514 Words (Not Counting Titles/Subtitles)

Edited November 13, 2018 by StamkosFan