A Long Win Streak

[SlapshotWrangler 864]

SASKATOON - So far, Jacques Lafontaine has only lost once in his VHLM career in the 34 games he’s played. That game was against the Mexico City Kings, as the Wild lost 4-2. Though, a big reason he only has one loss is that he’s playing with a very strong and dominant Wild team in front of him. The young goaltender and the Wild have had a 31 game win streak and are looking to extend it against the San Diego Marlins.

 

A big part of their success so far is the Wild’s stacked offense. Surprisingly, their two leading scorers are defensemen with the young, strangely familiar Edwin THE Encarnacion who has 64 points and is tied for fourth place in points as well as VHLM veteran Danny DeYeeto who has proven himself to be MVP material, as he leads the VHLM with 70 points (though he is tied with Justin Rushmore), as well as leading in plus/minus with a plus/minus of +61. Danny DeYeeto is also 7th in goals and 2nd in assists. He does, however, lead the league in penalty minutes and while that could be worked on, I think it’s safe to say that the defenseman is making it up with his offensive prowess. 

 

It’s not just those two who are doing well offensively for the Wild, everybody is pitching in as 7 players (including the two previously mentioned) have 50 or more points while 2 players are really close with points in the 40s. The Wild have an insane goal differential, proving not just their offensive power but also their defensive play. While there aren’t many Wild players who lead in Shots Blocked and Hits, the Wild have only allowed 55 goals. Jacques Lafontaine has had a good save percentage as well as an excellent goals against average but that could be attributed to the fact that he tends to only face around 10 shots a game due to the Wild’s dominating defense. The top 6 leaders in plus/minus are all Wild players with Danny DeYeeto, Edwin THE Encarnacion, Jesse Nyman, Killy Foilen, Mikko Lahtinen, and Dagmar Havlova being those six players.

 

While he may be playing with an absolutely stacked team in front of him, Jacques Lafontaine has been solid. He may be (jokingly) known for falling asleep in net during games when shots against him are low but he has proven himself to be a solid goaltender for the Wild. He leads in wins with 33 wins, leads goalies who have played 5 or more games in save percentage with a save percentage of 0.906, 2nd place in goals against average with 1.68 (though, first place Mark Davis has only played one game, and is tied for second place in shutouts with 2. Maybe these numbers are also good because of how good and talented the players are but he has proven that he can hold his own. Though, he really needs to learn how to stop taking naps in the middle of a game. Seriously, take a nap beforehand or something. (Just joking.)

 

As shown by these stats, Saskatoon’s dominance in almost all of the areas of the game has proven itself to be fruitful in this streak. When will the streak end? We’re not sure.