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Originally Posted by Ruttiger
Not sure I agree. With JG coming out of college and adjusting to the NHL grind and extended schedule, I expect the opposite will happen if anything. I expect he'll show signs of wearing down through the dog days of January and February.
Could be wrong though. He's right there with the other two - could legitimately make a case for all three. And if Michael Hutchinson was getting a few more starts I think you'd have to include him as well.
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Fair enough - it's entirely possible. However, Forsberg is in a similar situation if I am not mistaken. I think the most games he's ever played was last year when he split time between the AHL and NHL and played just over 60 games. Otherwise he was playing around the same number of games as Johnny.
However. I don't think it's just the total number of games, it's more the number of games that are played in a short period of time and Johnny seems to have adjusted well. I could see him improving as the season goes on. Right now though, it's pretty tight between the three and I actually give the edge to Ekblad as an 18 year old dman stepping into that role so seamlessly. Forsberg and Gaudreau are very close imo.
EDIT: I also think Klingberg in Dallas would be in the discussion if he had played a few more games. 18 GP - 10 P, + 6, over 20 minutes of ice time per game and he looks so smooth and poised out there.