Some pretty good defencemen were healthy scratches this week. Nike Free Clearance Sale . Scott Cullen looks at Jeff Petry and Jake Gardiner, an emotional win for Montreal, the Islanders remaining unbeaten, Colorados goaltending woes and more in Statistically Speaking. THE DEFENCE RESTS Two of the teams that made high-profile analytics hires this summer, the Edmonton Oilers and Toronto Maple Leafs, have already made interesting roster decisions, placing analytically-valued defencemen in the press box. In Edmonton, they made D Jeff Petry a healthy scratch for a game in Los Angeles. Last season, when the Oilers were crashing to the bottom of the standings again, it appeared that they had found a competent defensive pairing in Petry and Martin Marincin. (I recall Tyler Dellow, hired by the Oilers as an analytics consultant, writing in praise of that pairing.) Oilers Defence 2013-14 PLAYER Corsi% CorsiRel% Martin Marincin 47.5% +7.0% Jeff Petry 46.8% +3.8% Anton Belov 46.3% +2.6% Andrew Ference 42.9% -3.1% Justin Schultz 42.9% -2.6% Nick Schultz 41.9% -4.7% The duo was competent and appeared to provide some stability at an otherwise problem area for the Oilers. So, what happens to start this season? Marincin is demoted to the AHL and Petry is a healthy scratch in the third game of the year and played 14:49 in his return to the lineup. Petry will be an unrestricted free agent at season’s end, and his name has been making the rounds in trade rumours, with Detroit seeming like a natural fit for a right-handed defenceman (the Red Wings have no right-handed shots on defence) that played at Michigan State and has a father that pitched for the Tigers. Wherever he’s playing, Petry can likely handle a top four role, which makes it all the more surprising that he isn’t being given that opportunity with the Oilers. That Edmonton has recalled Marincin from the AHL does open up the possibility of that pairing being put back together. In Toronto, Jake Gardiner was scratched for the team’s third and fourth games of the season, with notions of accountability being given as the reason for Gardiner’s exile, but this is an issue that has come up time and again during Gardiner’s time with the Maple Leafs. He gets demoted to the press box this year, one day after playing a team-high 23:04 against Pittsburgh, which seems incongruous, but not altogether different than spending a long time in the AHL in 2012-2013, even though he logged more than 21 minutes per game for 75 games with the Maple Leafs the year before. Then, with the 2013 season on the line, Gardiner was a healthy scratch in the NHL down the stretch and for the first game of the Leafs’ playoff series against Boston, only to get inserted into the lineup for the next six games, scoring five points and playing 23:01 per game, second only to Dion Phaneuf. This back-and-forth with Gardiner’s usage, from healthy scratch to 23 minutes a night and back again, doesn’t seem to fit with a player who has been Toronto’s best puck possession defenceman since he arrived in 2011-2012. MAPLE LEAFS DEFENCE 2011-14 PLAYER Corsi% CorsiRel% Jake Gardiner 48.4% +4.4% John-Michael Liles 48.1% +0.7% Luke Schenn 47.0% -3.0% Cody Franson 46.9% +2.9% Dion Phaneuf 44.6% -1.2% Morgan Rielly 44.5% +2.8% Carl Gunnarsson 44.4% -1.6% Mark Fraser 43.6% -0.5% The popular notion this summer was that, with the Maple Leafs paying more attention to analytics, Gardiner would be a fixture on the Leafs’ blueline, as opposed to showing up in endless trade rumours, and when Gardiner was given a five-year, $20.25-million deal, that appeared to support that expectation. Gardiner wasn’t great in the Leafs’ first two losses and then the Leafs won their next two games, which makes it almost surprising that Toronto is prepared to insert him back into the lineup Friday night in place of struggling veteran Stephane Robidas. That Gardiner and Petry, two relatively competent possession defencemen, are candidates to be healthy scratches on teams that have had woeful possession numbers, shows that while there has been progress when it comes to the use of modern analytics in hockey, thats not the entirety of the decision-making process. From Thursdays action... HABS GET BETTER OF BRUINS Emotions were running high, but there were no real fireworks in a 6-4 Montreal Canadiens win over the Boston Bruins. RW Brendan Gallagher, with two goals and one assist, and LW Max Pacioretty, with a goal and two assists, paced the Habs’ attack. He drew more attention in the build-up to the game, and in his eventual penalty box shenanigans late in the contest, but Bruins LW Milan Lucic had a couple of assists and Boston’s best possession stats (17 shot attempts for, 9 against, 65.4%) in the loss. Canadiens rookie RW Jiri Sekac scored his first NHL goal, and first point, in his fifth career game. If he is going to contribute offensively, Sekac will need to get more pucks on net. He has three shots on goal in five games. His other underlying numbers are okay, though. He’s just above break-even in possession (50.4% of even-strength shot attempts) despite starting 35.7% of his shifts in the offensive zone. More: Bruins G Tuukka Rask allowed five goals on 23 shots and has recorded 20 saves once in five starts this season…Canadiens C David Desharnais, D Alexei Emelin and RW P.A. Parenteau each had two assists for Montreal… Bruins LW Chris Kelly and C David Krejci each added a couple helpers for Boston… Bruins RW Loui Eriksson contributed a goal and an assist… Bruins D Torey Krug registered 10 shot attempts (4 SOG). ISLANDERS UNBEATEN Not only did the New York Islanders secure a 4-3 shootout win over the visiting San Jose Sharks, but they were full measure for it, outshooting San Jose 45-23. Islanders D Nick Leddy had a goal and an assist and, along with fellow blueline newcomer Johnny Boychuk, had a strong possession game. Leddy (30 shot attempts for, 13 against, 69.8%) and Boychuk (29 for, 12 against, 70.7%) have been impact performers in short order. Islanders RW Kyle Okposo notched a goal and an assist, as well as 13 shot attempts (7 SOG). His centre, John Tavares, added a pair of assists, giving him nine points in four games to start the year. Sharks D Brent Burns had a goal and an assist, while C Joe Thornton had a couple of assists. More: Sharks G Alex Stalock stopped 42 of 45 shots… Sharks D Marc-Edouard Vlasic had a team-leading eight shot attempts (4 SOG)… Sharks fourth-liners LW Tye McGinn (1 shot attempt for, 16 against, 5.9%) and C Chris Tierney (1 for, 15 against, 6.3%) were hemmed into their own end all night. CAPITAL PUNISHMENT A balanced attack, with six different goal-scorers, led Washington to a comfortable 6-2 win over New Jersey. Devils rookie D Damon Severson scored both goals for New Jersey and was an all-around force, with nine shot attempts (8 SOG) as well as strong possession stats (28 for, 11 against, 71.8%) in a losing effort. Capitals RW Troy Brouwer and defencemen Mike Green, Matt Niskanen and Brooks Orpik all had a couple of assists. More: Devils G Cory Schneider was pulled after allowing five goals on 26 shots…Capitals rookie C Andre Burakovsky scored a goal, giving him two goals and three assists in the first four games of his NHL career. SHOOTOUT IN MANHATTAN The New York Rangers took a 2-1 shootout win against the visiting Carolina Hurricanes. Hurricanes rookie LW Chris Terry scored his third goal in four games. Given that he has four shots on goal through four games, that pace may be difficult to maintain. Rangers C Derick Brassard tied the game, scoring his third goal in five games. Hurricanes D Ryan Murphy had 11 shot attempts (6 SOG). C Dominic Moore led the Rangers with eight shot attempts (5 SOG). More: Hurricanes G Anton Khudobin stopped 33 of 34 shots; Henrik Lundqvist stopped 29 of 30 LATE HEROICS After scoring a hat trick in the Dallas’ last game, Stars C Tyler Seguin scored with three seconds remaining to give the Stars a 3-2 win in Pittsburgh. Stars D Alex Goligoski recorded a team-high 8 shot attempts and C Jason Spezza added a couple of assists. Penguins LW Chris Kunitz had a goal and an assist, with a game-high six shots on goal and seven hits. More: Stars D Brenden Dillon had strong possession numbers (19 shot attempts for, 10 against, 65.5%), despite facing Pittsburgh’s scoring lines, in part because he started 91.7% of his even-strength shifts in the offensive zone…Penguins D Kris Letang (32 for, 16 against, 66.7%) had Pittsburgh’s best possession stats. AVALANCHE FALLING Senators C David Legwand had a goal and an assist as the Ottawa Senators took a 5-3 decision from the Colorado Avalanche. With G Semyon Varlamov injured, the Avs also lost Reto Berra 2:46 into the game, forcing them to press Calvin Picard into action. Pickard, a second-round pick in 2010, was making his NHL debut after posting a 913 SV% in 94 career AHL games, and allowed four goals on 27 shots. Senators D Erik Karlsson had an assist to go with a game-high 12 shot attempts (6 SOG). Avalanche C Nathan MacKinnon had two assists and led the Avalanche with nine shot attempts (7 SOG). More: Avalanche D Erik Johnson (6 shot attempts for, 21 against, 22.2%) had a rough night possession-wise, while Senators rookie RW Curtiz Lazar (one assist; 14 for, 3 against, 82.4%) responded well after a game in the press box. QUICK SAVES KINGS As the St. Louis Blues try to make the jump to elite status in the Western Conference, and therefore the NHL, one of the teams that serves as a measuring stick is the Los Angeles Kings. So, the Blues went into Los Angeles Thursday night, outshot the Kings 43-18 and still ended up with just one point, losing 1-0 in a shootout. Kings G Jonathan Quick stopped all 43 shots he faced, and Blues G Brian Elliott turned aside all 18 he faced, until Jeff Carter got one in the first round of the shootout. The Blues, trying to generate offence, shifted RW Vladimir Tarasenko to a line with LW Alex Steen and C Paul Stastny, and that trio generated better than 80% of the even-strength shot attempts when they were on the ice; they just couldn’t find the back of the net. More: Blues D Kevin Shattenkirk had a game-high eight shot attempts (5 SOG) for the Blues. Much of the data included comes from www.war-on-ice.com, www.puckalytics.com, www.hockeystats.ca and www.naturalstattrick.com Scott Cullen can be reached at scott.cullen@bellmedia.ca Wholesale Nike Free . Kerr said he had dinner with Jackson, his former coach with Chicago and the new Knicks team president, on Friday night and they talked again Saturday. Kerr is in New York to work the game between the Brooklyn Nets and Toronto Raptors for TNT. Cheap Nike Free Sale . It was the first game back in Columbus for Rangers star Rick Nash, the Blue Jackets franchise leader in goals, assists and games. He was given a standing ovation during a video tribute in the first period, but was booed loud and long after a second-period, two-handed shove up high on Columbus goalie Sergei Bobrovsky. http://www.cheapnikefree.net/ .com) - The Eastern Conference-leading Toronto Raptors are back in the great white north for a brief moment and will host the Dallas Mavericks Friday night from Air Canada Centre.SEATTLE - This time Russell Wilson did it with his arm, passing the Seattle Seahawks into the NFC championship game for the second straight year with a big assist from Kam Chancellor.The Seahawks are one step closer to defending their Super Bowl title.Its exciting but the job is not done. There is still a lot more to do, Wilson said.Wilson threw for 268 yards and three touchdowns, Chancellor returned an interception 90 yards for a TD midway through the fourth quarter and the Seahawks beat the Carolina Panthers 31-17 on Saturday night in an NFC divisional playoff game.Wilson was nearly flawless in one of the best playoff performances of his young career. He took shots downfield and was perfect on third downs.Wilson threw a 16-yard touchdown to Doug Baldwin in the first quarter, found Jermaine Kearse for a 63-yard TD in the second quarter and capped his night with a 25-yard strike to Luke Willson with 10:26 remaining that gave Seattle a 24-10 lead.Even with Wilsons passing prowess, the capper was still to come from the most impressive athlete on the field.I dont know if a strong safety can have a better game than Kam did tonight, Seattle coach Pete Carroll said.Chancellor wowed everyone by twice jumping over the Carolina offensive line on a pair of Graham Gano field goal attempts at the end of the first half. And he showed that hes a pretty good safety in coverage, too.With Carolina driving and trying to cut Seattles 14-point lead in half, Chancellor anticipated Cam Newtons throw. Newtons primary target was covered and when he came back to try and find Ed Dickson, Chancellor jumped the throw and returned his third career post-season interception for a touchdown.For all the tackles Chancellor made — and his hurdling exhibition — it was the hulking safety running alone for the first TD of his career that left CenturyLink Field shaking.We have a full trust and understanding of his athletic ability. Hes a freaking monster, Seattle cornerback Richard Sherman said. ... Hes damages peoples souls.It was the longest touchdown in Seattles post-season history, topping Percy Harvins 87-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in last seasons Super Bowl.It felt awesome. It felt like preparation. It felt like everything I worked all week for, Chancellor said.The Seahawks (13-4) never trailed and became the first defending Super Bowl champion to win a playoff game the following season since New England in January 2006.Since that Patriots victory, three defending champions have earned byes only to lose in the divisional round, the last being Green Bay in the 2011 playoffs. Cheap Nike Free. Seattle will host either Green Bay or Dallas next Sunday for a trip to the Super Bowl.Newton threw a pair of touchdowns to Kelvin Benjamin, but Carolina (8-9-1) couldnt overcome three turnovers, two of which the Seahawks turned into touchdowns.After knocking off Arizona in the wild-card round last week, Carolina was trying to be the first team to reach a conference championship game after having a losing record in the regular season.Much like the previous three regular-season games between the two teams, Carolina made it difficult on Seattle. The best running team in the NFL this season was held to 100 yards rushing by the Panthers defence.Marshawn Lynch was mostly a non-factor aside from a 25-yard run in the third quarter that helped set up Steven Hauschkas 37-yard field goal on the first play of the fourth quarter.But Wilson was outstanding, especially on third down. All three of his touchdown throws came on third-and-long situations. Baldwin beat safety Tre Boston on a double move on third-and-9 on his TD catch in the first quarter.Kearses TD reception came on a third-and-7. And Willsons catch-and-run TD was on third-and-10.Wilson finished with a passer rating of 149.2, the second-highest for any game in his career. He was 8 of 8 for 199 yards passing on third downs.Thats just a fantastic night of coming through in critical situations, Carroll said.Newton played well, but turnovers were the Panthers undoing. Newton finished 23 of 36 for 246 yards and added 37 yards rushing. Jonathan Stewart had been a key to the Panthers late-season surge, and rushed for 70 yards on 13 carries.Newton got away with testing All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman in the first quarter and watching Sherman dance away with his first career post-season interception.But Seattle took the lead after Carolinas second turnover of the first quarter. Michael Bennett disrupted the handoff between Newton and Stewart and Tony McDaniel fell on the loose ball at the Carolina 28. Wilson connected with Baldwin to take the lead and Carolina never pulled back even.We needed them to make some mistakes and that would help, Carolina coach Ron Rivera said. But it didnt happen. Credit to them.NOTES: Seattle won its eighth straight home playoff game. ... Carolinas 132 yards rushing were fourth-most of any team vs. Seattle this season. ... C Max Unger re-injured his ankle late in the fourth quarter. Seattle WR Paul Richardson suffered a sprained knee in the third quarter.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL ' ' '