As of Wednesday, Blues captain Chris Pronger was averaging more than 30 minutes of playing time per game. Only three forwards; Joe Sakic (7th), Paul Kariya (14th) and Jaromir Jagr (19th) rank in the top 25. Below are the average ice time per game leaders in minutes, all of whom are defensemen:
Player Team Games Avg. Ice Time
Chris Pronger St. Louis 23 30.97
Brian Leetch N.Y. Rangers 27 29.99
Ray Bourque Boston 24 29.91
Al MacInnis St. Louis 23 29.29
Mattias Ohlund Vancouver 27 26.91
Boris Mironov Edmonton 24 26.59
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THE BEST DEFENSE IS A GOOD OFFENSE
A defensive unit that can boast two 20-goal scorers is a rare occurrence. This has been accomplished on five occasions only, with no team ever repeating the feat. The 1992-93 Washington Capitals are the only team in NHL history to have featured three 20-goal defensemen in their lineup. Below are the 20/20 defensive scoring tandems:
Team Season Defensemen Goals Scored
Montreal 1974-75 Guy Lapointe 28
Serge Savard 20
Edmonton 1982-83 Paul Coffey 29
Charlie Huddy 20
Calgary 1987-88 Al MacInnis 25
Gary Suter 21
Winnipeg 1991-92 Phil Housley 23
Fredrik Olausson 20
Washington 1992-93 Kevin Hatcher 34
Al Iafrate 25
Sylvain Cote 21
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GLAMOR AND GRIT
Philadelphia center Eric Lindros is in the hunt for the Art Ross trophy in a very tight scoring race. With 36 points and 45 penalty minutes in his first 25 games, the Flyers captain could join the ranks of the NHL’s most penalized scoring champions.
Penalty
Player Team Season Points Minutes
Stan Mikita Chicago 1964-65 87 154
Stan Mikita Chicago 1963-64 89 146
Jean Beliveau Montreal 1955-56 88 143
Ted Lindsay Detroit 1949-50 78 141
Bobby Orr Boston 1969-70 120 125
Nels Stewart Mtl. Maroons 1925-26 42 119
Gordie Howe Detroit 1953-54 81 109
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