By Dropping the Mitts

How Raiders have dealt with key injuries surprisingly well

Jan 15, 2016 | 4:17 PM

The Prince Albert Raiders haven’t had their original top forward line of Reid Gardiner, Simon Stransky and Austin Glover together since Dec. 8.

And it will be some time yet before you’ll see them reunited, as Glover will be out for the near future with an upper-body injury. Stransky missed time with the Raiders to represent the Czech Republic at the World Juniors.

Considering just how reliant the Raiders were on their top line to score at the beginning of the season, it was interesting to see how the Raiders would perform without them.

But despite the noticeable absences from their lineup, the Raiders have managed quite well as other players have stepped up to fill the gaps.

In their last ten games, the Raiders are 6-3-1-0 and are two points behind the Brandon Wheat Kings for the WHL East Division lead with a 25-14-3-1 record on the year. They’re also 2-1 since Stransky has returned to the lineup.

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Looking at the split stats since the Raiders have been without their top guys, they are at worst at .500, if not slightly better.

Without both Glover and Stransky, from Dec. 29 to Jan. 5

Raiders were 2-2-1

Raiders scored 3.8 goals per game (19 in 5 games)

Opponents scored 4.2 goals per game (21 in 5 games)

Without Stransky (World Junior duty with Czech Republic), from Dec. 12 to Jan. 5

Raiders were 5-4-1

Raiders scored 3.9 goals per game (39 in 10 games)

Opponents scored 3.6 goals per game (36 in 10 games)

Without Glover (upper body injury), from Dec. 29-present

Raiders are 4-3-1

Raiders have scored 3.88 goals per game (31 in 8 games)

Opponents have scored 4 goals per game (32 in 8 games)

Throughout the season

Raiders are 25-14-3-1

Raiders have scored 3.37 goals per game (145 in 43 games)

Opponents have scored 3.16 goals per game (136 in 43 games)

The Raiders have actually scored more goals and conceded more goals while missing their top end guys. That’s largely due to some recent lopsided results that have skewed the data, like the 8-1 defeat to the Brandon Wheat Kings on Jan. 8 before beating the Medicine Hat Tigers 8-2 the following day on Jan. 9.

Who has stepped up?

Overager Jesse Lees has been a huge help. During the five games the Raiders were without Stransky and Glover, Lees was moved from his regular defence position up to forward. He scored four goals and two assists in that time to help produce some needed offence.

Even while in his natural habitat on the blueline, Lees has still been able to produce quite a few points. He leads all WHL defenceman with 16 goals and is ranked seventh among blueliners in points with 36 in all 43 Raider games.

Jordan Tkatch has also been on an absolute tear. Tkatch has 11 points (four goals and seven assists) in his last eight games. When he was promoted to the top line for the first time on Wednesday, he had a goal and two assists in a 3-1 win over the Edmonton Oil Kings.

As a whole, the Raiders have gotten a lot more secondary scoring from their lineup, with different guys stepping up and picking up the slack each night.

More often than not, 16-year-old rookie Parker Kelly has been one of those guys. After starting out the year on the fourth line and with three assists in his first 27 games, Kelly has nine points (including his first two WHL goals) in his last 12 games since his promotion into the top-nine. He’s currently playing on what could be considered the second line with Sean Montgomery and newcomer Layne Bensmiller.

Montgomery with his 11 goals on the season, Luke Coleman with his 10 goals and 22 points are some other guys that have contributed as secondary scoring.

Of course, the Raiders wouldn’t be where they are if it wasn’t for the exceptional performance thus far from Reid Gardiner. He’s tied for the WHL lead in goals with 27 and is tied for fifth in league scoring with 60 points. He’s also played in all 43 games for the Raiders thus far in the year as well.

Overall, the Raiders have been able to find ways to score even while key guys are out. Although the Raiders were looking to add a big-time scorer to help them in the short-term like Cole Sanford among others, it’s probably a good thing they didn’t.

jdandrea@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @jeff_dandrea