Robby Fabbri’s first foray into Stanley Cup playoff hockey has been a productive one so far.
Aside from drawing the ire of goalie Corey Crawford in the opening round, Fabbri leads all rookies with 13 playoff points -- six ahead of Sharks’ forward Joonas Donskoi -- and is tied with Vladimir Tarasenko for the team lead in the same category, as the St. Louis Blues have advanced to the third round.
Despite an even-strength five-on-five Corsi For rating of 46.5 per cent, Fabbri is playing at a clip of 3.4 points per 60 minutes, as per War-on-Ice. In 14 games this post-season, he’s recorded three goals and 13 points.
Not bad for a player that turned 20 years old in January and, listed at 5'10" tall and 180 pounds, may be considered by some to be “undersized.”
“He hasn’t got pushed out emotionally,” Blues coach Ken Hitchcock told reporters. “He’s allowed himself to remain composed in critical spots in games. When the game is on the line, he’s played with sound composure. He hasn’t panicked. He hasn’t got emotionally so revved up that his focus has gotten narrow.
“What he’s got going is the composure to make plays under pressure with no panic in his game, which has allowed him to be a good player late in games. That’s why there’s so much trust from the coaching staff.”
The Blues and San Jose Sharks begin the Western Conference Final on Sunday.