Plus-minus can be a misleading statistic, with the “worst” ratings often belonging to the best players on bad teams.
Still, Shayne Gostisbehere can’t be liking the fact he’s minus-19 on the season. It was an especially frustrating January for the Flyers’ second-year defenseman, who went minus-11 in 12 games with no goals and four assists.
“I really don’t care about points or scoring goals. My first job is to play defense,” Gostisbehere said, per the Courier-Post. “Sometimes the way the pucks are going in the net I feel like I have bad luck, but again I can’t just use that as an excuse. I just look at that and say I can do a lot better myself.”
Gostisbehere has already been a healthy scratch twice this season, and it’s expected he’ll sit tonight at home to Montreal after Tuesday’s 5-1 loss in Carolina.
The 23-year-old was on the ice for the Hurricanes’ first goal. As you can see below, his teammates turned it over on the breakout, and he got caught trying to join a rush that never developed.
It was an ugly game for the Flyers, and there was plenty of blame to go around. But expect to see the more defensive-minded Nick Schultz enter the lineup to take Gostisbehere’s spot versus the Canadiens.
Another youngster, 19-year-old Travis Konecny, is also expected to sit tonight. He’ll be replaced by veteran winger Dale Weise.
Worst +/- in the NHL
