Putting a left handed shot on the right wing (and vice versa), puts a forward in a far more actionable position to shoot or pass on his forehand while square to the net and the center of the ice. In his dalliances within the Top 6, Stalberg was relegated to the left side because some guys named Hossa and Kane were taking up space on those right wing slots. Being on the third line gives Stalberg the opportunity to create more offense, and he has done so. Opposing teams need to deploy their top two pairs by and large against the Bolland and Toews lines, leaving 3rd pairing bums out there against Vik, Bick, and Shaw.

Stalberg’s world-class speed is something said bums need to respect, however they don’t quite respect his playmaking ability from the position yet. So what we’re seeing is a much wider gap between the defenseman and a speeding Stalberg, as they’d rather not be beaten wide as opposed to the middle given the film everyone has of Stalberg’s shall we say “suspect” hands.

The inverse of this is why defenders are on Kane like stink on shit as soon as he crosses the stripe, as they worry about his ability to make a play towards the middle. But if Stalberg keeps exploiting that gap as he has been, it’ll force third pair pylons to waste even a split second longer in thinking about how they want to deal with him, and with Vik’s speed, that could be the split second they get torched.