Krog's scoring keeps Wolves on the attack
Jason Krog has the kind of slumps other players wish upon themselves
Right now, he's in one.
Having gone without dishing out an assist or putting the puck in the net in his last two games, Krog tied the longest pointless streak he's had in a Chicago Wolves' uniform. In 98 games with the team, including the playoffs, this is the second time Krog has been scoreless for this long.
In the other 85 games? Well, he has been dominating. Krog has had 156 points during that span, leads the AHL in points this season, and has put together points streaks of 10 games or more four times during his two years with the Wolves.
Right before this recent "slump", he had a 14-game streak during which he had 9 goals and 22 assists.
Few in the AHL or the NHL possess comparable numbers. Yet to Krog, one of the team's most reserved players, the numbers are nothing extraordinary.
"My job primarily comes in offensive situations," said Krog, 32. "I get opportunities to get points. Every night I know I'm going to get chances."
It really isn't that simple.
Krog has chances, but so do plenty of other players. What separates Krog and Wolves captain Darren Haydar, last year's AHL points leader, from others is their ability and intelligence.
"Obviously his skills are very good, but he's a very smart hockey player," Wolves general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff said. "Right from when he played college, everything you heard was how he was really good on the power play. He's really smart. He makes good things happen because of his vision and things like that.
"When I go around the league and I watch players and look for prospects, one of the hardest things to gauge is their hockey sense. When you watch guys like Krog and Haydar, it's one of the easiest things," Cheveldayoff added. "They make those plays. They know where the puck should go. That's why at this level here, they're a little bit ahead of everyone."
Krog and Haydar have a lot of similarities. They played together on the same line at the University of New Hampshire in 1998-99, leading the Wildcats to the NCAA finals. They reunited last season with the Wolves, each producing points in the team's first 26 games. They finished with a combined 202 points.
Both have also not been given much of a shot at the NHL over the last couple of years. Haydar got his first extended stay this season as he spent 16 games with the Thrashers before being sent down. Krog has played in 198 NHL games, but hasn't been up this season and played in only 23 last year.
"For him, it's just tough," Haydar said. "I went through it last year. It's tough that he hasn't had an opportunity this year. He believes he can be there. I believe I can be there. You're just in that situation where he's doing well and he can only control what he can control. Being consistent on every night is all he can do."
Krog has been around long enough not to obsess about it.
"The more you think about the stuff, the more you can't control it, the more it affects you," he said. "All you can really do is take care of is playing as well as you can and try to help this team to win. Everything else is out of your hands.
"If you do get call up, that's awesome, but you can't be expecting it or worrying about it."