Saturday, November 10, 2007
Martin Gerber
If you have Martin Gerber in your fantasy hockey league then you are likely doing pretty well. With Emery the clear number 1 heading into the season (despite his injury), gerber was allowed to slip into the bottom of many drafts. That is where I found him and picked him. I figured I would get 8-10 decent games from him on nights that Marc Andre Fleury and Ryan Miller weren't suiting up. Well with their inconsistent play, Gerber has been my shining star. he starts against Montreal today and will probably get lit because I wrote this. That said thank you Martin Gerber!
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Tonight's Games
I won't be able to catch any hockey tonight so I will do a quick preview of some of the games rather than provide a detailed Featured Game.
Islanders-Washington: The Isles started off fast and cooled quickly. Look for the Isles Comrie-Guerin line to have a great night but you can put it in the bank that the Caps Ovechkin line will be better.
Rangers-Atlanta: A rematch of last year's playoffs will provide hockey fans everywhere a good read on the Thrashers future tonight. If the Waddell led Thrashers (Waddell is interim coach now that Hartley is gone) fall flat they won't recover quickly. Putting themselves in a 7 game hole will be hard to overcome in the stretch run to make the playoffs.
If the Thrashers lose bench goalie Kari Lehtonen. If they win and Lehtonen has a good night, try to trade him as quickly as possible...
Flames-Kings: Expect the Iginla, Langkow, Huselius and Tanguay to have a good night. Another bad +/- night for LA King fantasy owners. We could see a Kirprusof night off here.
Islanders-Washington: The Isles started off fast and cooled quickly. Look for the Isles Comrie-Guerin line to have a great night but you can put it in the bank that the Caps Ovechkin line will be better.
Rangers-Atlanta: A rematch of last year's playoffs will provide hockey fans everywhere a good read on the Thrashers future tonight. If the Waddell led Thrashers (Waddell is interim coach now that Hartley is gone) fall flat they won't recover quickly. Putting themselves in a 7 game hole will be hard to overcome in the stretch run to make the playoffs.
If the Thrashers lose bench goalie Kari Lehtonen. If they win and Lehtonen has a good night, try to trade him as quickly as possible...
Flames-Kings: Expect the Iginla, Langkow, Huselius and Tanguay to have a good night. Another bad +/- night for LA King fantasy owners. We could see a Kirprusof night off here.
Montreal Fans Grasping At Straws
Montreal fans are grasping for any shred of hope to save their season. Not surprsingly they are going to the well again for rumors about French Canadien saviours ready to don the red, blue and white.
This rumor started by a Quebec station is of course just a rumor. Sorry Montreal. Your energies would be better focused on improving your offense through the draft or pushing for a trade of one of your few assets: Cristobal Huet to add a solid prospect and to make room for Carey Price.
This rumor started by a Quebec station is of course just a rumor. Sorry Montreal. Your energies would be better focused on improving your offense through the draft or pushing for a trade of one of your few assets: Cristobal Huet to add a solid prospect and to make room for Carey Price.
Spirit of St. Louis
One of the least mentioned stories in the NHL these days is the St. Louis Blues 4-1 record.
St. Louis under coach Andy Murray has scored a 18 goals while allowing 9. A balanced team effort, they are led by Paul Kariya with 7 points, Keith Tkachuk with 6 points, Brad Boyes with 6 points and Lee Stempniak with 5 points.
The real story behind their play however has been Manny Legace. His 1.77 GAA and .935 Dave percentage are near the top of the league.
In a weak division with Chicago and Columbus, look for the Blues to return to playoff form.
St. Louis under coach Andy Murray has scored a 18 goals while allowing 9. A balanced team effort, they are led by Paul Kariya with 7 points, Keith Tkachuk with 6 points, Brad Boyes with 6 points and Lee Stempniak with 5 points.
The real story behind their play however has been Manny Legace. His 1.77 GAA and .935 Dave percentage are near the top of the league.
In a weak division with Chicago and Columbus, look for the Blues to return to playoff form.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Flames-Avalanche Recap
Well two different Flame teams dressed last night. The first team, the one we like, played hard in the first period and the third period. The second team showed up in the second period and the shootout (though the shootout is a crapshoot anyway).
The first team drove to the net, drew penalties and scored some great goals. The second team gave up rebounds, had some bad bounces (three in fact) and played uninspired hockey for twenty minutes.
All of that said, losing a lead like that can serve as a great motivator. It was a good road trip for the Flames despite that overtime loss and a loss to Detroit.
Jarome Iginla is scoring now and he has also brought an edge back to his game that was missing last year. From a fantasy stand point this is great news for Inginla owners.
Kudos to the Avalanche for creating opportunities in front and for not packing it in after the first period and a goalie change.
Hopefully for Colorado's sake Budaj can rebound from a tough outing.
Paul Stastny continues to make his case for MVP. He had three assists on the night and is proving that he is going to be a capable replacement for Joe Sakic when the Great Joe retires.
Ryan Smyth also had a great night. His offense is starting to pick up. It is also great to see him back in the Western Conference!
The first team drove to the net, drew penalties and scored some great goals. The second team gave up rebounds, had some bad bounces (three in fact) and played uninspired hockey for twenty minutes.
All of that said, losing a lead like that can serve as a great motivator. It was a good road trip for the Flames despite that overtime loss and a loss to Detroit.
Jarome Iginla is scoring now and he has also brought an edge back to his game that was missing last year. From a fantasy stand point this is great news for Inginla owners.
Kudos to the Avalanche for creating opportunities in front and for not packing it in after the first period and a goalie change.
Hopefully for Colorado's sake Budaj can rebound from a tough outing.
Paul Stastny continues to make his case for MVP. He had three assists on the night and is proving that he is going to be a capable replacement for Joe Sakic when the Great Joe retires.
Ryan Smyth also had a great night. His offense is starting to pick up. It is also great to see him back in the Western Conference!
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Drury and Briere Not Missed
So far in my opinion the Sabres have been as exciting a team to watch as they were last year.
No, they haven't rolled off a record amount of wins as they did last year but they are just as exciting to watch. Freeing up the ice time taken by Briere and Drury has allowed a number of players to blossom.
Take a look at the points comparisons:
Briere 9 points
Drury 4 points
Sabres:
Campbell 9 points
Connolly 7 points
Roy 7 points
Spacek 6 points
Kotalik 5 points
Pominville 5 points
Paille 5 points
Vanek 4 points
Hecht 4 points
The benefit of having so many players involved in the attack will help as injuries occur deeper into the season. Come playoff time watch out for these Sabres. In the meantime enjoy the Sabres and Lindy Ruff's coaching. He is my early season favorite for the Jack Adams Coach of the Year trophy.
No, they haven't rolled off a record amount of wins as they did last year but they are just as exciting to watch. Freeing up the ice time taken by Briere and Drury has allowed a number of players to blossom.
Take a look at the points comparisons:
Briere 9 points
Drury 4 points
Sabres:
Campbell 9 points
Connolly 7 points
Roy 7 points
Spacek 6 points
Kotalik 5 points
Pominville 5 points
Paille 5 points
Vanek 4 points
Hecht 4 points
The benefit of having so many players involved in the attack will help as injuries occur deeper into the season. Come playoff time watch out for these Sabres. In the meantime enjoy the Sabres and Lindy Ruff's coaching. He is my early season favorite for the Jack Adams Coach of the Year trophy.
Today's Featured Game: Calgary v. Colorado
I have been looking forward to this game since the Flames beat Nashville and Colorado won against a weak Columbus squad on Saturday.
I expect a good back and forth. I wouldn't be suprised to see both backups earn starts here.
I expect neither Quenneville or Keenan want to see their top goaltenders get lit up.
As I said yesterday, it will be interesting to see how Quenneville matches up his lines against the Flames. Recently teams have not been able to shutdown both of the Flames scoring lines. Will Quenneville try?
My guess is no. With Ryan Smyth in the lineup I wouldnt be suprised to see him shifting out there when Iginla is playing. I am fairly certain in Saturday's game, Smyth saw time on both Sakic and Stasny's wings.
Couple of observations:
I expect Alex Tanguay to play pretty well against his old team and I expect Jarome will have a breakout night. Last year Iginla had 10 points in 6 games against the Avalanche. Not bad for the Flames Captain.
Beware of the Avalanche power play. If the Flames stay out of the box, the Avalanche can't win. The power play for Colorado was a key part of their 5-1 win against Columbus on Saturday. With this offensive talent it should be a league leader. Expect the power play to improve with each game. Beware Calgary!
The rubber meets the road tonight. Many NHL prognosticators had Colorado ahead of Calgary in their pre-season rankings. Expect a gritty Flames team to show how wrong they really were.
Flames 3-2.
I have learned not to make three star predictions anymore. Instead I have three players to watch:
Jarome Iginla: expect a big scoring night.
Paul Stastny: Will Stastny win the scoring title? With a talented lineup like Colorado's, it is hard imagining Stastny not playing as a league leader. If Quenneville can get Stastny some open ice expect him to have a big night. Especially against a Flames D that just hasn't played to potential yet.
Stephane Yelle: He will likely matchup against either Sakic or Stastny and his play will be a key determinant in Calgary's success or failure. Also remember Yelle is a former Avalanche player that is comfortable playing against his old team.
I expect a good back and forth. I wouldn't be suprised to see both backups earn starts here.
I expect neither Quenneville or Keenan want to see their top goaltenders get lit up.
As I said yesterday, it will be interesting to see how Quenneville matches up his lines against the Flames. Recently teams have not been able to shutdown both of the Flames scoring lines. Will Quenneville try?
My guess is no. With Ryan Smyth in the lineup I wouldnt be suprised to see him shifting out there when Iginla is playing. I am fairly certain in Saturday's game, Smyth saw time on both Sakic and Stasny's wings.
Couple of observations:
I expect Alex Tanguay to play pretty well against his old team and I expect Jarome will have a breakout night. Last year Iginla had 10 points in 6 games against the Avalanche. Not bad for the Flames Captain.
Beware of the Avalanche power play. If the Flames stay out of the box, the Avalanche can't win. The power play for Colorado was a key part of their 5-1 win against Columbus on Saturday. With this offensive talent it should be a league leader. Expect the power play to improve with each game. Beware Calgary!
The rubber meets the road tonight. Many NHL prognosticators had Colorado ahead of Calgary in their pre-season rankings. Expect a gritty Flames team to show how wrong they really were.
Flames 3-2.
I have learned not to make three star predictions anymore. Instead I have three players to watch:
Jarome Iginla: expect a big scoring night.
Paul Stastny: Will Stastny win the scoring title? With a talented lineup like Colorado's, it is hard imagining Stastny not playing as a league leader. If Quenneville can get Stastny some open ice expect him to have a big night. Especially against a Flames D that just hasn't played to potential yet.
Stephane Yelle: He will likely matchup against either Sakic or Stastny and his play will be a key determinant in Calgary's success or failure. Also remember Yelle is a former Avalanche player that is comfortable playing against his old team.
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