I needed a week away from the picks to gain my composure (not really, I was insanely busy doing some holiday shopping, working, and other things, my apologies). A couple weeks ago, I once again went 1-3 to down my record to 6-10 on the year. Let’s see if I can land a 4-0 week to get back to .500…
Saturday, December 19
Detroit @ Dallas, 3 pm (all times eastern) – Being a huge “wing-nut”, I always get excited for the few true rivalries the Red Wings have left (since they don’t play an Original 6 team more than once in any given year, piss over Comissioner Bettman!) That being said, the Red Wings are probably playing their best hockey of the year (winners of their last 4 and 5 out of 6). However, the loss of Henrik Zetterberg only adds to the walking wounded in Motown. I think the Wings are catching the Stars at an opportune time because they aren’t playing very well right now. Detroit 3, Dallas 2.
Nashville @ Calgary, 4 pm- The Preds are a hard team to figure out this year. 21 wins this season (T-4 in the NHL) has the sound of a team who scores a lot while giving up very little. Curiously, Nashville scores 2.77 goals per game while, at the same time, they give up 2.77 goals per game. That tells me that this team has as many personalities as one Dr. Jekyll. Which team will show up? My bet is on the lower scoring of the two because Calgary has just returned from a road trip and the Saddle Dome will be bumpin’. Calgary 4, Nashville 1.
Minnesota @ Ottawa, 7 pm- To sum up the season that Ottawa has had so far: they play terrible on the road, you can flip a coin on which team will show up at home, and their goaltending situation with Brian Elliott is mediocre at best. Whether it is Elliott or the young Brodeur who starts in net against Minnesota, the Wild have shaken off their early-season road-ice ineptitude and will score some goal. I don’t think Ottawa will. Minnesota 4, Ottawa 2.
Columbus @ Colorado, 9 pm- If anyone who has seen the Steve Mason from last season, the Jackets have asked that you pin a one-way ticket back to Columbus on his collar and pray that he makes it there. Columbus hasn’t had too many issues scoring goals, but they are 28th in goals allowed at 3.26 per game. Colorado, on the hand, loves to score goals and they do it well at the Pepsi Center. I’ll take an 80% Craig Anderson or a 100% Peter Budaj any day against whoever the Blue Jackets put on the ice. Colorado 5, Columbus 2.
Carp is out today, so I’m going to take my shot at picking games. I realize this post is late, but better than never. Here’s who I’m betting on for the Saturday night games.
Washington at Toronto is the first game on Hockey Night in Canada tonight, and Ovechkin loves the big stage almost as much as Toronto just plain sucks. My Pick: Caps.
Detroit at Nashville. Detroit won in overtime last night on a great goal by Todd Bertuzzi. The Wings are injured, tired, and starting Osgood in net. My Pick: Predators.
Minnesota at Vancouver. Vancouver leads the series 2-1 so far, but that was before Havlat and Backstrom started to get hot. Edler is also out for Vancouver. This could be the Wild’s chance to even the season series on the road. My Pick: Wild
Bonus Pick: Sabres at Rangers in the battle of New York. The Rangers won the last meeting because of Lundquist’s stellar shutout. They’re not going to get that lucky again as today is Ryan Miller’s time to shine. My Pick: Sabres
Here’s a brilliant shootout goal in which Nicklas Hagman pulls the old “blind the goalie and sneak the puck past him” trick that we’ve all pulled in peewee hockey. It’s a pretty simply strategy. If you spray up enough ice, the goalie won’t be able to see where the puck is going. Check it out below:
With the holidays coming posts may be a little slower here, but rest assured we’ll still be doing them. The next few weeks will be a great time to snag the prime waiver prospects while the rest of your league is busy spending time with their families. As a true fantasy hockey guru though, you’ve got to be willing to sacrifice the little things ( like family and showers) to stay on top. Here’s who I’m busy watching while you’re out there leading productive lives and interacting with people without a keyboard in between.
Before we get to that though, I want to do a special, one time section:
Players named Alex worth keeping an eye on:
Alex Goligoski is getting set to return.
Alexander Edler is declining into a sad disappointment. He’s still putting up OK numbers, but nothing like where you drafted him or what you expected out of him.
Alexei Ponikarovsky is technically an Alex, so I don’t want to hear your bitching. He’s also got 11 goals and is only owned in 50% of leagues. Get on that.
Alex Kovalev has only managed 4 goals so far for the Sens. Buy Low. Buy Very Low.
Alexei Kaigorodov is in the minors for Phoenix, and probably won’t see any playing time this year – but I bet you can’t pronounce his name 5 times fast. Try it.
Week 9 Watchlist
I just picked up Nick Antropov in an attempt to raise my dismal plus minus rating. He’s out there in a lot of leagues, and actually has value now that he’s not playing in Toronto.
Brian Boucher is taking over as the Flyers goalie for the next 6 weeks or so while Ray Emery is out injured. Stop reading now and go submit your waiver request if you owned Emery or desperately need help in net. Go ahead, I’ll wait. You don’t want what happened in my league, where a fellow Cheesehole editor who already has 3 prime goalies beats you to the waiver wire….. yes Carp, I hate you.
Mikael Samuelsson has been moved down to the 3rd line, and is seeing less ice time, but hasn’t stopped producing (10/10 with 5 on the PP as of today) His demotion may have caused some paranoid owners to drop him. It may also make him ripe for an under-value trade proposition.
LA is hot right now, and much of that is due to their goaltending, but many of their forwards like Stoll, Simmonds, and Williams are starting to gain traction. Ride them while they’re hot, or trade them if you can. I’m not sure how long this will sustain itself. Personally, I might take a chance on Dustin Brown.
I’ve mentioned him before, but Kyle Okposo (who?) is still only owned in 29% of Yahoo leagues. Yes, he plays on the craptastic Islanders, but he’s got 18 points, 16 PIM, and he plays on the powerplay. He’s not a bad off-day option.
Cam Ward returns from injury today, and may have been dropped in your league. His numbers haven’t been great so far, but I have a feeling he may rebound. He can probably be attained for little more than a bag of pucks right now in your league. It’s worth a shot.
Jimmy Howard is slowly taking over the starter role from Chris Osgood. It’s really tough to own Wings goalies in fantasy. They’re always good for Wins, but Detroit lets up so little shots against that they’re not really worth it for SV% and other categories. But, if you need wins….go wings.
Ryan Whitney has slowly been raising his stock with 13 helpers from the blue line – yet is still seeing a sub 50% ownage rate.
Marek Zidlicky shouldn’t be available in your league. For some reason he is in mine. Waiver claim submitted.
For the first time in three tries, last week I fell short of the .500 mark going 1-3 on my picks. For the season to date, I’m currently 5-7, but looking to make a formidable comeback with my selections for the first weekend in December…
Saturday, December 5
Vancouver @ Carolina, 1 pm (all times eastern)- The third game of a four city east coast road trip puts the Canucks in Carolina for an early afternoon face off with the Hurricanes. Following wins in both New Jersey and Philidelphia, the Canucks are showing that things are returning back to normal with the Sedin brothers skating hard with linemate Alex Burrows. Solid goaltending from Roberto Luongo also adds another layer of depth that not many teams are able to match up against. Sorry, Canes’ fans, but Carolina isn’t one of those teams. Vancouver 3, Carolina 1.
Toronto @ Boston, 7 pm- Having lost Jonas Gustavsson with his second battle against with a nagging heart issue, the Leafs have fallen all the way down to Joey MacDonald in net. On the other hand, with both Tuuka Rask and Tim Thomas playing very well in Beantown, the Bruins are poised to make a run up the Eastern Conference standings with Marc Savard back and producing (thanks in part to a nice contract extension, nonetheless). Watch out though, Phil Kessel’s return to Boston will make this one fun to watch. Boston 4, Toronto 3.
Chicago @ Pittsburgh, 7:30 pm- The Penguins are tied for first in the East while the Blackhawks sit tied for second in the West. Many fans and experts alike wouldn’t be at all surprised to see these two teams battling it out for the Stanley Cup when all is said and done. On top of some great goaltending as of late by Cristobal Huet, Chicago will also feature one, Marian Hossa, former Pens’ star in his first game in Pittsburgh as a Blackhawk. Pittsburgh 5, Chicago 2.
Sunday, December 6
Detroit @ N.Y. Rangers, 7 pm- Another Original Six matchup for the Red Wings, this one at MSG. Their last bout with a long-time foe was in Montreal when they beat the Canadiens a couple weeks ago. This time, I don’t think they will be so lucky. Jimmy Howard has sort of emerged as the best goalie option for Detroit, but the defense in front of him is what worries me. Without Kronwall, Rafalski, and Lilja, the young Detroit D will have to somehow contain a powerful offense led by Marian Gaborik and Vinny Prospal. Watch for this one to get physical, another area where I think the Rangers have an advantage. N.Y. Rangers 3, Detroit 1.
