January 19, 2008
Dobber Sports
2008-01-19
Interesting Crosby questions brought up in the forum that I did not address. 1) Ty Conklin – I think his win streak was on the outs anyway. We all know that he is not an elite goaltender and his impressive run could not possibly last. With Crosby out of the lineup, this just hammers the point home that Conklin will get more losses than wins going forward. Fleury will be back in two weeks or so. 2) You may – and should – see more production out of Jordan Staal, who I feel will take Sid's spot on the top power play. This also answers (3).
Daniel Alfredsson (hip) is out for tonight and doubtful for tomorrow.
The news out of Boston is that Patrice Bergeron will be out for the season.
Owen Nolan missed yesterday's contest with a neck injury.
Everybody take a deep breath. Now exhale. Now relax. I recognize that Sid the Kid has a somewhat serious injury that I think will keep him on the shelf until the start of March, so let's analyze this for a second: the injury looked bad, but it was just one of those things – he went into the boards awkwardly, it could have happened to anybody. His legs are arguably the strongest of anyone in the league and I don't think this is the start of some sort of Lemieux/ Forberg- like injury- prone career. I estimate he will miss 20 games and 30 points, which means a 90- to 95-point season. His absence from the lineup will not impact Malkin or Gonchar. I think it will make Armstrong worth zero for awhile. Ryan Whitney won't bounce back in the second half, as I have trumpeted. This will also put a small drag on the production of Malone and Sykora – a small one. This opens up a spot on the roster for Ryan Stone, who will get fourth-line minutes. If the team starts losing, then I think they become players in the trade market – include them in Sundin talks. All this is are my thoughts from a fantasy standpoint. Do not drop Crosby. Do not trade Crosby. Ever. Don't be silly. I own him in the expert league. After finally pulling my suffering (Justin Williams, Daniel Carcillo, goaltending) team from 11th to ninth with some fine trading and WW playing, losing Crosby will knock be back to 11th. Tough. I'm not dropping or trading him, because his final six weeks are key to any hope I may have.
Mattias Ohlund, who has missed 11 games with a concussion, practiced yesterday and should be in the lineup tonight.
Daniel Carcillo is on target to return to the lineup in a week or so. More details as they come.
Dallas wingers Jere Lehtinen and Jussi Jokinen are also targeting a return to the lineup in a week.
Dan Boyle is still targeting a January 27 return to the lineup.
Martin Biron will get the start tonight for Philly.
The Jackets waived Duvie Westcott, despite the fact that Hainsey is out for a few days with his back injury.
Speaking of back injuries, Freddie Modin will return today.
Brent Johnson will likely get the start today for the Caps.
Shawn Matthias played 11:24 in his NHL debut, picking up two PIMs. He is someone to keep an eye on in roto leagues. In keeper leagues, he has a bright future, but you will be waiting several years for any offensive outburst. That is why he is ranked as low as 119 on my prospects list.
Rusty Olesz re-injured his hand and missed yesterday's contest – that is the reason Matthias was recalled.
Crosby's injury last night:
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlskPPhNrdI]