Fantasy Hockey Ramble – April 07, 2009
Dobber Sports
2009-04-07
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In the absence of Markov and Schneider, the Habs went with Hamrlik and Brisebois on their first PP unit (each had a point last night) and Josh Gorges and Komisarek on the second PP unit.
Mark Streit did some skating on Saturday morning, but it does not sound as though he will make today's contest against Carolina. We'll know for sure later today, after we see the morning skate.
Chris Campoli is on a four-game point streak and has 13 in 22 since joining the Senators. If the Sens don't land a PP QB in the offseason, look for Campoli to flirt with 45 next campaign.
The Sabres signed undrafted prospect Travis Turnbull to a contract. Turnbull played for the U. of Michigan along with highly touted prospects Aaron Palushaj and Louie Caporusso, but is more known for his agitating than his scoring.
When Detroit drafts a player, I pay attention. When Detroit signs an undrafted player, I also pay attention. Francis Pare, a 21-year-old pivot was invited to camp by the Wings in the fall and played the season for Grand Rapids. After a 100 point QMJHL season, he finished third in scoring in Grand Rapids behind Haydar and Abdelkader, tied with McGrath. Ville Leino would have beat him had Leino not spent so much time in the NHL. Anyway, it was a great pro debut for Pare, who will spend another year in the AHL but could potentially be a top scorer there in 2009-10. From there, it's just a matter of how much room the Red Wings have on their roster.
Carey Price was the backup last night, and given that Halak took the loss and stopped just 20 of 23, Price will start the next contest.
Interesting to note that TSN chose Mason as the Calder winner, with Ryan second and Rinne third. I would probably have Rinne second, but otherwise I agree. I do take exception to Dreger's reasoning: "Without Mason, the Blue Jackets aren't in the playoffs". That is true, however you can apply the same statement to Rinne and the Preds.
Kristian Huselius is suffering from concussion symptoms and will not only miss tomorrow's contest, but probably the final three regular season games. There are no plans for Nikita Filatov to take his spot in the lineup.
Simeon Varlamov will start in Atlanta tonight, according to El-Bashir's blog .
Dennis Wideman will not play against Ottawa. Phil Kessel, however, is on the trip and should play.
No damage to Nik Antropov's knee. He is expected to skate today.
From Blue Notes blog : Sean Avery declined comment on the head tap he gave to Tim Thomas during a TV timeout in Boston, an incident that caused Thomas to charge him from behind and trigger two penalties. "I'm just worried about Montreal," he said. "We just have to play hard…It's our biggest game." He altered that a bit later, saying, "Three games left, they're all big. This is one of the biggest….We had a good practice. We'll have our work boots on for sure."
"Work boots on"? See what happens when you jump on Avery's back for his stunts? He comes out with vanilla statements like "work boots on". Had the media laid off the guy when he does something crazy, then the above interview would have been interesting. Just had to point that out.
Matt Climie will probably be in net again tonight for Dallas.
Playoff Race:
EAST
8. NYR 89 (3GR)
9. FLA 89 (3GR)
WEST
7. ANA 88 (2GR)
8. NAS 86 (3GR)
9. STL 86 (3GR)
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