Every couple of weeks during the 2009-10 season I will roll out my High Five/Low Five. The list is open to teams, players, coaches, and fans – basically anything hockey-related qualifies. The High Five are five things that have impressed me (with an emphasis on recent games), while the Low Five are five things that have me shaking my head.
It has been over two weeks since I first mentioned an all-new Goalie Guild feature exclusively for those at DobberHockey. Usually I’m very quick to release these things, but for this particular beastly and intimidating service, I had to take my sweet, sweet time. So after some excruciating hours in front of the computer, along with the close tracking of specific struggling goalies, I’m proud to launch the Fantasy Goalie Flow Chart.
Breaking news - finally...I'm BACK! - Dobber Simon Gagne will be out 6-8 weeks after electing to undergo surgery to repair his two hernias. Although the Blues have been struggling, their two young defenseman haven't. Glowing reviews of both EJ and Pietrangelo here. Shea Weber is out 1-2 weeks with a foot [...]
T.J. Galiardi is out four to six weeks for the Avs. He is in a walking cast and has an ankle injury. Ryan Stoa is a team-worst minus-4 in the AHL, so don't look for him to be recalled at all soon. Nashville has sent Cal O'Reilly down. Where is the O'Reilly that impressed [...]
Not even one full game. That’s how long Ottawa training camp standout Peter Regin stayed on the second line. It’s a story replayed in every NHL city. You’ve got to love the patience of NHL coaches who need to win if they want to stay employed. They are never far away from being the General Managers scapegoat of convenience.
The team I’m keeping a close eye on this week is Anaheim, in particular Ryan Getzlaf and Scott Niedermayer. Going into this season I expected them to start where they left off. The line of Getzlaf – Perry – Ryan has not established the chemistry to lead this team offensively. Getzlaf is still recovering from off-season surgery but is traditionally a slow starter and it was the end of October last season where he turned his year around. Niedermayer is the leader of this team and when he gets going the team will follow. The Ducks are not this bad and this may be the week they explode. Hiller has been the only positive and if he can earn a few more W’s his fantasy stock will rise.
Lots going on in the world of fantasy hockey, but I've really been out of touch this week. By this evening I should be back on track. Valterri Filpulla is out six to eight weeks with a broken wrist. Remember in the preseason when I said that the Red Wings were a Henrik Zetterberg [...]
Jason Blake is a classic case of "streaky", and his three points last night indicate that he's heating up. I think he makes a great pickup as a depth guy - and ride him for a few weeks. When a player plays 40 games with Sidney Crosby and scores just his second goal in [...]
Columbus forward Andrew Murray will miss about four weeks with a shoulder injury, according to the Dispatch. This is of fantasy interest only because it pretty much ensures that for four weeks Nikita Filatov will probably not be scratched. He'll still get eight minutes of ice time, but he won't be scratched. Probably. From [...]
The Anaheim Ducks, Hockey Canada, and fantasy GMs everywhere are hoping Ryan Getzlaf is going to have a career season, so what’s with the slow start?
