February 11, 2010

Dobber Sports

2010-02-11

MTL has picked up Dominic Moore from FLA for a second round pick. Nice deal for Florida. The Habs make up for their crazy injuries by adding a decent third-liner who has proven before that he can put up points when called upon.

 

Per Tarik El Bashir – Chris Bourque and Karl Alzner are both in the Washington lineup tonight. Morrisonn, Poti, and Chimera are all out.

 

With the injury to Josh Gorges, Montreal has recalled defenseman PK Subban from Hamilton. Expect him to see power play time right off the bat.

 

Pittsburgh has traded Gue…..nin to St. Louis. The deal is Nate Guenin for Steve Wagner. Both are AHL defensemen. Wagner once showed promise in the NHL, but a broken leg derailed his development.

 

Ray Emery is out for three weeks to rest his hip. Expect Michael Leighton to get the bulk of the starts until he returns.

 

Fantasy Baseball Guide – available now – can be bought here for just $8.99!

 

The Olympic buzz is building in Vancouver big time this week. Got my Canada car flags up (yes, that’s right, one just isn’t enough)! The venues look amazing, although I am still curious as to how they will make BC Place look nice! Maybe a little of the “editing” techniques used in Beijing will help?

 

Kyle Cumiskey had the OT winner last night for Colorado over Atlanta. Chris Stewart scored as well. Both of these players tie in nicely with an article I am working on for today. Russ Miller is taking a one week hiatus with the Eastern Edge. Sneak preview – the title of the piece is, “An Avalanche of Upside.”

 

Here are my thoughts on the Getzlaf/Carter situation. Steve Yzerman wants a righty shooter to replace a righty shooter, and Carter for Getzlaf accomplishes that. Steve Stamkos (who would be my choice) also shoots right, but he doesn’t have the same faceoff ability that Carter does.

 

Yzerman and the staff want a righty in case of an important offensive/defensive zone faceoff. However, I believe that thinking along those lines is very short sighted. To put it in simple terms, the best players should be there. Perhaps if Stamkos is there instead of Carter, that means two or three more goals for Canada, and then those potentially key faceoffs lose their importance. Seems like a circular argument to me.

 

Marty Turco is obviously on the block right now, but the Stars may have trouble moving him. He is a free agent to be, but he still carries a cap hit in excess of $5 million. Dallas is taking a financial risk on Kari Lehtonen (if they choose to re-sign him, of course), but they didn’t give up much to acquire him. Vishnevskiy is a solid prospect but nothing special. I have held on to Lehtonen all year, turning down numerous trade offers along the way. Hopefully this season has been a wake up call to remind him that he needs to focus on conditioning to become a successful NHL goaltender.

 

Goals as a Devil for Kovalchuk – zero.

 

Goals as a Thrasher for Bergfors – two.

 

Ilya Kovalchuk saw extra minutes without Zach Parise in the lineup, but he was pointless for the third straight game. It is premature to start shopping him, as there is an adjustment period going to any team, let alone from Atlanta to New Jersey.

 

Gaborik missed the game last night with a leg laceration. The Rangers scored only once in his absence. It would be unfair to Dan Ellis (37 saves on 38 shots) to say that the lack of Gaborik was the reason for the poor offensive output, though.

 

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The Swedish Olympic team was probably the most poorly selected (in my humble opinion, of course). How the heck are Samulesson, Franzen, and Huselius not there?

 

To respond to Praba, who has commented on the issue below. The Swedes don’t pick Franzen because of his injury, but they pick Forsberg (who is being shipped to Canada in bubble wrap) and Freddie Modin? Makes no sense.

 

John Tavares is scoreless in 12.

 

Ryane Clowe had a beastly eight shots on goal, and missed the net with another eight. He is one of those players with a combination of size and skill that make for intriguing upside.

 

Brooks Laich had three goals for the Caps.

 

Steve Mason was fantastic last night. He stopped all 40 shots that San Jose fired his way – I wonder if he and Hitchcock didn't see eye to eye? Mason’s last three games: 3-0, two shutouts, and a save percentage above .980.

 

Sergei Kostitsyn had three helpers last night. I have caught a few Habs games lately and he is showing a ton of confidence. Before, he seemed reluctant to use his flashy offensive skills on a consistent basis, but he appears much more comfortable at the NHL level.

 

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Scott Gomez had two points – his third two-point game in his last four. I haven't been a fan of his since he signed that big contract, but often times players that are overpaid tend to get underrated, even in situations (like non-salary cap fantasy leagues) where their salary is irrelevant.

 

Tomas Plekanec scored twice, including the overtime winner. The Habs really need to find a way to lock him up. He has been the offensive backbone of that team all season.

 

Tom Pyatt had a goal and an assist, and he skated on the top line with Gomez and Gionta. He also fired seven shots on goal. Montreal has so many young players that are borderline quality right now – Pyatt could emerge as the best fantasy option if he finds a way to stick on that line. Max Pacioretty probably has the most upside but he is still raw and tends to rely on his skating too much. He needs to battle and compete more on a consistent basis to really be an effective scoring line player.

 

According to Bruce Boudreau (reported by Tarik El Bashir), Michal Neuvirth’s injury is very minor, and he could play tomorrow.

 

The Blues have considerable interest in Cory Schneider, according to Andy Strickland. John Davidson (St. Louis president) personally scouted Schneider in Winnipeg last month. They appear very non-committal with regards to extending Chris Mason – perhaps there is a deal to be had here? No chance they move Eller or Pietrangelo, but what about someone like Jackman? Or a lesser prospect like Ian Cole?

 

I can’t see St. Louis moving David Backes either. Since his poor start he has produced at close to a PPG pace. In addition to that production, he brings a ton of intangibles to the team. I’d wager that he will be the next team captain once Eric Brewer moves on. Boyes is interesting – not sure where he fits on Vancouver, but he is a legitimate sniper and would be huge on the first power play unit with Danile and Henrik.

 

The Caps finally lost a game! Their winning streak was stopped last night at 14 by Montreal. The game was a sloppy one, and Carey Price made several big saves in overtime to give the Habs a chance to win. Michal Neuvirth left with an injury, further complicating arguably the most complicated fantasy situation in the NHL (Washington's three-headed goalie monster).

 

Mikkel Boedker is a fantastic option if you are looking for a buy low candidate for keeper leagues right now. He played under 10 minutes last night and was pointless. Dave Tippett favours veterans for the most part, but Boedker's skill level will shine through once he bulks up a bit.

 

After his three point game on January 31st, Peter Mueller is pointless in five. He played under nine minutes last night.

 

Guillaume Latendresse scored his third goal in four games last night. After starting so hot with Minnesota, Latendresse obviously was due for a bit of a slowdown. He appears to be righting the ship.

 

Nik Backstrom started his first game since January 23rd. He allowed three goals on 31 shots. A combination of a sore back and a nasty flu bug kept him on the sidelines.

 

Derek Boogaard had two shots on goal – his first multi-shot game since 2009. Fantasy relevant, you bet!

 

Follow me (angus_j) and Dobber (DobberHockey) on twitter. We keep the good stuff on the site here, but sometimes post our thoughts on breaking news in the hockey world over on twitter as well.

 

Make sure to Join the DobberHockey Olympic Pool being run over at Armchair Pools. It is absolutely free to enter, and there are some awesome prizes, including an autographed Steve Yzerman Team Canada jersey and an autographed Jaromir Jagr jersey. The funniest team name will receive an autographed 8×10 photo of Eric Staal.

 

The pool is very simple to enter – just register and pick a player from each group.

 

A special thanks to the fine folks over at The Sports Lettering Company for supplying us with the Yzerman jersey.

 

Do you have a blank sports jersey that needs a player name and number…look no further! We crest to impress, whether its hockey, baseball, basketball, or football. Give us a call (416) 412-7111, or email us at [email protected] This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with your questions.

 

Here is a link to check out the prizes.

 

Alex Ovechkin does his best NFL impression on this goal that was eventually called back – for no apparent reason. You could argue Ovechkin pushed Gill into Price, but the refs didn’t even penalize him. The NHL once again proves they operate with a second set of rules!

 

Not for the faint of heart – Josh Gorges takes a Mike Green slapper right off the noggin. He left the ice after being down for a little while. Gorges has little fantasy value but he is one of the most unheralded players in the entire league, and his absence would hurt the Canadiens in a big way. Pierre McGuire sounded a bit worried…

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