March 5, 2010

Jeff Angus

2010-03-05

Ville Leino is starting the game on a line with Jeff Carter and Daniel Briere tonight. I figure it will last about a period or so.

 

I have yet to receive word from the runner up in the DobberHockey Olympic Pool. Poor guy is going to miss out on a beautiful Jaromir Jagr autographed jersey!

 

Marian Gaborik says he expects to play tomorrow for the Rangers.

 

Who owned the giant flag that Corey Perry grabbed after Canada won gold? This guy.

 

Varlamov shares his thoughts on the Olympics here. I wonder if those chats with Tretiak will pay off?

 

Atlanta got contributions from all of their new players last night. Evgeni Artyukhin scored a beauty end-to-end goal, Clarke MacArthur scored a goal, and Niclas Bergfors continued his strong play, chipping in with a goal and an assist.

 

LAK  (Life After Kovalchuk) Atlanta is a land of balance, no forward for the Thrashers saw more than Rich Peverley's 17:36 of ice time.

 

Satan’s filthy goal from last night:

 

Freddy Modin and Jeff Halpern both saw about 10 minutes of ice time. Unless there are injuries ahead of them on the depth chart, don't expect much production from either player down the stretch.

 

Maybe the Olympic break was just what the doctor ordered for Paul Kariya? He scored twice last night and now has five points in his past two games. The Blues are surging, having won five straight. Don't be surprised if they make another playoff push this season.

 

Marty Turco has allowed nine goals on his past 33 shots faced. He was yanked last night, as the Stars lost 6-1 to the Blues. Kari Lehtonen stopped 14 of 16 in relief. Turco had strung together four great starts before the break, but he has looked absolutely awful since play has resumed. Expect Lehtonen to be given a chance at taking over the starting position now.

 

Artyukhin goes coast to coast like butter on toast! (Or something like that.)

 

Luca Caputi, who I'll have more on in an article later today, played 13 minutes last night for the Leafs. He saw over two minutes with the man advantage, and finished with a helper after making a nice rush up the ice on the Tyler Bozak goal.

 

Speaking Bozak, he is looking more and more comfortable in the NHL each night. I think he could break out and be a 55 point player as early as next season. He played close to 22 minutes last night, so he has obviously earned the trust of Ron Wilson.

 

I thought Jamie Lundmark looked good as well. He played over 16 minutes and had an assist. He is a solid option in one year leagues if you are lagging in offensive categories. The Leafs are lacking offensive talent and that is what Lundmark brings to the table.

 

Tim Thomas made 24 saves, and many of them were of the highlight reel variety. He definitely stepped up and made the most of the opportunity given to him with the minor knee injury sustained by Tuukka Rask. It has been a frustrating season for Thomas (and Thomas owners as well), but things may be looking up if he can string a few strong performances together. Boston's offense is just abysmal, so they will need all of the goaltending help they can get down the stretch.

 

Dennis Seidenberg played over 25 minutes, including two on the power play. He was pointless, but did have two shots on goal.

 

In a little less than 14 minutes of ice time, Pascal Dupuis had a whopping 10 shots on goal (he also fired another 10 that were either blocked or missed the net). He fired more than one shot on goal per minute of ice time last night!

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Dupuis, Staal, and Malkin combined for 26 shots on goal.

 

Alexei Ponikarovsky didn't play in the game as he is still dealing with immigration issues. Expect him to be in the line-up for the Penguins next game though.

 

Zach Boychuk had two helpers for the 'Canes last night, and will probably stick around on the big club down the stretch. He has five points in his last four games with Carolina, dating back to before the Olympic break.

 

Brandon Sutter has six points in his last four contests. He bears watching for both the rest of this season and beyond. Expecting 60 points out of him in 2010-11 wouldn't be a stretch.

 

As I 'tweeted' yesterday, Chris Kuntiz is streakier than Will Ferrell in Old School. He had three points last night, after being pointless in three previous games.

 

Ted Purcell had an assist in about 14 minutes of ice time last night. He has so much talent, but might not stick around in the NHL if he continues to play such a perimeter game. He was completely cast aside by the Kings, who once had very high hopes for him.

 

Scott Walker had a game for the ages in his debut as a Capital, scoring twice in only 7:33 of ice time. He had only three goals all season with Carolina before being dealt. Joe Corvo played over 20 minutes, with close to three of those coming with the man advantage. I think Corvo will actually help Mike Green, as Washington now has another viable threat from the back end.

 

Eric Fehr scored a goal, but saw less than 12 minutes and nothing on the power play. All of the new acquisitions essentially kill his value in one year leagues.

 

Everyone knows how good Mike Green is, but I'll toss out a reminder nonetheless. He is on pace for 80 points, over 200 shots on goal, plus-40, and about 60 PIM. Fantasy stud.

 

Check out Kari Lehtonen’s beauty mask! Any mask that features Clint Eastwood is automatically awesome. Lehtonen loves to get creative with his mask designs – he has had more masks made in the last few seasons than games played.

Mats Zuccarello Aasen has carried his fantastic Olympic tournament with him back to MoDo. He had four points two nights ago (including three goals). Peter Forsberg (who also had four points) and him put on a show together. With 61 points, he is now tied for the lead in scoring in the SEL. Expect him to get a shot to earn an NHL spot somewhere next season. Steve Yzerman spoke glowingly of him all tournament long, and you can bet there are at least a dozen NHL teams that are going to pursue him feverishly. His contract with MoDo contains an NHL clause, so that won’t be an issue.

 

Thanks to 'Diamond Joe' over on the forums for digging this one up. Kyle Turris, who got off to a slow start this season in the AHL, now has a six game point streak going (with nine points in that span). He is still very lanky, and may always be, but his skill set and hockey awareness is elite. Look for Phoenix to be very, very patient with him. Turris is a great long term keeper to have, as many impatient GMs will not want to hold on to him for another year if he doesn't crack the Coyotes in 2010-11.

 

Wojtek Wolski burned his former club last night, scoring the winning goal for Phoenix with just over 20 ticks left on the clock. Dobber and I disagree on a few things in the fantasy hockey world, but Wolski isn't one of them. He is a supreme talent who combines size and skill like few other players, but until he shows more intensity and effort on a consistent basis, he is off my fantasy radar. Dave Tippett won't put up with any floaters or freeloaders, so a fresh start may do Wolski good. He had three points in his final 13 games with the Avalanche.

 

Marc-Andre Fleury's Olympic gold looked like pure rust last night, as he was yanked after allowing four goals on 12 shots. The Penguins got the comeback win in New York, outshooting the Rangers 55-16. Lundqvist, with 50 saves, was saddled with the loss, while Brent Johnson picks up the win with only four stops in relief. Go figure.

 

Ed Jovanovski missed the game last night with an upper body injury. He was steamrolled by TJ Oshie a few nights ago, and his nose was struck by Oshie's helmet. If I was a betting man, I'd say that is why Special Ed missed the game.

 

I don't watch the Habs every night, but it seems like Carey Price has the worst luck in the league. He had another gem of a game last night, allowing only three goals on 40 shots from the always-potent San Jose Sharks. Montreal was leading late into the third period, only to allow two goals in the final 10 minutes. Gomez and Gionta played like it was 2003 and they were still with the Devils last night – they combined for four points and 11 shots on goal.

 

How top heavy is San Jose. They had four forwards well below 10 minutes of ice time, and four forwards well above 20 minutes of ice time.

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