November 05, 2011

Dobber Sports

2011-11-05

 

My latest piece for the Province blogging contest – a look at how former Habs have fared in Vancouver. Give it a thumbs up (and a read) if you get the chance. Thanks!

 

Josh Harding is starting his fourth straight game tonight for the Wild.

 

Enter the Fan Duel contest and get a piece of the $500 worth of prizes they’re giving away. Also – five bucks to each person who beats Dobber. The idea of the challenge: it’s a one-day fantasy league! Details are here, this is for Tuesday’s games.

 

Zack Smith had a short-handed goal last night (the only Senators goal). He’s a solid player who makes for a solid depth option in deep multi-category leagues.

 

Price was great for the Habs – lots of good goaltending performances last night. He’s one of the best in the league, and a slow start shouldn’t have changed that at all.

 

Erik Karlsson was a minus-two, but he did have seven shots on goal. The good with the bad seems to be the norm with him.

 

Duncan Keith missed another game with his hand injury, but he should be back next week.

 

Stamkos still finds a way to get wide open in his money zone – three goals last night (video posted below). St. Louis added three assists – is he going to start slowing down any time soon?

 

Nick Leddy was an ugly minus-four in the loss.

 

The Canucks were brutal last night – not really any noteworthy performances. Alex Burrows left the game and is day-to-day with back spasms.

 

David Booth fought (not the best idea, against Scott Nichol who got the easy win). Booth is showing his speed, but he seems uncomfortable right now (much like his linemate Ryan Kesler).

 

Cody Hodgson was once again the best Canuck forward offensively. Created a lot, and showed some flashes of speed we haven’t seen before.

 

Brian Elliott had another great start for the Blues. Wasn’t overly tested but made the saves he needed to.

 

TJ Oshie was flying – very involved physically, and of course two goals and an assist helps as well.

 

Lightning prospect Carter Ashton has nine goals in 11 games this season in the AHL – his first as a professional. He was a dominant player at times during his WHL career. Much like Bertuzzi, Ashton has great speed and hands for his size, but deals with consistency issues. The Lightning are going to be patient with him, and he’s got a ton of upside. A bit riskier than other prospects, though.

 

Henrik Karlsson and Jhonas Enroth were both fantastic last night. Karlsson, in particular, kept the Flames in a game they had no part being in.

 

Not exactly a goaltending duel in Dallas last night – Varlamov and Lehtonen let in a combined 13 points. Some big fantasy numbers too – I'll recap them.

 

Duchene had a hat trick and an assist. He was a solid one-year buy low option before last night, but likely not any more. He was far and away the first star – created a ton of scoring chances, and was pushing the Dallas defense back all game long.

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Ryan Wilson had three helpers – the only other Avalanche with more than one point.

 

Dallas had a number of players with big nights – Benn had a goal and three helpers. He also won 10 faceoffs (took the most of any Dallas player).

 

Eriksson and Robidas each had three points. Ryder, Goligoski, and Fiddler all had two points. Ryder seems to be fitting in quite nicely in Dallas, at least from an offensive standpoint.

 

Sheldon Souray had a goal and continues his strong comeback this season. Dallas was a great situation for him – not a ton of PP competition and not a huge media market (less external pressure).

 

Tom Wandell was a healthy scratch for Dallas.

 

Cody Eakin, a player I caught a bit of in the WHL, scored his first career goal (and added his first assist too), last night. He's a Parise type of player – lots of skill, but you notice his skating and tenacity the most. He played center in the WHL but will likely move to wing if/when he makes the NHL on a full-time basis.

 

Washington is fairly set up front (although Semin is a free agent this summer), but Eakin could force his way into the top nine if he can string together a few strong games. I am a really big fan of his.

 

Mathieu Perreault was a healthy scratch for the Caps.

 

Eric Staal had no points and was a minus-two, continuing his brutal start to the season.

 

Part of the premium content over at the Goalie Guild are extensive scouting reports. Justin’s latest is on Ben Scrivens, Toronto’s latest young goalie. A snippet from it:

 

“Overall, I was impressed with Scrivens in terms of his technique and style. I think this game easily solidifies him as Toronto's new #3 goalie, and even though he'll go back to the Marlies when Reimer is over his whiplash issues, general manager Brian Burke has to be even more excited about the future now. Jussi Rynnas is another quality prospect, but Scrivens' stock is soaring right now.


One area of Ben's posture and positioning that is extremely unique is his glove hand placement. When he gets into a crouch, the glove comes up around his chest area, but the palm faces directly down towards the ice. This peculiar angle of the glove has to be a personal preference in terms of comfort, as I have only seen this type of placement before with a few goalies (one is Pekka Rinne).


Furthermore, when Scrivens sets up for a faceoff in his zone, he flares out his elbows and brings his hands up high around his chest area. Flaring out the elbows is also very unique, as all other goalies like to seal the holes between their sides and arms. But Scrivens makes himself big by pushing his elbows out.”

 

Hat trick for Stamkos last night – check the goals out here:

 

Karlsson’s beauty saves:

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