April 12, 2014
Dobber Sports
2014-04-12
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The Capitals shutout the Blackhawks 4-0 on Friday and Jay Beagle of all people led the way with a pair of goals. Those were just his first goals since early March and only his third and fourth of the season.
Alex Ovechkin scored his 51st of the year and now has 384 shots on the campaign. That's his highest total since the 2008-09 season when he posted a ridiculous 528.
Jaroslav Halak had a 34-save shutout. He'll be a UFA after the season and I'll be curious to see what the Capitals do there. If they re-sign him then you would have to think they have lost all confidence in Braden Holtby and his fantasy value would take a major hit.
Marcus Johansson left the game after being struck in the arm with a shot. What a disappointing season he's had. Many had him tabbed as a fantasy sleeper prior to the year, but he didn't even manage 10 goals. What's worse is Johansson's most frequent line combination this season by a mile was with Ovechkin and Backstrom, yet he still couldn't produce.
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The Blackhawks look like a team that's simply trying to get to the playoffs healthy at this point, and it's hard to blame them with the key injuries they have been dealing with.
Corey Crawford was pulled after giving up four goals on 20 shots and he'll need to be better if the Hawks hope to duplicate another Cup run. He had a strong postseason last year and was often overlooked on Chicago's deep roster.
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Tampa beat Columbus in a battle of Eastern Conference playoff teams. That's not something many would have predicted when the season began.
Eric Brewer had a couple of goals to give him three in his last two contests. If Tampa could get some additional production from their blue line, that would be a huge bonus against Montreal in a postseason series. You know the Canadiens rely on points from their defensemen, so if Tampa could offset that somewhat then it would improve their chances greatly.
Ondrej Palat had a goal to give him eight points in six games and 59 total for the year. If he hasn't convinced you by now he will be a key fantasy contributor next year, he never will.
Kristers Gudlevskis, of Latvian Olympic fame, got his first career NHL start for Tampa and looked sharp making 36 stops. Still, if Ben Bishop isn't healthy I can't see Tampa taking down Montreal.
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Boone Jenner had a goal and an assist against the Lightning. He's had a very quiet 16 goals and five of those have been game winners. He's managed just 12 assists though and that will have to improve before he's taken seriously as a consistent fantasy option.
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Carolina took down Detroit 2-1 and Cam Ward had a decent outing. The Hurricanes are another team that need to figure out what to do in goal this offseason thanks to the emergence of Anton Khudobin. I would say go with the cheaper option in Khudobin and let Ward go, as difficult as that might be. It would save them money and Khudobin proved he could handle the job this season.
Jiri Tlusty scored his fourth goal in five games. If the Canes bring him back he could be a nice under the radar option for next year that you could snag later in your draft.
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Gustav Nyquist with just two assists in his last five games. What's up with that? That's what happens when you set the bar too high. Seriously though, his numbers would be frightening if he wasn't stuck in the AHL for the first two months of the year and the Wings likely wouldn't have struggled like they did to get in the playoffs.
Jimmy Howard with another average performance, which has really been the story of his season. If he's just average in the playoffs Detroit won't last very long and Mike Babcock knows it.
Jakub Kindl with good hand/eye coordination to bail Howard out.
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The Devils fell to the Islanders in what could have been Martin Brodeur's final game in New Jersey. It's tough to imagine him playing anywhere else, but his numbers have been poor this year and Cory Schneider is clearly the No. 1 now. It's also tough to imagine there would be a big market for Brodeur at this point if he did want to move on from New Jersey next season.
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Ryan Strome and Anders Lee scored for the Islanders. Those are two guys you should be targeting next year. The Islanders are going to be playing a lot of youngsters in 2014-15 and Strome and Lee should have featured role. The Isles may not win a ton of games next season, but they should be fun to watch and put up some points in the process.
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The Stars clinched the final playoff spot in the West with a 3-0 win over the Blues. That’s probably a team you wouldn’t be excited about seeing in the opening round. They can score goals in bunches and Kari Lehtonen has the capability of stealing a series.
One thing they’ll need is some better play from Valeri Nichushkin. He’s got just two points in eight games, but is still seeing good power play time. He may need to capitalize on his opportunities with the man advantage because Lindy Ruff may opt to shelter him in certain situations come the postseason.
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Ryan Miller took the loss, but at least his night went a little better. He made 37 saves, although four-straight losses isn’t the best way to head into the playoffs.
The regular season can’t end soon enough for the Blues. Patrik Berglund went down with what could be a serious injury to his shoulder/collarbone. They’re getting very thin at forward at the worst possible time.
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The Jets beat the Flames but lost Jacob Trouba after he took a puck to the face. He should be fine though according to Paul Maurice after the game.
Michael Hutchinson made another start and again played well. He’s had three starts with a save percentage over .920. It’s still early, but it’s an encouraging sign for the Jets who have had shaky goaltending from Ondrej Pavelec for most of the year.
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Jiri Hudler had a couple of points to give him five in his last four. He had an incredible pace to start the year and even though he cooled a little in the second half, 54 points is still a nice haul for a Hudler owner.
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Tomas Hertl returned to the Sharks’ lineup. He played 15 minutes and didn’t record a point, but what a boost that will be for them in the playoffs. That’s the equivalent of getting a solid deadline acquisition for San Jose.
Marty Havlat had three goals and an assist against the Avs. If only that guy could stay healthy. He might be less of a risk in a playoff pool because there are fewer games and less opportunities for him to get injured. Proceed with caution.
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Nathan Horton will miss six weeks for the Blue Jackets after undergoing abdominal surgery. Horton has only managed to play in 36 games this season because of injury, making Columbus' run to the playoffs all the more impressive considering they have done it without their main offseason signing for the most part. The Blue Jackets are going to have to go on a pretty impressive playoff run for Horton to see the ice again this season.
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Ryan Smyth will retire at the end of the season. I still remember Smyth getting dealt at the trade deadline to the New York Islanders years back, as one of the more shocking moves in deadline history. It probably shouldn't have happened. At least he gets to go out as an Oiler.
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Mike Rupp has been suspended four games for his hit on T.J. Oshie on Thursday night. If Oshie is out of action for a significant amount of time that could really hurt the Blues in the playoffs. There's been a handful of injuries in these final couple of weeks and you wonder if coaches will approach things differently next season as far as resting players goes.
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So the Leafs have officially made Brendan Shanahan their new president and alternate governor. With the epic collapse they had to do something major and there will likely be more changes to come. I'm not sure how I feel about the move yet, but what do they have to lose at this point, right?
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The Calgary Flames have signed forward Johnny Gaudreau from Boston College and he should see action with the team on Sunday. Gaudreau is undersized, but has excelled at the collegiate level and won the Hobey Baker Award on Friday as well. Dobber Hockey's own Brad Wilson had a nice writeup on Gaudreau last weekend. Check it out here if you missed it.
Michael Amato is an Associate Editor for DobberHockey and a News Editor for theScore. You can follow him on Twitter at @amato_mike