March 22, 2015

There were enough happenings during Saturday's games for the Sunday ramblings, so that's where I'll focus. Let's get started…

The timing of the Dead Pucks article by Demetri Fragopoulos couldn't have been more appropriate, given that Saturday was the day of the goose eggs. A total of five goalies posted shutouts on Saturday, including Carey Price (vs. San Jose), Jaroslav Halak (vs. New Jersey), Ondrej Pavelec (vs. Washington), Pekka Rinne (vs. Buffalo), and Kari Lehtonen (vs. Chicago). Hopefully you had at least one of those goalies on your roster and you weren't facing someone who did.

But don't worry, scoring aficionados, there were goals on Saturday. In fact, the Philadelphia/Edmonton game was a clinic of sloppy goaltending with the two teams tied 3-3 after the first period. At least Steve Mason wasn't the Flyers' goalie victimized, as Ray Emery was the surprise last-minute starter. But Mason owners still might have to worry about the situation of their goalie, who finally surfaced on the bench to start the second period. According to Cassie Campbell, Mason "felt ill during warm up". Although he may have pulled himself during warmup, this situation feels a little weird. Could Mason and coach Craig Berube be at odds? That seemed to be the case on Thursday, when Mason was suddenly pulled after allowing his first two goals late in the second period to the Flames.

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I'll try the "that helps no one" line again, since my "that helps no one" player selections last week ended up helping a few people. Justin Fontaine led the Wild with a goal and two assists in their 6-3 win. Fontaine averages 12-13 minutes per game with only one power-play point all season. But please shout out if he happened to be on your team on Saturday.

Speaking of the Wild, Matt Dumba might not be collecting a ton of points this season. But those point totals could be on the way up, given his five minutes of power-play time on Saturday. Four of his 12 points this season have been with the man advantage.

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The Canucks/Kings game had a bit of everything: a Canucks win against a team that has owned them since 2012, a near goalie scrap, a dirty hit by Tyler Toffoli on Alex Burrows, and even some Canuck-bashing from Boston-turned-Los Angeles fanboy Bill Simmons. (Stick to your other sports, Bill. You are way more knowledgeable in those than in hockey.) As for Toffoli, the NHL will be reviewing his hit (Sportsnet), so his owners might need to bench him next week if the league decides to issue any supplemental discipline. The fact that Burrows returned late in the game may reduce a possible suspension, though.