Malkin’s struggles, Miller’s emergence and the Ducks’ flight

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First, thanks for the feedback and comments over the past two ramblings folks. Adjusting to a free-form editorial will take a few spins. I’m a fantasy analyst and Hot off the Wire news analysts for USA Today Fantasy Sports where brevity is paramount and word counts rule the roost.

Daily fantasy hockey has been my main focus over the past three years. I’m the co-owner and managing editor of The Fake Hockey, and penned the Beat the Cap column at RotoWire this season. There will likely be a daily vibe to my work, as I haven’t taken a day off from the DFS grind since Oct. 8.

All said, it was an honor to join this team, and the feedback is welcomed. Any particulars you would like touched on, just let me know. Add a family and ‘real’ job to the above work, and I don’t have time to be offended. It is genuinely appreciated.

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I was able to BBQ a burger and enjoy it before Pittsburgh recorded a shot on goal last night, and the game started before I did. Henrik Lundqvist instantly entered risky territory for daily players as a result. Saves are the quickest path to fantasy points and having a buffer to absorb a goal is important, especially when you’re invested in the most expensive tender. Shutouts are so rare that targeting the goalie likely to make 38 saves and allow three goals instead of a goalie likely to have a 20-save showing with a goal against is usually more beneficial.

Over the course of a season, these low-shot outcomes equal out, but under the microscope of daily play it can be a serious value kill. There is nothing worse then crossing your toes knowing a shutout is the only path to cashing. In weekly head-to-head formats this could also be killer, especially if one of your goalies is blown up in a game.

Lundqvist finished with a respectable 6.6 fantasy points last night, as the Penguins upped the intensity or ‘desperation level’ as No. 87 put it.