Tarasenko on a tear, Sprong back to junior, Bernier and Domingue pitch shutouts?

I’ll start today’s Ramblings with two of my opponent’s players that killed me in my keeper league head-to-head matchup.

Vladimir Tarasenko did his thing on Saturday, scoring a goal and adding two assists in a 3-2 victory over the Flames. It’s been quite the week for #91, who has two three-point games and seven points overall this week. Heads up: St. Louis is one of two teams to play four games next week (I’ll mention the other one later), so Tarasenko should continue to feast. Not like you’d bench him anyway.

Here’s Flames’ coach Bob Hartley describing Tarasenko’s awesomeness:

#nhlflames coach Bob Hartley on Tarasenko: "This guy right now I think he's the most complete hockey player in this league." #stlblues

— Jeremy Rutherford (@jprutherford) December 19, 2015

You might also enjoy this goal from Colton Parayko, where he passes the puck to himself.

*

In that same game, Mark Giordano scored a goal and added an assist in the loss to the Blues. Since I don’t own him in any leagues, I thought I’d look over his statline while I was comparing rosters with my opponent (who I believe has the strongest team in this league). With the two points, Gio has 14 points in 32 games, which would put him on pace for around 35 points.

I remember having my doubts about Gio and releasing him from my team after he scored just 15 points in the lockout-shortened season. Then over the next two seasons, he averaged 47.5 points in just 62.5 games per season. He’s obviously a skilled blueliner, but he’s clearly fallen back down to earth.

I would have thought that the Flames’ crowded blueline might also have something to do with his reduced production, but he is still averaging over 24 minutes per game. Yet only two power-play points on a power play that ranks dead last in the league (10.8%) factors in significantly.

*

Earlier in the day, Jack Eichel broke a five-game pointless streak with an assist on Cody Franson’s goal. Eichel is on pace for just under 40 points, which as a center should place him on the bubble in mid-sized leagues. At this point I wouldn’t be surprised if someone not named Eichel or McDavid is named rookie of the year.

*

Now for a prospect on my fantasy team: Daniel Sprong, who was finally returned to junior on Saturday. As a fantasy owner I’m perfectly okay with this, since I added him to my list of non-recallable players and can therefore re-sign him to an amount barely above the minimum. You try to find as many of these players as you can in keeper salary cap leagues. For example, my opponent is paying a ridiculously low amount for Tarasenko, which frees up cap space for his other needs.

On a non-fantasy level, I compare the Penguins burning a year of Sprong’s entry-level deal to the Canucks’ mishandling of Frank Corrado. Back in the 2013 playoffs, the Canucks were in a hole in their first-round series against San Jose. In an attempt to go all in, they dressed Corrado, knowing full well that it would cost a year of his three-year, entry-level contract. Fast forward to the start of the season, when Corrado was on a one-way contract, but team brass couldn’t justify a roster spot for him. He had to be placed on waivers, and the Leafs picked him up.

So hopefully this doesn’t come back to bite the Penguins in the butt, should he have a tough time cracking the Penguins’ roster for whatever reason over the next two seasons. The Penguins don’t seem to be afraid to let young players sit in the minors for a while, as is the case with Derrick Pouliot.

*

Speaking of the Penguins… same story on Saturday, losing 2-1 to Carolina. But in an interesting development, Trevor Daley played on the first-unit power play and recorded an assist on Evgeni Malkin’s goal. And Matthew Murray debuted, stopping 24 of 26 shots. Here’s a peek at their line combinations for this game:

22.86%  EV           HORNQVIST,PATRIC – KESSEL,PHIL – MALKIN,EVGENI

17.62%  EV           CROSBY,SIDNEY – KUNITZ,CHRIS – SHEARY,CONOR

10.95%  EV           CULLEN,MATT – FEHR,ERIC – PLOTNIKOV,SERGEI

10.48%  EV           BONINO,NICK – PERRON,DAVID – PORTER,KEVIN

Notice that Conor Sheary, who was playing in his third NHL game, received (at least what used to be) the plum assignment of skating on the right wing alongside Sidney Crosby. Sheary had been scoring at a point-per-game pace in the AHL (25 points in 24 games), so he is worth keeping an eye on.

*

More of the same for Jamie Benn (yet another stud that my previously mentioned opponent has somehow managed to land). Benn scored two more goals and added an assist in the Stars’ 6-2 win over Montreal. Benn is now one ahead of Tarasenko for the lead league in goals (22). The Stars are the other team to play four games next week, so Benn and Tyler Seguin and company should pile up more gifts for their owners.

On that note, don’t forget that there’s a three-day Christmas break (December 23 – 25) from Wednesday to Friday next week. That means that the Stars and the Blues will play two sets of back-to-backs. Maybe each of their goalies receives two starts. For more on the schedule next week, be sure to check out Looking Ahead 2015: Week 12 from Mike Schmidt.

*

Speaking of Montreal, it’s turning pretty sour there. After that consecutive win streak to start the season, the Habs have now won just two of their last ten. I can’t find the film, but Max Pacioretty was frustrated, dropping an f-bomb during the post-game interview. Pacioretty and Tomas Plekanec have each been a minus-5 this week, while Plekanec hasn’t scored a goal in 17 games and counting. Plekanec has probably built up enough equity from his fast start earlier this season to stay on your roster though.

*

No fantasy owner in his or her right mind would have started Jonathan Bernier against the Kings. So of course he records the 26-save shutout. And no fantasy owner would have started Michael Grabner either, who equaled his point total in just one game by scoring two goals and two assists.

The lack of scoring depth from the Leafs is making a fantasy stud out of Leo Komarov, who scored two goals and an assist. If your league counts hits, Komarov is a must-add. He is a top-5 option in that category, and none of the players above him in that category are better scoring options. Maybe he’s a future Geek of the Week, Terry, if you’re reading?

*

Just when the milk cartons were being printed with Frederik Andersen’s picture, he makes his first start in nearly a month. Andersen stopped 21 shots in a 2-1 win for the Ducks.

With Anton Khudobin waived and now in the AHL, the Ducks will probably have a real goaltending battle on their hands. I’d say 60-40 for Andersen now in terms of starts, because I still somewhat believe in the theory that a starter shouldn’t lose his job because of injury. Andersen has been healthy for a few games now, but the Ducks have played only three times over the past two weeks and have ridden the hot hand of John Gibson during that time.

*

Ryan Johansen returned to the Blue Jackets’ lineup on Saturday after his one-game Tortorella-mandated exile. This time Torts was a little more kind to him, issuing him 20 minutes of icetime. Unfortunately Johansen couldn’t return the favor, failing to score a point in the 3-2 shootout win. Between the contract holdout last season and the issues with Torts, the Jackets have to be pushing hard to trade him, particularly if they are out of the playoff race by the trade deadline.

*

Speaking of trade rumors, Steven Stamkos did the usual trade rumor denial (NHL.com). If Steve Yzerman is really going to make only one “take-it-or-leave-it” contract offer to Stamkos, I don’t see how he accepts. It’s simple contract negotiation: you don’t take the first offer. But then again, I’m just taking those words at face value. But I still don’t think he signs because if both sides wanted to, they would have this extension completed by now. Plus they have the Triplets and Victor Hedman and Ben Bishop to worry about.

*

Another unlikely shutout on Saturday, this one from Louis Domingue. But since I’m a regular reader of the Ramblings in addition to writing it one night a week, I know that Dobber is rather high on this guy (check out Dobber and Steve’s debate on Domingue the other day). But this goose egg is rather surprising, considering the six goals that Coyotes goalies allowed on Thursday to Columbus. Either way, I’d like to see more on Domingue before I’m convinced to click the Add button.

*

In spite of the Oilers’ 5-1 loss to the Avalanche, there was no lack of try from the Taylor Hall line. The line of Hall, Leon Draisaitl, and Teddy Purcell combined for 17 shots on goal, including eight shots from Hall himself.

But that’s how awesome Semyon Varlamov has been lately. The Oils took 40 shots on Varlamov, but that didn’t matter as Varlamov recorded his sixth consecutive win. He has not allowed more than two goals in any of those wins, although the Avs have allowed over 30 shots on goal in those wins. If your league counts saves, Varly can be really strong for you going forward, particularly when the wins aren’t coming in so often. To me, he’ll be similar to Steve Mason (when Mason is on his game) going forward.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy your Sunday. Follow me on Twitter @Ian_Gooding.