Rambling about the Sharks and the underrated Donskoi; plus Mark Stone, Hagelin/Malkin and more…

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I watched Carl Hagelin play with Evgeni Malkin on Saturday, the first time I saw this for an entire game. I have to say, if Hagelin had any hands at all – any hands – he’d be launching himself into superstardom today. Instead, I’ll designate him ‘very useful guy who will chip in some fluke assists’. With his speed though, I will grant him this: he’s opening things up for Malkin. He’s beating everyone to the puck in the corner and time after time he’s dropping it back behind the chasing defenseman to where Malkin is waiting. It’s easily creating another four or five chances for Malkin per game. Just thoroughly impressed with the dynamic there and I think Malkin and Phil Kessel are set to take off. Hagelin’s fluky bonus points should add up to just more than a point every two games.

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Sneaky value here – Joonas Donskoi. The former SM-Liiga star has points in five straight. His 21 points on the campaign may not look like much but eight of those points have come in the last nine games. Since Logan Couture’s return from injury the Sharks have been able to add some skill to the third line. Basically stick upper-echelon talent onto three lines and fill in the other spots with lesser talent who can hold their own. Here is last night’s line combos:

#1           23.8%    HERTL,TOMAS – PAVELSKI,JOE – THORNTON,JOE

#2           23.8%    COUTURE,LOGAN – DONSKOI,JOONAS – WINGELS,TOMMY

#3           20.8%    MARLEAU,PATRICK – NIETO,MATTHEW – WARD,JOEL

#4           19.6%    BROWN,MIKE – KARLSSON,MELKER – TIERNEY,CHRIS

Perfect. I really like the dynamic here. You have your top duo and you add a skilled player who, though unproven, has high-end upside. You can then split up Logan Couture and Patrick Marleau because there are six other pretty skilled guys. Donskoi is underrated, and the other five players – Wingels, Nieto, Karlsson and Tierney – could fill in reasonably well on the second or third line. A good mix of grit, experience and scoring ability. And that’s why the Sharks are 7-0-2 in their last nine. Do not underrate this team that was supposed to start the rebuilding process this year. A healthy Hertl, an emerging Donskoi, the signing of Ward, have each contributed to making this into a playoff team.

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As things stand now in the West, I would guess that Arizona and Colorado are in the most danger of losing their tenuous hold on a playoff spot. I think the Sharks are safe (though the numbers say it’s close). The Ducks and the Predators will get in.

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Teams with the most games played (52): Chicago and St. Louis

Teams with the second-fewest games played (46): Anaheim (ahem), San Jose (ahem), Calgary, Toronto, Washington and the Islanders. And Philadelphia has played 45 games.

The teams in my leagues are most built around the Isles, the Ducks, the Penguins (47 games), the Sharks and Tampa Bay (48 games). The deficit that I need to make up isn’t as ugly as it looks. Or so I keep telling myself.

But in points-only leagues it’s to your advantage to trade off your Blackhawks for some Penguins or Islanders. If you can trade Patrick Kane, for example, and acquire Sidney Crosby, you’ll be ahead of the game.

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Yes, this Patrick Kane:

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Connor McDavid has been cleared for full contact and he’s been sent to the minors for practices (not games). The fantasy hockey world is on the edge of its seat watching this, hoping that the Oilers handle this right…

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With Kyle Turris out of the lineup (ankle, three games missed do far), here are Ottawa’s line combos:

#1           24.8%    PAGEAU,JEAN-GABRIEL – PUEMPEL,MATT – STONE,MARK

#2           20.3%    HOFFMAN,MIKE – RYAN,BOBBY – ZIBANEJAD,MIKA

#3           17.1%    CHIASSON,ALEX – LAZAR,CURTIS – SMITH,ZACK

#4           14.6%    MCCORMICK,MAX – NEIL,CHRISTOPHER – PRINCE,SHANE

I consider Stone a “buy low”. I believe in him as this team’s best offensive forward. Seven games without a point and two points in his last 13 games. But this kind of talent won’t be held back, regardless of his linemates.

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Cody Ceci has seen more PP time in the last three games than he has in any three games at any point this season. Something to keep an eye on. The 22-year-old is about due to start showing us something.

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Rick Nash was reportedly seen “on crutches” (per TSN) Sunday. Needless to say, he didn’t get into the game and although he is considered day-to-day, I would probably consider him out for a couple of weeks at best.

With a depleted lineup the duo of Derick Brassard and Mats Zuccarello stepped it up, combining for 12 shots on goal. It was fruitless, of course – Craig Anderson picked up the shutout. Zuccarello actually has 30 SOG in his last 10 games as he tries to shake the slump. Generally he fires about two shots on goal per game so the output is up by 50% there.

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As someone likely getting a dog soon, I found this pretty cool. Bobby Ryan scores and a kid gets to have a puppy:

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DobberProspects has a new Ramblings up – here.

Behind the scenes there has been some turmoil over there, not the least of which was a personal tragedy happening to one of the three associate editors. That, combined with a managing editor (Brendan Ross) juggling upcoming nuptials and another associate editor (Austin Wallace) getting slammed in school and work, much had fallen upon the other associate editor. Hayden Soboleski was holding the fort for the most part these last four or five weeks and I think it’s worth giving him a stick-tap. Yes, Rossy and Wallace did chip in, and the senior writers have been keeping the profiles updated. But Soboleski was there to post much of it.

Wallace unfortunately had to resign, meaning there were two associate editors that I needed to add. Rossy also has to step back and take care of his own busy life. He’ll still be around and will contribute the Prospects Report, but the day-to-day stuff needs a newcomer. So first I’d like to announce that Mark Allan has been promoted to junior associate editor. I’d also like to announce that Peter Harling has agreed to step in as the managing editor. Mark is a senior writer over there and has been for over a year, covering the Penguins. Peter was once a writer here at DobberHockey before moving on to start his own website and write for McKeen’s and other sites. The other associate editor spot is being auditioned for and part of the audition is the Ramblings that I linked to above. Let us know what you think!

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And finally…

Coming Thursday

An old friend returns. One night only. A special guest will return to do the DobberHockey Ramblings.

Watch for it