Ramblings: The Beautiful Outdoor Near-Failure, Crosby 1000, McDavid Blows Out Flames (Feb 21)

Sooner or later, the ice conditions in one of the NHL's outdoor games was going to make a game unplayable. This one happened to be over what was naturally the most beautiful backdrop ever used for an outdoor game. That's why I can't fault the NHL too much for at least trying to pull this off.

In case you missed it, here's what some of the action in the first period looked like in the sunshine, which according to Gary Bettman has always been the enemy in outdoor games.

Sam Girard wrists one home to open the scoring in Lake Tahoe!#GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/4pdoguyd8O

— Hockey Daily 365 (@HockeyDaily365) February 20, 2021

They were able to get the game going again at 9 pm Pacific (midnight for all you Eastern folks), and everything seemed just fine after that. Probably not ideal in the routine of a hockey player, but the players appeared to be glad to get the full experience anyway.

What. The. Tuch. pic.twitter.com/7BAgxAlxgw

— Jason Gold (@JayGold85) February 21, 2021

In case the game finished past your bedtime and this is the first thing you read in the morning, the Nordiques held on for a 3-2 win over the Red Knights.

Philipp Grubauer stopped 27 of 29 shots he faced to earn the win. He's posted quality starts in each of his last six games. He hasn't allowed more than three goals in a game since opening night, and he's entered the conversation as one of fantasy hockey's top goalies.

Nathan MacKinnon powered the Avalanche with a goal and two assists to go with five shots. Alex Pietrangelo knew that something was about to go down.

Pietrangelo mic'd up: "Oh boy" 😂 pic.twitter.com/jBLHXq7EIs

— Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) February 21, 2021

Speaking of Pietrangelo, he recorded his first point since January 26, but he had only gone pointless in his previous four games. Remember that he had been on COVID protocol. Compared to Pietrangelo, Shea Theodore has 10 points in his last 10 games, and as he should is running the first-unit power play for Vegas.

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Sidney Crosby played his 1000^th game on Saturday. It seemed like only yesterday that Crosby was a highly-touted rookie, which is when I suddenly had an appetite for McDonald's as I was trying to get my hands on a Crosby rookie card. Since then, he's accomplished pretty much everything that an active player can in a career, and there's still more to potentially be written. A Hall of Fame induction for sure.  

Tonight Sidney Crosby plays his 1000th NHL game. I think he is a top 5 player of all time.

Ridiculous resume: 3x Stanley Cup, 2x Olympic, World Championship, World Cup, World Jr. 2x Hart, 2x Conn Smyth, 2x Rocket, 2x Art Ross.

He's only 33

— David Amber (@DavidAmber) February 20, 2021

In that 1000^th game, Sid recorded two assists, both on goals by fellow longtime Penguin Kris Letang. It's been a slow start for Letang, whose two goals were his first two of the season. With six points in his last six games, he's been getting back on track. With Crosby, Letang, and Evgeni Malkin all over 30, the Penguins simply aren't the matchup to avoid for your goaltenders like they once were. Their 3.00 GF/GP currently sits in the middle of the pack.

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Ho hum, just another two goals and two assists for Auston Matthews, which gives him 18 goals in 18 games. 50 goals really isn't out of reach, is it?

The insane run of Matthews means that Mitch Marner is piling on the points… or Marner is a key reason that Matthews is scoring a goal per game. You scratch my back, I scratch yours. Marner now has seven points over his past two games. In the month of February, Matthews and Marner are 1-2 in scoring. In addition, Marner is far and away the league leader in plus/minus for February with a plus-16 (Matthews is the next highest at a plus-9). Marner is the co-leader (with Justin Faulk) in plus/minus for the season with a plus-17.

What a week for Joe Thornton, who is essentially the third wheel on this line. With an assist on Saturday, Thornton has accrued seven points in four games since returning from injury. Not bad for a waiver-wire pickup. I think I'll keep him for next week too.

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For all that Matthews is accomplishing this season, he may not get anywhere near the Art Ross Trophy. That's because of the guy in Edmonton who is the heir apparent to Crosby as the face of the game. Connor McDavid finished the Flames with a hat trick, two assists, and a plus-4. This is what we've become accustomed to with McDavid in terms of speed and ability to process the game, but it doesn't make it any less exciting to watch.

McDavid magic pic.twitter.com/flt9Fsx2lJ

— Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) February 21, 2021

This is McDavid's second five-point game of the season, and he also has a four-point game in his pocket. He's scoring at an absurd 1.85 PTS/GP this season, which would be a career best if he can maintain it in what has been a high-scoring North Division. This just in: he's good.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins also had a big game, scoring two goals and adding an assist. Over his past four games he has accumulated seven points.

The exploits of McDavid, the Nuge, and company resulted in Jacob Markstrom getting pulled for the second game in a row. In both games, he has allowed five goals. Two games against the Leafs to start the week won't make it easy for Marky and the soul-searching Flames to get back on track, although the two games against the Senators after that could serve as a get-well card.

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Nico Hischier not only made his season debut on Saturday, but he was also named captain of the Devils. Hischier was held without a point in 16:29 of icetime while playing on a line with Jesper Bratt and a combination of Pavel Zacha and Travis Zajac. Hischier has consistently averaged between 0.6 and 0.7 PTS/GP over his three seasons, so get him back into your lineup.

With an assist on Saturday, Pavel Zacha now has a five-game point streak and points in seven of his last eight games. His career hasn't taken off as expected since he was made the sixth overall pick back in 2015, but he may finally be showing something.

Despite all the good vibes surrounding Hischier, the Devils could not pull off a victory against Buffalo. Sam Reinhart scored a pair of goals, giving him six points over his last five games. Because of the Sabres' COVID shutdown, that stretch dates all the way back to January 28.

Taylor Hall recorded an assist, breaking a four-game pointless drought. Hall still has no goals in his past 13 games. His only goal as a Sabre came on opening night against Washington.

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What's this, a Mika Zibanejad goal? Sure, it was an empty-net goal, but they all count. And his fantasy owners will gladly take it. His last goal came a month ago (on January 19), and he had recorded just one assist since then. I discussed him more at length here, as have other Dobber writers this week. I wouldn't quite say the monkey is off his back, as Pavel Buchnevich appeared to be doing. Let's see a goal with a goalie in the net, or some assists. Then we'll assume everything is right again.

Pavel Buchnevich tosses the monkey off of Mika Zibanejad's back. pic.twitter.com/CbpJci7CqE

— /Cam Robinson/ (@Hockey_Robinson) February 20, 2021

Do you know who else scored for the Rangers? Alexis Lafreniere. It was his second goal (and point) of the season. See yesterday's Ramblings for more on Lafreniere.

Kaapo Kakko was placed on the COVID list and missed Saturday's game. His sophomore season hasn't been any better than his rookie season or much better than Lafreniere's rookie season, as he has just one point in his last 10 games. The Rangers seem to have more than their share of fantasy busts this season, so Saturday's win will no doubt feel good for the Blueshirts.

John Carlson has just one point (an assist) in his last six games. He was drafted as a second- or third-round pick in many 12-team leagues. His overall numbers (12 points in 16 games) are still okay, but probably not quite what you were hoping for.

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In perhaps a surprise move, the Ducks placed Adam Henrique on waivers. Henrique has struggled mightily this season with just four points and a minus-8 in 16 games. There won't be much of a market for Henrique, who earns $5,825,000 for three more seasons after this one. However, a move to the right team could really help his value.

The entire Ducks squad is not loaded with scoring (dead last with 1.88 GF/GP before Saturday's games), so all those "off days" that you're usually plugging in Ducks waiver-wire options doesn't seem to be helping rosters much.

Speaking of off days (games scheduled on Mondays/Wednesdays/Fridays/Sundays instead of busy Tuesdays/Thursdays/Saturdays), I'll provide a quote from the Fantasy Guide, where Looking Ahead writer Adam Daly-Frey examines the 2020-21 schedule:

For the first time in four seasons, Anaheim doesn't lead the league in off-day games – that honor goes to the Vegas Golden Knights who project to have a great season offensively already. For weekly leagues, Vegas is in a perfect spot with a lot of Sunday and Wednesday games (17 in total vs. the league average of 11). Players like Max Pacioretty, Mark Stone and Shea Theodore will be in a lot of league-winning lineups this season.

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Canadian university hockey doesn't get much attention relative to its US counterpart or major junior, but it made some headlines on Saturday. Mike Babcock has been named the new head coach of the University of Saskatchewan Huskies. There is no Canadian university hockey scheduled in 2020-21 due to COVID, so Babcock should make his debut next season.

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Fresh off a shutout on Thursday, Elvis Merzlikins was a strong start for Saturday's rematch with Nashville. However, not only did he allow four goals, but he was forced to leave Saturday's game with an injury. The fact that he recently returned to the lineup from IR isn't a good sign, as he might be headed back there.

Cam Atkinson's goal streak ended at five games in the Blue Jackets loss.

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I'll give a shout out to Geek of the Week writer Logan Doyle, who advised you to grab Alex Iafallo a few weeks ago (and I took his advice in one of my leagues). Iaffalo scored twice on Saturday, which gives him seven points over his last six games. Iaffalo has been benefitting from playing on a line with a resurgent Anze Kopitar, who assisted on both of Iaffalo's goals. Iaffalo also plays on the first-unit power play, something that Logan mentioned as well. There aren't many players who play on the top line and receive first-unit power-play minutes that are only 6 percent owned in Yahoo leagues. I'm honestly surprised that his ownership is this low.

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Somebody recently asked me if they should drop Jordan Kyrou, who had just two points in his last seven games heading into Saturday. My answer was no, based on their other options. Hopefully they took my advice, as Kyrou scored a goal and added two assists on Saturday. Kyrou was on the top line with Ryan O'Reilly and David Perron, which seems like a good place to be. He's scoring at a near point-per-game pace now (17 points in 18 games). Anyone looking to drop Kyrou might cite his advanced stats (18.4 SH%, 12.6 5-on-5 SH%, 3.8 PTS/60). There might be a slight decline in production, but keep in mind a small sample size prior to this season (only 44 games prior to this season).

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"If only the Hurricanes had a goalie…" They got a goaltending performance from prospect Alex Nedeljkovic, who stopped all 24 shots he faced in a 4-0 win over the Lightning. For the past couple weeks, Nedeljkovic and James Reimer have been alternating starts since Petr Mrazek went on IR. Reimer hasn't been spectacular, as he has allowed at least three goals in each of his last seven games. There's an opportunity there for the 25-year-old Nedeljkovic if he is able to grab it. If you're thinking of adding him, just keep in mind that upcoming matchups against the Lightning and Panthers won't be easy.

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This might be difficult to wrap your head around given the Wild's recent COVID shutdown, but Kevin Fiala now has six goals in his past seven games. That streak dates back a month (January 22), but it's worth mentioning anyway. Fiala stumbled out of the gate with no points in his first four games, but he appears to be back on track. He scored two goals and added an assist on Saturday, and he's taken five shots in each of his last two games. By the way, the assist was his first of the season. He's out of the woods as far as being labeled a bust this season.  

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For more fantasy hockey discussion, or to reach out to me, you can follow me on Twitter @Ian_Gooding