According to Tarik El Bashir… Neuvirth is starting tonight!

 

Duncan Keith contract details: 13 years, $72 million. Not 100% confirmed yet. This just in: NHL plans to investigate it! (Not really, but it wouldn’t surprise me.) Great work NHL, lets hook Duncan up to a lie detector machine and ask if he plans on retiring at all within the next 13 seasons!

 

James Neal has been suspended for two games. Link up on TSN.

 

Angus MD with the scoop: Canucks have waived Matt Pettinger, which can only mean a few things. One of them is Daniel Sedin is returning tonight.

 

The other ones don’t involve Daniel returning, but that isn’t as fun, is it?

 

Andrew Ebbett has been waived by Chicago.

 

Marty Havlat is out tonight with a strained hamstring. That’s a shocker!

 

Varlamov is starting tonight. I hope Neuvirth gets a game this weekend – I own him in a keeper league and he was really impressive in the AHL playoffs last season.

 

Huet had another strong game, picking up his fifth win in a row. He was stellar on a night where he didn’t need to be, as the Hawks filled Calgary’s net with seven tallies. Kane and Toews combined for one! Now that is what I call secondary scoring.

 

Pavol Demitra is planning to skate by himself today. Encouraging news, although he is still a ways away. I think a late January return is in the cards. He should probably see 20-30 games, and should put up .75-1 point-per-game. As he continues to improve, it may make sense to nab him and stash him on the bench. He had great chemistry with Kesler on the second unit last year, and those two with Samuelsson should click well.

 

Fantastic Dobber Nation episode up yesterday – check it out my clicking on the article, or by going to the 'Radio Show' tab on the left side of the DobberHockey home page. Les Jackson (current Dallas Stars Director of Scouting & Player Personnel) shares some great insights on the wealth of young talent the Stars have suddenly accumulated. This is the October Dobber Nation, and it was pushed back because of some key people suffering from health issues. All is good now, and another edition will be out next week!

 

Daniel Sedin will play on Sunday. He feels great but wants to give himself a few extra rest days before returning to the lineup.

 

Tim Thomas missed the game last night with a minor injury, but he was healthy enough to dress as back up. Rask is getting a fair amount of starts this year, but expect the Bruins to split the games 80/20 once Thomas gets rolling.

 

Mabus raised a great point yesterday re: Mueller. His production has gone way south since suffering a concussion mid-way through the 2008-09 season. He was producing at a .6 point per game clip before the injury, and after returning that pace dropped to only .25 points/game. He may be playing tentative because out of fear of suffering a concussion, who knows. I knew Mueller had been struggling but its always great to get numbers to back up opinions. Thanks, Mabus!

 

I'm not sure if any of you have read/are reading JT Bourne's blog, but it is tremendous. He is a former NCAA player and Islander farmhand (and the son of former Isle great Bob Bourne). He is trying to make it as a writer and has a ton of talent, as well as a unique perspective on the game, being a former player. His insights are awesome. Check it out here. 

 

As has been speculated, Alex Burrows is playing with minor hip and groin injuries. The injuries were sustained on the same hit – a nasty hip-check courtesy of Drew Doughty back on October 29^th. Expect his production to pick back up once Daniel returns – Burrows has been bounced around the lineup a bit due to his LW/RW versatility, but he should see the bulk of his even-strength ice time playing alongside Daniel and Henrik.

 

Doug MacLean was on a Toronto radio station on Wednesday, and he said he spoke to someone "in the know" with Team Canada, and the six defensemen will be Niedermayer, Pronger, Weber, Boyle, Keith, and Bouwmeester. Can't say I disagree with any of those. Doug MacLean is a not exactly Bob McKenzie, but I'm sure he is reasonably connected, being a former coach/GM and all.

 

Great crowd in Atlanta last night! Thanks to kurtenblog for the picture.

 

I didn't mention this yesterday (slipped my mind), but congrats to Shanny for a great career. He defined the word power forward, and was a consummate pro both on and off the ice. He has a position somewhere waiting for him – don't expect his impact on the game of hockey to diminish at all even though he is now off the ice for good. He knows the game well, and is passionate about delivering the best product possible. Some of his accomplishments…

 

The only player to score over 600 goals and record over 2000 penalty minutes. He scored 60 goals in 184 career playoff games. His only individual award was the King Clancy Memorial Trophy in 2002-03, but the three rings with Detroit speak for themselves. His best fantasy season? 1993-1994 with the Blues, he scored 52 goals, had 102 points, and a massive 211 penalty minutes. He is also a member of the Triple Gold Club, winning an Olympic gold, a Cup, and a World Championship.

 

Perhaps most importantly, he holds the unofficial NHL record with 17 (thanks for the correction) Gordie Howe hat tricks!

 

Tyler Seguin of Plymouth edged out Windsor's Taylor Hall on the CSB's latest rankings. I'm sure both would look good in Hurricane red…

 

Ilya Kovalchuk's one-timer on the power play is one of the nicest things to witness in all of sports. He fired a rocket home last night for his 13^th goal in his 12^th game of the season. In those 13 games, he has gone pointless three times, and has seven multi-point games (including three three-point games and one four-point game). Not much advice to give here – definitely not a buy low candidate and I wouldn't even think about dealing him. Just enjoy it while you can! Whoever plays that top unit with him gets a lot of assists. Afinogenov is benefiting (but also creating offense on his own), and Enstrom is the defenseman that the Thrashers like there the most.

 

Zack Bogosian is probably more talented than Enstrom offensively, but he is more of a shooter so they play him and Ilya on different power play units to spread the shooting power out.

 

Sticking with Atlanta… Nikolai Antropov FINALLY recorded his first goal of the year. He does have 16 assists, so it isn't like he has been a flop offensively. Expect him to post career numbers playing with Kovalchuk.

 

Again with the Thrashers (last one, I promise)… Max Afinogenov had another two points (including a third-period game tying goal). He is freewheeling on the ice and obviously has earned the trust of Atlanta's coaching staff. Probably too late to nab him off the waiver wire now – if he sticks on the top line he could easily see a return to 60+ points. Pretty good for a camp tryout…

 

After a slow start, Jordan Staal has picked it up recently. He has three goals and six points in his past eight games, and is getting more offensive minutes. If the Pens keep Malkin on Sid's wing for a bit, expect Staal's production to continue. Staal is such a dominant player with his stride and wingspan; he just needs to continue to play with confidence offensively. He is the perfect example of a player whose fantasy value gets hurt because he is so strong defensively.

 

Look for Savard's contract to be finalized soon, with a cap hit in the neighborhood of $6 million per season.

 

The shootout king struck again. Jussi Jokinen, after a miserable game, scored his 26^th career shootout goal, helping Carolina defeat Toronto 6-5 in a shootout. The Leafs were screwed twice during regulation – once on a blatant missed call on an Ian White high-stick that wasn't his, and second when the puck snuck past Manny Legace but the ref "intended" to blow the whistle. What a garbage rule, and the Leafs simply cannot buy a break right now. Video evidence of the screw job at the end of the ramblings…

 

Troy Brouwer should be on your radar now – he is developing into quite a good net presence for the Hawks. He has a few nice deflection goals this season, and scored on the power play right in front of Kiprusoff last night. He is on pace for 25 goals – may be a tad high but 20 is realistic. Brouwer had 49 and 41 goals during his last two WHL seasons, and had 35 in his first full AHL season. He could be a late-bloomer offensively. I nabbed him this week in the Experts League, and am hoping for a solid combination of goals and PIM.

 

David Booth was interviewed by Craig Custance, and talked about his injury, how painful it is to sit on the sidelines, and whether or not he has heard from Mike Richards. Check it out here.

 

Dallas has placed Fabian Brunnstrom on the IR with a nagging shoulder injury. He hasn't really got it going offensively this season, due in large part to being out of Dallas' potent top six up front.

 

Tuomo Ruutu had a great game for the 'Canes, playing 22 minutes, dishing out seven hits, and recording four helpers. He has some fantasy value, especially in rotisserie leagues.

 

Brandon Sutter had another strong game, leading Carolina centers in ice time (he was up over 23). Brind'Amour is done – he saw only 10 minutes of ice time and was largely ineffective.

 

Ian White was far and away the best Leaf on the night. He had a goal, was a +2, had three shots on goal, and had a beauty of a hit against Erik Cole (and then proceeded to pound Cole in a post-hit fight). Video evidence is at the bottom of the ramblings. Ian White doesn't get a lot of love in the fantasy world but he is extremely skilled offensively. His defensive play can be spotty but he should get his fair share of points on one of the league's best power plays.

 

I thought Carl Gunnarsson had a strong game for the Leafs as well. He is confident with the puck and is a great skater. He possesses an absolute howitzer from the point to boot – probably some fantasy upside in there down the road.

 

Neither Gustavsson nor Legace were particularly good. Gustavsson needs some work at handling the puck, and Legace needs some work at stopping it.

 

Milan Lucic saw 14 minutes of ice time in his return – don't expect him to produce much until Savard is back (which should be next game).

 

Ottawa chased Marc-Andre Fleury with five goals on 24 shots. In other news… this kills my fantasy team for the week!

 

Kovalev finds new ways to be pointless, but his mind may have been elsewhere, as he was traveling back to Russia after the game because his mother-in-law passed away. Speaking of pointless, how about that Jason Spezza? Spezza owners everywhere must be a tad frustrated right now…

 

Mike Fisher continues to surprise offensively – I had written him off as anything more than a 40-45 point guy, but he's on pace for close to 80 after a three assist performance against the Pens. Time to sell high!

 

Don't be surprised if James Neal gets suspended. He threw an elbow to the head of Derek Dorsett, who was agitating him all game. Neal got five and a game for his troubles. The NHL loves to suspend based on result too, and Dorsett was completely out of it – Angus MD thinks he'll be missing some time. Video evidence at the bottom of the ramblings (the clips are building up…)

 

Martin Erat, living up to his ridiculous contract (which includes a NTC), scored his SECOND goal of the season tonight! The Preds got the shootout win, behind another strong start from Pekka Rinne. Rinne, after a slow start, has won eight of his past nine starts. Last season was no fluke – he is a legit starter and has significant upside, provided Nashville can find some offense at some point in the next few seasons.

 

Tkachuk's goal was his first in 14 games.

 

Erik Johnson scored a beauty in OT for the winner – he skated end to end against the Coyotes for his second of the season. St. Louis has way too much talent to continue slumping offensively – its tough to remain patient but I think trading away most Blues would be a mistake at this point in the season.

 

Chicago absolutely steamrolled the Flames. Great game for Mr. Keith with Canada's brass in attendance – three assists, 24 minutes of ice time, and +2. Chicago completely outclassed the Flames. They are already scary up front, imagine what Hossa is going to do. They can roll three terrific scoring lines, and they are getting fantastic secondary scoring from the likes of Brouwer, Versteeg, Byfuglien, and Ladd. All four are in for career years.

 

Iginla was completely invisible for Calgary – he has taken quite a few games off this season. Not sure if he is battling something or what, but it looks like he isn't all there.

 

I am sick and tired of fighting after clean hits. Nigel Dawes is the latest culprit and it cost his team a power play goal against.

 

Ho hum, another three points for Getzlaf. So much for his slow start! Anaheim's top guns carried the team tonight.

 

Steve Mason had a great game for Columbus, allowing only one goal on 26 shots. My fantasy team needs him to pick it up, and I think with the Olympics approaching he will do so. Columbus is a strong defensive club but they haven't displayed that so far this season. The win was their third in a row though, and fifth in six games.

 

Steve Stamkos with a goal of the year candidate here. Watch it a few times to really appreciate the beauty of it:

Here is Ian White owning Erik Cole in numerous ways:

 

The Leafs getting screwed:

 

James Neal absolutely plastering Dorsett with a dirty hit. Tough to watch Dorsett fall to the ice after…