December 2, 2014

steve laidlaw

2014-12-02

Give Lars Eller and Matt Beleskey a look, Bobrovsky and Mike Smith finally win, and more…

 

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Good for the banged up Blue Jackets getting a win off the visiting Panthers.

 

There was a scary moment in warm-up where Sergei Bobrovsky ran into and was felled by a teammate. You'd figure with the luck these guys are having the friction from the collision might have started a fire. Good news, they were both fine and Bob secured his first win in over two weeks.

 

More good news, Brandon Dubinsky has made it to "day-to-day" status and could be back this week.

 

Of course, since this is the season from hell, the Blue Jackets found out that they'll lose Artem Anisimov for two to three months with a torn triceps. Anisimov isn't relevant in most leagues but he's a quality third centerman and he made the Blue Jackets a better team. This will hurt Bobrovsky's fantasy owners the most.

 

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I wonder if Aleksander Barkov is headed towards a healthy scratch or even a demotion here. His offensive struggles this season are well known but the team hasn't been shy about continuing to give him big minutes. He just skated a season-low 12:13 and received just 14 shifts. Unless he was hurt, which I couldn't dig up any indication of, he got himself benched. The next step is the press box.

 

Frankly, I'd applaud the move. It certainly can't hurt since Barkov isn't producing anyhow. Maybe a night or two in the press box would light the fire he needs. If not, well there's always a trip to the minors to help get some scoring confidence built.

 

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Alexander Killorn had a seven-game scoring streak come to an end last night. It was also the first game since his last scoreless game that he didn't register a shot on goal. I wouldn't be too concerned. If you were into Killorn then you had to accept the fact he wasn't seeing much power play time. What makes Killorn enticing is that he is currently skating on the top line with Steven Stamkos and Ryan Callahan, a cushy spot. As long as Killorn is skating on that top line, stick with him.

 

On the other end of the spectrum, Brett Connolly broke one hell of a slump scoring for the first time since October 20th. I'm not ready to jump on Connolly but he has skated on the top power play unit the past couple of games, which is intriguing.

 

One guy there can be no questions about: Victor Hedman. He scored three assists in just his second game back from injury. What a beauty. He's back in the top-40 for defenseman scoring despite having played just seven games. I fully expect to see Hedman in the top-10 by season's end. Yep, even with 18 games missed Hedman will get to 50 points.

 

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Dan Boyle missed last night's contest due to illness. Not to worry, Ryan McDonagh stepped back into his spot on the top power play unit and even recorded a primary assist.

 

I figured it would take longer for this change to happen with Boyle finally producing but this poorly timed illness just opened the door. I think McDonagh runs with this chance, the Rangers are primed to produce with Derek Stepan back.

 

Stepan continues to roll, extending his scoring streak to seven games. He probably slows down at some point but I don't see why Stepan couldn't continue to score near this pace the rest of the way.

 

One thing working in Stepan's favour is that the Ranger power play has run much more smoothly since he returned. We are working with some smaller sample sizes here with a difference of just a couple of goals over stretches of 35 or so power play opportunities but the Ranger power play before Stepan returned clicked at just 14.3% and is at 20.0% since.

 

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I scooped up Matt Beleskey yesterday for a couple of reasons. The first being that he's been rolling along at a decent rate of late because of some minutes alongside Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry both at even strength and on the power play. That's not something you can count on continuing because Bruce Boudreau is a lineup tinkering devil but it makes Beleskey a good short-term add.

 

I also liked Beleskey because of Anaheim's wicked off-night schedule this week playing last night, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. It was either grab Beleskey or keep Nino Niederreiter for his two games this week, of which I had room in my lineup for one. Easy choice and it paid dividends with the game-winner last night.

 

That's not to say my league scores game-winners but rather that I was happy for the goal. Quick aside on game-winners. If your league scores them make a petition to have it eliminated next season. Stupidest stat in the game.

 

Back to Beleskey. His shooting percentage is way too high at 17.6%, which means his 12 goals at this point are a hefty overachievement but let's all enjoy the early returns while we can.

 

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David Pastrnak recorded his first NHL point last night. This was his second straight appearance skating on the top line with Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron.

 

I'll admit, I have watched portions of all of Pastrnak's games and I've yet to notice him that much. That doesn't necessarily mean anything, just an observation. I think it's more important that Pastrnak continues to receive top minutes and that he produces in those minutes than for him to pop off the screen at me. If Pastrnak can't keep producing he'll wind up like Seth Griffith who was a scratch last night after once holding down a top-six spot.

 

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It's time for our Jeff Schultz Memorial Trophy power rankings. As always, "The Schultz" is given out to the defenseman who scores the highest in plus/minus while scoring less than 30 points to celebrate that one season when Schultz went plus-50-something and was relevant in pools just for that.

 

1. Anton Stralman – Plus-17

 

Huge week for Stralman. Not only does he reclaim top spot but he also gets his buddy Hedman back to help boost his plus/minus through the roof, while taking away that pesky power-play time that leads to "empty scores." He's on pace for over 40 points now but Stralman should slow down with Hedman back.

 

2. Christian Ehrhoff – Plus-14

 

Kris Letang's Band-Aid Boy status constantly looms over Ehrhoff's Schultz candidacy but as long as Letang stays healthy, Ehrhoff will be relegated to the second power play unit, which will suppress his scoring totals.

 

3. Marc-Edouard Vlasic – Plus-12

 

Don't count out last year's co-champion. If there's one thing we know for certain, it's that Vlasic isn't making it to 30 points.

 

4. Hampus Lindholm – Plus-11

 

A new challenger! Lindholm has been lurking in the weeds all season threatening to emerge but the Ducks injury woes and rash of illnesses made the last month a challenging one. They are starting to get healthier and even made a trade for Eric Brewer to help patch some holes on the backend. Lindholm should be a contender from here on out, especially with Cam Fowler and Sami Vatanen ahead of him in the pecking order.

 

5. Niklas Hjalmarsson – Plus-10

 

Now this is really a new contender. The Blackhawks are finally starting to see the puck find the back of the net, which bodes well for Hjalmarsson. Fun fact, Hjalmarsson has only once been minus in a season and that was back in a 13-game cameo back in 2007-08.

 

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The New Jersey Devils continue to scoop from the bottom of the barrel, this time bringing back Scott Gomez. I have a tough time believing that Gomez will have any fantasy impact but then you read this and wonder:

 

“He does have skills, he knows the system, he’s been practicing and we’ll see how it goes,” general manager Lou Lamoriello said of Gomez, 34, who skated on a line with Patrik Elias and Jaromir Jagr at practice Monday.

 

Jagr and Elias are good linemates, even at their advanced age but I think this hurts them more than it helps Gomez. The Devils only signed Gomez in response to injuries to Travis Zajac (who was placed on IR) and Adam Henrique who is travelling with the team.

 

I'd expect Henrique to draw that top unit billing eventually with Zajac out or perhaps an even more favourable pairing with Mike Cammalleri who is the major source of offense for the Devils. Henrique has performed quite well when healthy this season with 14 points through 17 games. His percentages are off the charts (shooting 20%, while his on-ice shooting sits at 11.46%) but he's always boasted high shooting percentages (career 15.2% shooter) so it might be more sustainable than we believe.

 

I'd add for the eye-test folk that Henrique has simply looked good in the games that I've seen. He's playing his solid two-way game, while boasting some of the liveliest legs on the team. If you are looking for a reason why he has always boasted high shooting percentages it's because of his knack for breaking loose for breakaways and his ability to get to high-percentage areas. I'd compare Henrique with Tyler Bozak but without the spotlight of Toronto or the sexy linemates.

 

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Justin Abdelkader will miss the next couple of weeks with a separated shoulder. This is a tough break for Abdelkader who had been experiencing a mini-breakout without 15 points in 24 games.

 

Not that I was really buying what Abdelkader was selling. His 13.0% shooting was nearly double his career average of 7.1%. But he had been skating plenty of top-six minutes with a reasonable amount of power play time.

 

That said, Abdelkader has a career high of 28 points so he could easily eclipse that even with the injury. I just don't think Abdelkader is reaching the 50 points required to have relevance in most fantasy leagues.

 

What this could do is open up some more top-six time for Stephen Weiss who is making a bid for a return to fantasy relevance. I'm not ready to buy him yet though.

 

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It sounds as though the St. Louis Blues will decide on Martin Brodeur today. If he does sign, I'll have a fantasy impact piece up so I'll spare my thoughts for then.

 

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You can follow me @SteveLaidlaw.

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