Cory Conacher had posted 5-7-12 through his first seven starts, but then was blanked for six consecutive games headed into Saturday’s tilt against the Florida Panthers. His situation perfectly reflects one facing poolies on a practically weekly basis. Any seasoned fantasy owner knows well enough to stick with the stars through thick [...]
Download the February 2013 edition right here.
Glad to welcome back the Roto PDF after a month hiatus. The shortened season has brought many surprises and the list will reflect it. As such, it is never too early to start thinking about the looming trade deadline. While current win now value is just as crucial to keeper leagues as it is to one year leagues, The Top 100 attempts to keep emotions at bay. While it is easy to be swayed by the likes of Thomas Vanek and Patrick Marleau, it is your responsibility to keep things in check.
* Carey Price is out tonight with the flu (seems to be going around right now). Peter Budaj will get the start for the Habs. * Tyler Seguin's struggles continue - he is playing a soft, perimeter game right now. Perhaps he got used to the playing style in Switzerland? Either [...]
The top 2013 prospect for fantasy hockey, Clarkson’s scoring emergence, replacing Karlsson, and more in this week’s Prime Cuts.
Marty sets the table for Saturday's NHL action.
I got called in to give Anthony a hand as he’s off to see the Hawks and Kings do battle in Chicago. Our four-legged comrade came crashing back to earth last week only selecting a single winner, while yours truly had some decent picks with the Ducks, Devils, and Capitals all picking up important wins. Lots of good action on TV this weekend so let’s crack a cold one and jump right in!
* The Friday Five - Kesler's return, Lehtonen carrying the Stars, and more. * John Tavares was sensational last night against the Rangers – his game continues to evolve. A goal and 15 faceoff wins in the shootout victory. Visnovsky had an assist, and his six SOG tied Tavares for [...]
* My latest for the CanucksArmy - Chris Higgins and the value of the role player. * And a look at five overperforming teams, including three from Canada. Montreal wasn’t expected to make much noise in the Eastern Conference this season. Sure, they have arguably the best goaltender in the [...]
I have been looking forward to publishing this piece for a while. Selecting Canada’s roster for any international hockey competition is never an easy task. There were a number of quality forwards, defensemen, and goaltenders that didn’t make the cut. I made sure to cover the “why” for each selection and omission. There may be a surprise or two as well....
* My look at five NHL clubs underperforming in 2013. St. Louis Blues (6-5-1, 18th overall in the NHL) The Blues were tabbed by many as the best team in the Western Conference, but they haven’t played like it through the first quarter of the season. Brian Elliott has struggled mightily [...]
Russ Miller takes a look at the Southeast Division.
After only a dozen or so games, it is clear to this author that there are only two teams that are going to compete for the title of division winner in what has perennially been the worst division in the NHL. The Tampa Bay Lightning and Carolina Hurricanes, aka the Natural Disasters, will battle it out all season to see who will snag that third seed in the East. The rest of the teams in this division are simply disasters.
Tampa Bay has lost four in a row and are a single point behind Carolina for first in the division. The Lightning struck early and often in winning six of their first seven games, recording 37 goals for (5.28 per game) and only 15 goals against (2.14 per game).
Unfortunately, in their last four games, Tampa has scored only six goals (1.5 per game) while allowing 14 goals against (3.50 per game). Anders Lindback and Mathieu Garon have combined for a 0.876 save percentage in the last four contests. Clearly, that's not good enough, but it doesn't all fall on the goaltenders. If you can only muster a mere 1.5 goals per contest, you aren't going to win very many games, unless you play airtight defensively.
