We’ve all heard of the phrase “the numbers don’t lie”, but there is always room for statistical anomalies that make each and every one of us scratch our heads. This week we’ll take a look at 18 statistical anomalies that have occurred so far this season along with my thoughts on whether the numbers will re-align itself or are they good for the long run.
Three months into the fantasy season and your team is either a) laughing it’s way to the top, b) still in contention just praying for the top-team to have a few injuries or, c) toiling at the bottom wondering where all that confidence is when you drafted your squad back in Summer. This week I’ll take a look at 12 players out West who will bring you plenty of joy, or spoil your holiday season.
The Christmas break is fast approaching, so this week we’ll just take a look at what’s been going with each of the Western Conference teams.
We’re nearing a third of the way into the 2010-11 fantasy season and there has been a few busts to start the year. We’ll discuss a few that have caught my attention and see if a deviation from the norm is expected or are things going to remain status quo to drive you further insane.
Sorry about last week. I recently moved into my new home and thought the internet connection would be activated quickly. Here now is the final part of the Fantasy Indicators of Success series taking a closer look at the Western Conference centermen. The fantasy value of a center can easily be identified by interpreting the same two stats used to identify the value of blue-liners and wingers which is PP ice-time and SOG. The reasoning behind it is very simple. PP ice-time usually separates players who are offensive-minded from those that are defensive-oriented. The more PP time they receive usually equates to more offensive opportunities they’ll have to score with the advantage. On a similar note, SOG usually maintains a similar line of thought. The more a center shoots, the higher the chance it goes into the net or creating offensive chances. The opposite also holds true, the less a center shoots, the lower the chance that the puck goes into the net and the lower the offensive opportunities. Now that we’ve established clear indicators on determining the fantasy value of centers, let’s take a closer look at the men up the middle from the Western Conference.
Continuing along with the third part of the series, this week we’ll take a closer look at the Western Conference wingers. The fantasy value of a winger can easily be identified by interpreting the same two stats used to identify the value of blue-liners, which is PP ice-time and SOG. The reasoning behind it is very simple. PP ice-time usually separates players who are offensive-minded from those that are defensive-oriented. The more PP time they receive usually equates to more offensive opportunities they’ll have to score with the advantage. On a similar note, SOG usually maintains a similar line of thought. The more a winger shoots, the higher the chance it goes into the net or creating offensive chances. The opposite also holds true, the less a winger shoots, the lower the chance that the puck goes into the net and the lower the offensive opportunities. Now that we’ve established clear indicators on determining the fantasy value of wingers, let’s take a closer look at most of the wingers from the Western Conference.
(NOW CLOSED - Dobber's note - the first person to comment below the name of the Phoenix blueliner with the most shots on goal gets into the draw for a free putter from Musty Putters)
Last year, I began the column by discussing a widely debated topic in fantasy hockey. Do defensemen really make a major difference in fantasy pools? As much as many fantasy poolies want to deny it, defensemen do play a vital role on influencing the outcome of your fantasy league. Last season, I pitted three offensive players with three defenseman. But based on comments from last season’s column, I’ll try to make it more realistic with a typical Yahoo! six-by-four setup. Let’s visit this example:
Back by popular demand - players who are earmarked for success. We’ll label the players as stand pat, buy or sell candidates based on what we’ve seen so far this campaign. We’ll begin this series by examining the two top goalies from each of the 15 Western Conference teams.
We’re into the fourth week of the NHL season and there have been plenty of surprises as well as disappointments so far. Much like the last few weeks, I’ll toss out a few of my thoughts on all 15 of the Western Conference teams to generate some discussion.
This week, I thought I’d take a look at 10 hot starters from the West and give my prediction/analysis on whether or not their production will be sustainable for the duration of the fantasy season. (Thanks to Mike Hess for suggesting this idea in the comments section of the daily ramblings Monday)
