|
Team
|
Wins
|
Losses
|
OTL
|
Points
|
GF
|
GA
|
Last 10
|
|
Dallas
|
8
|
1
|
0
|
16
|
29
|
15
|
8-1-0
|
|
Anaheim
|
6
|
0
|
2
|
14
|
24
|
17
|
6-0-2
|
|
San Jose
|
7
|
2
|
0
|
14
|
32
|
20
|
7-2-0
|
|
Los Angeles
|
3
|
5
|
2
|
8
|
22
|
29
|
3-5-2
|
|
Phoenix
|
2
|
8
|
0
|
4
|
19
|
44
|
2-8-0
|
Dallas Stars
Hot: Brenden Morrow (4 G, 5 A, 2 GWG), Mike Ribeiro (3 G, 4
A), Eric Lindros (1 G, 6 A, 20 PIM), Marty Turco (7-1-0, 1.86 GAA, .936 Sv. %)
Cold: Jaroslav Modry (0 G, 1 A), Jeff Halpern (0 G, 2 A)
Injuries: Patrik Stefan (D2D, Hand Infection)
The Stars are blazing out of the gates, primarily because of
their astounding defense and goaltending (1st in GAA). Marty
Turco, coming off of a down year in terms of his ratio categories, has
looked like the pre-lockout version to this point, and is stopping everything
in sight. While he’s yet to post his
first shutout of the young season (backup Mike
Smith did in his only start to this point), Turco has allowed two goals or
less in six of his eight starts.
New captain Brenden
Morrow is indeed taking more of a leadership role on the ice in a couple of
different ways. Morrow, who the Stars
severely need to step up a little more than he has in the past couple of
seasons on the scoresheet, is averaging a point a game in the early-going, and
has already netted four goals. More
importantly, perhaps (though it hurts his fantasy value), Morrow has been much
more disciplined in terms of staying out of the penalty box. After spending 183 minutes in the box last
season, the Stars would like to see him to avoid taking crucial penalties
without losing his edge physically. If
he can keep it up, Morrow will still be a fantasy monster, but he won’t be the Todd Bertuzzi clone you were after when
you drafted him.
A couple of newcomers highlight the hot list for the
Stars. Canadiens’ castoff Mike Ribeiro is currently second on the
team with seven points, and has at least one point in five of his eight games
this season. Ribeiro, a former twenty
goal scorer who posted 65 points the year before the lockout, has the potential
to step into a big role on the second line with the Stars, and should feed off
of an opportunity to work with Eric
Lindros. Speaking of Lindros, he
always scores when he’s healthy, and this season is no exception. He’s notched seven points through the team’s
first nine games, and even seems to have added a bit of a mean streak to go
with his tremendous size. Lindros has
hit the box in all but two of his nine starts this season, and should easily hit 100 PIMS if (and with
Lindros, it’s always a very big if) he can stay healthy.
It’s difficult to find a pair of players who aren’t red hot
on a team that’s won eight of its first nine, but there are a couple of guys
struggling to get on the scoresheet. Jeff Halpern isn’t a fantasy stud by
any stretch of the imagination, but he’s got just two helpers so far this
season. Playing on the third line
certainly can’t be helping him much, so this figures to be a struggle all
season long. Jaroslav Modry has been a solid 35-40 point defenseman in the past
with the Kings and Thrashers, but he’s finding that there’s a little too much
blue-line depth for him to see enough time on the Power Play to make a
difference. Thus far, he has just one
point, and it didn’t come with the man advantage.
Next Five: vs. Detroit, vs. Los Angeles*, vs. St. Louis, at Edmonton, at Vancouver
The Red Wings have yet
to show us they’re anything more than a shadow of last year’s team, so start
Turco safely in all five. Expect for
Mike Smith to see his second start of the year against Los Angeles in the second of back to back nights. The Kings, Blues, and Canucks aren’t really
scaring anyone with their offenses right now, though the Oilers are bound to
present a challenge. The same goes for
the skaters, though Roberto Luongo looms large against the ‘Nucks.
Anaheim Ducks
Hot: Jean-Sebastian Giguere (5-0-2, 1.78 GAA, .941 Sv. %),
Chris Kunitz (4 G, 3 A, 6 PPP), Corey Perry (3 G, 4 A, 4 PPP)
Cold: Ilya Bryzgalov (Made Just Two Starts), Francois
Beauchemin (0 G, 1 A)
Injuries: None
While Teemu Selanne and Andy McDonald are supposed to be asked to carry the
scoring on this team up front, it’s been the sophomore trio of Kunitz, Perry,
and Ryan Getzlaf that’s carried the offense so far. All three have very bright futures, both in
fantasy and real hockey, though it’s doubtful that they’ll be able to carry the
team to the lofty expectations that the media has laid out (the Ducks were
picked to win it all by a number of major publications). As they gain experience and continue to play
together, expect Kunitz, Perry, and Getzlaf to become big names in the coming
years.
Jiggy has gotten hot, and there’s little that Bryzgalov is
going to be able to do about that. The
Ducks have a couple of legitimate number one goalies, meaning that Mike Babcock
probably rides the hot hand all year.
Bryzgalov hasn’t been bad by any stretch of the imagination (1-0-0, 2.03
GAA, .939 Sv. %), but Giguere has been amazing in the early-going. He’s allowed two or fewer goals in four of
his six starts, while gaining at least a point in each of them. He did
replace Bryzgalov in his second start, when Babcock got a little upset with
Bryzgalov for allowing a pair of short side goals.
This team’s strength lies with their top two defensemen, and
both Scott Niedermayer and Chris Pronger have gotten off to strong starts. They’ll need Beauchemin to step up and give
them another puck-moving defenseman if they have designs on truly making a run
at the Cup, though.
Next Five: vs. Edmonton, at Minnesota, at Chicago*, at St. Louis, vs. NY Rangers
You have to keep
riding Jiggy here if you have him, but he’ll face a couple of terrific offenses
in the Oilers and Wild (even without Marian Gaborik) to start this
stretch. Chicago could also present some
problems if Martin Havlat is back, while the Rangers loom as another team capable
of doing some damage offensively. The
Ducks’ skaters may have trouble getting the puck by Dwayne Roloson and Manny
Fernandez, but should be able to put some points up in the final three.
San Jose
Sharks
Hot: Milan Michalek (6 G, 4
A, 6 PPP), Jonathan Cheechoo (5 G, 5 A), Matt Carle (2 G, 7 A, 4 PPP), Steve
Bernier (2 G, 6 A, 6 PPP), Vesa Toskala (5-0-0, 1.99 GAA, .926 Sv. %), Evgeni
Nabokov (2 SHO), Patrick Marleau (4 G, 7 A, 7 PPP)
Cold: Ville Nieminen (1 G), Mike Grier (1 G)
Injuries: Ryan Clowe (1-2 Weeks, Foot)
The Sharks complete the trifecta of fantastic teams within
the Pacific, though they do things a bit differently. While the Stars and Ducks rely more on their
great defense, the Sharks are easily one of the top offensive teams in the league. The emergence of second-line wingers Michalek
and Bernier only underscore that, as now the Sharks have not one, but two dominant scoring lines led by bigtime
pivots. Joe Thornton and Jonathan
Cheechoo are again working their magic on the top line, and they’ve even added
a third potential breakout star in Mark Bell.
However, while Thornton has
been up to his old tricks in finding his linemates (10 assists), he’s yet to
score his first goal on the season.
Though it’s still early, the second line of Michalek-Marleau-Bernier
has been the best line on this team.
They’re dominating both at even strength and on the Power Play while
consistently showing up from night to night (Michalek and Marleau have points
in 7 of 9 starts, while Bernier has a point in 6 of 9). However, having a stronger second line
surrounding Marleau has been the Sharks’ problem for a couple of years now, so
having a second line that can stick with the first makes them even more
frightening. Thornton,
Cheechoo, and Bell have been strong
this season as well, and neither line looks to drop off significantly.
Rookie Matt Carle has been exactly what the Sharks were
looking for along the blue-line, and is currently tied for the lead among
defensemen with nine points on the year.
He’s been solid in his own zone, while he’s been an absolute force on
the offensive end of the ice. He has a
nice shot, fantastic vision, and an uncanny ability to get the pucks to his
forwards in space. Christian Ehrhoff
hasn’t been bad either, but it’s clear who will continue to be the QB on the
top unit of the Power Play based on Carle’s early showing.
The Sharks couldn’t ask for much more from their goaltenders
either. Toskala has won twelve straight
regular season starts dating back to last season, and has been fantastic in
three of his five wins to this point.
Nabokov has run a little more hot and cold, posting two shutouts to go
along with a pair of lemons. They’ll
continue to alternate for the time being, though the hot rumor is that the
Bruins have been talking to the Sharks about Nabby in a deal that might involve
Glen Murray coming to San Jose.
Neither Nieminen nor Grier are
asked to do that much offensively, but neither are looking like the 20 goal
scorers that many thought they could be earlier in their careers. They’re nice checking line players who will
maintain a solid enough +/- playing against opponents’ top lines.
Next Five: at Detroit, at Nashville*, at Florida, at Tampa Bay, NY
Rangers
The Sharks handled Columbus to start their five-game road trip the
other night, but it’s about to get a little tougher. Detroit and Nashville figure to be two
legitimate playoff teams, while Tampa
and Florida are both very talented offensive
clubs. Long road trips can wear on a
team, so there’s a possibility they’ll look a little sluggish when they head to
the Sunshine State. They’ll face elite goaltenders
in their next two games, but they’ve already proven they can beat Hasek (and
did, 5-1 last week in San Jose). Keep the skaters in the
lineup regardless.
Los Angeles
Kings
Hot: Anze Kopitar (3 G, 8 A, 4 PPP), Brent Sopel (2 G, 5 A),
Mike Cammalleri (5 G, 2 A), Mathieu Garon (2-1-1, 1.59 GAA, .946 Sv. %)
Cold: Craig Conroy (1 A, -4), Rob Blake (2 A, -5), Dan
Cloutier (1-4-1, 3.73 GAA, .878
Sv. %)
Injuries: Alyn McCauley (Knee Surgery,
????)
The Kings don’t figure to make a playoff run, but they can
still do some damage up front. Rookie
Anze Kopitar has been doing just that, showcasing great hands, good vision, and
good speed to create eleven points in his first ten games. Kopitar figures to be a fixture on the Kings’
first line for years to come, and he’s as exciting a youngster as there is to
watch in the league.
Coming off a 55 point first full season in the NHL, you
would think that more fantasy owners would have paid attention to Cammalleri in
the preseason. It’s their loss if they
missed out, as he’s already got seven points (including five goals) in the
first ten games of the year. He should
bump his point total closer to 70 this season playing with Kopitar, and is
certainly worth a look if he’s sitting on your Free Agent list.
After a couple of strong seasons earlier in his career with
Vancouver, Sopel dropped off everyone’s radar with a weak showing on Long
Island in 2005-06 (28 points in 68 games).
Early on this season, he’s showing signs of life, and is currently tied
for second on the team with seven points.
He’s notched at least a point in six of the Kings’ ten games this
season, and figures to be working his way into a lot more Power Play time
behind Lubomir Visnovsky.
Why the Kings committed to as much time and money in the
Cloutier deal as they did is beyond me.
He’s looked like what he always was in Vancouver
(and New York) so far… a mediocre
goalie. The defense in front of him
isn’t talented enough to keep the puck off him, and that’s going to mean
trouble for Cloutier all season long.
Unfortunately, the financial commitment they made means that Garon is
going to have a tough time supplanting him as a true number one goalie. Garon was just fine as a starter last year,
and he’s been great when given the opportunity early this season.
Conroy is obviously missing Pavol Demitra. He’s at his best when he has a superstar to
work with (see: Iginla, Jarome) and while he’s a fine two way center, he’s
simply not fantasy caliber right now. If
you have him, cut bait. He’ll have a 40
point season, but that’s not what you’re looking for. Blake is big, old, and slow. He should be on the Flyers!
Next Five: at Minnesota, at Columbus, at Dallas, NY Rangers, Pittsburgh
There’s no such thing
as an easy game for the Kings right now, but they figure to be playing five
teams that are superior to them in all facets of the game in the next two
weeks. Garon is safe to start for this
stretch, though he’ll likely be riding the bench in most of them. If you have Cloutier, I strongly advise
looking elsewhere. Scoring may be at a
premium against Minnesota (14 GA in 8 games) and Dallas (15 GA in 9 games), so start your skaters
from other teams if they have a better matchup.
Phoenix
Coyotes
Hot: Opposing Goaltenders (1.9 GF/Game),
Nick Boynton (47 PIMS), Derek Morris (33 PIMS)
Cold: Dennis Seidenberg (-10… is that possible at this
point???), Jeremy Roenick (1 G, 1 A), Owen Nolan (2 G, 1 A), Curtis Joseph (2-5-0, 3.95 GAA, .873 Sv. %), Mike Morrison (0-3-0,
6.13 GAA, .790 Sv. %)
Injuries: Steve Reinprecht (Broken Clavacle, 7-8 Weeks),
Keith Ballard (Broken Right Hand, 5 Weeks)
After writing the first Atlantic report, I thought to
myself, “God, the Flyers are awful!”
However, when you look at the Phoenix Coyotes, maybe they’re not really
that bad. Since beating St.
Louis last Tuesday, the ‘Yotes have scored just three
goals in four games, getting spanked by the likes of the Kings, Stars, Oilers,
and Flames.
Shane Doan, Mike Comrie, and Ladislav Nagy are still
legitimate fantasy options, but I’m not sure it runs much deeper than that up
front. Zbynek Michalek and Keith Ballard
both have bright futures along the blue-line, but neither is there yet (and
Ballard is out for a while). Jeremy
Roenick and Owen Nolan both appear to have been done about three years ago.
If there’s a bright spot here, I think I’ve finally seen the
reasoning behind carrying Cujo and Mike Morrison as the ‘Yotes two goalies,
rather than carrying prospect David Leneveu on the roster. They didn’t want Leneveu’s confidence to be
completely shattered by the horror show around him! Avoid Phoenix
at all costs right now, though they do still have enough talent on the first
line to do some damage. With a healthy
Reinprecht, there may still be some hope for them to avoid being the worst team
in the conference by year’s end.
However, it’s going to take some time (and some… err… coaching from
HOFer Wayne Gretzky).
Next Five: vs. Edmonton, vs. NY Rangers, at Anaheim, vs. Los Angeles, vs. Dallas
On the positive side,
they have a (potentially) winnable game in the next five, hosting Los Angeles. The
only other positive is that all five games are at home. Edmonton and the Rangers have front-line
offenses, while they’re virtually guaranteed to be shut out by either the Ducks
or Stars (if not both). You shouldn’t be
near either goaltender right now, and you shouldn’t have anyone outside of
Nagy, Doan, or Comrie in your lineup, no matter how deep your league is.
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