120:00:5 Minutes and Counting since the LA Kings scored their last home Goal. What’s the :5 you ask? Well that 1/2 a second is how much time was left when Doughty notched the game winner (allegedly) way back on February 1 against Colombus. That win aside, they’ve now lost back-to-back 1-0 games at home. There is really nothing more demoralizing to a fanbase than that. “Hey, I thought this was a fantasy blog!” (Yells the angry Kings fan). Okay okay, BUTT, it does affect alot of fantasy teams too: Will Jack Johnson ever score again? Will Anze Kopitar ever have another scoring ‘streak’? Will Dustin Brown ever go back to…….. ummm….. back to……. whatever the hell Dustin Brown was. Right now the only Queen I would care to own are Quick (happily) and Kopitar (begrudgingly). Now lets move on to some happier happenings before I completely reveal my anti-Kings bias…
Steven Stamkos – C (TB): Have I mentioned that I ranked Stamkos #1 overall in the preseason? “Yes but you also had his teammate St. Louis ranked ahead of Evgeni Malkin!” Quiet VTB, you’re here to give positive hyperbole and nothing more. It’s good that you mentioned Malkin though, because barring injury, he’ll be the only guy I could see ranking ahead of Stamkos next year…. Maybe… If Stamkos keeps up this pace he’ll get 56 Goals easy. Geno will be lucky to get 46. Shoot I bet just 3 or 4 guys in the entire NHL to get 40. That kind of domination in the single most important stat in fantasy hockey cannot be underestimated…
Jason Pominville – RW (Buf): Last night’s 3 point performance has JP right back on pace for a career year. Pretty surprising too in a year where the rest of his teammates are playing awful. Or awffle, depending on your breakfast habits…
Derek Roy – C (Buf): And when I say awffle, this is one of the major contributors. Roy is on pace for just over 50 points right now… FIFTY. This is a guy who had 35 points in 35 games last year and topped 80 four years ago. Maybe his 2G/2A weekend will put him back on the right path. Roy!…….. Roy!….. Eh, nevermind.
Jimmy Howard – G (Det): Howard is coming back just in time for a much over-due loss. Word on the mean streets of Detroit is that J-How will get the nod in Chicago on Tuesday. If you live in Canada and can (GASP!) gamble on the games go do me a favor and throw down a stack of Sir Bordens on Chicago for me. I’ll get you back later…
Andy McDonald – C/LW (StL): Another Goal last night but time is running out. If probabilities have any meaning than Andy Mac won’t make it through this week without a concussion. But for the time being enjoy the free (assuming you picked him up off waivers last week like I told you to!) production and just cross your fingers.
Duncan Keith – D (Chi): It’s time to back off Duncan attacks and give him some love. Sure he hasn’t built on his 2009 breakout (14G/55A/+21/19PPP/213SOG), but it’s hard to complain what he’s given this season. A 50 Point pace (with a +12) is more than menudo from a Defenseman.
Derek Stepan – C (NYR): Derek “Sleeper” Stepan is your new name. Just stop scoring because if you finish strong your cover will be blown for the 2012-2013 season.
Blake Wheeler – RW (Wpg): The mother of all weekends belonged to the Wheel: 1G/6A/2PPP/+4/7SOG. That probably Won the week for more than a few teams. In fact this dirty Blake has helped more than a few teams to a top spot in the standings. That doesn’t mean I’ll like him next year though. I consider this more of a career year than some sort of springboard to greatness.
Martin Brodeur – G (NJ): If I’ve learned one thing this season it’s that you should never count out elite (or formerly elite) Goaltenders. Brodeur’s turnaround has been nothing short of geriatric….. errrr…… miraculous. Just to encapsulate the magnitude of said turnaround, Brodeur has allowed 3 Goals or less in 27 of his last 28 games (including 7-1 in his last 8 starts).
Jonas Hiller – G (Ana): Everything I said 8-12 seconds ago (depending on how fast you read) applies to Hiller. Except Hiller’s been even hotter. And he’s not geriatric…
Niklas Backstrom – G (Min): I’m not the biggest Backstrom fan out there by any stretch; but when a man throws down a 48 Save Shutout against the defending Stanley Cup Champs, I talk about it. I have a feeling I’ll be talking about Backstrom in the offseason too. I say he gets traded and the reasons are simple: 1) Minnesota will miss the playoffs again. B) He’ll be headed into the last year of a 4 year deal, and 3) Josh Harding is 7 years younger and deserves a shot…
Danrik Sedin – C/LW (Van): One of the twins lines last night: 1G/1A/+2/2SOG. The other? 1G/1A/+1/2SOG. And before you ask the answer is yes – Daniel was the weak link…
Teemu Selanne – RW (Ana): To steal a line from Teemu, the last couple seasons have been ‘unbelievable‘. At this point I wouldn’t be shocked to see Teemu still playing when my daughter is in Kindergarten (she’s 16 months).
And lastly, I have to just rail for a minute on the Rick Nash trade rumors. I’ve been hearing about a Nash trade since before I even knew what a puck was. This shit better happen this year or I will officially boycott Rick Nash for the duration of this blog! Seacrest OUT!!!
