After a slow start Matt Moulson has been hotter than an Arizona gardener in August. Saturday’s 4 Goal performance was a thing of beauty. (He has a knack for being in the right place at the right time – a true Goal scorer’s trait).. Coupled with Friday’s tally he’s now got a Goal in 4 straight games (7 total). He’s not gonna get you any Assists, but the Goals will be there (30 each of the last 2 seasons). He’s now on pace for 42. I don’t think he’ll sustain that pace but he’s put himself in position to set a career high. I’ll say 35 to be conservative which would give him another 21 Goals in 58 games. That’s worthy of puttin your feet up and crackin a nice cold Moulson Ice..
Ryan Jones – LW (Edm): Hat Tricks are good. Ryan Jones unfortunately is not. I can’t see how this could lead to anything worth either of our time, but in deeeeeeeeeeeeeeep leagues he could be worth a look… Including Friday night’s hatty he’s got 7 Goals in his last 13 games..
Derek Dorsett – RW (CBJ): Hey look pal I’m not paying you to score! 3 Goals and an Assist in your last 5 games is great, but do you know how many PIM’s you’ve had? 2! That’s it!
Nino Niederreiter – RW (NYI): The best name in hockey (non Clitsome division) finally landed his 1st Goal of the season. That’s the good news. The bad news is he only played a total of 7 minutes Friday and was a healthy scratch Saturday. In other words, in a shallow non-keeper league he is a non-keeper.
Jonathan Toews – C (Chi): If I were a betting man I would bet on Toews to finally crack the 80 point barrier. In fact if I could get 4:1 odds on 90 Points I’d be rushing to the counter (or the phone) to lay down a Benjamin…
Kyle Brodziak – C (Phx): 2 Goals Friday caught my attention. That Movember mustache caught my attention too though, so what do I know?
Niklas Backstrom – G (Min): Went out after the 1st Period Friday night with the vague, and dreaded, LBI. I’m guessing it’s a groin which would mean no hanky panky, and more importantly no games for at least a couple weeks. If you dropped Harding (or someone in your league did) run to the Waiver Wire and pick-up pick-up. PICK UP!
Teemu Jagr…. you know who I’m talking about: These 2 old farts were the best players on the ice Friday night in Anaheim (or Philly West if you saw the crowd). I’ve expressed my amazement about Teemu (and his “advanced age”) many times, but Jagr is quickly winning me over too. (A 2Goal, 2 Assist, 12 Shot weekend will do that.) And yes he’ll miss a few games here and there but when healthy he still has great vision, great hands, and a quick & accurate shot.
Dustin Penner – LW (LA): Yeah I didn’t even know he’d been out for the past 9 games, thats how far DP has dropped. He looked fairly decent on Saturdy (although the Goal was a little flukey). If you want me to give you a reason to pick him up, here goes… Over the first 3 months of the 2009 season his stat line was: 19G/19A/14PPP/+12/121SOG. Does he have another 3 month stretch like that in him? No. But you asked for a reason to pick him up right?
David Krejci – C (Bos): I guess the Bruin’s should have given a guy this contract years ago. Since signing a shiny new $15.75MM contract Krecjcjci has 2 Goals and 3 Assists in just 2 games. In a 12 team league he’s a legit #3 Center.
Brooks Laich – C (Wsh): Hopefully Coach Hunter bought you a fat steak Saturday night. Your OT winning Goal gave him his 1st career win as a Head Coach.. As far as your fantasy value is concerned? Tough to say. On the positive side you’ve averaged 53 Points over the last 3 seasons. On the negative side…….. you’ve averaged 53 points over the last 3 seasons.
Adam Larsson – D (NJ): I had high hopes for last June’s #4 overall pick when he made the Devil’s roster out of camp. Then he fell flat on his face by doing absolutely nothing in his first 9 games: 0G/0A/-4. Since then however, spanning 16 games, he’s really picked up the pace: 2G/7A/3PPP/-1. Over a full season that would be: 10G/35A/15PPP/-5. That’s probably better than your #4 Defenseman.
Andrei Markov – D (Mon): I give up. I’m officially done with Andrei Markov. After teasing us all by claiming an imminent return we now get news he has to undergo another surgery on his knee. Here is the actual quote from GM Pierre Gauthier: “Markov’s knee is almost at full strength,” Gauthier said. “He’s undergoing arthroscopic surgery to clean up debris.” Sounds great. The article claims a 3 week recovery… I’ve got a hand painted picture of that.
Jarome Iginla – RW (Cgy): 2G/4A/2PPP/+5/19SOG last 6 games.. The turnaround could be starting. Unfortunately (or fortunately if you don’t own him) he’s dug himself a big hole so he’s gonna need a 12 Goal month (like he had last March) if he wants to get near 40 again.
Ryan O’Reilly – C (Col): Still not a ton to get excited about here but 2 Goals last night can lead one to believe.. Not sure what you’d be believing in but if you are in a 14+ team league there could be some value here.
Danrik Sedin – C/LW (Van): Hoe hum just chuggig along. Nothing to see here.. The kicker is that me and you and Canada refuse to acknowledge their greatness ( in the regular season anyway)…
Casey Wellman – LW (Min): It’s pretty rare when someone scores 2 Goals and an Assist in 2 games without me having any idea who they are. Congratulations Casey Wellman! I’ve never heard of you and I’ll never mention you again!
