Happy Wednesday, Razzball faithful!
The time is ticking away, and according to my chronological calendrical system (AKA the NHL schedule), we’ve got FIVE more Tuesday night round-ups before the playoffs begin!
I've long been a fan of Bobby McMann, but the early returns for Seattle blew my expectations out of the water. McMann scored two goals and an assist with four shots in his Kraken debut on Saturday against Vancouver, and followed it up with a goal and an assist with four shots against Florida on Sunday. He played over 18 minutes in both games slotting right onto the first line and second power play unit. With Seattle in the thick of a playoff race, I see no reason to expect McMann's workload to decrease. That means a 20-25% boost in playing time compared to what he was getting in Toronto. Over the last three seasons, McMann is in the top 50 in the league in even strength goals per 60 minutes. Given that, I think he should be held in all formats for the time being. Let's take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
Happy Wednesday, Razzball faithful!
I can say that I’m glad I didn’t take a sick day last Friday to watch the “excitement-challenged” trade deadline unfold the way that it did. I suppose for something to unfold, it would have needed to be packaged up neatly to begin with.
All that means is the asking prices were far too high on the “sellers” pieces, and the buyers were not willing to pay them.
Nicolas Roy for a conditional first-round pick? No thanks.
Corey Perry for a second-rounder? Wow.
Is there ANY Perry worth that kind of premium?
After missing the playoffs for fourteen straight seasons, I keep waiting for the Sabres to slump, but instead, they keep getting better. On Friday, they had a big 3-2 regulation win in Florida. If that wasn't enough, on the second of a back to back, they absolutely destroyed Tampa 6-2, including a 5-0 lead less than two minutes into the second period. Only the Colorado Avalanche have more regulation wins this season than the Sabres. What's been different this week is that Josh Norris has actually been in the lineup. Norris had an assist with three shots against the Panthers, before scoring two goals against the Lightning. As has been the case for Norris for four straight seasons, he's been hampered with injuries. The good news is that he's dominated when he's played this season, sitting with 8+12 in 22 games. The shot rate is poor so I wouldn't necessarily hold, but he's an elite streamer who probably belongs on the fringe. Ride the production while you can. Let's take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
I started the opening paragraph before the Blues game ended and got punished for it. I was already writing about Dylan Holloway, but his night got a lot better late improving his stat line. Holloway was playing his first game since January 18th, and only his second since December 12th, and he delivered the best game of his career. Holloway had a hat trick and an assist with five shots in the 5-1 win over the Kraken. Holloway broke out last season with 26-37 in his first year with the Blues, but this season has been a huge disappointment both for him and the team. The Blues are out of the playoff picture, so it's hard to say who will be traded and who will stay. Holloway is one of the few players that I'd be surprised if they moved. The 24 year old has the upside of a bottom end hold in 12'ers, as he showed last season. The Blues play a bunch of poor defenses in the short term, so for now, Holloway is an elite stremer. Let's take a look at what else happened in the first two nights back from the Olympic break:
Happy Wednesday, Razzball faithful!
The Olympics are finally done. And I guess nothing too exciting happened, so let’s not waste any time digging into that stuff…
Oops. Wrong image.
Ok. I didn’t think we’d be able to get around that one.
Before we get into names to consider for the final 25 games and the race to the playoffs, a quick recap of Olympic play is in order.
First, congratulations to Team Canada for their clean sweep of SILVER in Italy!
Happy Wednesday, Razzball faithful!
With just 7 games on tap, it was a shorter schedule than usual for our final Tuesday night before the Olympic break.
But that didn’t stop a certain Carolina Hurricanes goalie from saying "neato," checking his libido, and heading to the rink in a new tuxedo.
Brandon Bussi - 22 saves on 25 shots and the 4-3 win vs OTT - did his best 1989 pop-rap impression and Busted a serious Move at home against the Ottawa Senators.
Hopefully, you listened to Viz and me when we said to add Bussi anywhere and everywhere you could, when it looked like he was playing himself into extra time in the Canes’ crease.
For almost two whole months now, the Sabres have been taking the league by storm, having the best record in that time frame. On Thursday, the Sabres have their third five game win streak since December (if you count their ten game win streak as two five game streaks), beating the Kings 4-1. Alex Tuch led the charge for the team, scoring a hat trick on seven shots. Tuch moved back onto the top line with Thompson recently, and he's been delivering. In his last ten games, Tuch has eight goals, and even without PP1 time, Tuch is a clear hold in all formats. I'm fascinated to see what happens with Tuch come the trade deadline, and not just because I'm a Sabres fan. I assume the team will keep him even if he doesn't have an extension signed, and there's no doubt that the Brinks Truck is getting backed up for Tuch one way or another. I'd be hesitant to give him the eight figure salary he wants, assuming it's long term, but it's also hard for the Sabres to just walk away. Either way, things continue to look up in Buffalo for the first time in a decade. Let's take a look at what else happened on Thursday night:
We're very accustomed to Vegas making a big trade every season at this point. Surprisingly, we got their big move on Sunday already. Since they were willing to acquire Rasmus Andersson without a contract extension, the Flames sent him to the desert, acquiring Zach Whitecloud, a first round pick, a second round pick (turns to another first if Vegas wins the Cup), and a prospect that projects to be an AHL'er. It's a good return for Calgary, taking advantage of Andersson bouncing back from a dreadful 24-25 season. For Vegas, the fit is kind of weird to me. It's a team that doesn't even play a forward on their top power play unit, so are they really going to jam Andersson with Theodore on the second unit? Probably to make him happy, at least with their current injuries, but I don't see a lot of gain there. Scoring goals hasn't been a problem, and Andersson has still been bad defensively. He should play with Hanifin which maybe helps a bit? Overall, I think this is a net negative for Andersson's fantasy value, but I'm still holding him for the time being to see how it looks for the next couple weeks. For Calgary, Weegar takes over the top power play unit by default. He's on the fringe. Whitecloud could gain some deep league value. My assumption is he gets a top four role, and with that, some quality hits and blocks. Let's take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
It was another 10-game schedule on tap for Tuesday night’s NHL action!
And no one had a better night than the Boston Bruins’ netminder, Jeremy Swayman - 24 saves on 24 shots and the 3-0 shutout vs Detroit.
Swayman’s GAA (2.38) and save percentage (.919) over his last 5 games are as solid as it comes, and were good enough to give him a 4-1 record since New Year’s Eve.
With an 18-11-1-1 season line, Swayman is sitting third overall in wins (behind Karel Vejmelka, Sergei Bobrovsky, and Andrei Vasilevskiy). The shutout was his first of the year, but second in two games for the B’s.
Patrick Kane hit the next milestone in his illustrious career on Thursday night, scoring two goals to reach the 500 goal mark for his career. He became the fifth American and 50th player ever to score 500 goals. Kane has been very good for the surprising Red Wings, totaling 8+18 in 30 games with an above average shot rate. He's firmly on the fringe, meaning whether or not you hold him comes down to team needs. If anything, he's been a bit unlucky with his shooting percentage, so there's a bit more upside here. Just don't expect any more empty net goals, as the only reason he was on the ice with one in this game was to get him to 500. Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Happy Wednesday, Razzball faithful!
What did the Buffalo say to his boy before dropping him off at college?
I don’t know for sure. I mean, I’m not a creeper or an obsessive stalker of bison, but I do know one thing.
Despite the frosty January nights in Western New York, there’s one group of hockey players that is about as hot as the surface of the sun and is certainly not saying, “Brrr.”
The Columbus Blue Jackets spoiled Buffalo’s win streak on Saturday (5-1 CLM), but the Sabres were BACK Tuesday night at home vs Vancouver.
Early on, I had things written up looking like we'd get a blowout from Buffalo, but the Canucks made it interesting with a late push and three straight unanswered goals after the 10-minute mark of the third period.
In the end, it was the Sabres’ 11th win in their last 12 games, and a leapfrog over the Panthers into the top four spots of the Atlantic division.
Was that the only exciting bit from last night’s schedule?