He hasn't been talked about much but as far as disappointments go, Ryan Johansen is near the top of the list. It wasn't that long ago that he was a 22 year old scoring 33 goals and 30 assists, followed up by 26+45. Johansen had 4 straight 60+ point seasons before this year and to be blunt, he's been awful compared to his high standards. Johansen had his best game in quite some time Thursday, dishing three assists and putting three shots on goal in the 5-0 win over the Kings. The main reason I'm encouraged by this? Filip Forsberg. The Swedish star returned from injury on Thursday and immediately went onto Johansen's wing. Still, five goals and under 1.5 shots per game on the season isn't going to get it done for Johansen owners. In the last three games, Johansen has at least three shots on goal, so I think he's going to keep building. I don't think we see Columbus Johansen again, but I don't see why last season's Johansen can be back for the rest of the season. Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Recently some had speculated that when Ryan Callahan went down with an injury it would be Nikita Kucherov (3 G, 6 SOG, +2) that would step up to the Stamkos line. Alas, it wasn’t meant to be. Instead he’s found some seriously strong chemistry with line mates Ondrej Palat (1 A, 1 SOG, +2) and Tyler Johnson (4 A, 3 SOG, +2) on what is fast becoming one of the better lines in hockey. Last season Kucherov didn’t look very good at atime and at others he looked flat out lost, but it wasn’t all bad as he showed flashes of brilliance that had become his hallmark as he exceled at every level of play on his way to the NHL. Still, he tallied just 9 goals and 18 points over 52 games played so it didn’t exactly leave anyone with a high expectations of a breakout campaign in 2015. The big question is whether or not his current scoring outburst is the start of something big or will it burn itself out sooner than later? Well, Kucherov has incredibly hands and sports an elite wrister that would put most in the NHL to shame. He relies on his generally sharp offensive instincts to drive a fast pace and has shown natural nose for the net, but he could stand to bulk up at bit standing at 5’ 11” 178 lbs. I like the kid and I think he could do well this year, but he sees limited time on the power play and that limits his value. Obviously the seven points in three games is an unsustainable pace, but this isn’t just a passing fad, this kid is good and he’s going to get better. Expect the scoring to dry up and come in streaks, but with his talent the streaks may continue to be fairly grand affairs. He’s only owned in 15% of Yahoo! Leagues and 8.7% of ESPN leagues, so go snatch him up and stream him while the streamin’s good! In keeper leagues, considering holding him for longer if you can. Anyway, here’s what else I saw in the world o’ fantasy hockey yesterday:
Patience is a virtue, that’s what they always said. Who are they? They don’t matter. What matters is the idea. As I’ve grown and aged like a fine wine I’ve discovered that patience is indeed a virtue. It doesn’t really matter what aspect of life you want to touch on, being patient is going to help you get where you want to go, and get what you want to get. So what do you need to achieve fantasy hockey glory? Say it with me now class, patience! Yes ladies, you need to relax and be patient. Every season some guys start slow. Every season some guys start hot. Every season the guys who started hot but had no business doing so, by and large, slow down or just stop scoring. Every season the guys who started slow but had no business doing so, by and large, start scoring. I’m fielding a lot of questions about whether or not to trade Nathan MacKinnon away for pennies on the dollar. Brock Nelson seems to be the guy everyone is willing to add and they don’t care who they drop to get him and Valeri Nishushkin is actually getting dropped after just two games. Two games, people. Are you kidding? Nelson has no track record, Nishushkin is playing sick and MacKinnon? You want to call what MacKinnon is doing a slow start already? You cray! If you want to throw away your fantasy season before it starts make those knee jerk moves now. If you want to win, sit tight and wait at least a few more games to see how the cookie crumbles. And for the record, no don’t trade MacKinnon. No, don’t drop Nuke for whatever wire fodder had a decent two game start and no, Nelson isn’t going to be the next big thing. Anyway, here’s what else I saw in the world o’ fantasy hockey this weekend:
Patrik Elias (3 A, 3 SOG, +2) was automatic at one point in his career, in fact he was almost always a sure thing and as recently as 2011-12 he was just shy of a point-per-game player. Fast-forward a few years and father time is finally catching up with Elias this season as he’s struggled to stay healthy and stay consistent. Still, a bad season for Elias means he’s going to top the 60-point marker by season’s end, even at his age, so he retains some value in most formats. Right now he’s absolutely on fire with 12 points in his last 10 games. Some speculate the recent birth of his second child has given Elias new life, and that might be true, but I think it has more to do with his pairing with surging rookie Adam Henrique (3 A, 1 SOG, +2, 2 PIM) instead. Henrique exploded after the Olympic break with 14 points in 12 games and that coincided with his being shifted to a line with Elias, so there you go! The trio of helpers he tallied last night serve as more evidence that he is going to keep producing, trying to get his team into the playoffs, so if you enjoy winning you might want to add Elias. It shouldn’t be hard if you’re a Yahoo player as he’s only owned in 58% leagues there, but sad news for you ESPN people, he’s at 100% ownership there. It’s kind of ironic that ESPN has all but abandoned any semblance of decent coverage for the NHL and yet their fantasy hockey system seems to be far more active than Yahoos. Not that Yahoo has been a pillar of support and good coverage for the NHL, but ESPN really has been that bad. Anyway, here’s what else I saw in the world of fantasy hockey yesterday:
Kyle Okposo (1 G, 1 A, 3 SOG, +2) is probably a more shocking snub for the US Olympic team than Bobby Ryan is if you ask me, and if you’re reading this, you kinda are. The logic behind the Ryan snub is that he wasn’t a top-six forward on that team and if he doesn’t have a place there, he’s not going to do anything to help your grinding and checking lines and he doesn’t kill penalties. So what’s left? He just doesn’t fit and that’s all it came down to. I don’t know that I agree with how they treated Ryan, but whatever, he’ll live, but Okposo? Dude is tearing it up this year and I can’t for the life of me see why he was left off the roster. Apparently he wasn’t even considered because he isn’t “built for the big ice” used on the Olympic stage. It didn’t seem to bother him much as he continues to pour it on with John Tavares and has 10 point in his last five games and is on pace for 31 goals, 82 points, and a big eff-you, David Poile. If team USA lacks for scoring while Okposo keeps this up, you have to wonder what Poile and his people were smoking. It must be good! Anyway, here’s what else I saw on a full night o’ fantasy hockey:
Well, that was quick.
Florida Panthers’ goaltender Tim Thomas was a last-minute signing to shore up a crappy goaltending unit that was near the bottom of the league for most of last season. Please, blog, may I have some more?
Stop us if you’ve heard this one before. The San Jose Sharks have won seven games in a row and look poised to be strong contenders for the playoffs. We all said that at the end of January when San Jose was 7-0-0 to open the season. Please, blog, may I have some more?
Two weeks are in the books and we have plenty of good, bad and ugly to go around. Without any further delay, let’s jump in and it starts with Chad Johnson filling in in Phoenix. Please, blog, may I have some more?
It’s safe to say that after this trip to Tampa, Ondrej Pavelec and the Winnipeg Jets won’t be fans of Lou Christie anytime soon. Pavelec and backup goaltender Al Montoya combined to do a re-mix of Christie’s #1 hit from 1966, “Lightning Strikes” as they allowed eight goals to Tampa Bay and got thumped 8-3. Please, blog, may I have some more?
Mason Raymond scored twice and Cory Schneider turned aside 30 shots as Vancouver blanked Anaheim 5-0 last night. The Canucks got revenge on the Ducks for a 7-3 drubbing to open the season. Please, blog, may I have some more?
We continue our look at the Top 40 rookies in the NHL this up coming season. Here’s Part 1 if you need to catch up.
Top 40 NHL Rooks -PART2 – #21-30
(Accompanied by their 2012-13 stats prediction & Razzball Recommendation for drafting)
#21 Justin Schultz – (EDM D) (76gp/6g/18a/24pts) Edmonton won the battle for Justin Schultz as he ended up heading to Oil Country to play this season, and his presence will be known when he hits the ice in Alberta. Please, blog, may I have some more?
