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?
Happy Wednesday, Razzball faithful!
I know you’re all getting things ready for the holiday, so let’s keep this brief and focused.
There’s one group of NHL players who are certainly NOT on Santa’s naughty list this year. They'd also be perfectly happy to find just one thing underneath the tree tomorrow morning.
A written guarantee from Santa that they’ll break the team’s 14-year playoff drought this April.
I swear. I’m not lyin’. Buffalo is actually good.
Sabres fans can thank Alex Lyon - 24 saves on 26 shots, and the 3-2 OT win at OTT.
Don’t look now, but the Sabres have won 7 straight games!
Happy Wednesday, Razzball faithful!
It’s been a bit of a wild ride for Morgan Geekie (2 G, +1, 3 SOG, 1 PPG, GWG).
The Geekie Squad was the 67th overall pick in the 2017 draft and wasn’t considered much of a prospect after a 25-point season (in 66 games) for the 2015-2016 Tri-City Americans of the WHL.
It was the following year’s breakout that put Geekie on the map (72 GP, 35 G, 90 PTS), and convinced the Carolina Hurricanes that he was worth a gamble in the third round of the NHL Entry Draft.
Twenty-two games. One regulation loss. That's what the Colorado Avalanche have done so far, cementing themselves as the best team in the the league. In fact, the teams tied for second place as closer to 25th in the standings than they are to Colorado. They're in the midst of a nine game winning streak, with two wins over the weekend, both by shutout. It started with a MacKenzie Blackwood masterpiece on Saturday, making 35 saves in the 3-0 win over Nashville, before Scott Wedgewood had an easier 22 save shutout in the 1-0 win over Chicago. Wedgewood has been the #1 overall player so far because why not? Yay goalies. Blackwood is back now from injury and getting his fair share of starts. Yes, right now Wedgewood is the #1, but it should only be a matter of time until it flips back. Regardless, both of them are clearly must own for the time being, and barring injury, both should be for the rest of the season. Let's take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
Happy Wednesday, Razzball faithful!
We had an 8-game schedule to dip into on Tuesday night, and none had a bigger asterisk in the record books than the New Jersey Devils’ visit to Tampa Bay to face the Lightning.
Coming into Tuesday night’s game, superstar Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov: 1 G (9), 1 A (9), 2 PIM, 2 SOG, 1 PPA, 1 GWG, 1 HIT - sat tied for third place on the all-time Tampa Bay goal-scoring list with 365 goals.
It was only a matter of time before Kucherov blew past an old legend, and current Montreal bench boss, Martin St. Louis. The good news is it didn’t take Tampa’s active star RW very long to snap #366 past the Devils’ giant netminder, Jakob Markstrom, on their way to a 5-1 win.
If you can guess which two players sit above Kuch on the All-Time Lightning Lamp-Lighting List, throw it in the comments below. I messaged Viz last night and said I really wished it were Brian Bradley. Alas, he’s 14th (111 goals) and nestled between Vaclav Prospal (127!) and Brandon “Cream Cheese” Hagel (102).
Happy Wednesday, Razzball faithful!
With today’s post, we’ve officially come to the end of our Divisional Previews for the 2025-2026 season!
If you’re looking for the other Divisions, you can click here to check them out.
One way to prove last season's breakout wasn't a fluke? Get an early hat trick. Kirill Marchenko did just that, scoring three times on four shots in the 7-4 win over the Wild. Yes, Marchenko didn't get any points in the Columbus opener, but the eight shots on goal also goes a long way. I was neutral compared to consensus on Marchenko going into the season, but I already kind of regret not being bullish. Columbus is playing a wide open, attacking style, and their best forward will continue to benefit from it. Let's take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
We're three days into the season with everyone playing one or two games so far. Today, I'm going to give an immediate reaction to every team, focusing on something that was either unexpected, or confirming a preseason belief that I had. Let's get right to it!
ANAHEIM DUCKS
Mason McTavish looks to be their #1 forward. We'll see if it holds, but he played the most minutes of anyone on the team besides LaCombe, getting over 20 minutes. The 22 year old should be owned everywhere.
We're onto the last position in my rankings, the netminders. Goalies make a huge difference in fantasy hockey, but they also have the most variability from year to year. There's only a handful of goalies that we can consistently count on every season to finish in the top ten, and that floor is why they are ranked as high as they are. Because of their unpredictability, I'm very unlikely to take a goalie in the first four rounds, especially in head to head leagues. Even if your league reaches for goalies early, don't panic. Last season, I was extremely high on Kuemper and was able to get him as my G3 everywhere. He finished as the #3 goalie overall. I liked the Leafs platoon for roto leagues, and Stolarz finished as G4. Meanwhile, top ranked goalies such as Shesterkin and Saros disappointed, and they were far from the only ones. Patience is key for drafting goalies. I'm going to separate all of the goalies into tiers, so let's get to it!
If the early returns are any indication, the Flyers hit a massive home run picking 7th last year. Matvei Michkov dished two assists with three shots on Tuesday, giving him a five game point streak in which he has ten points. That brings him up to a point per game on the season as a 20 year old rookie (he turned 20 two days ago). We're starting to see the shot rate tick up a bit, and if you're in a league without hits but have PIM, Michkov is a top 20 forward on the season. Now imagine when the minutes increase, the team improves around him, and he grows into a better player. I don't think there's ten players in the league with more offensive talent than Michkov, and if the shot rate continues to grow, we're looking at a fantasy superstar for years to come. Let's take a look at what else happened on Tuesday night:
If you didn't catch Part One of this two part series, you can check that out here. Today, I am going to look at the Western Conference, focusing on one player for each team that has been a big disappointment, or blown expectations out of the water. In each case, I'll talk about what's caused their start, and whether or not I'm expecting it to change for better or worse. Let's get to it!
Back to back wins for the Devils against the defending champions, both in Florida, is quite the accomplishment. Throughout my preseason rankings, I repeatedly stated that I was basically throwing last season out of the window for all of the Devils, and that has proven to be prudent. All of the injuries and horrific goaltending had no bearing on this season, and they look back to the team from two seasons ago. On Thursday, the Devils won 6-2, with Jesper Bratt scoring a hat trick on five shots. In 20 games, Bratt has 8+16 with almost exactly three shots per game. It's a bit skewed because the Devils have played the most games in the league to this point, but Bratt is a top five forward on the season. His teammates, Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes, who each dished three assists in the victory, are both pushing top ten forwards. We've seen superstars in Toronto play at their best under Keefe, and now we're seeing it with the Devils. None of this looks fluky. Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
