The Minnesota Wild seem to have a bit of a goaltending problem. It’s not that they don’t have the personnel, in fact, to start the season you would have tought their duo of Niklas Backstrom and Josh Harding would again be among the better goaltending situations in the league, but then the curse set in. Backstrom finally realizes how old he is and can’t keep it together, Harding starts the season healthy and finally gets a chance to take the no. 1 job for himself, does, plays like he’s going to win the Vezina and then gets laid low by his MS. And now, in what seems like an inevitability, Mr. Darcy is toppled by an injury during practice?! You read that right, Darcy Kuemper suffered an UBI in yesterday’s morning skate and is day-to-day for now, but it doesn’t sound very promising. That leaves everyone’s favorite Russian goofball, Ilya Bryzgalov (2 GA, 18 SV, W), all alone in the crease and he becomes the de-facto starter for the Wild. What the hell is going on with the Minnesota goaltending? Are they cursed? Does Paul Maurice sit in his office with a little goalie voodoo doll after hours or what? Breezy is a good option (depending on matchups) if you’re looking for some help in the crease towards the end of the week. Owned in just ~13% of ESPN leagues and 17% of Yahoo leagues, he should be available if you need him and I’m willing to bet there’s a handful of Kuemper owners who are sadface today, so turn that frown upside down and add Breezy! Anyway, here’s what else I saw in the world o’ fantasy hockey yesterday:
Pavel Datsyuk was out for the Wings’ morning skate and returns to the Wings’ lineup tonight after missing seven games with a concussion. Get him in there!
Corey Crawford is out for 2-3 weeks, so grab Antti Raanta where you can. Kent Simpson, who is not worth adding in any formats, will back up Raanta.
Brooks Orpik is “doing quite well. Up and moving around just fine.” According to Pens head coach Dan Bylsma. It can’t be good that Bylsma goes right to “He can move okay!” to illustrate that he’s okay. It’s safe to assume he, too, has suffered a concussion.
The Rangers looked like they were going to make a serious run at contending for a Stanley Cup until they ran into Boston in the Eastern semis. Henrik Lundqvist led the team from between the pipes but a lack of offense and a poor power play kept the Rangers from going deeper into the playoffs. Please, blog, may I have some more?
Chicago goaltender Ray Emery took advantage of his opportunity to get a start and made the most of it by turning away 27 San Jose shots as part of a 4-1 win. Please, blog, may I have some more?