Nicklas Backstrom on Top
It’s a tragedy what happened in Ottawa this week and the postponed game against Toronto will be played on November 9. Our condolences to the family of Nathan Circillo, the brave soldier who was killed while guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
It was very classy move by the Penguins organization to play O Canada before the start of the Philadelphia-Pittsburgh game and even classier of the fans to belt out the Canadian national anthem. There are no better fans in the sports world than hockey fans.
Don’t forget, for everything NHL, check out Rotoworld's Player News, and follow @Rotoworld_ HK and @mfinewaxhockey on Twitter.
Now to The Week Ahead.
WEEK OF OCTOBER 27-NOVEMBER 2
4 Games - Anaheim, Arizona, Buffalo, Chicago, Los Angeles, Minnesota, Montreal, Vancouver, Winnipeg
3 Games- Boston, Calgary, Carolina, Columbus, Dallas, Detroit, Edmonton, Nashville, New Jersey, New York Islanders, Ottawa, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, San Jose, Tampa Bay, Toronto, Washington
2 Games– Florida, New York Rangers
Anaheim, Arizona, Los Angeles and Winnipeg play all four games away from home.
Montreal and Nashville play three games on the road.
Colorado, Edmonton, Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay and Vancouver play three games at home.
Don't forget to join a Yahoo Hockey pool. It’s not too late.
INJURIES
Zdeno Chara is out four-six weeks with a knee injury that will not require surgery. (Click here to see the rest of the injury list.)
ANAHEIM
Games this week
@ Chicago, @ St. Louis, @ Dallas, @ Colorado
Rested team: @ Colorado (Sunday)
Tired Team: @ Dallas (Friday)
Notes
The Ducks are on the road for all four this week including three games in four nights so expect to see John Gibson play at least one for Frederik Andersen. Gibson returned to the Ducks on Monday after spending the weekend in the AHL getting a couple of games under his belt. Dany Heatley (groin) is close to returning and he should see first line action alongside Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf. The return of Heatley should bounce Devante Smith-Pelly from the top line. Sami Vatanen leads the Ducks blueliners with a couple of goals and five points in six games.
ARIZONA
Games this week
@ Tampa Bay, @ Florida, @ Carolina, @ Washington
Rested team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
The Coyotes are having problems keeping the puck out of the net and it may not get any better this week as they are on the road for all four with three coming in four nights. The Coyotes are hoping that Mike Smith regains his stature as a number one goalie so expect him to play three times with Devan Dubnyk getting the call once. Sam Gagner is still having a tough time getting started as he is pointless heading into Thursday’s action. After scoring only three goals in 70 games last season, Martin Erat has two in his first five games.
BOSTON
Games this week
vs. Minnesota, @ Buffalo, vs. Ottawa
Rested team: vs. Minnesota (Tuesday)
Tired Team: None
Notes
After getting only two points in his first seven games, Milan Lucic exploded for three assists on Tuesday. Dennis Seidenberg is still out of action after suffering a torn ACL/MCL on December 27. Torey Krug has been good offensively this season with two goals and five points in eight games and he is also a plus-four. After going plus-20, plus-36, plus-24 and plus-38 during the last four years, Patrice Bergeron is minus-three this season in nine games with only one goal and four points. He will turn it around. David Krejci missed the first three games of the season and has two goals and seven points in six games.
BUFFALO
Games this week
@ Toronto, vs. Boston, @ Pittsburgh, vs. Detroit
Rested team: None
Tired Team: vs. Detroit (Sunday)
Notes
The Sabres play three games in four nights as part of a four game week so Michel Neuvirth should get at least one start for Jhonas Enroth. Sam Reinhart was a healthy scratch on Saturday as he has been struggling at the NHL level with only two shots on goal and no points in six games. Do not be surprised if he is back in junior hockey in the next week or so, or before he plays 10 games in the NHL. The Sabres are having trouble putting the puck in the net and went 197 minutes without a goal before Tyler Ennis found the back of the net on Wednesday. Buffalo has only eight goals in eight games and if this trend continues, then Connor McDavid or Jack Eichel will be wearing Sabres colors next season.
CALGARY
Games this week
vs. Montreal, vs. Nashville @ Montreal
Rested team: vs. Montreal (Tuesday)
Tired Team: None
Notes
The Flames play the Canadiens twice this week and when that occurs, tempers tend to flare in the second game so look for Deryk Engelland and Brian McGrattan (if he sees action) to add to their penalty minute totals. Sean Monahan is experiencing a sophomore slump as he was scoreless in his last six games before potting a couple on Thursday. He has only four points in nine games this season. Johnny Gaudreau is impressing a lot of people, especially with his set up of Dennis Wideman’s power play goal on Tuesday. Wideman has come on since being benched to start the season as the rearguard has four goals and five points in his last five games.
CAROLINA
Games this week
@ Vancouver, vs. Arizona, vs. Los Angeles
Rested team: None
Tired Team: vs. Los Angeles (Sunday)
Notes
The Hurricanes finish their Western Canada tour in Vancouver before returning home on on the weekend. Although he is 0-2-1 this season, Anton Khudobin has played well as his GAA is 2.64 with a .912 save percentage. Eric Staal was retroactively placed on the injured reserve list. Ryan Murphy has been seeing some time up front but has only one helper in five games. While it’s not a big surprise that Jiri Tlusty is tied for the team lead in points with five, anyone who thought he would be tied with Chris Terry (three goals and two assists) is not telling the truth or is a seer.
CHICAGO
Games this week
vs. Anaheim, @ Ottawa, @ Toronto, vs. Winnipeg
Rested team: @ Toronto (Saturday)
Tired Team: None
Notes
The Blackhawks play four times this week including three games in four nights so look for Antti Raanta to play twice with Corey Crawford getting the other starts if he can return from an upper body injury that is keeping him out of action this past week. Scott Darling was recalled and will likely get one start if Crawford is unable to go. Brandon Saad was moved to the third line in practice earlier in the week with Brad Richards and Bryan Bickell as the Blackhawks look to go with a top nine rather than a top six. Patrick Sharp is off to a sharp start with six points in his first six games.
COLORADO
Games this week
vs. San Jose, vs. New York Islanders, @ St. Louis, vs. Anaheim
Rested team: None
Tired Team: vs. Anaheim (Sunday)
Notes
The Avalanche play four times this week including three games in four nights. Semyon Varlamov is due back on October 24 from a groin injury and he will likely split the net with Reto Berra this upcoming week. Matt Duchene is off to a bit of a slow start but has two goals and four points in his last five games. He exploded for 10 shots on goal on Saturday so he is trying to shoot his way out of his slump. Alex Tanguay leads the Avs with three goals but has yet to draw an assist. Ryan Wilson is out two-three weeks with a shoulder injury.
COLUMBUS
Games this week
vs. Ottawa, vs. Toronto, @ New Jersey
Rested team: None
Tired Team: @ New Jersey (Saturday)
Notes
Former first round pick Alexander Wennberg has moved up to the second line and will center Matt Calvery and Cam Atkinson. It looks like the career of Nathan Horton is in serious jeopardy as he apparently has degeneration in his back and while the Blue Jackets are hoping that rest fixes the problem, he may need surgery. He was signed to a seven-year contract last season and played only 36 games last season. With the status of Horton very much up in the air, expect the Blue Jackets to be looking for a top-six forward in the trade market. Sonny Milano has recovered from the facial injuries suffered during rookie camp and is expected to be sent to the OHL as early as October 24.
DALLAS
Games this week
vs. St. Louis, vs. Anaheim, @ Minnesota
Rested team: vs. Anaheim (Friday)
Tired Team: @ Minnesota (Saturday)
Notes
Sergei Gonchar could return this week after missing the start of the season with a fractured ankle. Valeri Nichushkin (hip/groin) has been skating on his own and should be back at practice this week. Erik Cole has three goals in his last two games and has meshed well with Shawn Horcoff. Trevor Daley has been an offensive stud thus far with three power play goals and six points in six games. Jason Spezza is now seeing time on a line with Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn and that has to improve his fantasy value. Seguin was the first star of the week with four goals and eight points in three games.
DETROIT
Games this week
@ Washington, vs. Los Angeles, @ Buffalo
Rested team: vs. Los Angeles (Friday), @ Buffalo (Sunday)
Tired Team: None
Notes
The Red Wings are switching around their power play and Tomas Jurco is slated to play on the first unit with Pavel Datsyuk, Henrik Zetterberg, Darren Helm and Niklas Kronwall. Gustav Nyquist moves down to the second unit. Despite only two points thus far, I still like Dan DeKeyser as I think he will finish second in points among Detroit defensemen to Kronwall. Stephen Weiss has been a huge disappointment to the Red Wings and has been a healthy scratch the last two games. Justin Abdelkader is still seeing time on the first line with Datsyuk and Zetterberg but not on the power play.
EDMONTON
Games this week
vs. Montreal, vs. Nashville, vs. Vancouver
Rested team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
The Oilers finish a seven game home stand this week. Leon Draisaitl is closing in on the magic 10 games in the NHL mark which would burn a year of his entry level contract. I think that he has struggled enough that the Oilers should send him back to the WHL and just let him play. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored his second of the season on Wednesday as the Oilers have now won two games in a row and are 2-4-1. Justin Schultz also has two goals in his last two games. Taylor Hall leads the team with four goals and six points in seven and is a plus-two.
FLORIDA
Games this week
vs. Arizona, vs. Philadelphia
Rested team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
The Panthers only play twice this week for the second week in a row, so I suggest reserving any players you may have in weekly transaction pools. Aleksander Barkov was reunited with Sean Bergenheim and Brad Boyes and scored on Tuesday for the first time since January 14. He missed the rest of the season in 2013-14 after he suffered a knee injury during the Olympic Games in February. He has a bright future. Dave Bolland, the Panthers big off-season free agent signing, has missed the last two games with a lower body injury. He is pointless in four games.
LOS ANGELES
Games this week
@ Philadelphia, @ Pittsburgh, @ Detroit, @ Carolina
Rested team: @ Carolina (Sunday)
Tired Team: @ Detroit (Friday)
Notes
The Kings play four times this week on the road and go three games in four nights so Martin Jones should get a rare start this week in place of Jonathan Quick. Slava Voynov has been suspended for alleged domestic violence as Gary Bettman used the authority granted him in the CBA to suspend the defenseman. A lot of people think that Mike Richards is a chippy player but he has never had a season of 80 penalty minutes. That may change this season as he has 23 in his first seven games including 19 on Saturday. The second unit of Tanner Pearson, Jeff Carter and Tyler Toffoli continues to impress as the trio have combined for 12 goals and 23 points in seven games.
MINNESOTA
Games this week
@ New York Rangers, @ Boston, vs. San Jose, vs. Dallas
Rested team: vs. Dallas (Saturday)
Tired Team: @ Boston (Tuesday)
Notes
The Wild play three games in four nights as part of a four game week. Expect to see Niklas Backstrom in net once with Darcy Kuemper playing the other three. Kuemper is having a spectacular start to the season, maybe not Teri Hatcher spectacular, but spectacular nevertheless. He is 3-1 with a .980 save percentage and a 0.50 GAA as he has won all three of his games by shutout. Charlie Coyle inked a five-year, $16 million extension and now gets to play with Mikko Koivu and Thomas Vanek on the top line. Coyle scored on Thursday but Koivu is pointless in his last five games.
MONTREAL
Games this week
@ Edmonton, @ Calgary, @ Vancouver, vs. Calgary
Rested team: None
Tired Team: @ Calgary (Tuesday)
Notes
The Canadiens have a busy week in which they travel to Western Canada for three games and then return home on Sunday to play the Flames once again. The return match could be a wild one so expect Brandon Prust, P.K. Subban or possibly Jarred Tinordi (if he is in the lineup) to get into an altercation. The Canadiens play three games in four nights as part of their schedule and that means that Dustin Tokarski should get into a game in net. Alex Galchenyuk is starting to show why the Habs drafted him third overall a couple of seasons ago as he has three goals and seven points in seven games and trails only Tomas Plekanec in team scoring by one point. Montreal is having trouble with its third line as Rene Bourque is a minus-seven and Lars Eller is a minus-six.
NASHVILLE
Games this week
@ Edmonton, @ Calgary, @ Vancouver
Rested team: @ Vancouver (Sunday)
Tired Team: None
Notes
The Predators are in Western Canada all week as they follow Montreal in all three games, going to Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver in that order. James Neal is on fire offensively as he has five goals in his last four games including a hat trick on Thursday. Linemate Mike Ribeiro seems to be bouncing back from a tough season in 2013-14 as he has three goals and six points in seven contests. Viktor Stalberg returned from a training camp injury to his lower body but has yet to pick up a point in four games. Pekka Rinne has been sensational in the early going with a 5-0-1 record to go with a 1.62 GAA and a .939 save percentage.
NEW JERSEY
Games this week
@ Pittsburgh, vs. Winnipeg, vs. Columbus
Rested team: vs. Columbus (Sunday)
Tired Team: None
Notes
Adam Larsson finally got into a game this past week and it was at the expense of Eric Gelinas who was a healthy scratch Tuesday and could be again this week. Jordin Tootoo could miss some games this week with a foot injury suffered blocking a shot on Tuesday. Martin Havlat was back in the lineup on the same Tuesday after taking more than 55 stitches to his face in an incident on October 16. Tuomo Ruutu is seeing some time in the press box as a healthy scratch. New Jersey’s penalty killing was the best in the NHL last season at 86.4 percent but is tied for the second worst this season as they have given up eight goals on only 29 chances for a 72.4 percent efficiency.
NEW YORK ISLANDERS
Games this week
vs. Winnipeg, @ Colorado, @ San Jose
Rested team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
The Islanders recalled Anders Lee this past week as he started the season in the minors. He should provide the team with some scoring as he had nine goals and 14 points in 22 games last season. Lubomir Visnovsky (back) made his seasonal debut on Thursday as he played 17:50 minutes. He should get some power play time but his role may be reduced as the Islanders have been clicking with the man-advantage with Johnny Boychuk on the first unit. Mikhail Grabovski was placed on the injured reserve list with concussion-like symptoms. John Tavares leads the NHL in points with 11 and is tied for the lead in assists with eight.
NEW YORK RANGERS
Games this week
vs. Minnesota, vs. Winnipeg
Rested team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
The Rangers play only twice this week for the second week in a row. Derek Stepan is expected to start skating shortly and while he is unable to return before November 3 due to his being placed on the long-term injured reserve list, he could return then or shortly thereafter. Rick Nash is tied for the NHL scoring lead with Corey Perry at eight and that is why the Rangers got him from Columbus a couple of years ago. Kevin Hayes has a goal and an assist in his last two games as he is seeing first line action with Nash and Chris Kreider. He however, is not seeing any power play time.
OTTAWA
Games this week
@ Columbus, vs. Chicago, @ Boston
Rested team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
Mark Stone is an interesting pickup as he is owned in only one percent of Yahoo pools. Stone has a goal and an assist but is seeing time on the first line with Clarke MacArthur and Kyle Turris while getting first power play time as well. Jump on him in deep pools. Mika Zibanejad is pointless in five games playing on a line with Bobby Ryan and Alex Chiasson.
PHILADELPHIA
Games this week
vs. Los Angeles, @ Tampa Bay, @ Florida
Rested team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
Sean Couturier had his best offensive season last year with 39 points and the 21-year-old center should pass that total this season as he is getting second line minutes. Couturier has three goals and five points in seven games thus far. Claude Giroux got off to an awful start last season with just six points in his first 11 games before ending the season with 86. This season is different as he has two goals and nine points in seven games with multi-point efforts in three of his last four. He could hit or get close to the 100 point mark in 2014-15 if he can remain healthy. Steve Mason is off to a slow start with a 0-3-1 record to go with a 3.83 GAA and a .878 save percentage.
PITTSBURGH
Games this week
vs. New Jersey, vs. Los Angeles, vs. Buffalo
Rested team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
Blake Comeau has been an offensive surprise in the early going with four points in six games. He had one good season with the Islanders when he had 46 points in 77 games in 2010-11 but that was also playing top-six minutes, something he will not get in Pittsburgh. Nevertheless, enjoy his offensive prowess while you can. Derrick Pouliot has recovered from off-season shoulder surgery and was sent to the minors. The blueliner will be someone to look at later in the season as he has a lot of offensive upside. Patric Hornqvist has eight points in six games and trails Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin by one point in team scoring.
ST. LOUIS
Games this week
@ Dallas, vs. Anaheim, vs. Colorado
Rested team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
T.J. Oshie is off to a poor start with no points and a minus-three rating in six games. He is seeing plenty of ice time as he played 18:39 minutes Thursday and 21:39 in his previous game on Sunday. It’s just a matter of time so if you are able to trade for him, his value will not be any lower than it is now. He is now playing with Steve Ott and David Backes. Jay Bouwmeester is back playing alongside Alex Pietrangelo for the first time this season. Paul Stastny is week-to-week with a shoulder injury so his return is not imminent. Despite a 1-2-1 record, Brian Elliott has a 1.73 GAA and a .924 save percentage.
SAN JOSE
Games this week
@ Colorado, @ Minnesota, vs. New York Islanders
Rested team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
The Sharks moved Tomas Hertl off the top line with Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski and replaced him with Matt Nieto while Hertl dropped to the third unit with James Sheppard and Eriah Hayes. After an opening night shutout, Antti Niemi has been weak, allowing 16 goals in only four games. He is 3-2 with a 3.16 GAA and a .903 save percentage. Logan Couture did not take a face off on Thursday after winning just 40.3 percent of his draws the first seven games (27-67). Pavelski has four goals and eight points in his first eight games and is two points in arrears of Patrick Marleau for the team lead.
TAMPA BAY
Games this week
vs. Arizona, vs. Philadelphia, vs. Washington
Rested team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
The Lightning recalled Jonathan Drouin and the highly-regarded rookie picked up the first point of his NHL career on Tuesday. The third overall pick in the 2013 draft is playing on the top line with Steve Stamkos so he is an ideal pick up if available in your pool. Ryan Callahan is out of action with a shoulder injury suffered on Monday. Radko Gudas could play as early as October 24 as he suffered a lower body injury that has forced him to miss the last four games. Ondrej Palat has two goals and four points in seven games with a plus-two rating after a 23 goal, 59 point performance last season with a plus-32.
TORONTO
Games this week
vs. Buffalo, @ Columbus, vs. Chicago
Rested team: None
Tired Team: vs. Chicago (Saturday)
Notes
McKeen's Hockey Director of Analytics & Pro Scouting, Gus Katsaros has been watching the Marlies and this was his opinion of Connor Brown: “The former Erie Otter has made an impressive pro debut, often the most visible Marlies forward in almost every game I've seen. He’s probably the best Marlie forward in this young season, parlaying an up-tempo and hard work ethic into significant contributions in the early part of the season, even if the offensive totals don't fit the efforts. Translatable skills to the NHL game may not include the deft scoring touch that he exhibited in Junior, but he projects into a solid lower roster player with some scoring touch.” Gus thinks that Brown will spend a couple of seasons in the AHL with the occasional callup but he will be a 15-20 goal scorer and 35-40 point third line player who knows how to check. That is a lot better than the usual third line Leaf players who score seven or eight goals.
VANCOUVER
Games this week
vs. Carolina, vs. Montreal, @ Edmonton, vs. Nashville
Rested team: None
Tired Team: vs. Nashville (Sunday)
Notes
The Canucks play four times this week including three games in four nights so look for Eddie Lack to play once with Ryan Miller getting the other three games. Miller had a horrible outing on Tuesday, giving up five goals on only 13 shots to the Dallas Stars but rebounded nicely on Thursday, stopping 31-of-32 shots in a 4-1 win over St. Louis, his former team last season. The Sedin twins are leaving last season’s outlier season on the shelf as Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin each have eight points in six games, one ahead of linemate Radim Vrbata. Alexander Edler and Chris Tanev lead the defensive corps with three points each.
WASHINGTON
Games this week
vs. Detroit, @ Tampa Bay, vs. Arizona
Rested team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
John Erskine required neck surgery this past week and while he should start rehab in a few weeks, there is no timetable for his return. The Capitals sent Tom Wilson to the minors to get in some playing time after he missed all of training camp and the first five games of the season with an ankle injury. He should return shortly and get over 100 penalty minutes with seven-ten points. Nicklas Backstrom is the first player from the 2006 Draft class to hit the 500 point mark. He beat out notables from his draft class like Phil Kessel, Jonathan Toews, Claude Giroux and Jordan Staal who are two-five respectively.
WINNIPEG
Games this week
@ New York Islanders, @ New Jersey, @ New York Rangers @ Chicago
Rested team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
The Jets play all four on the road this week including three games in four nights so expect to see Michael Hutchinson play at least once for Ondrej Pavelec. The sixth player from the 2006 Draft class in points (see Washington comment) may surprise you but it’s Bryan Little of the Jets who is at 295 career points, just 21 behind Staal. Evander Kane (knee) is progressing better than anticipated and he could start skating on his own in the next few days. There is no timetable for his return. Coach Paul Maurice has moved Dustin Byfuglien from the point on the power play to in front of the net with Tobias Enstrom playing 7:58 minutes on the power play blueline.
