Senators home cooking
The Ottawa Senators have a rare four game week in that all the games are at home. This is as a result of the postponement of the Senators-Toronto game on October 22 which was re-scheduled for November 9.
There are 48 games this week in the NHL as the schedule is now starting to get busier. Next week I'm going to start looking at the breakdown of some of the schedule, especially Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday when the majority of the games are played.
There is a lot going on so let's go to it.
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Now to The Week Ahead.
WEEK OF NOVEMBER 3-9
4 Games - Detroit, Edmonton, New York Rangers, Ottawa, St. Louis, Toronto, Vancouver
3 Games- Anaheim, Arizona, Buffalo, Calgary, Carolina, Chicago, Colorado, Columbus, Dallas, Florida, Los Angeles, Minnesota, Montreal, Nashville, New Jersey, New York Islanders, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, San Jose, Tampa Bay, Washington, Winnipeg
2 Games– Boston
Edmonton and Vancouver play all four games away from home.
Ottawa plays all four games at home.
Calgary, Nashville, the New York Islanders, Pittsburgh and Toronto play three games on the road.
Anaheim, Buffalo, Dallas, the New York Rangers and Philadelphia play three games at home.
Don't forget to join a Yahoo Hockey pool. It’s not too late.
INJURIES
Aleksander Barkov is day-to-day with a lower body injury. (Click here to see the rest of the injury list.)
ANAHEIM
Games this week
vs. New York Islanders, vs. Arizona, vs. Vancouver
Rested team: vs. Vancouver (Sunday)
Tired Team: None
Notes
John Gibson had a horrible start to the season as he gave up six goals in the opener which took place in his hometown of Pittsburgh. But he has been sensational since then, giving up only three goals in the next three games including a 38 save shutout over the Chicago Blackhawks. I still like him to be the starting netminder over Frederik Andersen, possibly by Christmas. Patrick Maroon is expected to return either Friday or Sunday from a knee injury that was supposed to keep him out four weeks, but instead kept him out only two. It should be interesting to see if he returns to the top line with Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry, or if Devante Smith-Pelly remains there.
ARIZONA
Games this week
vs. Toronto, @ Anaheim, vs. New York Islanders
Rested team: None
Tired Team: vs. New York Islanders (Saturday)
Notes
I pity every fantasy owner who has Mike Smith on their roster. (I’m one of them) He has a 3.96 GAA and a .866 save percentage. While coach Dave Tippett says that he does not want to put all the blame on Smith, he is a terrible fantasy choice at this time. I have to wonder if he is a good buy-low candidate, or just get rid of him at this time goalie. Martin Erat has three goals thus far, equaling his total of 2013-14. While that just shows how badly he slumped last season, he could hit the 20-goal mark with the Coyotes this season. Fan favorite Paul Bissonnette has inked a deal with the Coyotes American League affiliate in Portland, Maine.
BOSTON
Games this week
vs. Florida, vs. Edmonton
Rested team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
The Bruins are the only team to play twice this week. Zdeno Chara and Torey Krug are both injured and will be out for the next two-three weeks (Chara will be out longer), so Dougie Hamilton will get first unit time but David Warsofsky, a call up from the minors this week, could see some power play time as well. Reilly Smith has moved down to the fourth line alongside Gregory Campbell and Daniel Paille after accumulating only one assist in his previous six games. Seth Griffith is seeing time on the first line with David Krejci and Milan Lucic and responded with two goals and an assist Tuesday in a 4-3 loss to Minnesota. He is worth a pickup in deeper drafts at this time.
BUFFALO
Games this week
vs. Montreal, vs. Edmonton, vs. Pittsburgh
Rested team: vs. Montreal (Wednesday), vs. Edmonton (Friday)
Tired Team: vs. Pittsburgh (Saturday)
Notes
The Sabres play three games in four nights so Michel Neuvirth should get at least one start for Jhonas Enroth. The Sabres have yet to decide whether or not to keep Sam Reinhart or send him back to junior. I would send him back as the losing atmosphere in Buffalo (they are one of the favorites to finish last overall) will not do his confidence any good and playing for Canada at the World U20 Championships will be a big boost for his career. The Sabres have scored only 12 goals in 11 games. The 13th goal that shows up in the stats is as a result of a shootout win. Tyler Ennis leads the Sabres in goals with four. **Late news* The Sabres ended up sending Reinhart to Kootaney of the WHL. Good move.
CALGARY
Games this week
@ Washington, @ Tampa Bay. @ Florida
Rested team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
After going the first 11 games without either goalie starting two consecutive games, things will change on Halloween with Jonas Hiller getting his second straight start with Karri Ramo remaining on the bench. If you have to take a Calgary goalie, it sure looks like Hiller is the one at this time as he is 3-2-1 with a 1.63 GAA and a .948 save percentage while Ramo has lost his last three starts. The Flames picked up a couple of injuries on Tuesday as Joe Colborne (upper body) and Matt Stajan (knee) were hurt. Mason Raymond leads the Flames with five goals in 10 games but was placed on the injured reserve list with an upper body injury.
CAROLINA
Games this week
@ Columbus, vs. Columbus, @ Washington
Rested team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
The Hurricanes play the Columbus Blue Jackets in a home-and-home series this week so expect tempers to flare. Jay Harrison leads the way in penalty minutes with 27 but 17 occurred in the second game of the season and he has been in only one fight. Jay McClement has been the only other Carolina player with a major so the lowly Hurricanes can’t keep the puck out of the net and are unwilling to fight. Both netminders Anton Kudobin and Cam Ward are 0-3-1 this season heading into action on Thursday with Khudobin having a 3.24 GAA with a .891 save percentage. He has been the better fantasy goalie with the Hurricanes as Ward has a 3.94 GAA with a .840 save percentage. Stay away from Carolina netminding.
CHICAGO
Games this week
@ Montreal, vs. Washington, vs. San Jose
Rested team: vs. San Jose (Sunday)
Tired Team: None
Notes
Scott Darling has already played three times as the Blackhawks recalled him from the minors to replace the injured Corey Crawford. Crawford backed up Darling on Thursday as Crawford returned to the lineup from an upper body injury but instead of sending Darling back to the minors, Antti Raanta was up in the press box as the third goalie. Darling gave up four goals to the Senators so look for the Blackhawks to send him back to Rockford of the AHL. Marian Hossa had not scored in seven straight games before putting one in on Thursday and now has two goals this season. Daniel Carcillo is out four weeks with an apparent knee injury.
COLORADO
Games this week
vs. Vancouver, vs. Toronto, @ Philadelphia
Rested team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
Dennis Everberg was recalled on Thursday and will play on the third line with Alex Tanguay and John Mitchell, forcing Daniel Briere to the press box. Ah, the plight of the second year player. Nathan MacKinnon was outstanding last season, winning the Calder Trophy but he was off to a slow start this season with only four assists and a minus-six rating in his first 10 games until a two goal outburst on Thursday. Hopefully this is the start of his turnaround. Cody McLeod has 26 penalty minutes in 10 games but has yet to earn a point. Of course, as soon as I wrote this, he potted his first of the season. Tyson Barrie leads the Avalanche blueliners with seven points.
COLUMBUS
Games this week
vs. Carolina, @ Carolina, vs. Tampa Bay
Rested team: None
Tired Team: vs. Tampa Bay (Saturday)
Notes
The Blue Jackets have suffered a lot of injuries (Nathan Horton, Brandon Dubinsky, Boone Jenner) and that continued this week as Mark Letestu (groin), Artem Anisimov (concussion) and James Wisniewski (broken finger) were all hurt on Tuesday against the Senators. It all started on Monday when goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky suffered a fractured finger in practice. The Blue Jackets play the Hurricanes in a home-and-home series so look for Corey Tropp and/or Jared Boll to get into a fight or two if there are any fisticuffs. Ryan Johansen is showing that you do not need to attend training camp as he leads the Blue Jackets in scoring with five goals and 12 points in nine games after missing all of camp as a holdout.
DALLAS
Games this week
vs. Los Angeles, vs. Nashville. vs. San Jose
Rested team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
Ales Hemsky has only one assist this season with a minus-six rating in nine games and coach Lindy Ruff wants to get him going so he is thinking about playing him on the top power play. The Stars are putting all their eggs in one basket offensively as Jason Spezza is playing with Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn on the top line but do not be surprised if the Stars split up Spezza and Seguin (with Seguin heading back to center) as they spread out their scoring. Valeri Nichushkin is on a short rehab assignment in the AHL as he tries to get back into playing shape after missing almost three weeks with a hip/groin injury. He will see top-six minutes upon his return.
DETROIT
Games this week
@ Ottawa, @ New York Rangers, vs. New Jersey vs. Tampa Bay
Rested team: vs. New Jersey (Friday), vs. Tampa Bay (Sunday)
Tired Team: @ New York Rangers (Wednesday)
Notes
The Red Wings play three games in four nights so expect to see Jonas Gustavsson play once with Jimmy Howard getting the rest of the action. Howard is off to a hot start with a 4-1-2 record to go with a 1.96 GAA and a .928 save percentage. The Red Wings sent Stephen Weiss to the minors on a rehab assignment but the center suffered a groin injury and is back in Detroit getting it taken care of. Johan Franzen could return as early as October 31 from a groin injury. Dan DeKeyser has been seeing regular duty on the power play and is second among Detroit blueliners in ice time with the man-advantage to Niklas Kronwall.
EDMONTON
Games this week
@ Philadelphia, @ Boston, @ Buffalo, @ New York Rangers
Rested team: @ New York Rangers (Sunday)
Tired Team: @ Buffalo (Friday)
Notes
The Oilers start a five game road trip and play three games in four nights as part of their four game week, so look for Viktor Fasth, who just returned from a groin injury, to play at least once with Ben Scrivens playing two or three times. Scrivens has been hot of late with four wins in his last five games, giving up 11 goals on 152 shots to lower his GAA to 3.01 and raise his save percentage to .896. He was pretty bad before that. Leon Draisaitl will remain with the Oilers as he played his 10th game of the season on Wednesday and has now burned a year on his entry level contract. The talented center has a goal and three points.
FLORIDA
Games this week
@ Boston. @ Philadelphia, vs. Calgary
Rested team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
Nick Bjugstad had 16 goals last season with 22 assists and it was thought that the 22-year-old was ready to explode this season but thus far it has not happened with only an assist in seven games. Roberto Luongo has given the Panthers some solid goalkeeping with a 2-2-2 record to go with a 2.57 GAA and a .917 save percentage. Brandon Pirri leads the team in goals with three in eight games as he has filled in nicely on the third line for the injured Dave Bolland.
LOS ANGELES
Games this week
@ Dallas, vs. New York Islanders, vs. Vancouver
Rested team: vs. New York Islanders (Thursday)
Tired Team: None
Notes
While Mike Richards has only three points this season, he continues to pile up the penalty minutes as he has 29 in only 10 games. Anze Kopitar has missed the last two games with an upper body injury but should be back in action this week. After stating that Jonathan Quick would get a reduction in games played this season, Quick started eight of the Kings first nine games before Martin Jones got the start in goal on Thursday. Of course, Quick’s hot start in which he was 5-1-2 with a 1.78 GAA and a .950 save percentage, made coach Darryl Sutter’s decision easier. Expect to see more of Jones in the last five months of the season.
MINNESOTA
Games this week
vs. Pittsburgh, @ Ottawa, @ Montreal
Rested team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
Darcy Kuemper is 5-2-0 this season with a 1.71 GAA and a .927 save percentage and that is after giving up five third period goals on Monday. Niklas Backstrom is seeing limited duty and is only 1-1 this season. Jonas Brodin is out of action with a hand injury that is affecting his stickhandling. Consider him day-to-day. Erik Haula is also out of action with a head injury after the Rangers John Moore elbowed him on Monday. Moore received a five game suspension for his digression. Thomas Vanek has seven points in nine games this season but the Wild’s top free agent signing in the off-season, has yet to find the back of the net.
MONTREAL
Games this week
vs. Chicago, @ Buffalo, vs. Minnesota
Rested team: None
Tired Team: @ Buffalo (Wednesday)
Notes
Rene Bourque is off to a very slow start with only one assist in 11 games. Tomas Plekanec started the season off hot and still is the leading scorer on the Canadiens with five goals and nine points. P.K Subban is doing what he does best and that’s contributing in all categories as he has three goals, seven points, 18 penalty minutes and a plus-three in 11 games. That will end up being a 20-plus-goal, 50-plus point season with over 125 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of over 20 if he continues this pace the rest of the season. Carey Price is 7-1-1 this season with a 2.48 GAA and a .920 save percentage.
NASHVILLE
Games this week
@ Winnipeg, @ Dallas, @ St. Louis
Rested team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
The Predators finish off a six-game road trip this week. Viktor Stalberg was sent to the minors on a conditioning stint after playing in five games since returning from a lower body injury. He has yet to hit the scoresheet. Matt Cullen returned to action for the first time this season on Wednesday (one assist) as he recovered from an upper body injury that was thought to be a concussion. Mike Fisher is due back in late November from an off-season ruptured Achilles tendon but took the first step back as he is skating at practice, albeit, not in contact drills. Mike Ribeiro and Filip Forsberg lead the Predators in points with seven. Forsberg has been especially good as a fantasy player as he is a plus-10 in nine games, which is fourth best in the NHL.
NEW JERSEY
Games this week
vs. St. Louis, @ St. Louis, @ Detroit
Rested team: vs. St. Louis (Tuesday)
Tired Team: @ Detroit (Friday)
Notes
The Devils play three games in four nights this week so expect to see Scott Clemmensen play once in place of Cory Schneider. They also play the St. Louis Blues in a home-and-home series and if there are fisticuffs, look for Bryce Salvador and Ryane Clowe to be in the middle of things. Andy Greene has yet to get a goal but his plus-nine makes him fantasy relevant. Finally!!! After losing 18 straight shootout games over the last two-plus seasons, the Devils finally won one with Jacob Josefson scored the winner on Thursday over the Jets. Michael Cammalleri is day-to-day with a sore jaw. Martin Havlat (lower body) and Jordin Tootoo (foot) have been placed on the injured reserve list.
NEW YORK ISLANDERS
Games this week
@ Anaheim, @ Los Angeles, @ Arizona
Rested team: @ Arizona (Saturday)
Tired Team: @ Los Angeles (Thursday)
Notes
The Islanders finish their five game road trip this week. They play three games in four nights so look for Jaroslav Halak and Chad Johnson to each get one start with the hotter goalie playing the game against the Coyotes. The Islanders have been getting spotty netminding as Halak is 3-3-0 with a 3.51 GAA and a .889 save percentage with Johnson at 3-1 with a 3.46 GAA and a .870 save percentage. The peripherals are terrible for both and Halak could be in trouble as the number one goalie if Johnson ever gets hot. I wouldn’t recommend either at this time. Johnny Boychuk lost some fantasy value as Lubomir Visnovsky is on the first power play. Boychuk took over while Visnovsky was injured and has accumulated seven of his eight points on the power play.
NEW YORK RANGERS
Games this week
vs. St. Louis, vs. Detroit, @ Toronto, vs. Edmonton
Rested team: vs. Detroit (Wednesday)
Tired Team: vs. Edmonton (Sunday)
Notes
The Rangers play four times this week so expect to see Cameron Talbot play once for Henrik Lundqvist. Derek Stepan could be back this week from a fractured fibula that has kept him out of action this season. He is skating on his own at this time. John Moore was suspended for five games for his illegal check to the head of Erik Haula. Mike Kostka is expected to dress in his spot. Mats Zuccarello broke out of his slump on Monday with a three point effort and now has four points in eight games. Rick Nash has nine goals and 11 points in nine games while Chris Kreider is up to 38 penalty minutes and leads the NHL in the category. Do not expect this to last.
OTTAWA
Games this week
vs. Detroit, vs. Minnesota, vs. Winnipeg, vs. Toronto
Rested team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
The Senators play four times this week including three games in four nights so expect to see Robin Lehner play at least once for Craig Anderson. The Senators have been getting excellent goalkeeping so if you handcuffed them, you are doing quite well. Anderson is 2-2-1 with a 2.38 GAA and a .934 save percentage while Lehner is better at 3-0-1 with a 2.18 GAA and a .939 save percentage. Mika Zibanejad scored his first of the season on Thursday. It’s taking the talented Swede a bit longer to become established than originally thought as he had 16 goals and 33 points in 69 games last season but he is only 21 and still has a bright future ahead of him.
PHILADELPHIA
Games this week
vs. Edmonton, vs. Florida, vs. Colorado
Rested team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
The Flyers are home for all three this week. Jakub Voracek is leading the NHL in assists with 12 and linemate Claude Giroux is right behind him with 11. It makes sense that Michael Raffl, the current third member of the line has six goals including four in his last three games. It’s a shame that he is only owned in 4 percent of Yahoo pools. The usually rough and tumble Flyers do not have anyone in double digits in penalty minutes. That was a shift to enforcers like Dave Schultz, Don Saleski and Battleship Kelly in the 70’s. Andrew MacDonald and Braydon Coburn are both on the injured reserve list and the Flyers inked Carlo Colaiacovo to a contract to bolster their blueline. Ray Emery has taken over as the Flyers number one goaltender as he has made four consecutive starts. He is 4-1-1 this season with a .915 save percentage and a 2.74 GAA, much better than Steve Mason’s 0-3-1 record with a 3.83 GAA and a .878 save percentage.
PITTSBURGH
Games this week
@ Minnesota, @ Winnipeg, @ Buffalo
Rested team: @ Buffalo (Saturday)
Tired Team: None
Notes
The Penguins power play consists of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Patric Hornqvist, Chris Kunitz and Kris Letang with Letang and Malkin on the point. This quintet has been outstanding as Crosby and Malkin have eight points with the man-advantage, while Hornqvist has seven, Letang six and Kunitz five. That’s amazing production for nine games. Beau Bennett (lower body) could return to action in the next couple of weeks. He is a top-six forward but may not start there. Steve Downie has a goal and four points with 25 penalty minutes this season. Olli Maatta will be out four weeks starting this week as he will undergo surgery to remove a tumor on his thyroid gland. We wish him a speedy recovery.
ST. LOUIS
Games this week
@ New York Rangers, @ New Jersey, vs. New Jersey, vs. Nashville
Rested team: None
Tired Team: @ New Jersey (Tuesday)
Notes
The Blues play four times this week including three games in four nights so look for Jake Allen to play at least once for Brian Elliott. The goaltending duo has been sensational with Elliott having a 3-2-1 record but great peripherals with a 1.98 GAA and a .917 save percentage. Allen has been even better as he is 2-1-0 with a 1.34 GAA and a .944 save percentage. A couple of concussions during Tuesday’s game have put David Backes and T.J. Oshie on the shelf. Oshie has had a tough start to the season with only one assist in seven games before the injury. Vladimir Tarasenko has been shooting more as he has 38 shots on goal to lead the Blues. He is tied for 11th in the NHL at this time.
SAN JOSE
Games this week
vs. Vancouver, @ Dallas, @ Chicago
Rested team: None
Tired Team: @ Chicago (Sunday)
Notes
The Sharks play three games in four nights so look for Alex Stalock to play once with Antti Niemi getting the other two starts. Tommy Wingels is thriving on the second line with Logan Couture and Patrick Marleau as he has five goals and eight points in 12 games. John Scott is eligible to return on November 1 as he was suspended for two games for leaving the bench on a legal line change to battle Tim Jackman of the Ducks. Brent Burns leads all defensemen in points with 13, four ahead of Keith Yandle, Kevin Shattenkirk and the surprising Anton Stralman.
TAMPA BAY
Games this week
vs. Calgary, @ Columbus, @ Detroit
Rested team: @ Columbus (Saturday)
Tired Team: @ Detroit (Sunday)
Notes
The Lightning play three games in four nights so it appears that Evgeni Nabokov will get a start with Ben Bishop getting two. As mentioned previously, Anton Stralman has nine points and is a plus-11 this season. He has taken over the point on the power play from the injured Victor Hedman and while he hasn’t picked up a power play point in the six games, he is quarterbacking the pp. Ryan Callahan is out with a lower body injury and could return as early as November 1. Ondrej Palat is back together with Tyler Johnson as Nikita Kucherov is on the other wing.
TORONTO
Games this week
@ Arizona, @ Colorado, vs. New York Rangers, @ Ottawa
Rested team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
The Maple Leafs head out to the American Southwest to play a couple of games before returning home and play three games in four nights as a result of having the postponed game against Ottawa re-scheduled to Sunday. Look for James Reimer to play at least once with Jonathan Bernier playing the remainder of the games. Stuart Percy was recalled on Thursday and could see some action if the Leafs play seven defensemen again. Leo Komarov has six assists and is fourth in Toronto scoring. Toronto switched up its top two lines this past week as Nazem Kadri is centering Phil Kessel and Joffrey Lupul, while Tyler Bozak and James van Riemsdyk are playing alongside David Clarkson.
VANCOUVER
Games this week
@ Colorado, @ San Jose, @ Los Angeles, @ Anaheim
Rested team: None
Tired Team: @ Anaheim (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. If you are looking for power play goals, then Linden Vey could be your man as he is playing on the first power play and has three goals with the man-advantage. He is owned in only two percent of Yahoo pools. Alexander Edler continues to play well this season as he has a goal and four points in 10 games with a plus-three rating after picking up seven goals and 22 points with a league-worst minus-39 total last season.
WASHINGTON
Games this week
vs. Calgary, @ Chicago, vs. Carolina
Rested team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
Alex Ovechkin is really slumping as he has gone five games without a point. That is a career high (or low) for him. The Capitals split Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom up as Backstrom lined up with Marcus Johansson and Troy Brouwer while Ovie played with rookie Andre Burakovsky and Joel Ward. Tom Wilson got into his first game this season and was minus-one. He is someone to pick up if you are looking for some penalty minutes. As many predicted, Matt Niskanen is not the offensive threat with the Capitals as he was last season in Pittsburgh. He has only three assists in nine games and with John Carlson and Mike Green ahead of him on the depth charts offensively, his power play time will be limited.
WINNIPEG
Games this week
vs. Nashville, vs. Pittsburgh, @ Ottawa
Rested team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
As much as I don’t think that Ondrej Pavelec is the answer in Winnipeg, he has played well thus far as he is 4-4-1 this season with a 2.34 GAA and a .908 save percentage. I’m still not a big fan of his. Zach Bogosian returned to action on Thursday from an upper body injury and was reunited with Tobias Enstrom on the blueline. The return on Thursday of Evander Kane was a much bigger deal in Winnipeg as he started with Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler on the Jets top line. He has nary a point in two games this season as he was hurt early on in the opening game but he should turn it on soon. He is not owned in 22 percent of Yahoo pools so there are plenty of leagues that could still use him.
