It's too early to panic
Don’t panic!!! If your team is off to a bad start, don’t make a reactionary trade just for the sake of it.
In one of my fantasy pools, I’ve got what I call tennis goalkeeping thus far. My goaltenders in a 14 team league that has three goaltending spots is: Henrik Lundqvist, Mike Smith and John Gibson. All are off to horrible starts but I liked them before the season started and one bad week isn’t going to change my mind.
Why did I call it tennis goalkeeping? Well, John Gibson lost 6-4 to Pittsburgh in his only start, Henrik Lundqvist has lost 6-3 to Toronto, 6-3 to the Islanders and what is the anomaly, beat the Blues 3-2. Mike Smith in the meantime, lost 6-2 to Winnipeg and beat the Oilers 7-4 (must have been a tiebreaker).
I wrote the above paragraphs on Thursday afternoon so it was nice to see Lundqvist shine on Thursday night with his second win of the season, upping my save percentage to a less than gaudy .844.
When it comes to trades, I was offered Tomas Plekanec and Nazem Kadri for Matt Duchene. I did not panic and give up my third round selection for a couple of players whose point totals will be similar to plenty of players on the waiver wire.
It’s only been one week.
Do not panic. Unless of course you want to pick up Richard Panik.
Congratulations to one of my favorite twitter followers Mike Leah (@GoLeafsGoEh) who won his first World Series of Poker title in Australia this morning and with it his first gold bracelet. Now, if the Leafs could only win the Cup…
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 20-26
4 Games - Chicago, San Jose, Tampa Bay, Vancouver
3 Games- Anaheim, Arizona, Boston, Buffalo, Calgary, Carolina, Colorado, Columbus, Dallas, Detroit, Edmonton, Nashville, New Jersey, New York Islanders, Ottawa, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Toronto, Washington, Winnipeg
2 Games– Florida, Los Angeles, Minnesota, Montreal, New York Rangers, St. Louis
Tampa Bay plays all four games away from home.
Carolina, Columbus, Vancouver and Washington play three games on the road.
Anaheim, Calgary, Edmonton, Nashville and Winnipeg play three games at home.
Don't forget to join a Yahoo Hockey pool. It’s not too late.
INJURIES
Patrick Maroon is out four weeks with an MCL sprain. (Click here to see the rest of the injury list.)
ANAHEIM
Games this week
vs. Buffalo, vs. Columbus, vs. San Jose
Rested team: vs. Columbus (Friday), vs. San Jose (Sunday)
Tired Team: None
Notes
It could be a wild one at home against the Sabres as the two sides met on Monday and Patrick Maroon suffered a knee injury at the hands (well, really the body) of Josh Gorges. There may be fisticuffs and if there is, Tim Jackman and Clayton Stoner should pick up extra penalty minutes. John Gibson was sent to the minors to get in some playing time on the weekend so expect him back this week. In the meantime, they recalled Jason LaBarbera to back up Frederik Andersen. I still think that Gibson will be their number one goalie by the end of the season but Andersen is certainly leading the way now.
ARIZONA
Games this week
@ Nashville, @ Minnesota, vs. Florida
Rested team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
Mikkel Boedker is red-hot in the early going with five goals and six points in his first three games. Mike Smith looked a lot better in his second outing, giving up four goals on only 27 shots but a couple of the goals were on horrible giveaways, so look for Smith to be better this week as he should get two out of three starts. The Coyotes may well have the best pair of defensemen in Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Keith Yandle. They play the majority of the power play and Ekman-Larsson should finally start getting some Norris consideration. I don’t know what is in the water in Sweden but between Ekman-Larsson, Erik Karlsson and Victor Hedman, they are going to be tough to beat at the World Cup in 2016.
BOSTON
Games this week
vs. San Jose, vs. New York Islanders, @ Toronto
Rested team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
The Bruins scored only four goals in their first four games so they signed Simon Gagne who had been with the team in training camp on a professional tryout. They scored twice on Wednesday during regulation and then scored four on Thursday including Gagne’s first of the season but 10 goals in six games is not going to cut it, even if you have Tuukka Rask in goal for the majority of games. Of course with efforts like Thursday in which Rask gave up five goals on only 23 shots before being pulled, will not help either. Gagne will start on the fourth line but he really needs to be a top-six forward to be effective. David Krejci is back in the lineup after missing the first three games with a lower body injury. Bobby Robins had 14 penalty minutes after just two games but the 33-year-old was placed on waivers and then sent to the minors once the Bruins inked Gagne.
BUFFALO
Games this week
@ Anaheim, @ Los Angeles, @ San Jose
Rested team: None
Tired Team: @ Los Angeles (Thursday)
Notes
The Sabres are in sunny California for all three games. They were called out by coach Ted Nolan after a horrendous performance on Monday against the Ducks and responded on Tuesday with their first win of the season. Look for the Ducks to go after Josh Gorges on Wednesday when they are in Anaheim as he put Patrick Maroon out for what should be four weeks with a sprained MCL after he took him hard into the boards. Andrej Meszaros was a healthy scratch on Tuesday after he started the season as a minus-six through his first three games. I can’t really recommend any Sabres, especially if you play the plus/minus category.
CALGARY
Games this week
vs. Tampa Bay, vs. Carolina, vs. Washington
Rested team: vs. Tampa Bay (Tuesday)
Tired Team: None
Notes
After an impressive training camp, the Flames recalled Josh Jooris this week. Sam Bennett required shoulder surgery that should keep him on the shelf for the next four-six months. Look for the Flames top-pick to go back to junior hockey once he is healthy enough to play. Jonas Hiller was outstanding on Wednesday as he kicked out 49 shots in a 2-1 win over Chicago in overtime. Mark Giordano and T.J. Brodie give the Flames a very good one-two punch on the blueline, especially on the power play. Jiri Hudler is back after missing one game with the flu. Matt Stajan has been relegated to fourth line duty.
CAROLINA
Games this week
@ Winnipeg, @ Calgary, @ Edmonton
Rested team: None
Tired Team: vs. Edmonton (Friday)
Notes
The Hurricanes play three times in four nights as they are on the Canadian Prairies so look for Anton Khudobin to play twice with Cam Ward likely getting one start. The Hurricanes will get the weekend off as well. Jeff Skinner is expected to play against the Jets on Tuesday and that is quite an achievement since many thought he would be out a long time with his third concussion since turning pro in the 2010-11 season. Andrej Sekera suffered an upper body injury on Tuesday when he crashed hard into the end boards but he could return as early as the Jets game. There are rumors abound that the Hurricanes may blow up the team and trade Eric Staal. Toronto has been mentioned as a possible destination but Staal would have to agree to a deal as he has a no-trade contract.
CHICAGO
Games this week
vs. Philadelphia, @ Nashville, @ St. Louis, vs. Ottawa
Rested team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
The Blackhawks play four times this week including three games in four nights so look for Antti Raanta to play in his first game of the season. Brad Richards continues to get third line action with Bryan Bickell and Ben Smith and if that persists, he will lose a lot of fantasy value, although he is on the second power play with Brent Seabrook, Brandon Saad, Marian Hossa and Bryan Bickell. David Rundblad could be an interesting player in Chicago. He has bounced around a few teams since being drafted 17th overall in 2009 by St. Louis as he has also been a part of the Ottawa and Coyotes organizations but he just turned 24 last week and that is a good age for a defenseman. Keep him on your radar screen.
COLORADO
Games this week
vs. Florida, vs. Vancouver, @ Winnipeg
Rested team: vs. Vancouver (Friday)
Tired Team: None
Notes
The Avalanche are off to a slow start this season, especially compared to last year when they came out of the gate like gangbusters, topping the NHL for the first part of the season. They were unable to score in their first two games and snuck past Boston on Monday, scoring the winner with less than a second to go in the third. They reverted back to form on Tuesday as they lost to the Maple Leafs. Semyon Varlamov has been put on injured reserve with a groin injury. Reto Berra should start in goal for Colorado although he had to leave Thursday’s game after he was run over by Mike Stone, putting Calvin Pickard between the pipes. The Avs really miss the play of Paul Stastny who knew how to score but also was a solid defensive player. His loss is the St. Louis Blues gain. Coach Patrick Roy is impressed with Dennis Everberg and he could remain with Colorado even after John Mitchell and Patrick Bordeleau return from injuries.
COLUMBUS
Games this week
@ San Jose, @ Anaheim, @ Los Angeles
Rested team: None
Tired Team: @ Anaheim (Friday)
Notes
The Blue Jackets play three games in four nights in California so expect to see Curtis McElhinney play once in place of Sergei Bobrovsky. Ryan Johansen apparently did not need training camp as he has five points in his first three games. Ryan Murray could return as early as October 18. Cam Atkinson is off to a good start with three goals and four points in his first three games. He also has 13 shots on goal. The Blue Jackets are off to a good start in the Metropolitan division winning two of their first three games. Brandon Dubinsky could be out a little longer than first thought as he needed surgery on both sides of his groin. Look for his return just after American Thanksgiving.
DALLAS
Games this week
vs. Vancouver, @ New Jersey, @ New York Islanders
Rested team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
Valeri Nichushkin is out of action for at least a week with a sore groin. He has yet to see any ice time on the power play. Cody Eakin saw some action on the first line Tuesday with the injury to Nichushkin alongside Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn (as Benn and Seguin combined for all four goals and three assists) but the primary beneficiary was Colton Sceviour who had an assist and was plus-three. Antoine Roussel had a goal and 14 penalty minutes on Saturday. Look for Kari Lehtonen to play 60-plus games if he can stay healthy as the Stars have not been able to count on any of their backup goalies in the last few seasons.
DETROIT
Games this week
@ Montreal, vs. Pittsburgh, @ Philadelphia
Rested team: vs. Pittsburgh (Thursday)
Tired Team: None
Notes
Pavel Datsyuk is still day-to-day with a shoulder injury. Daniel Alfredsson was hoping to return to the Red Wings this season but his NHL career could be over as he is having a tough time returning from a back injury. Justin Abdelkader is seeing time on the first line but that should change once Datsyuk returns from injury. While their fantasy value is negligible, Joakim Andersson, Drew Miller and Luke Glendening are impressing coach Mike Babcock as fourth line players. Gustav Nyquist has three goals in three games and is seeing time on a line with Johan Franzen and Henrik Zetterberg. They will only add to the fantasy value of Nyquist.
EDMONTON
Games this week
vs. Tampa Bay, vs. Washington, vs. Carolina
Rested team: vs. Carolina (Friday)
Tired Team: None
Notes
Viktor Fasth is on the injured reserve list with a groin injury and the Oilers recalled Richard Bachman to take his place. Ben Scrivens has not played well so do not be surprised if Bachman sees a couple of starts in the short-term. Taylor Hall continues to be the best player on the Oilers as he has three goals and four points in four games. I do not understand the love affair poolies have with Justin Schultz. I understand he is good on the power play but his five-on-five play is horrible. He had 11 goals and 33 points last season with 12 points on the pp but was minus-22 with only16 minutes in penalties. His first season in the NHL he had eight goals and 27 points in 48 games with a minus-17 rating and eight penalty minutes. This season he has a measly power play assist and is minus-four in four contests. He is owned in 55% of Yahoo pools. I just don’t understand.
FLORIDA
Games this week
@ Columbus, @ Arizona
Rested team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
The Panthers only play twice this week so I suggest reserving any players you may have in weekly transaction pools. Jussi Jokinen is likely not owned in your pool as only 36% of leagues have him but he is still on the top line in Florida with Aleksander Barkov and Jonathan Huberdeau and he is worth stashing in deeper pools. Shawn Thornton should be owned in deeper pools that use penalty minutes but currently he is out with a lower body injury. Aaron Ekblad is starting to look good and I would be surprised if he is sent back to junior hockey.
LOS ANGELES
Games this week
vs. Buffalo, vs. Columbus
Rested team: vs. Buffalo (Thursday)
Tired Team: None
Notes
Marian Gaborik is out with an upper body injury and he was replaced on Tuesday by Mike Richards who lined up with Anze Kopitar and Justin Williams. The Kings finally started scoring on Tuesday as they put a six-spot on the Edmonton Oilers. They get what should be another easy matchup this week against the Sabres who should be a bottom-dweller this season and who are also playing the back end of back-to-back games. Tanner Pearson is off to a great start with four goals in five games.
MINNESOTA
Games this week
vs. Arizona, vs. Tampa Bay
Rested team: vs. Tampa Bay (Saturday)
Tired Team: None
Notes
The Wild play only twice for the third week in a row so once again I recommend resting all in weekly transaction pools with the exception of Zach Parise, Mikko Koivu and Thomas Vanek. Darcy Kuemper has been great thus far as he has been perfect in two wins and was named the second star of the week. The Wild have started contract talks with Charlie Coyle and Mikael Granlund as they want to sign both to longer term deals as they finish off their entry level contracts this season. This is after inking defenseman Jonas Brodin to a six-year deal.
MONTREAL
Games this week
vs. Detroit, vs. New York Rangers
Rested team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
The Canadiens also play only twice this week but both games are at home. Nevertheless, bench all your Habs with the exception of P.K. Subban, Carey Price and Max Pacioretty. The Canadiens were bombed 7-1 by the Lightning on Monday as Tampa Bay chased Price from the net after a couple of periods as he gave up four goals on 23 shots. It sounds like he’s ready to be traded to my fantasy team. Montreal finally scored on the power play Thursday after going 0-14 in their first four games.
NASHVILLE
Games this week
vs. Arizona, vs. Chicago, vs. Pittsburgh
Rested team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
Colin Wilson is getting a shot on the first line with Mike Ribeiro and James Neal and that can’t hurt his fantasy value. Filip Forsberg has a goal and four points in three games this season as the 20-year-old rookie could get some consideration for Calder. The Predators gave up the veteran Martin Erat for Forsberg at the 2013 trade deadline and right now the deal is one-sided in the Predators favor. Eric Nystrom is off to a good start with a couple of goals but don’t expect that to continue. He is playing well on the third line with Paul Gaustad. Matt Cullen (upper body) is getting close to a return.
NEW JERSEY
Games this week
vs. New York Rangers, vs. Dallas, @ Ottawa
Rested team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
The Devils are getting amazing production out of 20-year-old Damon Severson as he has three goals and an assist in four games. The defenseman is also a plus-five in only four games for the Devils. New Jersey suffered its first loss Thursday as the Capitals beat them 6-2. Adam Larsson still cannot get into the lineup (Severson has a lot to do with that) and he may need a game or two in the minors if this trend continues. The Devils have the oldest team in the NHL and that’s after losing of Martin Brodeur. Veteran Patrik Elias is off to a good start with three points in his first four games.
NEW YORK ISLANDERS
Games this week
vs. Toronto, @ Boston, vs. Dallas
Rested team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
Although his peripherals are not so great as he has a 2.92 GAA and a .900 save percentage, Jaroslav Halak is 3-0 this season. The Islanders top line of Kyle Okposo, John Tavares and Brock Nelson on the power play has been on fire this season as they have combined for 23 points in only four games. Lubomir Visnovsky has skated for the last three days but his return from a back injury is still up in the air. The Islanders have sent former first round pick Griffin Reinhart to the minors as they activated Calvin De Haan. Ryan Strome has four points in four games.
NEW YORK RANGERS
Games this week
@ New Jersey, @ Montreal
Rested team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
Rick Nash is playing hockey in the early going like the Rangers envisioned he would when they traded for him in the summer of 2012. He has six goals and seven points in five games and is a plus-three. Kudos to all who ended up taking him in the middle rounds of most drafts. After a couple of horrible starts in which he gave up six goals apiece, Henrik Lundqvist was solid on Thursday giving up only one goal in a shootout win. Mats Zuccarello picked up his first point of the season in the same game but I still think his 59 point season in 2013-14 was out of character and he should be closer to the 45 point mark this season.
OTTAWA
Games this week
vs. Toronto, vs. New Jersey, @ Chicago
Rested team: vs. Toronto (Wednesday)
Tired Team: None
Notes
It looks like Craig Anderson is playing closer to his great 2012-13 season than last season’s disaster as he is 2-1 with a 2.01 GAA and a .939 save percentage. I’m really impressed with Cody Ceci and think he can be a very good defenseman in fantasy hockey. He currently has a couple of assists in four games and while Erik Karlsson will continue to be the big gun in Ottawa, Ceci could do quite well as well. Jared Cowen hasn’t played since Saturday when he had a bad giveaway. Clarke MacArthur is off to a nice start with two goals and three points in four games.
PHILADELPHIA
Games this week
@ Chicago, @ Pittsburgh, vs. Detroit
Rested team: None
Tired Team: @ Pittsburgh (Wednesday)
Notes
Vincent Lecavalier is out a couple of weeks after taking a shot from Mark Streit off his foot. Pierre-Edouard Bellemare took his spot on the second line with Brayden Schenn and Wayne Simmonds while Blair Jones got into the lineup as the Flyers fourth line center. Samuel Morin, the Flyers first pick and 11th overall in the 2013 draft, who came awfully close to making the team out of training camp, fractured his jaw in a game for Rimouski of the QMJHL and will be out of action until mid-late November. Braydon Coburn is ready to return to the Flyers lineup after suffering a lower body injury and that should help the Flyers blueline as he will play alongside Andrew MacDonald.
PITTSBURGH
Games this week
vs. Philadelphia, @ Detroit, @ Nashville
Rested team: vs. Philadelphia (Wednesday)
Tired Team: @ Detroit (Thursday)
Notes
The Penguins play three games in four nights so expect to see Thomas Greiss play once with Marc-Andre Fleury getting two starts. It looked pretty scary on Thursday night when Pascal Dupuis was crosschecked in front of the net and then taking a slapshot to the back of his neck but he gave a thumbs up after being carted off the ice on a stretcher, so hopefully he was not too seriously injured. He was off to a good start with a goal and three helpers in three games with all his points coming in the opener against Anaheim. Patric Hornqvist continues to shine offensively with two goals and three assists in three games including a power play assist in every game. It certainly does not hurt if you play with Sidney Crosby.
ST. LOUIS
Games this week
vs. Vancouver, vs. Chicago
Rested team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
The Blues only play twice this week so look elsewhere in weekly transaction pools if you can with the exceptions of Alex Pietrangelo, Kevin Shattenkirk, Paul Stastny and Alexander Steen. Patrik Berglund returned to action on Thursday and skated on the second line with David Backes and T.J. Oshie. His return relegated Steve Ott to fourth line duty. Paul Stastny is off to a good start with the Blues as he has a goal and four points in three games after St. Louis signed him to a four-year/$28 million deal. Carl Gunnarsson was acquired by the Blues from Toronto in exchange for Roman Polak during the off-season but has yet to make his St. Louis debut as he underwent off-season hip surgery. He is due back soon as he has received clearance for contact.
SAN JOSE
Games this week
@ Boston, vs. Columbus, vs. Buffalo @ Anaheim
Rested team: None
Tired Team: @ Anaheim (Sunday)
Notes
The Sharks play three games in four nights as they also play four games for the second week in a row. Look for Alex Stalock and Antti Niemi to split the net this week. Tomas Hertl scored his second goal in four games and if he continues to play as a top-six forward, then 30-35 goals this season could be within his range. Mirco Mueller was a healthy scratch on Tuesday as coach Todd McLellan wanted him to watch a game from the press box for a different perspective of the game and he responded when back in the lineup on Thursday with an assist in 16:50 minutes of action.
TAMPA BAY
Games this week
@ Edmonton, @ Calgary, @ Winnipeg, @ Minnesota
Rested team: None
Tired Team: @ Calgary (Tuesday) @ Minnesota (Saturday)
Notes
The Lightning sent their prized rookie Jonathan Drouin to the minors for a two week rehab assignment, the only way they could send him to the AHL as he still has junior hockey eligibility. He will return within the 14 day time frame and make his NHL debut. As good as a season that Victor Hedman had last year, this season is off to an even better start with three goals and seven points in four games. This is after a 13 goal and 55 point effort last season. Steve Stamkos had the hat trick on Monday and now has four points in four games.
TORONTO
Games this week
@ New York Islanders, @ Ottawa, vs. Boston
Rested team: None
Tired Team: @ Ottawa (Wednesday)
Notes
James Reimer has played well in his two starts after Jonathan Bernier struggled in his first two games and this being Toronto, there is already a goaltending controversy taking place. Joffrey Lupul is day-to-day with a lower body injury. Daniel Winnik has moved up to the second line with Nazem Kadri and the aforementioned Lupul and that can only help his fantasy value. Coach Randy Carlyle is more than pleased with his high energy line of Mike Santorelli, David Clarkson and Leo Komarov, as the trio are grinding it out against the opponents top line. Stephane Robidas could be a healthy scratch as the Maple Leafs try to get Jake Gardiner back in the lineup.
VANCOUVER
Games this week
@ Dallas, @ St. Louis, @ Colorado, @ Washington
Rested team: vs. Washington (Sunday)
Tired Team: @ Colorado (Friday)
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. Heading into action on Friday, the Canucks have played a league-low two games but with six games over the next10 nights, they will more than make up for it. Daniel Sedin has four assists in his first two games. Derek Dorsett was playing on the third line and the jump on the depth chart forced Zack Kassian down to the fourth line. Bo Horvat should be cleared for contact next week as he tries to return from a shoulder injury suffered two weeks ago.
WASHINGTON
Games this week
@ Edmonton, @ Calgary, @ Vancouver
Rested team: None
Tired Team: @ Vancouver (Sunday)
Notes
The Capitals are in Western Canada all week. Mike Green is off to a hot start with five points including two goals in three games. Maybe the switch to coach Barry Trotz helped his play. He was the 20th defenseman on average to go in Yahoo pools and his ADP was 104. He is certainly playing better than that. Braden Holtby has been great thus far with a 2-0-1 record to go with a 1.85 GAA and a .932 save percentage. Troy Brouwer is seeing first line time with Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom and that has to help his fantasy value as he was already on the first power play with them. Andre Burakovsky is still hot with two goals and five points in four games to go with a plus-four rating.
WINNIPEG
Games this week
vs. Carolina, vs. Tampa Bay, vs. Colorado
Rested team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
The Jets are home for all three games this week as they end their five game homestand. Winnipeg is all or nothing in odd-man advantages or disadvantages as they have killed off all 14 shorthanded situations while being unable to score on nine power plays. Blake Wheeler has been a fantasy dream this season with two goals and three points in three games, as well as 22 penalty minutes. He set a career high in minutes last season with 63 and could easily surpass that in 2014-15. Dustin Byfuglien is seeing first line action with Evander Kane on the shelf as he now playing with Mark Scheifele and Wheeler.
