Hockeycentric Fantasy Focus: December 17th, 2009
In this week’s Fantasy Focus, Henrik Sedin has vaulted himself into the NHL’s elite scorers, and sits just one point behind league leader Joe Thornton.
Nicklas Backstrom is scoring goals as well as collecting assists, and a pair of Nashville defencemen are playing great.
Jon Quick is superb in LA, and two notable goaltenders get bitten by the injury bug, as well as everybody’s favourite underachieving Senator.
First let’s take a look at last week’s notable player performances:
F – Henrik Sedin – 3 GP, 0 goals and 6 assists
F – Nicklas Backstrom – 3 GP, 3 goals and 3 assists
F – Martin Havlat – 3 GP, 2 goals and 4 assists
F – Nathan Horton – 3 GP, 3 goals and 4 assists
F – Alexander Ovechkin – 3 GP, 1 goal and 5 assists
D – Sergei Gonchar – 3 GP, 1 goal and 3 assists
D – Shea Weber – 4 GP, 3 assists
D – Ryan Suter – 4 GP, 3 assists
D – Kimmo Timonen – 4 GP, 2 goals and 1 assist
D – Francois Beauchemin – 3 GP, 1 goal and 2 assist
G – Jon Quick – Last 4 GP, 3-1-0, .921 SV%, 2.25 GAA
G – Brian Elliot – Last 4 GP, 3-1-0, .948 SV%, 1.25 GAA, 2 shutouts
G – Roberto Luongo – Last 4 GP, 3-1-0, .929 SV%, 2.25 GAA
WHO’S COLD
F – Andrew Ladd – Last 10 GP, 0 goals, 0 assists and a -1 rating
F – Devin Setoguchi – Last 7 GP, 0 goals, 0 assists and a -3 rating
F – Chris Drury- Last 5 GP, 0 goals, 0 assists and a -1 rating
F – Maxim Afinogenov – Last 5 GP, 0 goals, 0 assists and a -7 rating
F – Jeff Carter – Last 4 GP, 0 goals, 0 assists and a -3 rating
D – Steve Staios – Last 10 GP, 0 goals, 0 assists and a -7 rating
D – Braydon Coburn – Last 8 GP, 0 goals, 0 assists and a -3 rating
D – Dennis Wideman – Last 6 GP, 0 goals, 0 assist and a -2 rating
D – Jay Bouwmeester – Last 5 GP, 0 goals, 0 assist and -2 rating
D – Mark Streit – Last 5 GP, 0 goals, 1 assist and a -6 rating
G – Brian Boucher – Last 3 GP, 1-2-0, 0.878 SV% and 3.67 GAA
G – Tim Thomas –Last 3 GP, 0-2-1, .873 SV% and 3.78 GAA
G – Martin Biron – Last 2 GP, 0-1-0, .800 SV% and 6.08 GA
WAIVER WATCH
We mentioned him last week, but if the Florida Panthers #1 pivot Stephen Weiss is still on the waiver wire in your pool, get him while he’s hot. Weiss has 14 points in his last 10 games, and is playing on a line with Nathan Horton and Michael Frolik.
The son of former NHL great Frans Nilsson, Robert Nilsson has strung together some points during the Oilers recent 5 game winning streak. His overall stats on the season are not impressive, but he is worth a look as he appears to be heating up.
Buffalo Sabres rookie Tyler Myers is gaining support for the Calder Trophy. He regularly plays over 25 minutes a game, and in has 3 assists in his last 4 games played. Could add an offensive boost to your D.
DROP IT LIKE IT’S HOT
Peter Laviolette has a hold of the reigns in Philadelphia, and he’s making changes. He recently yanked James van Riemsdyk off the powerplay, and replaced him with Aaron Asham. Van Riemsdyk has just 1 point in his last 9 games, and has a rating of -2 over that span. Until the Flyers turn their season around, van Riemsdyk won’t be very productive.
After an impressive start to the season, Matt Gilroy was sent to Hartford of the AHL. Coach John Tortorella said Gilroy has a lot to learn, and “doesn’t give a darn” if he is a Hobey Baker award winner or not.
INJURY REPORT
The Ottawa Senators learned this week that Jason Spezza has a torn MCL in his right knee and will be sidelined for 6-8 weeks. Spezz isn’t supposed to be back until after the Olympic break.
Oft-injured winger Erik Cole is expected to miss 3 weeks with an upper body injury. Fellow Hurricane Chad LaRose is going to miss up to 4 weeks with a lower body injury. They join fellow injured Hurricanes Joe Corvo, Tim Gleason, Michael Ryan and Niclas Wallin.
Last overall pick in the 2003 draft Jonathon Ericsson is out indefinitely with a knee injury. Tests showed no damage to the major ligaments in his knee, but there is no timeline for his recovery yet. The Wings recalled Doug Janik from Grand Rapids of the AHL to fill in for Ericsson.
Early Calder Trophy favourite Semyon Varlamov will be out until mid or late December with a lower body injury. Look for Jose Theodore to get most of the starts in his place, and Michael Neuvirth to step in once or twice.
Check back every Thursday morning for the Fantasy Focus, and don’t forget to check out our line combos section, updated throughout the week.
