Well there was only one game last night and yet the following above happened. The Toronto Maple Leafs came back from a 3-1 hole to tie it and then win 4-3 in the shootout. Phil Kessel had a goal and two assists with Joffrey Lupul continuing to play hot as well as he nabbed the game winner in the individual contest that has some fantasy value, sort of.
FANTASY PLAYER OF THE NIGHT…..
Phil Kessel, F, Toronto Maple Leafs — This was kind of obvious as his goal and 2 assists give him a surprising 12 points on the young season but if you look back in the last five years, Phil Kessel has scored no fewer than 3 goals in his first five games. So it seems early on, Kessel gets the label Mr. October and then well you know. The 7 goals and 5 assists combined with the chemistry with Joffrey Lupul may extend this point scoring binge a bit longer but they do play Boston tonight which has been Kessel’s Kryptonite. So time will tell there.
SCHEDULE TIME:
Thursday, October 20, 2011 |
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| Teams | Notes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toronto | at | Boston | 7:00 PM | Gameday | ||
| Washington | at | Philadelphia | 7:00 PM | Gameday | ||
| Montreal | at | Pittsburgh | 7:00 PM | Gameday | ||
| Winnipeg | at | Ottawa | 7:30 PM | Gameday | ||
| NY Islanders | at | Tampa Bay | 7:30 PM | Gameday | ||
| Buffalo | at | Florida | 7:30 PM | Gameday | ||
| Chicago | at | Colorado | 9:00 PM | Gameday | ||
| NY Rangers | at | Calgary | 9:30 PM | Gameday | ||
| Minnesota | at | Edmonton | 9:30 PM | Gameday | ||
| Nashville | at | Vancouver | 10:00 PM | Gameday | ||
| Los Angeles | at | Phoenix | 10:00 PM | Gameday | ||
This is a nice buff 11 game schedule tonight full of intrigue and many potential fantasy hockey happy returns. There could be a lot of offense packed into the action as well but one never knows because after all, this is the NHL and it is early where many strange things happen.
Many happy returns………
Michael Cammalleri, F, Montreal Canadiens — Cammalleri returns from a lacerated leg and definitely will play tonight against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Montreal really needs a healthy near point a game producing Cammalleri if they hope to make the playoffs and really the Montreal sniper did not have a chance to get it going with the early injury so in a sense this is like take 2 on the season so to speak. Pittsburgh I think will have someone that may be able to combat or at least try to stop the speedy forward.
Brooks Orpik, D, Pittsburgh Penguins — The Pen?s welcome back Brooks Orpik into the mix after offseason hernia surgery. This defenseman plays a wicked game and does rack up hits and blocked shots which are definitely missed by many in fantasy leagues this early in the year. The fact that Orpik was able to come back so fast is definitely good news and he should jump right into the action almost seemlesly.
ONES TO WATCH……..
The Boston Bruins — The whole team is on here for a reason. Why? Well to be honest, they played abysmal in a third period against Carolina that could be described as a bottomless pit. Lots of effort but no execution will drive everyone crazy. Even Claude Julien got thrown out. That should tell you something right there. They play the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight and that should amp the energy level up. These are the types of games where Boston rises up. Will they have David Krejci? That seems to be 50-50 at best but no matter what Boston will have Tim Thomas in net and they seem to play better with him behind the pipes. Maybe tonight is the night their players snap out of it for your fantasy teams.
Jaromir Jagr, F, Philadelphia Flyers — Look Jagr admitted that he “played like crap” when he was in Washington but tonight he gets to beat up on the Capitals. Jagr has looked pretty good in about 14-15 minutes of ice time a night and he may get nights off as the season ramps up its intensity but so far so good for the Flyers and Jagr. This could be the type of night where he turns on the magic again sort of like what he did in the World’s when Team USA got the “Jagr Trick”. A multi point night is not out of the question for certain.
John Tavares, F, New York Islanders — Tavares had back to back four point efforts last week and he plays the Tampa Bay Lightning again but this time in Tampa. The Bolts have been awful defensively and in net. The reality is the prognosis is just as bad short term which could be good for Tavares owners tonight no matter what the Islanders do. This is going to be a fun game as Tavares and Steven Stamkos do battle. Expect a lot of fireworks.
Well that is it for now, good luck and we will have live updates via Twitter throughout the night….
