Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen! This is our late edition of Fantasy Hockey ONE. Last night there were only four games in all with some very interesting results as always. In this relatively fast paced edition, we glance back at what happened then look ahead to the games tonight.
Really there is no better time than now to get to this so let us get started.
A LOOK BACK…..
Kari Lehtonen, G, Dallas Stars — Lehtonen just keeps on winning and just keeps saving Dallas’s collective bacon. Anaheim had 10 or more shots in each period and in all, the Dallas goalie stopped 35 of 36 shots in the 3-1 win. He has five starts and five wins so really he could not do much more honestly. The key for Lehtonen is the ability to stop rebounds which few can quite like him. More importantly, he may be the healthiest in his career which is bad news for the rest of the NHL if that keeps up.
Loui Eriksson, F, Dallas Stars — So Brad Richards who? Eriksson had 2 goals and an assist last night in the 3-1 win over the Anaheim Ducks. One of the biggest questions in the offseason would be how would Eriksson get “his points”. Well with Jamie Benn on his line, the answer was simple. Maybe youth was just the better direction to go after all for Dallas because so far that is how it is panning out. The reality is maybe GM Joe Nieuwendyk was on to something after all. Either way so far it is all working in the Big D.
Johan Franzen, F, Detroit Red Wings — This was a tough choice as Val Filppula had four points (1 G, 3 A) but Franzen had two goals last night both on the man advantage which set the tone for Detroit in their 5-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Both goals were scored in vintage “Mule” fashion and it was the best Franzen has looked all year. It really has to be encouraging to all Red Wings fans and Detroit has another tough test tonight against Washington so they will need all the scoring they can get.
SCHEDULE TIME:
Saturday, October 22, 2011 |
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| Teams | Notes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nashville | at | Calgary | 4:00 PM | Gameday | ||
| Minnesota | at | Vancouver | 4:00 PM | Gameday | ||
| San Jose | at | Boston | 7:00 PM | Gameday | ||
| Toronto | at | Montreal | 7:00 PM | Gameday | ||
| Columbus | at | Ottawa | 7:00 PM | Gameday | ||
| St. Louis | at | Philadelphia | 7:00 PM | Gameday | ||
| New Jersey | at | Pittsburgh | 7:00 PM | Gameday | ||
| Detroit | at | Washington | 7:00 PM | Gameday | ||
| Carolina | at | Winnipeg | 7:00 PM | Gameday | ||
| Buffalo | at | Tampa Bay | 7:00 PM | Gameday | ||
| NY Islanders | at | Florida | 7:30 PM | Gameday | ||
| Colorado | at | Chicago | 8:30 PM | Gameday | ||
| NY Rangers | at | Edmonton | 10:00 PM | Gameday | ||
| Dallas | at | Los Angeles | 10:30 PM | Gameday | ||
Now that is one very busy schedule tonight and people will have to keep remotes on overload for the early games as there are nine early games in the Eastern Time Zone. What is odd is the fact that again there are only two late games but that is how it is for fantasy owners as tonight pretty much will determine your Week 2.
If you are close in your battles this week, 7pm tonight will be an agonizing six hours of watching scoreboards, flipping channels, and lots of hoping and praying. Let’s give you our three for tonight on top of the six you got yesterday.
THREE FOR THE ROAD……
Adam Henrique, F, New Jersey Devils — Sure sometimes there are just gambles but this is a huge one. While Jacob Josefson (clavicle) is out for the next 3-4 months, this will be Henrique’s opportunity to show what he made of at the NHL level. Some argued that Henrique should have seen significant minutes from the get go but there is no better time than the present. Sure starting out on a road trip may actually be the best panicea for a team with much uncertainty and that goes for Henrique as well.
Andrew Raycroft, G, Dallas Stars — The fact that Kari Lehtonen is not starting is understandable as Lehtonen’s shot load is in the top 3 in the NHL. This is the type of game where Dallas will have a bit of a tough time against a Los Angeles team that likes to impose its will. There will be lots of down low and crease battles (more than usual). Raycroft will just have to put one together tonight for Dallas to have any chance as offensive players from LA are licking their chops at the chance to not have to worry about facing Lehtonen.
Brayden Schenn, F, Philadelphia Flyers — Schenn may have his best scoring opportunities of his career tonight as he gets paired with Claude Giroux and Jaromir Jagr. Topping all this off is the fact Philadelphia will be playing St. Louis and Jaroslav Halak in net. Halak has had his well documented struggles and so has St. Louis but the Blues do come off a big two points from last night against Carolina. Needless to say, Schenn will not be a -3 tonight against the Blues. Expect a few good things tonight from the talented pivotman with a bit more beefy role.
As always we will be live tweeting fantasy updates as they happen with some useful tips as well. Good luck tonight in your fantasy leagues.
