Yes it is a light night in the NHL. There are five games tonight but the real war is between the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs. This game is just as important fantasy wise as it is hockey wise. Add in the fact that the game will be played in Toronto and clearly the importantly spikes for Toronto. They have to beat Boston, have to! Really there is no other way to slice this one. However last night brought about some interesting events in the fantasy world.
Let’s take a quick look back……
A LOOK BACK…….
Penguins V. Rangers — This one lived up to the fantasy hype…sort of. Yes Sidney Crosby had two assists and the usual suspects all figured into the scoring after a slight delay but the real scene stealer was Marian Gaborik. We have killed Gaborik for his propensity to be injured or “dog it” since the invention of the wheel it seems. However, credit has to be heaped his way for how he has bounced back this year. He had a PPG and assist but more importantly the goal proved to be the game winner. His overall awareness, shot selection, and speed have been daggers to opponents all year. Henrik Lundqvist and Marc-Andre Fleury were not on their games last night. It was one of those nights.
I AM SCHNEIDER! — Roberto Luongo who? Now Vancouver has maintained upside down and sideways that Luongo is their guy but if Cory Schneider keeps playing like this, well you know the rest. All he did was stop 47 of 48 against Columbus last night and looked confident every second of the way. He plays more aggressive than Luongo and positionally may be better than Luongo but Luongo has the contract. That is where the situation gets a little gray and understandably so. Roberto Luongo can play at an elite level still but how long can Vancouver keep both guys happy? That will be an interesting storyline to follow.
SCHEDULE TIME:
Wednesday, November 30, 2011 |
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| Teams | Notes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston | at | Toronto | 7:00 PM | Gameday | ||
| Tampa Bay | at | Detroit | 7:30 PM | Gameday | ||
| New Jersey | at | Colorado | 9:30 PM | Gameday | ||
| Minnesota | at | Edmonton | 9:30 PM | Gameday | ||
| Montreal | at | Anaheim | 10:00 PM | Gameday | ||
The first game is the headliner but people might want to keep an eye on all the games tonight. There are some pretty big fantasy implications, especially in Anaheim where the team has gone so far south, so fast. For example Colorado is 4-9 at home. That is worse than Anaheim’s 4-8 mark. It does not help that Colorado is facing a team that is more suited to the road like New Jersey. Speaking of, we have the following.
KEEP AN EYE ON…..
Landeskog and Parise? — This sounds like an odd combo considering they are on different teams but these are guys who have been seriously snakebitten lately. Gabriel Landeskog has three points in November and Zach Parise has been kind of in a funk all November long (disputed goals notwithstanding). I have a feeling one of these two snap out of it tonight. Landeskog and Parise both rested on Sunday and the Avs forward only played 17:53 of ice time on Monday which is lower than usual. Parise has been working on finishing harder in practice this week. Let’s see what happens.
Anaheim Calling? — Can anyone in Anaheim step up enough to get this team out of the abyss it has found itself in? The Perry-Getzlaf-Ryan line has been about as productive as cardboard cutouts the last few weeks. Worse, Jonas Hiller has been sucked into this vortex of bad play seemingly giving up 3 or more goals everytime out. Anaheim does play a beatable Montreal team tonight who is meandering a bit under Jacques Martin. If the Ducks do not get it going, a roster shakeup seems very much in order and then well another execution of a coach.
Kris Letang — Now he is not playing tonight but I do want people to read this article from The Concussion Blog. Why? it is simple. Now Letang may have come back from that hit and scored you precious points for the GWG in overtime but how much time could it cost him down the road. We have all seen this too many times before with other players. When will the league and these medical staffs learn? Hopefully this is a catalyst that gives fantasy hockey and hockey fans a clearer idea of what is going on.
Good luck tonight fantasy wise everyone and remember the show starts at 8pm ET! See you then…..
