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Week 15 PROSPECTUS:

Welcome to Week 15 ladies and gentlemen.  Today is a mini edition of the Fantasy Hockey ONE with just a little over a week until the All Star Break, the time is now to rack up points or wins in head to head struggles.  The condensed schedule sees quite a few teams play three, four, or even in Boston’s case five times this week.  So if you had Brad Marchand, for example, you still get to play him three times this week.  Several teams have four matchups this week like Florida, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Nashville, Buffalo, just to name a few.  Clustering your fantasy starts in back to back and three in four scnearios may be the key to sneak out a tough victory this week against a superior foe.

It really has been a crazy fantasy season for all involved.  GM’s have not seen roller coasters like this in maybe ever.  As the injuries continue to mount once again, we want people to be mindful of injuries during and around practice because that has seemed to rear its ugly head as of late.  Please follow some of the MSM out there for the latest injury news because as we all found out with Chad LaRose, we are talking about practice and it can be dangerous.

Now time for the schedule of today’s games and here goes something…..

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SCHEDULE TIME:

With the Martin Luther King holiday, there is a robust six pack of games this afternoon and tonight.  Please note there are no late games at all tonight so fantasy action will be over just a shade around 10pm ET or so. 

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KEEP AN EYE ON……

The Rookies — For example, Craig Smith has hit the proverbial rookie wall with only a goal in his last 25 games.  Yes he has his fair share of assists but the shots on goal have not yielded instances of tickling the twine.  With Ryan Nugent-Hopkins injured and Adam Henrique a bit hobbled (could play tomorrow VS. WPG), it just seems a time of year where the youngsters do slow down in production (especially the ones that started the season making the team).  That 40 game barrier is pretty commonplace but for some, there is the 60 game wall as well.

Goalie Controversies? — Look in Buffalo and Florida for how goaltending has kind of become a bit of a problem as to who will start and who will not.  Let this be a lesson, injuries, and inconsistent play have been a killer on a ton of fantasy rosters and will continue to do so this year.  Elite goaltending is the most precious commodity in fantasy hockey.  Anyone that tells you otherwise does not realize how many categories you can steal.  Keep an eye on Philadelphia as well.  Sergei Bobrovsky should be the starter but Ilya Bryzgalov has the bucks.  Here come the fantasy fireworks.

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Well let us get to the action ladies and gentlemen.  Good luck today in your leagues as Week 15 gets underway NOW!

A LOOK BACK……

Okay who let the Coachspeak column on here?  Seriously, last night’s Philly 9-2 demolition of the Columbus Blue Jackets was the saddest thing I have seen in several years.  The odd thing was no Flyer had more than three points so there was not that crooked hat trick and two or three assist kind of night by a player.  It was balanced and Philadelphia did not play its top players like it could have.  Imagine how worse it may have been. 

We had said in our previews that Columbus may be more of a fantasy black hole than most thought but no one ever considered it could be this ugly.  Columbus has quit even in most fantasy hockey circles.  Though Grant Clitsome and Vinny Prospal continue to surprise.  Both had points in last night’s debacle by the way.  The Flyers have offensive depth no question in spades and Columbus had no prayer or no hope.  It was the worst possible team they could have played at the worst time.

Other strange oddities last night was the Habs-Rangers game where yes Montreal deserved a majority of the penalties received but an 8-1 power play advantage against a team that is generally in the top 5 in drawing penalties?  Something stunk there.  Also in a game that saw the Rangers win 5-3, did you ever see a team hit more posts?  Maybe Henrik Lundqvist made some deal with his goal posts because Montreal hit the same one four times and then the crossbar.  Carey Price gave up 4 goals on 28 shots and Lundqvist 3 on 28 shots.  Honestly neither goalie was all that good in a game (because of penalties) was more chippy than had actual flow.

There is also the case of David Legwand, who has not only not collapsed like many had expected but still is producing at just over a point a game.  His two goals last night were pivotal in a 4-3 win over San Jose on the road.  Legwand has 14 points in 13 games this year so maybe there is a decade plan in Nashville for late bloomers.  Either way, it is good to see fantasy faithful who have stuck with Legwand for so long finally get rewarded.

Then there was Teemu Selanne who got thrown out for yes a double misconduct.  His unexpected 22 PIMS may have won people their fantasy leagues from a source no one and I mean NO ONE ever saw coming.  Anaheim has really been shafted in Detroit throughout the years and last night it clearly boiled over.  I will say this.  Selanne had a beef last night with the officials and clearly the message was sent and it was the wrong one by the refs.

Boston scored a touchdown with the extra point on Toronto.  Clearly for as good as the Maple Leafs have been this year, there is a clear blueprint for beating this team.  Watch how physical Boston plays Toronto and how the Maple Leafs were almost capitulating last night.  Yes James Reimer was not in net for the TML but it would not have mattered much.  Tyler Seguin’s hat trick dominated the night and as a matter of fact, he was our Fantasy POTN not surprisingly.

Okay well there are five games today ladies and gentlemen, so here is the schedule.

SCHEDULE TIME:

The Vancouver-Chicago BRAWL FOR IT ALL highlights the night but the afternoon and early evening matchup may be very interesting.  Really all the games are tonight in some way.  Consider that Winnipeg (formerly Atlanta) seems to have the Rangers’ number lately.  Colorado is 1 for the season at home and Florida is a nice early feel good story plus the Carolina matinee makes for interesting Sunday hockey for a change.

Sunday is usually seen as a fantasy formality for the most part early in the year but not this week.  Expect some scoring changes in your leagues and yes Duncan Keith is out for the Blackhawks so that may sway some people into looking down their bench a bit.  Let’s grab a quick bite but first who do we have our eye on?  It is time to find out.

OUR EYES ARE ON……

Roberto Luongo, G, Vancouver Canucks — We know the record but since he did have a bad October, a good November is in store.  Will that momentum continue tonight?  Conventional wisdom says no but something in the air says maybe here.  This is one we just toss all the numbers out and say that he will have a decent night even in defeat or slight victory.  Why is there this feeling that this game is going to OT or a shootout?  Just do not quote us on this but the first 10:00 are absolutely integral in this game for Luongo, he has to STEAL THOSE MINUTES!

Cam Ward, G, Carolina Hurricanes — This may be a perfect start Ward day.  Well it looks that way on the surface.  Dallas just scored seven times on Colorado Friday Night and are playing an afternoon game in Carolina.  Hockey players are not used to playing this early but this may affect Dallas more than Carolina who usually has a few of these home games every November.  In what should be a relatively low scoring game, Ward should top his counterpart, Kari Lehtonen, in a well played duel.  If you have Ward in your leagues, we recommend the start.

Duchene-Stastny-Hejduk, Colorado Avalanche — While this line will never rival Tanguay-Forsberg-Hejduk in the 2001 season, this line is capable of being a consistent fantasy producer and that is saying something.  They have to produce tonight at home though.  The problems with the Avalanche at home are mind boggling but not surprising.  Coach Joe Sacco is clearly outcoaching himself with the last change.  If he thinks less and just lets it fly, hopefully it results in more scoring at home.  The tradeoff is less defense.  Thankfully Calgary comes into town tonight.  It may be another banner night for the first line even in the friendly confines.

We will be live tweeting throughout the night on our fantasy thoughts and stay tuned late for our #TeamTurkey submission.  The show goes for two hours starting at 8pm ET so be there!