So here we go on a Tuesday in the fantasy hockey landscape. There were five games last night and really except for the Edmonton third period outburst and Colorado’s, these games were pretty well fantasy boring unless you owned say Pekka Rinne. Even the Henrik Lundqvist shutout was a snoozer as he faced 13 shots and honestly it did not even look like ten. So what really stood out on a relatively slow night. We tried our best and did find our Fantasy POTN.
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FANTASY POTN:
Jason Arnott, C, St. Louis Blues — On a night where high outputs were at a premium, Arnott provided the biggest surprise of all with two goals (both on the power play) as well as the game winner in a 3-1 win over the Calgary Flames on the road. Arnott now has 15 goals on the season and is a decent third tier fantasy option for many GM’s. Yes his ATOI will kill you at times but when he nabs a few power play points, no one is complaining. Last night he was right place, right time. Hopefully you had him in.
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A QUICK LOOK BACK:
Henrik Lundqvist, G, New York Rangers — Honestly it was only a 13 save shutout but in fantasy circles it still counts as a win and shutout. That is the bottom line when it comes to fantasy. It really is as cold as simple numbers in this case. The game against the New Jersey Devils may have been the easiest shutout a goaltender can ever receive. When teams pass the puck instead of shooting so much, a goalie clearly has them in their heads. As a result, you see Lundqvist here as he continues his march towards Vezina.
Pekka Rinne, G, Nashville Predators — Rinne could be headed toward another Vezina nomination in the summer with performances like this. He stopped 30 of 31 shots in the 2-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings and the saves were not easy. LA’s acquisition of Jeff Carter has really sparked them but Rinne was up to the task last night making several point blank stops in the win. When the Predators goalie gets in a rhythm, look out. This year he looks locked in heading into your fantasy playoffs in a couple weeks. He is a surefire fantasy elite netminder now.
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SCHEDULE TIME:
Tuesday, February 28, 2012 |
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| Teams | Notes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ottawa | at | Boston | 7:00 PM | Gameday | ||
| Florida | at | Toronto | 7:00 PM | Gameday | ||
| NY Islanders | at | Washington | 7:00 PM | Gameday | ||
| Nashville | at | Carolina | 7:00 PM | Gameday | ||
| Detroit | at | Columbus | 7:00 PM | Gameday | ||
| Montreal | at | Tampa Bay | 7:30 PM | Gameday | ||
| Los Angeles | at | Minnesota | 7:30 PM | Gameday | ||
| Vancouver | at | Phoenix | 9:00 PM | Gameday | ||
| Philadelphia | at | San Jose | 10:30 PM | Gameday | ||
Tonight has only nine games on the schedule (Tuesday is double digits) but most teams should be able to nearly or just about have a full fantasy roster going anyway. We bring in Ian Gooding for his Pick Six take on the deadline. Here it goes…..with a trade deadline twist.
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PICK SIX:
It seems as if the much-hyped trade deadline day is becoming less and less exciting every year. The days of the blockbuster trades in which teams are either clear buyers or clear sellers are a thing of the past, thanks to the salary cap and its resulting parity. Fantasy teams will experience little to no effect from the day that was; nonetheless, I’ll break down the day that was (or wasn’t) from a fantasy perspective as far as the most significant names are concerned.
Ben Bishop, G, OTT, and Robin Lehner, G, OTT
Bishop has paid his dues in AHL (24-14-4, 2.26 GAA, .928 SV% with Peoria) and was clearly not happy being a third-string goalie on the Blues’ depth chart. The freakishly tall (6’7”) goalie may get his opportunity with the Senators to be the short-term starter with Craig Anderson likely sidelined for several more weeks, although Bishop was sent to the AHL on Monday. The also highly-touted Lehner played well in backstopping the Sens to a victory on Sunday against the Islanders. Should he struggle, the Senators won’t waste any time in calling up Bishop and immediately placing him in the starter’s chair.
Cody Hodgson, C, BUF
Arguably the biggest name moved on Monday, Hodgson wasn’t about to see the kind of minutes he deserved with Henrik Sedin and Ryan Kesler standing in front of him on the depth chart. Those minutes shouldn’t be a problem in Buffalo, where he will have a much easier time breaking through onto the top 6. Hodgson was on pace for 20 goals while averaging less than 13 minutes of icetime per game, so imagine what he’d be capable of if he is playing on the Sabres’ second line. If there’s one player you’ll want to add as a result of trade deadline day, it’s the now NHL-ready Hodgson.
Zack Kassian, RW, VAN, and Marc-Andre Gragnani, D, VAN
Canuck fans (like me) are no doubt questioning the move to trade Hodgson, but let’s examine the pieces that were sent Vancouver’s way. The upside on Kassian is that he could one day fit the mold of former Canuck Todd Bertuzzi circa 2002-03: a big body who can score goals at will while providing an answer to players gusty enough to mess with the Sedins. He has proven himself at both the OHL and AHL level (15 goals in 30 games this season), although he may not make an impact this season. Meanwhile, Gragnani is the possible heir apparent to Sami Salo as a power-play pointman, as 7 of his 12 points this season have resulted from the man advantage.
Andrei Kostitsyn, RW, NSH, and Paul Gaustad, C, NSH
The short-term winner of trade deadline day has to be the Nashville Predators, who added two depth forwards in an attempt to make a serious run at the Stanley Cup. Kostitsyn is as enigmatic as they come, although a reunion with younger brother Sergei could prove beneficial for both players. Besides, if Sergei can turn into a decent NHLer in Barry Trotz’s system, then maybe he can work something with Andrei. Gaustad should be more predictable as a player who provides toughness and lots of penalty minutes with a third-line level of offense. Don’t get too excited about the fantasy prospects of either player, as Nashville tends to spread out its scoring.
Tom Gilbert, D, MIN
Oilers fans seem ecstatic to part with turnover machine Gilbert while receiving the steadier Nick Schultz in return. However, Minnesota native Gilbert is the d-man that potentially provides a greater fantasy return. Gilbert will probably fight it out with Jared Spurgeon and recently acquired Kurtis Foster for the key power-play minutes. However, Gilbert has cracked 30 points three times in his career and 40 points once, so he may hold the upper hand at this point.
Rick Nash, LW, CBJ
I couldn’t write this article without mentioning the biggest name not to be moved on trade deadline day. However, we can certainly foreshadow what is to come: a summertime Nash deal, thanks to Blue Jackets GM Scott Howson admitting that Nash asked for a trade. With the Blue Jackets merely playing out the string, Nash will probably be going through the motions himself. With 43 points (21g-22a) and a (-23) in 62 games, Nash probably isn’t the top player on your fantasy team this season. Don’t expect that pace to improve, meaning that selling Nash before your own league’s trade deadline might not be a bad idea.
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Good luck tonight in your fantasy leagues and remember to check out Daily Joust for your daily fantasy sports needs. We will be live tweeting throughout the night once again and Weekly Slapshot hits at 9:30pm Et for your rapid fire fantasy hockey needs. Thanks for reading.
