Now that was a beauty of a goal hockey fans. It is not a secret that Blake Wheeler enjoys a little home cooking but 11 of his 15 goals this year are at the MTS Centre. Normally you do not go that far to start a guy just at home but its a pretty close call for guys like Wheeler and even Brian Little, who seem to elevate their game to almost elite levels at home. We call it the “Keith Primeau effect”. There are just fantasy players annually who perform like this with the home cooking.
Last night was a light night with only three games so let’s see who was the Fantasy POTN and then get down to further business.
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FANTASY POTN:
Marc-Andre Fleury, G, Pittsburgh Penguins — This one got lost in the shuffle because the reality is all three games were low scoring last night even though the Anaheim game did hit the over (empty net insurance markers). After Pittsburgh scored twice early, Fleury had to keep Pittsburgh in the game as oddly enough Phoenix became the better team and motivated at that. It was not just the 36 saves the goaltender made but some of the point blank chances he stopped, particularly on Ray Whitney and Radim Vrbata. The fact that Brent Johnson cannot be relied upon means Fleury has to shoulder just about all of the goaltending load. This makes last night’s performance that much more impressive and keeps his owners happy.
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QUICK LOOK BACK:
Bryan Little, RW, Winnipeg Jets — It is often said that a guy like this just flies on the ice but at the MTS Centre, Little just flat out flies and the Buffalo Sabres had a tough time keeping up. The three assists were testament to the speed and playmaking ability this forward has. All three of those helpers were also primary assists by the way so there were no “cheap points” there. Little could potentially top 50 points this year and people often forget the player does have 19 goals and an astounding 6 GWG’s on the year. Those are numbers in deeper leagues that GM’s would just about absolutely die for.
Corey Perry, RW, Anaheim Ducks — Like we said it was a rather light night in the NHL. It was tough to keep Jonas Hiller and his 34 saves out of this but the 22 shot barrage he faced in the second period was mostly perimiter shots to be honest and Perry did technically nab the game winner. His two goals brought him up to 33 on the year and he will easily top 40 this year so its not quite the dropoff from last year some were predicting. Perry has to have a March like last year for Anaheim to make the playoffs because otherwise they are golfing come early April.
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SCHEDULE TIME:
Tuesday, March 6, 2012 |
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| Teams | Notes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston | at | Toronto | 7:00 PM | Gameday | Tickets | ||
| NY Rangers | at | New Jersey | 7:00 PM | Gameday | Tickets | ||
| Detroit | at | Philadelphia | 7:00 PM | Gameday | Tickets | ||
| Carolina | at | Washington | 7:00 PM | Gameday | Tickets | ||
| Phoenix | at | Columbus | 7:00 PM | Gameday | Tickets | ||
| Ottawa | at | Tampa Bay | 7:30 PM | Gameday | Tickets | ||
| Chicago | at | St. Louis | 8:00 PM | Gameday | Tickets | ||
| Los Angeles | at | Nashville | 8:00 PM | Gameday | Tickets | ||
| Minnesota | at | Colorado | 9:00 PM | Gameday | Tickets | ||
| Montreal | at | Calgary | 9:00 PM | Gameday | Tickets | ||
| Dallas | at | Vancouver | 10:00 PM | Gameday | Tickets | ||
| Edmonton | at | San Jose | 10:30 PM | Gameday | Tickets | ||
This is such a big schedule that we had to call in Ian Gooding to do his Pick Six for today. Something tells me I think people may enjoy this one. Take it away Ian……
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PICK SIX:
Tuesday features 12 games on the schedule, so it is a relatively busy day with some important decisions for fantasy owners. Many key decisions start in net, so you may be happy to know that four of the six choice in this version of the Pick Six happen to be goalies. Let’s start with one well-known goalie who has once again found NHL employment after an almost year-long hiatus.
Marty Turco, G, ??? – ignore
Just when you assumed that player transactions ended with the trade deadline last week, Turco virtually reappeared from outer space, signing a contract for the rest of the season with the Bruins. Assuming that he clears waivers (and that is not a given, considering what happened to Evgeni Nabokov last season), Turco would lighten the workload for Tim Thomas the rest of the way, now that Tuukka Rask is on the shelf for the next 4-6 weeks. Feel free to drop Rask if needed, but please don’t add Turco along the way. Even though Turco has had a solid career, his numbers over the past three seasons suggest that you should stay away – whether he lands in Beantown or elsewhere.
Mathieu Garon, G, TB – add/start
Given the Lightning’s porous defense (30th in NHL), I can hardly believe that I’m suggesting to add Garon. However, the Bolts netminder is on a four-game win streak. He has allowed three goals in three of the four wins, but who says the Bolts need to play defense when Steven Stamkos will score at least a goal anyway? The Bolts are playing at home against Ottawa, so add Garon if you are chasing wins.
Ray Emery, G, CHI – add/start
Razor is on a roll of his own right now, having won three consecutive games while allowing one goal in each of those games. Facing the Blues in St. Louis won’t be an easy task, but rolling with the hot goalie is never a bad idea as the Hawks attempt to avoid losing ground in the Western Conference playoff race.
Joey MacDonald, G, DET – add/start
Because Jimmy Howard is day-to-day with a lower-body injury, MacDonald has been thrust into the starter’s role for Tuesday match with Philadelphia. MacDonald was no ordinary replacement the last time Howard was on the shelf, posting a seven-game win streak. His numbers this season are absolutely stellar (7-2-1, 1.69 GAA, .933 SV%), so he is a deep sleeper that could turn out to be a massive help in your playoff push.
Ryan Malone, LW, TB – add
Malone has mainly been an afterthought in fantasy leagues this season, but it’s worth mentioning that he has points in six of his last seven games. The possible season-ending injury to Vincent Lecavalier could result in more power-play time for the power forward, who has the potential to be a multicategory performer the rest of the way. Malone has reached the 20-minute mark for icetime in each of his last two games.
Mike Green, D, WAS – drop
Green is on the waiver wire in one of my leagues, but I am letting him sit there. What I am saying seemed inconceivable just a few short months ago, but the onetime unquestioned number one defenseman in fantasy has a grand total of six points – SIX POINTS – this season. Worse yet, the last time he scored a point was in October! He has missed a significant portion of that time since because of injury, but Green has been held without a point in the eight games since his return. If someone offers him to you in a trade, don’t take the bait. There’s plenty wrong with the Caps right now, and you don’t need any part of it.
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Good luck ladies and gentlemen and yes we will be doing the usual live tweeting along with Weekly Slapshot at 9:30pm ET on BTR’s Fantasy Sports Channel. Listen on in and get some fun rapid fire fantasy insight as the playoffs approach or start in some cases. Thanks again for reading.
