So now we start to get down into the grind of the playoffs.  There is only one more playoff series to open the 2012 NHL Playoffs.  The great part of last night was that simply there were three Overtime games and only one snoozer.  Tonight could be another powderkeg as the playoffs roll on.  First off, a many thanks to all the people who read and listen to us and the birthday wishes, it means a lot.

Now let’s quickly get on with this as we name last night’s Fantasy POTN.

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FANTASY POTN:

Mike Smith, G, Phoenix Coyotes

All the guy did was played his heart out.  Maybe he did get a little too overaggressive at times but in the end, he was the biggest difference maker stopping 43 of 45 shots in the OT Game 1 win against tht Chicago Blackhawks.  Despite the loss of Radim Vrbata and what felt like the Chicago kitchen sink, Smith stood pretty darn tall.  That is the kind of goaltending Phoenix is going to need in the playoffs and the caliber of netminding they did not get last year.  It will be a dogfight but Mr. Smith clearly appears poised to be ready for a long drawn out series.  That is why he was last night’s Fantasy POTN.

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QUICK LOOK BACK:

Tim Thomas made 17 saves in a 1-0 OT shutout of the Washington Capitals.  Braden Holtby had 28 saves in defeat.  Martin Havlat scored twice, including 3:34 into overtime number two to beat the St. Louis Blues 3-2.  Patrik Berglund (St. Louis) also scored twice in the third period and Dan Boyle (San Jose) had two assists.  Henrik Lundqvist of the Rangers had 30 saves in a 4-2 win over Ottawa. 

The reality is that was the best of the best from last night for fantasy hockey circles.

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SCHEDULE TIME:

Once again, we have this funny three games at about the same time scenario.  Picture in picture may come in handy but more importantly there is one series that finally gets underway tonight.

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OPENING SPOTLIGHT:

3. Florida Panthers Vs. 6. New Jersey Devils Game 1, EC

The best way to describe this series is the unknown.  No one really knows what to expect since neither team has played since Saturday.  Florida does not even know who they are going to start for Game 1.  It could be Scott Clemmensen or Jose Theodore.  The betting man says to start Clemmensen with the 4-0 career record and 2.05 GAA against New Jersey.  He knows New Jersey better than anyone, having played as Marty Brodeur’s backup for a few seasons and having his own extended run when Brodeur went down to injury.  The Devils will not acknowledge this but Clemmensen is a bit in their heads.  Theodore is not so much so simply its your move Mr. Dineen!

The firepower in the series is interesting.  You have the VFW line versus the Kovalchuk-Parise-Zajac triumvirate.  VFW is for Versteeg, Fleischmann, and Weiss by the way.  Now Martin Brodeur will start for New Jersey but do not be surprised to see Johan Hedberg sometime in this series.  It is great to have a backup that can step in and do the job.  Hedberg has expierence here leading the 2001 Pittsburgh Penguins to the Eastern Conference Finals.  Florida does have a puck moving defenseman in Brian Campbell (50+ points) while New Jersey does not have even a 20 point defenseman.  Offensively New Jersey is more frontloaded but their offense is deceptive as David Clarkson plays more or less on the third line with over 30 goals.  Clarkson is the type of player that can excel in the playoffs along with Alexei Ponikarovsky.  They are a duo to keep an eye on.

Florida’s second line could ultimately be the difference in how far this series goes especially if Kris Versteeg is still not quite 100%.  Marcel Goc and Sean Bergenheim, in particular need to step up.  There are a lot of ifs in this series and some big ones.  Honestly, Game 1 is truly a walk into uncertainty with tonight’s star player being Ilya Kovalchuk.  Kovalchuk has a chip on his shoulder and I think Versteeg for Florida will get back to what he was before injury.

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AND NOW THE REST……..

Can you hold a lead Pittsburgh?

Maybe this is something we joke about but team defense has been a problem for Pittsburgh as well as Philadelphia this season.  Marc-Andre Fleury can only save your bacon so many times and Game 1 was an illustration of why Pittsburgh has problems, especially with Philadelphia.  When you stop skating at full tilt, you get burned!  Give the Flyers and Danny Briere credit, they persevered and so did Ilya Bryzgalov, though honestly the goalie looked shaky at best and was bailed out several times by guys like Malkin and Crosby missing wide open chances.  That does not happen often.  I think you have to see a different Pittsburgh team tonight or it is going to happen again.

Shea Weber Fallout?

The fact that Weber was not suspended for giving Henrik Zetterberg a little sweet chin music to the boards is going to add to what was already a very feisty series.  The teams do not like each other and Pekka Rinne was probably the best player of the night in the fortnight of the playoffs that nobody noticed.  Pavel Datsyuk and Zetterberg looked great in Game 1 and the rest of the Wings had the chances but could not bury enough of them.  The funny thing is Nashville gets two goals from Gabriel Bourque and the familiar feeling that I see is that depth beats skill.  The wildcard is Gustav Nyqvist.  Something tells me he could be a bit of an impact for Detroit.  Also, the fact that Weber dodged a bullet sets an undertone for this series, expect more on ice physicality which will make for more 3-2 games.  Can Jimmy Howard match Pekka Rinne?  We may find out tonight.

LA Story?

The final question and simplest is this.  Will LA continue to play more disciplined or will Vancouver stop taking dumb penalties?  The answer lies in the first 20 where something tells me Henrik Sedin has a big night.  Stay tuned.

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Good luck tonight and enjoy those playoffs!  Thanks again for reading…..

Hey!  We are back for a quick edition of the Fantasy Hockey Playoff ONE.  Yes fantasy hockey returns tonight because there are playoff pools that people want to win.  Today we are getting a bit of help from good buddies Ian Gooding and David Satriano of fantasyhockey.com.  

This is a quick look at the playoff goalies…first and foremost.  After all they are more important than any player in determining your fantasy future in these things.  Here is their Top 8 which I am sure will cause some waves.

2011 Playoff Goalie Rankings:

1) Antti Niemi, Sharks
(2011 season: 35-18-6, 2.38 GAA, .920 SV%, 6 SO)
(Career playoffs: 16-6, 2.63 GAA, .910 SV%, 2 SO)

Niemi proved last year that he has ice in his veins, notching the 16 wins that earned the Blackhawks the Stanley Cup. And while he started off slow with San Jose, he’s gone 26-5-4 in his past 35 decisions. Niemi has started 30 of 31 games including 28 in a row at one point before getting a game off down the stretch.  As a guy who has been there, done that, I rank him my number one goalie in this year’s playoffs. He brings Stanley Cup experience to a team that has underachieved in the playoffs time and time again. But expect him to help the Sharks compete for the Cup this year.

2) Roberto Luongo, Canucks
(2011 season: 38-15-7, 2.11 GAA, .928 SV%, 4 SO)
(Career playoffs: 17-17, 2.46 GAA,  .919 SV%, 1 SO)

I’ll start this the same way I did last year: Vancouver hasn’t made it to the Conference Finals since 1994. They have been to the playoffs nine times since then, never getting past the second round.  Luongo ranked tied for first in wins, second in goals-against average and third in save percentage. This is the best Canucks team in a very long time, and anything short of the Cup would be a huge letdown.  But…they have to face the Blackhawks, who have eliminated them each of the past two seasons. Luongo is only .500 in the playoffs, but I’m throwing him a bone this season. With that team in front of him, I think this is the year he finally breaks out in the playoffs.

3) Tim Thomas, Bruins
(2011 season: 35-11-9, 2.00 GAA, .938 SV%, 9 SO)
(Career playoffs: 10-8, 2.16 GAA, .926 SV%, 1 SO)

Thomas almost got the triple crown, finishing first in goals-against average and save percentage, but finishing just three wins behind the leader. He didn’t appear in a single Bruins playoff game last year, as the team chose to ride the rookie Tuukka Rask instead, even after blowing a 3-0 series lead to the Flyers. The last time he appeared in the playoffs (2009), he went 7-4/1.85 GAA/.935 SV%.  That’s why he makes the top three.

4) Ryan Miller, Sabres
(2011 season: 34-22-8, 2.59 GAA, .916 SV%, 5 SO)
(Career playoffs: 22-18, 2.39 GAA, .917 SV%, 1 SO)

Miller was nowhere near as clutch as he was last season, leading the US team to the gold medal game in the Winter Olympics as well as the Sabres to the playoffs where they lost to the Bruins in six games in the first round. He is better than any of the three goalies on the Flyers (Brian Boucher, Sergei Bobrovsky, Michael Leighton), and I think the Sabres can pull off this upset. If they do, a huge reason will be because of Miller. Despite his numbers not being in the top ten this season, Miller is still a top-five goalie in this years’ playoff crops.

5) Marc Andre-Fleury, Penguins
(2011 season: 36-20-5, 2.32 GAA, .918 SV%, 3 SO)
(Career playoffs: 38-24, 2.52 GAA, .911 SV% 4 SO)

Fleury has the most playoff experience of any goalie (not counting Chris Osgood, who probably won’t play) and has played in 57 playoff games in the past three seasons.  His 38 wins are 16 more than the next closest playoff goalie (Miller).  His numbers in last year’s playoffs- 2.78 GAA, .891 SV%- were not great, and if he is without Sidney Crosby for the playoffs, things could get ugly for the Penguins.

6) Henrik Lundqvist, Rangers
(2011 season: 36-27-5, 2.28 GAA, .923 SV%, 11 SO)
(Career playoffs: 14-16, 2.66 GAA, .907 SV%, 3 SO)

Lundqvist had a fine season, which went rather unnoticed. His 11 shutouts ranked first in the league. He also posted a 2-1 record with a 1.34 GAA against Washington this season, allowing only four goals in three games to one of the league’s most explosive offenses. Lundqvist and the Rangers had a 3-1 lead over Washington before losing in seven games two seasons ago, but he is capable of stealing more than a game against them.  While I think he deserves to win the Vezina Trophy this year, I don’t see the Rangers winning their first round series, so I won’t rank Lundqvist in my top five.

7) Ilya Bryzgalov, Coyotes
(2011 season: 36-20-10, 2.48 GAA, .921 SV%, 7 SO)
(Career playoffs: 12-9, 2.23 GAA, .925 SV%, 3 SO)

Bryzgalov has to be exhausted after starting 38 of Phoenix’s last 40 games of the regular season. His opponent, Detroit, scored the second-most goals in the league this year with 261.  In the playoff loss last season, Bryzgalov allowed 24 goals in the seven games, good for a GAA over 3.00. He allowed 11 goals to the Red Wings in his four starts this season, but Detroit’s offense is too explosive to expect better-than-average playoff numbers from Bryzgalov.

8 ) Dwayne Roloson, Lightning
(2011 season: 24-25-5, 2.59 GAA, .914 SV%, 4 SO)
(Career playoffs: 18-12, 2.56 GAA, .915 SV%, 1 SO)

A 16-year veteran, he’s only played in the playoffs in three seasons. But two of those times, his team made it to the Stanley Cup Finals, including in 2007, when he and the Oilers fell one game short of winning it all. The oldest goalie in the field, I can’t count him out completely. A first-round win over the Penguins is not out of the question, but Roloson left the Islanders this season for this exact reason: to get to the playoffs. If he is on  his game, he could be a great playoff sleeper.

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SCHEDULE TIME:

It is nice to see a busy five game night to open up the NHL Playoffs.  The key in a lot of these Game 1’s is momentum.  Who has it going in so you can make that educated pick or picks to bolster your fantasy playoff pool.  This is different than the regular fantasy season.  At least you can pick the best of the best but remember to choose as wisely as you can.  Upsets always occur so sometimes even the best laid plays fly out the window.  

Also it is very easy to look at the most obvious here when we do this.  Tonight for the first night, it may be more about the less obvious players than the prominent elites if you will.  Time to do it quick and our way as always.

THREE TO LOOK FOR:

1. Mike Knuble (Washington) — He may be the one guy you want on your playoff pool more than any because he scores the goals no one else wants to.  Just ask your fantasy playoff GM that went up against another GM with Knuble how it felt as the goals mounted.  Knuble scored 9 times in his last 13 games which is a crazy number.  The Capitals have guys unlike a couple years ago that can get in the way of Henrik Lundqvist which makes a guy like Knuble a more valuable asset come playoff time than he ever is in the regular season.

2. Dan Ellis (Anaheim) — With Jonas Hiller out and who knows when Ray Emery will be available, the Ducks find themselves in a very similar situation as they have in years past.  The big difference is Ilya Bryzgalov is not backing up J.S. Giguere here.  Ellis did make 42 saves against Los Angeles to close out the season Saturday Night and if he can play like that and overcome the nerves of playing against a team that gave him his first real break, then he really could be quite the shortgap sleeper here.  The first period will be the most important for Anaheim who has gotten off to slow starts against Nashville pretty much all season.

3. Johan Franzen (Detroit) — “THE MULE” has to be a force in these playoffs (especially Round 1) if the Red Wings expect to advance.  There are other keys for Detroit as well but Franzen is a younger man’s Tomas Holmstrom with a higher skill set.  He cannot look almost rattled as he has for the last stretch of the regular season.  If he comes out tonight like he normally does for the playoffs then he will be another one of those key assets you were glad to get late in your playoff pools.  That intensity will help spell Detroit until Henrik Zetterberg gets back.  Let us see what Franzen has in that tank tonight!

Good luck everyone and let it rip for your playoff pools.  The almost two month journey begins tonight!  We will be updating pools and more as the playoffs progress.  Thanks so much for reading.