One of the biggest stories in fantasy circles (at least long term) may be what happens tonight on Long Island as Evgeni Nabkov plays for the first time in 17 months. Now that is not a misprint. Nabokov played last year for a little bit in the KHL, then was signed by the Detroit Red Wings only to be picked up by the New York Islanders via re-entry waivers. Nabokov did not want to play for the Islanders and sat out as the story goes but reported to training camp more or less because the Islanders had decided to “toll” his contract. Essentially he now has to showcase himself.
That is not the only intriguing storyline in the NHL tonight. Johan Hedberg gets the start for New Jersey as they head on the road to face the Nashville Predators. Martin Brodeur (tweaked right shoulder) is getting the night off and is listed as day to day. David Legwand has seven points to lead all NHL scorers and the Predators are showing a little more offense than usual in the first week and change. Pekka Rinne may be real key for Nashville but we digress.
Then the last two Stanley Cup Champions face off in Chicago tonight as the Chicago Blackhawks and Boston Bruins drop the puck at 8:30pm ET on the NHL Network. Chicago has some question marks as both Marian Hossa and Victor Stalberg are game time decisions. Boston has David Krejci who is still out and definitely at 1-3 has a bit of a Cup hangover whether any Bruins player wants to admit it or not. Boston only has 7 goals scored in 4 games which cannot be all that encouraging considering their power play again has been dismal early. Yes it is 1-17 or 5.9% for those who care to do math made easy.
Now that some of the plotlines have been laid out, it is time to take a look back and ahead with a small twist or two.
A LOOK BACK:
1. Jonas Hiller, G, Anaheim Ducks — Did you doubt Hiller? Well some have and although the jury is still out, he came up big against a tough San Jose Sharks team. Hiller stopped 31 shots in all on his way to a 1-0 shutout. Anaheim was 0 for the power play against which made the goalie’s life even more difficult. When you think of Anaheim and San Jose, you typically think of higher scoring games and this was just not one of them. Most of that has to go to Hiller who kept his team ahead even when the rest of his team did not play at their best.
2. Cam Ward, G, Carolina Hurricanes — Apparently Hurricane announcers cannot equate playing as a team and playing team defense at the same time. Cam Ward has been virtually under siege the entire season early on. The 39 save effort was not lost on us even though Ward was the 3rd star in the game. Buffalo could have easily won this game 7 or 8-4. Yes he has really battled all year and finally got a result that showed the hard work. Carolina is going to struggle like this almost all season and Ward will have to be their best player throughout. He was last night.
3. Jeff Skinner, F, Carolina Hurricanes — Skinner calmly decided the game when it was tied at 3 late in Buffalo. There is no sophomore slump with him as he potted the game winner with just 1:25 left in regulation. Yes it was his only point of the night but it was huge. Skinner leads the Canes in scoring not surprisingly and some think he may have passed Eric Staal in the scoring department. The two goals and four assists are no fluke early on, Skinner may just be even better than last year. Carolina needs him immensely.
SCHEDULE TIME:
Saturday, October 15, 2011 |
|||||
| Teams | Notes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calgary | at | Toronto | 7:00 PM | Gameday | ||
| Colorado | at | Montreal | 7:00 PM | Gameday | ||
| NY Rangers | at | NY Islanders | 7:00 PM | Gameday | ||
| Los Angeles | at | Philadelphia | 7:00 PM | Gameday | ||
| Buffalo | at | Pittsburgh | 7:00 PM | Gameday | ||
| Ottawa | at | Washington | 7:00 PM | Gameday | ||
| Winnipeg | at | Phoenix | 7:00 PM | Gameday | ||
| Tampa Bay | at | Florida | 7:30 PM | Gameday | ||
| New Jersey | at | Nashville | 8:00 PM | Gameday | ||
| Detroit | at | Minnesota | 8:00 PM | Gameday | ||
| Columbus | at | Dallas | 8:00 PM | Gameday | ||
| Boston | at | Chicago | 8:30 PM | Gameday | ||
| Vancouver | at | Edmonton | 10:00 PM | Gameday | ||
| St. Louis | at | San Jose | 10:00 PM | Gameday | ||
This is going to be some night in the NHL. Expect fireworks and lots of good late fantasy action as this pretty much is the most important night in Week 1 in fantasy hockey.
FEATURED TILT:
Yes the Philadelphia Flyers and Los Angeles Kings is our featured tilt this evening for fantasy hockey purposes. The most obvious reason is the fact that Mike Richards is coming home after the stunning June trade that no one saw coming. Richards had two points in his debut and a win but has no points in his last 2 (both losses). Anze Kopitar still has the fantasy keys to the cars for LA so to speak. However the talent is much more spread in Los Angeles which helps Richards and company out. Do not forget that LA has a solid goaltending tandem in Jonathan Quick and Jonathan Benier.
Philadelphia counters with Claude Giroux who curiously enough is only averaging a little over 17:00 a night for ATOI but he has five points in three games. Either way, he is awfully effective with the puck and makes a player like Jaromir Jagr dangerous even if he is only playing a hair less than 15:00 a night. Philly is so young now but still has enough veteran presence to be dangerous and yet solid at the same time.
The key for the Flyers will be goaltender, Ilya Bryzgalov. There have been times in games where he is just not all there. Look at the game against Vancouver as a true example. Yet, Bryzgalov found a way to weather his own self inflicted storm to come out on top despite giving up four goals. Philly defensively will become more of an issue as the season progresses, so Bryzgalov will have to be at his best and more relied upon. Tonight will definitely be a test for Bryzgalov as well as Quick for Los Angeles.
Los Angeles is just about due for one. Quick was likely the best player in the 65 minutes played between LA and New Jersey and honestly he has the ability to outplay Bryzgalov and the Flyers tonight. Expect a big night from Richards and Kopitar as Giroux will counter for Philly. In the end, LA wins an exiting one 3-2 in OT as Quick makes 31 saves in the victory. That is our predcition and we are sticking to it.
THREE TO WATCH:
1. Evgeni Nabokov, G, NY Islanders — Nabokov plays for the first time in 17 months tonight against the New York Rangers. Maybe Coach Jack Capuano is rolling the dice a bit because of how Al Montoya played against the Rangers last year. It clearly is quite the gamble but Nabokov just was going to have to play sometime. Particularly how he plays in the first 20 minutes or so tonight may go a long way in how he is played going forward. Fantasy GM’s really want to pay attention to how he plays and maybe not what he gives up as far as goals.
2. Patrick Sharp, F, Chicago Blackhawks — To me, it is not Kane or Toews that I have necessarily have to fear but it is Sharp, who has a skill set capable of being better than the two above at times. Do not twist the words here as we said at times but tonight could be one of those times that Sharp shines for Chicago. Boston comes in almost ripe for the picking at 1-3. They are struggling to score goals which is something Chicago can do, regardless of who they play. Yes Chicago may be missing Marian Hossa and Victor Stalberg tonight but that may not matter. If you have Sharp in your league tonight, play him. He always seems to do well against marquis teams, especially Boston.
3. Alex Ovechkin, F, Washington Capitals — Ottawa has given up a whopping 5.25 GPG and really it will lessen a bit but not all that much. Washington sees an Ottawa team and cannot look past them as Ottawa can score (3.25 GPG). Ovechkin has been called out already by Coach Bruce Boudreau and is due for a breakout game. What better way than to do it on a Saturday Night against Ottawa. This one seems to make sense from so many standpoints that it almost has to happen. Expect a solid night from the Ovechkin line tonight.
Good luck with your fantasy leagues everyone as we will be tweeting all night live until the late games are over. Then The Program takes over tomorrow night for two hours of hockey talk and more as always only on Blog Talk Radio’s Fantasy Sports Channel. We guarantee hot debate on fantasy hockey and hockey topics as always. Tune in an call in at 8pm ET Sunday Night as our guest will be Mr. Ted Starkey.
