A LOOK BACK:
There are players who just show potential and Stefan Elliott is one of them. He now has three goals on the season and at least two of them were highlight reel worthy. More importantly, he plays a pretty solid two way game that Colorado sorely needs. As far as team defenses go, they are right up there with New Jersey as one of the worst team defenses in the NHL (Carolina and Ottawa top the mountain).
Speaking of New Jersey, they survived a league worst ninth short handed goal given up to win 3-2 via the shootout in Florida. Martin Brodeur made 24 saves and looked much better last night, especially in the shootout. If Brodeur can play well with a little rest like this, it bodes well for New Jersey going forward. For fantasy teams, he is a second or third option at best now but still capable of putting up some pretty good numbers. Just lower the expectations a bit. Kris Versteeg scored twice and just keeps rolling along for his fantasy owners. It is impressive and ride the wave.
Oft injured Tim Connolly scored twice in a 2-1 OT win over Carolina last night. He has 13 points in 17 games which is not surprising. When healthy, he is very close to a point a game player. The problem will always be staying healthy but it was key as Cam Ward for Carolina stopped 36 shots and kept Phil Kessel and Joffrey Lupul in check.
Finally there is our Fantasy POTN. That award goes to Boston Bruins netminder Tuukka Rask. Not to start any problems but Rask now has a higher save percentage than Tim Thomas (.939 to .938). Rask has been more focused and considering he made 41 saves (33 after the first intermission), Claude Julien might give him a few more starts along the way fueling the will Thomas play enough games to win the Vezina debate or any fantasy goalie awards debate again. Fantasy wise, Rask is a very good third choice to have as a Thomas “handcuff”.
SCHEDULE TIME:
Wednesday, December 14, 2011 |
|||||
| Teams | Notes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston | at | Ottawa | 7:30 PM | Gameday | ||
| Chicago | at | Minnesota | 7:30 PM | Gameday | ||
| Phoenix | at | Anaheim | 10:00 PM | Gameday | ||
It is a light night in the NHL and maybe that is a good thing to recharge the batteries a bit. The Chicago-Minnesota matchup is intriguing and no I do not expect Pierre Marc-Bouchard to be in the lineup (took nasty hit). However, here is some things to keep a quick eye on…….
KEEP AN EYE ON……..
Ray Emery, G, Chicago Blackhawks — Emery has been on a decent little run of late and for 40 minutes Sunday Night was the reason why San Jose did not blow out Chicago. While Corey Crawford has been inconsistent, Emery brings effort personified despite the injuries that have haunted him. As far as a fantasy option, Emery is a third goalie option still in deeper leagues but people are starting to pick him up. Let’s see how he does in a big spot tonight.
Anaheim Ducks — This message to the Ducks. Show me a consistant effort fantasy wise! It has not been seen all season and the reason why they are where they are is complete lack of consistency. They break down at all the wrong times and the numbers that should be there just are not. People say there is not a rift between Teemu Selanne and Bobby Ryan but there sure is a huge fantasy gap when Selanne is not in the lineup. The numbers do not lie. This team needs to find itself, injuries or no injuries and now. Acquriring two pieces of AHL fodder will not help that.
As always we will have the show tonight at 8pm ET with THN’s Adam Proteau and will be tweeting away so catch us on Twitter and hey follow @rosieshockey if you can. Thanks again!
