It is time to get out of the snow and cold just long enough to dole out a little fantasy knowledge. Saturdays normally are full of games at night with maybe a couple games in the afternoon for your viewing pleasure and fantasy anxiety. However, there are a whopping six games on this Saturday afternoon. Who is our Fantasy POTN from last night? Let’s find out.
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FANTASY POTN:
Brent Burns, D, San Jose Sharks — On a night where fantasy performance were good but not all that great, Burns set up three big San Jose goals on a night where they needed to be pretty sharp. The 5-3 win was much needed and Burns has the talent to play like this every night which makes games like this so frustrating for fantasy fans. The $64,000 is can he continue to play like this. When trying to answer this the best thing is to say not likely. He has eight points in his last four games. Burns is a bit of a streaky player but if you are desperate, at least he can help.
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A LOOK BACK:
Joey MacDonald, G, Detroit Red Wings — Maybe Detroit just needs homestands to make third and even fourth string goalies look like fantasy starters. Whatever it was, MacDonald stopped 29 saves, including 13 in the third period against an Anaheim Ducks team who was unusually very game at the Joe. MacDonald has probably earned himself a few more starts at least until Jimmy Howard does come back. If its a home game, you have to consider starting this Wings goalie. If it is not, consider other options to be honest.
Marcus Kruger, C, Chicago Blackhawks — Kruger was a bit of a surprise last night but he was definitely in the right place at the right time. He scored two goals on six shots on Friday Night which did keep Chicago in the game at least until the third period. Kruger had several chances to get the hat trick actually but was ironically a little wrong place, wrong time. He is a player to watch in the coming days and weeks.
Paul Stastny, C, Colorado Avalanche — We could have gone Ryan O’Reilly here but Stastny had a very good night for a team that needs him to produce. His goal and assist may have been less important than his ability to win faceoffs. Stastny won 16 of 23 faceoffs and won 75% of offensive faceoffs which set up chances for the Avalanche. If he can keep playing like this, he is a must own. It will be interesting to see what happens when and if Matt Duchene.
Honorable Mention — J.S. Giguere (COL) — 3 GA, 39 saves, Win.
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SCHEDULE TIME:
Saturday, February 11, 2012 |
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| Teams | Notes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nashville | at | Boston | 1:00 PM | Gameday | ||
| Florida | at | New Jersey | 1:00 PM | Gameday | ||
| Los Angeles | at | NY Islanders | 1:00 PM | Gameday | ||
| NY Rangers | at | Philadelphia | 1:00 PM | Gameday | ||
| Winnipeg | at | Pittsburgh | 2:00 PM | Gameday | ||
| Edmonton | at | Ottawa | 2:00 PM | Gameday | ||
| Tampa Bay | at | Buffalo | 7:00 PM | Gameday | ||
| Montreal | at | Toronto | 7:00 PM | Gameday | ||
| Colorado | at | St. Louis | 8:00 PM | Gameday | ||
| Columbus | at | Minnesota | 8:00 PM | Gameday | ||
| Chicago | at | Phoenix | 8:30 PM | Gameday | ||
| Vancouver | at | Calgary | 10:00 PM | Gameday | ||
It is a nice, big, and robust fantasy hockey schedule with a dirty dozen special of games. We bring in Ian Gooding from Kuklas Korner with his Pick Six for Saturday.
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PICK SIX:
A total of 12 games are on the Saturday schedule, so it’s not the busiest Saturday night on record. However, all of your players on Canadian teams will be action, since it is Hockey Day in Canada. The Jets, who were an American team last season, are the only Canadian team not to be facing a team north of the border, as they face off against Pittsburgh. No doubt the CBC executives were thinking Sidney Crosby when they scheduled that game!
To help you plan for the weekend:
Teams with two games: Columbus, Florida, Los Angeles, NY Islanders, NY Rangers, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Tampa Bay
Teams with no games: Carolina
All other teams play one game this weekend on either Saturday or Sunday.
The following goalies have been confirmed for Saturday (Goalie Post): Martin Brodeur, NJ; Marc-Andre Fleury, PIT; Nikolai Khabibulin, EDM; Craig Anderson, OTT; James Reimer, TOR; Semyon Varlamov, COL; Brian Elliott, STL; Steve Mason, CBJ.
Carey Price, G, MON – start
Struggling teams don’t always equate to struggling goalies. The Price has been right lately with three consecutive wins, wins in five of his last seven games, and shutouts in two of his last three games. Expect a strong start against the Leafs in an all-Canadian Original Six matchup in prime time on Saturday.
Dany Heatley, RW, MIN – start
The Wild forward is heating up with five goals and nine points in his last seven games. He and the Wild are facing a Columbus team with the now second-worst team goals-against average in the league. You know what to do here, even if the Wild are freefalling down the Western Conference standings.
Ray Whitney, LW, PHX – start
Whitney currently leads the Coyotes with 50 points (16g-34a), including a seven-game point streak and seven points (all assists) in four games this month. Expect that streak to continue on Saturday against Chicago – a team that should not be having the goaltending issues that it has. One of the truly ageless wonders in hockey, Whitney will have teams like the Bruins, Sharks, and Rangers who are looking to load up on forward depth no doubt hounding the Coyotes prior to the trade deadline (Pierre LeBrun).
Sam Gagner, C/RW, EDM – add/start
Since last week’s eight-point outburst, Sam simply hasn’t stopped. Sam-I-am is already up to an astounding eight goals, six assists, and a +6 in just four games in February. You’d be unwise to leave him on the waiver wire on Saturday against Ottawa, a team that has sunk to the third-worst team goals-against average in the NHL. By the way, his ownership has skyrocketed from 6 percent on his magical night to 43 percent today.
Kevin Shattenkirk, D, STL – bench
Captain Kirk is known for his peaks and valleys, which you would be all too familiar with if you owned him last season when he was a member of the Colorado Avalanche. The Blues continue to roll right along in spite of Shattenkirk’s most recent run of cold (no points in eight games). Bench him on Saturday, but don’t drop him entirely from your roster, since the Blues also play on Sunday.
David Krejci, C, BOS – bench
The injury news has gone from bad to worse for Nathan Horton, who is back to square one in his recovery from another concussion (TSN). Horton’s injury seems to have affected Krejci the most, as the Bruins’ center is without a point in his last four games and has only one assist in his last six. Worse yet, he has been demoted to the Bruins’ third line between the underwhelming Benoit Pouliot and Jordan Caron (Boston Herald). Krejci will eventually break out of his funk, but his short-term value is lower than many others at the deep center position.
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There are no trade musings today as we are knee deep in fantasy mode. There will be live updates from The Rock this afternoon then tonight from Twitter. Good luck in your leagues and thank you for reading.
