So this time we take it easy here on Fantasy Hockey ONE. Last night had a little of everything in the NHL including what felt like the Harlem Globetrotters between the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers. Honestly Edmonton won 6-1 but it could have been ten or twelve to one. It was that kind of night. The night was so nuts that the Los Angeles Kings scored four goals with Jonathan Quick in net and they still lost. New Jersey scored on a seeing eye shot to win. Marc-Andre Fleury turned it up against the New York Rangers. There was so much more so who did take home our Fantasy POTN? It is a very good question and here is our answer…….
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FANTASY POTN:
Jeff Carter, C, Columbus Blue Jackets — So now with all this Rick Nash trade rumor fest, there is one player who actually has almost as much potential of being moved. Enter Mr. Carter into the mix. Carter notched his second hat trick in his last 17 games as Columbus defeated the San Jose Sharks last night 6-3. Maybe the talented player will finally wake up and most importantly stay healthy. The two way game still needs work but last night he was the top dog.
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A LOOK BACK:
Marc-Andre Fleury, G, Pittsburgh Penguins — Fleury does not always get the accolades necessarily but he does seem to produce the results when needed. Last night was one of those nights as he faced pre-ordained Vezina winner Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers. While Lundqvist was good last night, Fleury was better as he stopped 27 shots in the 2-0 shutout. It was not only a big two points in the standings but it was a huge night for Fleury owners who got a good shot in the arm. Just imagine how good Fleury would be with a somewhat reliable backup.
Steven Stamkos, C, Tampa Bay Lightning — What do you do when one of your best friends is traded? You go out and produce like you mean business. Stamkos had two goals and an assist as Tampa Bay held off Anaheim last night 3-2. The sniper now has 42 goals on the season as he seems poised to run away with the Rocket Richard Trophy. He might just have a shot at the Art Ross (leading scorer) if this keeps up. Either way, the dry spells seem to be less often for Stamkos which is a sign of fantasy growth.
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SCHEDULE TIME:
Wednesday, February 22, 2012 |
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| Teams | Notes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | at | Ottawa | 7:00 PM | Gameday | ||
| Boston | at | St. Louis | 8:00 PM | Gameday | ||
| Los Angeles | at | Colorado | 9:00 PM | Gameday | ||
The schedule features three games tonight that could be best described as three struggling road teams trying to find their way in hostile places. For Washington, Alex Ovechkin is a game time decision with a lower body injury. He was noticeably limping the last two days and the injury must have become a bit worse. Ottawa comes in just smoking along and scoring a ton of goals. Jason Spezza and Erik Karlsson are two of the hottest fantasy players out there. Washington comes limping in almost literally after a crushing 5-0 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday. Someone from Washington has to step up and someone has to step up for their fantasy owners. If Ovechkin cannot go tonight, who knows what will happen.
Boston travels to St. Louis where thankfully the Blues score a few goals at home because they cannot even muster two goals a night on the road. Take a look at guys like Alex Pietrangelo and David Perron for the Blues. They have been hot of late and actually have been helping the stock of some Blues players like T.J. Oshie for example. Keep an eye on Vladimir Sobotka, who Ken Hitchcock has moved to the top line. It will be interesting to see how that translates. Boston still is playing around .500 for the last month and just looks like a shell of its former self. Tim Thomas gives up three or more goals way too much lately and David Krejci has been practically non-existant. Those are not the only problems but needless to say this will not be an easy task for Boston to come out with two points tonight.
Then there is the we have no clue game as Los Angeles goes to face Colorado tonight at the Pepsi Center. One has to think that Los Angeles will clamp down a bit defensively after that horrible showing for the last 45 minutes in Phoenix. The best advice we can give is tread carefully on this one and just start your players like you would. Then hope for the best. It really is kind of an unknown how LA is going to come out tonight but Colorado as well. Sometimes seeing a vulnerable team makes the predatorial team just as vulnerable.
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Good luck with your fantasy leagues tonight and do not forget that The Program goes on the air at 8pm ET with fantasy hockey and hockey talk a cut above the rest. We will also be answering questions live on Twitter as well so if you got the heat, we can take it. Thanks for reading!
