Crashing The Net: March.21

Photo by lululemon athletica

Crashing the Net takes you around the league touching on hot and cold players, battles for ice-time and what’s going on in net.

FIRE

Blake Geoffrion, Sabres
In 11 games as an NHL player, Blake has scored six goals while posting a +6 rating. That’s some pretty good stuff for the 2006 second round draft pick with the famous hockey name. He upped the offensive ante on Sunday when he scored on all three shots he took against the Sabres for a hat-trick. His future is bright, and right now he is producing enough offense to help those in deep leagues.

Joe Pavelski, Sharks
A scoring change in the last game took away Pavelski’s hat-trick, but don’t feel to sorry for him. Little Joe has scored at least two points in 4-straight games as the offensive side of his game has erupted, and during those four games Pavelski has scored three goals while handing out eight assists. He’s also taken at least four shots on net in 6-straight contests. He’s rounding into perfect form just in time for the playoffs.

Teemu Selanne, Ducks
The Finnish Flash is now tied for 30th in league history with 1,327 points (Pierre Turgeon), 49th in assists with 699 and he’s tied for 8th with 232 power-play goals (Dino Ciccarelli). Yeah, Selanne is historically good. Teemu has only one goal in seven games, but he has still handed out six assists for a point-per-game pace which is actually slightly behind his season long rate (he has 67 points in 63 games). Just 22 goals from 650, the question is, will he return for another season to make a run at that mark?

ICE

Johan Franzen, Wings
Not only is he now dealing with a slightly strained groin, The Mule simply hasn’t been able to score of late. On the year his numbers are solid – they include 27 goals and 24 assists in 69 games – but since he scored an amazing five goals on February 2nd Johan has lit the lamp one time in 20 games. Think about that. He scored five times as many goals in one game as he has in the last quarter of the NHL season.

Ryan Smyth, Kings
First the good. Smyth has his customary 20 goals (it’s the 11th time in his career that he has hit that plateau despite constantly being in and out of the lineup with injuries – something he has actually avoided this year given that he has appeared in all 72 of the Kings’ games). Now the bad. He’s been brutal in March with two points in nine games. He’s also been saddled with a (-8) rating on the month. Moreover, Smyth hasn’t scored a goal since February 23rd, a stretch of 12 games, and going back to the start of February he has one goal in 22 games. Yikes.

R.J. Umberger, Blue Jackets
In each of his three years with the Blue Jackets, R.J. has recorded at least 21-goals and 46 points, so his 21 scores and 51 points are exactly what one would expect. He’s also been a +5 performer this season, a strong total for a guy who recorded a (-26) mark the past two years. Still, his point production has dried up of late. Umberger hasn’t scored a goal in six games, has just one in 12 games, and just two in 20 contests. It’s not like he has been dishing the puck off for scores either as he has just three helpers in 11 March games. Umberger has given you solid production this season, but he’s clearly limping to the finish line in the point producing column.

KEEPER CORNER

Martin Brodeur, Devils
Johan Hedberg was 7-1-1 with a 1.43 GAA in February holding down the fort while Brodeur was out of action due to injury. So much for that miraculous run as Hedberg hasn’t seen the ice since February 25th. Why? Because Martin Brodeur remembered that he wasn’t Bob Essensa but instead an all-time great. Since February 27th Brodeur is 8-3 and only once in that time has he allowed more than two goals. In fact, over his last 14 appearances he is 11-3 with a GAA of 1.55 (he also has a .924 save percentage). With his recent run of awesomeness – yes I just used that word – Brodeur has dumped his GAA down to 2.45 on the year. Welcome back Mr. Brodeur.

Ray Emery, Ducks
Dan Ellis is 6-2 for the Ducks since he was added to help cover the gaping hole in net with Jonas Hiller out with a case of vertigo. However, Ellis has allowed eight goals in his last two outings which has opened the door for Emery to get some work in net. Back in the NHL now that his body is healed after hip surgery, Emery has allowed two goal on 72 shots leading to a 0.87 GAA and .972 save percentage with the Ducks. He’s clearly moving into the lead in net for the Ducks. However, there is one caveat – Hiller appears to, finally, be moving in the right direction. There is no established date for his return to action, but reports seem to suggest that it could happen by the middle of next week. When he returns both Ellis and Emery figure to be nothing other than Hiller’s caddy.

Braden Holtby, Capitals
The NHL’s First Star of the week ending March 14 after going 4-0 with a 1.05 GAA, Holtby has been sent to the minors since Semyon Varlamov is healthy enough to play in net. Michal Neuvirth is also back , and after his 33 save shutout against the Devils the Caps made the decision to send Holtby down. You gotta feel for Holtby, and even if the Caps are right and he is their third best goalie, you have to question the wisdom of demoting the NHL’s reigning player of the week don’t you?

Tim Thomas, Bruins
Thomas leads the NHL in GAA (2.08) and save percentage (.937) so he has clearly been an elite option, and probably the leader for the Vezina trophy. However his play has slumped of late as he has won just one of four starts as he has allowed a total of 14 goals in that time leading to a 3.62 GAA. Again, it’s completely unfair to throw Thomas under the bus given how spectacular he has been this season, but it should still be pointed out that after posting a 1.81 GAA prior to the All-Star break that he has added a full goal to that mark since (2.88). Damn the regression gods.

Looking Ahead

* Five teams play four games this week:  Boston, Florida, Ottawa, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.

* Three teams play only two games this week: Chicago, Dallas and Minnesota

Ray Flowers can be heard daily on Sirius/XM Radio on The Fantasy Drive, 5-8 PM Eastern, on Sirius 211 and XM 147.

Crashing the Net: March.14

Crashing the Net takes you around the league touching on hot and cold players, battles for ice-time and what’s going on in net.

FIRE

Andy McDonald, Blues
Frequently injured in recent seasons, McDonald is a nice source of points when healthy. Over the last three seasons he has 140 points in 170 games, a pace that would net about 68 points over an 82 game season. McDonald has been streaking the past 10 days with eight points in his last five games (including four goals). Moreover, since returning from his latest bought with inactivity Andy has nine goals and 13 helpers in 20 games for the Blues. You know you are going to get points with this guy – it’s just a matter of how often he can drag his body onto the ice.

Andrej Sekera, Sabres
With three goals, 22 assists and a +3 rating on the year, I’d venture that Andrej is likely on waivers in about 90 percent of leagues. However, his pedestrian season totals mask what has a been a fantastic month of March that has seem him produce as if he was a top-10 defensemen. In addition to a +5 rating on the month, Sekera has 11 points in just eight games. Hell, Andrej has scored at least two points in six of his last nine games. It can’t possibly continue, but hitch a ride to Sekera’s wagon as he his hauling fantasy squads to victory.

Jason Spezza, Senators
As has been his trend in recent seasons, Spezza shifts from invisibility to brilliantly glowing almost as easily as The Invisible Woman and the Human Torch from Fantastic 4 fame. Spezza scored twice while dishing out two assists in his last game and that gives him seven points in his last five contests. Stretching things back over his last 16 games Jason has six goals and 13 assists for the Senators. The only negative is his (-5) plus/minus mark in that time as the Senators continue to limp to the finish line as they try desperately to avoid being the worst team in the Eastern Conference.

ICE

Patric Hornqvist, Thrashers
This right winger exploded on the scene last year lighting the lamp 30 times in his first full season. Not surprisingly he has found the going a bit tougher this time around with 18 goals on the year. Patric has also found the going particularly tough of late as he hasn’t  scored a goals in four games and has just one marker in 13 games. To pile on, Honrqvist isn’t exactly a passer extraordinaire as he has a mere 16 helpers on the year, and he hasn’t setup a teammate for a goal since February 19th, a span of 10 games. Look for your points elsewhere down the stretch

Rick Nash, Blue Jackets
Nash is a star who is one goal from a 4th straight season of 30 goals. He’s also seven points from a 4th straight effort of at least 67 points. Overall he has been just what his owner’s hoped for. However, he has been a disaster of late in the goal scoring department. Though he has four assists in his last four games, Nash hasn’t lit the lamp since February 22nd, a span of nine games. It’s only a matter of time before the red light starts flashing again, but his goal scoring drought comes at a tough time in the fantasy game with playoff matchups starting.

Henrik Zetterberg, Wings
It’s odd to list Z here given that he has 69 points in 69 games this season but he has been, to put it kindly, a wasteland of late. Henrik has suited up for six games in March and the results make him look like a 4th liner struggling to hold on to a roster spot: zero goals, zero assists and a (-3) rating. Going back a bit further, Zetterberg has scored only five times in 31 games while recording a (-9) in the plus/minus category. You can’t bench him (duh) but his effort has been pretty rough of late.

MOVIN’ ON UP

Marcus Johansson, Capitals
Nicklas Backstrom is currently sidelined with a thumb injury that is making it very difficult for him to control his stick. In fact, he has a cast on the thumb and he really can’t do much of anything at the moment. Into the first line void has stepped Johansson who now gets to ride shotgun to Alexander Ovechkin. Johansson has only 22 points in 57 games this season, but he has been producing points of late with a 3-game point scoring streak and four points in five games. His role will diminish substantially when Backstrom returns, but until then Johansson is worth an add in deep leagues.

KEEPER CORNER

Corey Crawford, Blackhawks
An out of nowhere star this year (26 wins, 2.30 GAA), Corey has hit a speed bump of late. After winning 8-straight games, Crawford has lost in his last three appearances, and in his last four games he has allowed three or more goals each time. In fact, his GAA in six appearances in March is more than a goal above his season long mark at 3.48. Luckily Marty Turco continues to struggle as he has allowed three or more goals in four of his last five outings. Crawford is still the starter but you have to wonder – have we seen the best we are going to see this season from the youngster?

Braden Holtby, Capitals
Semyon Varlamov continues to be sidelined with a knee injury, and though Michal Neuvirth is over the issue that plagued his eye, the Caps will continue to ride the scalding hot play of Holtby… for the moment. Holtby is insanely hot with a 1.95 GAA and .931 save percentage in 12 appearances and those numbers pale in comparison to what he has done in four appearances in March (4-0, 1.05 GAA, .965 SV%). It’s far from certain that he will hold on to the role the rest of the season, but for now he is a must start and shouldn’t be on waivers in any league. By the way, the Caps are the first team in NHL history to have three difference keepers, all under 23 years of age, win at least seven games in the same season.

Antti Niemi, Sharks
The best keeper in the NHL since the All-Star break? That might sound far fetched, but a look at the numbers that this workhorse has posted for the Sharks over his last 19 starts tell the story: 13-3-2, 1.95 GAA, .928 save percentage and three shutouts. Dynamite is right. Antero Niittymaki is finally back and healthy after a protracted injury layoff, but the Sharks’ bus is being driven by Antti, and he figures to start the overwhelming majority of the games the rest of the way for the surging Sharks.

Carey Price, Canadians
Finally living up to expectations, Price is tied with Jimmy Howard for the NHL lead with 33 wins, and he is second in the league with eight shutouts. Price has also stopped 1,684 pucks, the second highest save total in the game (Cam Ward with 1,795) and his .924 save percentage is fifth in the NHL. The Habs almost let him go, but the organization, and the fans, finally have their star in net in Price.

LOOKING AHEAD

* Eight teams play four games this week:  Columbus, Minnesota, Montreal, Nashville, New Jersey, Phoenix, San Jose and Toronto.

* Two teams play only two games this week: Edmonton and Pittsburgh.

Ray Flowers can be heard daily on Sirius/XM Radio on The Fantasy Drive, 5-8 PM Eastern, on Sirius 211 and XM 147.

Crashing the Net: March.7

Photo by Doc Searls

Crashing the Net takes you around the league touching on hot and cold players, battles for ice-time and what’s going on in net.

FIRE

Ryan Callahan, Rangers
What did you expect? Anyone who records four goals and five points in a single game makes the “hot” list. Mainly because of that outing, Callahan has 10 goals and six assists in his last 16 games.

Matt Calvert, Columbus
This 2008 5th round draft pick has excelled of late for the Jackets as he has six goals and two assists in his last seven games. Be careful though as his mojo might be slipping as he has gone three contests without a point.

David Krejci, Bruins
After 73 points in 2008 David slumped to 52 last season. He’ll surpass that lower total this season, he has 50 points in 58 games, thanks in no small part to a run of productivity of late that has seen him produce 11 points in his last eight games.

Vinny Prospal, Rangers
Well it’s about time. Though he’s only been on the ice for 15 games this season thanks to a knee injury, Vaclav has been productive with 11 points including a point in 4-straight games for the Blueshirts.

ICE

Zdeno Chara, Bruins
The big fella has only one point in seven games and just one goal in 20 contests. Still, he has 11 goals, 32 points, is a +21 and has 67 PIMs, so he has been pretty darn good this season, even if he’s struggled for points of late.

Ryan Kesler, Canucks
Like Chara, his yearly numbers are superb as Kesler has 33 goals, 58 pints, and is a +21 in 67 games. However, his offense has been non-existent of late as he has just two points in nine games and just one goal in 12 contests.

Filip Kuba, Senators
He certainly isn’t an offensive defenseman, but he has recorded at least 24 points in 9-straight years. He won’t get there this season as he has nine points in 47 games (along with a -28 rating). Oh, he’s also failed to light the lamp a single time.

Tyler Seguin, Bruins
He’s been in an out of the lineup of late and he hasn’t produced when on the ice. Tyler hasn’t produced a point in five games and has just 21 points in 60 games on the year. He’ll get there, but the game just isn’t that easy people.

MOVIN’ ON UP

Alexander Giroux, Oilers
Giroux has played 697 games in the AHL after being drafted in 1999, though he has only found his way onto the ice in 32 NHL contests. He’ll get one more shot to prove he has something to offer as the Oilers have been racked up front by injuries (Taylor Hall, Ales Hemsky) and a trade deadline deal (Dustin Penner). Giroux has skill, he was the AHL MVP in 2008 when he scored 60 goals in 69 games, and this season he was second in the AHL in points when he was recalled, so deep leagues might consider giving him a look.

David Moss, Flames
The Flames are without Brendan Morrison who is out with a knee injury, and that means there is a hole on the #1 line next to Jarome Iginla and Alex Tanguay. Somewhat surprisingly, Moss was centering that line over the weekend, and the result, if Moss is able to stick with that talented duo, could be a significant upswing in performance. Moss hit the 20-goal mark back in 2008 and he has 16 tallies in 55 games this season so he has some talent. Time will tell if his scoring rate will improve, but it certainly should if he sticks on the top line.

Kyle Wilson, Blue Jackets
Wilson last saw time with the NHL club on January 18th. He was shipped to the minors after recording a mere 11 points in 31 games (including two points in his last 19 games), but instead of sulking the center went to work as he posted 11 goals and 22 points in 20 games in the AHL. With the Jackets in need of help down the middle with Derrick Brassard out of action with a hand injury, Wilson could be given a shot in the top-6.

KEEPER CONER

Jonathan Bernier, Kings
Jonathan Quick is still the starter in net for the Kings, but

NHL Trade Deadline Diary

Crashing the Net normally takes you around the league touching on hot and cold players, battles for ice-time and what’s going on in net, but today it’s all about the trade deadline deals that were made across the league.

Kings receive: Dustin Penner
Oilers receive: Colten Teubert, 1st rd. pick in 2011, 3rd rd. in 2012
The biggest deal of the day. Penner, who has one more year on his contract at $4.25 million, will get a shot with a Kings team that has to be feared as the playoffs approach. Penner finally fulfilled his potential last season scoring 32 goals and recording 63 points, and though his pace has slowed a bit this season (21g, 18a), he has still been pretty effective considering all the injuries the Oilers’ have suffered up front. His outlook improves with the move to L.A. as his plus/minus (-12) mark should improve. If he is able to skate on a line with point scoring star Anze Kopitar than his fantasy outlook would improve even further. The package the Oilers receive will do nothing to help out their club, at the NHL level, for years.

Capitals receive: Dennis Wideman
Panthers receive: Jake Hauswirth, 2011 3rd rd. pick
With Mike Green out with a head injury (for at least a week), Wideman will likely see plenty of power-play time with a potent group of forwards in Washington. Wideman, with a poor club in Florida this year is an awful (-26) but he has still managed 33 points including 19 on the power-play. Look for his fantasy stock to climb, perhaps substantially, the rest of the way – especially if Green continues to be sidelined.

Hauswirth has 14 points in 37 ECHL games this year and may never make a splash in the NHL, so this looks like a bit of a salary dump and an attempt to get younger by the Panthers.

Thrashers receive: Radek Dvorak, 5th rd. pick
Panthers receive: Niclas Bergfors, Pat Rissmiller
This is a bit of an odd one to digest. Dvorak is 33 years old and has over 1,110 games of NHL experience, and he’s in the final year of his contact. He’s also scored only 21 points in 53 games this season. On the other side, the Panthers receive a talented forward who is 23 years old in Bergfors, and he managed to record 44 points last year (the last time Dvorak hit that mark was 2003). Bergfors has been a disappointment this season with only 11 goals and 29 points in 52 games, but the former first round draft pick (2005) certainly has the talent, and youth, to make this a winning move for the Panthers.

Sabres receive: Brad Boyes
Blues receive: 2nd rd. pick in 2011
How the mighty have fallen. Boyes recorded 76 goals in 2007-08, but over the past two years he has scored a mere 26 times. The biggest culprit has been the tanking of his shooting percentage. After posting marks of 20.8 and 15.0 percent, Boyes dipped to 7.1 percent last year and has only slightly improved that number this season at 9.1 percent. He figures to get all the top-6 minutes he can handle with the Sabres, but at this point if you’re expecting a return to his 2007-08 scoring ways I’ve got a bridge to sell you.

Blue Jackets receive: Scottie Upshall, Sami Lepisto
Coyotes receive: Rostislav Klesla, Dane Byers
A lifelong Blue Jacket, Klesla is a solid blue liner, when healthy, and that’s been the rub since he’s appeared in 70 games only twice since 2003. He can eat up ice-time and be a stabilizing influence on the backend, but he warrants no attention whatsoever in the fantasy game. Byers was drafted 48th in 2004 and has 34 points in 64 games in the AHL this season.

The only big name in this deal, in terms of fantasy production, is Upshall. Scottie scored 18 goals in 49 games last year before a major knee injury hit, but he has returned this season to score 16 times in 61 games. There is no reason to think that Upshall will be anything other than a top-6 forward with the Blue Jackets, so he should be expected to get at least as much ice-time as he was receiving in the desert. If he finds his way onto a line with Rick Nash, well, then we could be talking about some serious fantasy production. Lepisto? He is a solid blue liner but five goals and 22 assists in 131 games relegates him to every waiver-wire in the world.

Canucks receive: Chris Higgins
Panthers receive: Evan Oberg, 3rd rd. draft pick in 2011
The Canucks were rumored to be in the mix to add some forward depth, so it’s not surprising that they made this move. Higgins is currently day-to-day with a broken thumb  so he will have to wait to pull on his new sweater. When he does join the Canucks he will look to return to being the offensive weapon he was from 2005-07 when he scored at least 22 goals each season. Higgins has some offensive skill no doubt, but the thumb injury, poor production of late (19 goals in his last 115 games) and the probability that he won’t be able to get top-6 minutes in Vancouver mean that he isn’t a player of interest, at the moment, in fantasy.

Capitals receive: Jason Arnott
Devils receive: David Steckel
Arnott has long been one of the more steady producers in the game as he scored at least 20-goals each year from 1998-2008 (he scored just 19 times last year though he appeared in only 63 contests). At 36 years of age he isn’t going to all of a sudden turn into an iron man – he’s failed to appear in 70-games  in three of the past four years – and his production this season has been poor (13g, 9a, [-9] in 62 games). It’s about health, motivation and role at this point of his career. If all three come up aces he would make a solid pickup in fantasy leagues, but you know how difficult it is to get three of a kind in a game of poker, right?

Flames receive: Fredrik Modin
Thrashers receive: 7th rd. pick in 2011
A veteran who still possesses a modicum of offensive talent, Modin just can’t stay healthy. Since the start of last season he has appeared in only 80 games recording 12 goals and a terrible (-19) rating for three clubs (Columbus, Los Angeles and Atlanta). Even if he starts out hot with the Flames, don’t expect it to continue. There’s nothing to see here.

Blackhawks receive: Chris Campoli, 7th rd. pick in 2011
Senators receive: Ryan Potulny, 2nd rd. pick in 2011
Campoli has some offensive skill, but he isn’t exactly a stout defender. He posted 14 points in 58 games for the Senators, and though his (-3) rating is poor, it’s not awful considering what has gone on in Ottawa. He isn’t likely to get much power-play time in Chicago, so don’t fall all over yourself to add him to your squad.

Potulny was a third round selection in 2003 and he’s never been able to do much of anything in the NHL appearing in only 119 games (22g, 27a). Still, he recorded 38 goals in the AHL in 2008, and last year he has 15 goals in 64 games with the Oilers. If he’s given a lot of ice-time there is chance that he could do something of note, but it’s unclear how the Sens plan on using the center.

Panthers receive: Sergei Samsonov
Hurricanes receive: Bryan Allen
At one point Sergei had so many moves that it was dizzying to watch him with the puck on his stick. He scored 22 or more goals in four of his first five seasons (1997-2001), but since then he has only one 20-goal effort. He had 10 goals and 16 helpers in 58 games with the ‘Canes this season though he has only three points in his last 12 contests. He should be given plenty of time on the ice in Florida, but at this stage of his career it matters little.

Allen is yet another Panther who was moved. He’s a decent option in leagues that count hits (83) or blocked shots (76), but if you are in a more traditional scoring league he has no value at all with 12 points, a (-5) rating and 63 PIMs in 53 games. The deal doesn’t figure to drastically alter his fantasy outlook either.

Ray Flowers can be heard daily on Sirius/XM Radio on The Fantasy Drive, 5-8 PM Eastern, on Sirius 211 and XM 147.

Crashing the Net: Feb.21

Don’t panic, I’m not going soft on all of you. I just thought I would post my hockey article for those of you who follow the fastest game on ice. I’m still all baseball all the time at BaseballGuys.com – minus a little diversion here or there.

FIRE

Here are the NHL leaders in offense the past 14 days.

Goals (9): Michael Grabner. It’s hardly a shock he is the leader since he has 16 markers in his last 17 games.

Assists (8): Olli Jokinen. He has 12 points his last seven games.
Corey Perry: He’s 13 short of his career best of 49 assists.
Ryan Getzlaf: Because of injury, he’ll have to push to reach 50 assists for 4th straight year (he has 32 in just 46 games this year).
Jonathan Toews: He has 13 helpers his last 10 games.
Henrik Zetterberg: 48 assists in 59 games is one off his career best mark.

Plus/Minus (+9): Michael Grabner. What did you expect from a guy who is scoring goals like the reincarnation of the Finnish Flash? It’s probably more shocking that Frans Nielsen, another Islander, is second with a +8 mark.

Shots on Goal (35): Michael Grabner. Phil Kessel is the only other player over 30 – he had 34 shots.

A few others worthy of note for their positive play the last two weeks.

David Backes, Blues (22g, 23a, +19, 81 PIM)
Over his last seven contests he has lit the lamp like Steve Stamkos with six goals, has been a plus/minus force (+5), and has rubbed a few faces with his gloves as well (19 PIMs). He’s one of the best point/PIM power-forward types in the game.

John Taveras, Islanders (23g, 28a, [-20], 39 PIM)
What’s the deal with the Isles of late? They actually resemble a real NHL team. Taveras, the young face of the franchise, has 13 points in his last eight games leaving him with 23 goals and 51 points, ever so slightly behind his marks of 24 and 54 from last season – though he reached those totals in 82 games (he’s suited up just 56 times this season).

ICE

Loui Eriksson, Stars (19g, 36a, +11, 6 PIM)
Eriksson is going to be hard pressed to match his totals of 36 and 29 goals the past two years  thanks to a recent stretch that has seen him score one goal in eight games and three in 24 games. He’s paid to score goals, and he just hasn’t delivered in 2011.

Simon Gagne, Lightning (9g, 10a, [-22], 14 PIM)
Gagne has been limited to 41 games because of injury, but with half a season of contests under his belt he would be on pace for an 82 game performance of 18 goals and a gnarly (-44) rating. Can it get much worse than that for this former 47 goal scorer who is a +121 for his career? He’s been invisible of late with only two assists in six games, and he hasn’t scored a goal in eight February games.

Erik Johnson, Avalanche (5g, 14a, [-9], 37 PIM)
That’s right, in the trade that shock keeper leaguers everywhere, Chris Stewart was sent from Colorado to St. Louis in exchange for potential #1 defensemen Erik Johnson (you can get an insider’s take on the deal in Erik Johnson and Jay McClement Colorado Bound).Perhaps the new environment, where he will likely be given top power-play unit duties, will allow Johnson to rediscover his offense as he has just two assists in his last 12 games.

Mikko Koivu, Wild (15g, 34a, +5, 36 PIM)
Reports are circulating that he could miss most of the regular season with a broken left index finger. Koivu is the Wild’s leading assist man who is one point behind Martin Havlat for the team lead in points, so it’s obvious that the club can ill afford an extended period of time without their most complete player.

Brad Richards, Stars (24g, 39a, +4, 24 PIM)
He is on the shelf with a concussion sustained on February 13th. The injury is considered to be of the minor variety, he’s expected to return to the ice shortly, but you never know with concussions. Richards is currently 8th in the NHL with 63 points and 11th with 215 shots on goal.

Keeper Corner

Craig Anderson, Senators (14-15-3, 3.17 GAA, .901 SV%, 1 SO)
The Sens made a bold moving trading for a keeper who will be a free agent at the end of the year (they sent under-performing Brian Elliott to the Av’s).

Anderson was a star last season for the Avalanche with 38 victories, a .917 save percentage and 2233 saves, the most in the NHL. This year he has struggled with injury and off ice concerns, and the results on the ice have been pretty dreadful.

So why did the Senators make the deal? The reasons are many.

(1) The net minding this season in Canada’s capitol has been awful. The Sens are 28th in the NHL in GAA (3.19) and save percentage (.895).

(2) Brian Elliott has played the majority of the games, he’s appeared 43 times, and his numbers are pitiful (3.19 GAA, .890 SV%). His career numbers are slightly better (2.81, .903), but their still rather uninspiring, so moving him to Colorado appears to have little long term risk.

(3) The Sens have Robin Lehner waiting in the wings. The 2009 2nd round pick has appeared in eight NHL games with disastrous results (3.53 GAA, .888 SV%), but most pundits  view him as a potential starting goalie. Still, he is just 19 years old and the team feels that more time in the minors would be beneficial to his long-term development.

(4) The club also has Pascal Leclaire in net. He should be healthy enough to return to backup duties behind Anderson by next week, he’s missed 25 games with a lower-body injury, at which time Lehner will head back to the AHL.

All of this means that if you are an Anderson owner there is no reason to panic. It appears that there is nothing in his way to playing the overwhelming majority of games with the Sens the rest of the way, and after his 47 save shutout in his first appearance with the club, perhaps there is some hope that he will more closely resemble the star he was last season versus the morning skate keeper he has been most of this season.

Looking Ahead

* One team plays five games this week: St. Louis.

* Ten teams play four games this week: Boston, Calgary, Colorado, Edmonton, Florida, Nashville, NY Islanders, Phoenix, Pittsburgh and Toronto.

* Zero teams play only two games this week.

By Ray Flowers

28,489 Words

I’m slightly confused right now. You might be too given the picture of an NHL logo headlining this piece, but here me out.

Over the past three days I’ve been locked in my house. Mother forgive for what I’m about to write.

I’ve taken one shower in three days.

I’ve only left my house five times for a total of about seven minutes. Three times I got the paper in the morning, once I took out the garbage, and the other time I put three envelopes in the mailbox.

I’ve eating, in no particular order: two veggie burgers, sunflower seeds, a breakfast bar, a granola bar, multiple bowls of oatmeal, two ham sandwiches, two bowls of carrot soup, a bag of tortilla chips, a basket of strawberries and two turkey sandwiches. If that isn’t an add for Weight Watchers I don’t know what is.

Why have I done all of this? For the love of the game of course.

Over the past three days I’ve been working until my fingers bleed, typing, typing, and then typing some more, to help complete our 2010 Fanball NHL Fantasy Hockey Guide. I haven’t written about baseball. I haven’t written about football. Heck, I haven’t even done the Fanball Fantasy Drive radio show on Sirius/XM radio (I’ll be back in studio for Sunday’s show covering the gridiron from 5-8 PM, EST). All I have done, literally, is eat, sleep and write about the NHL. How much writing have I done you ask? Here is the word count, nearest I can figure it, for the last three days, and know this – I have not in any way exaggerated this for effect. The number you are about to read is a completely accurate account of my life the last three days.

I have written 28,459 words about hockey which breaks down to 9,486.3 words per day.

To place that total in perspective, the United States Constitution is 4,543 words while the Declaration of Independence is 1,458 words.

I’m no Thomas Jefferson to be sure, but still, you gotta be sort of impressed by that number – 28,459 – don’t you?

By Ray Flowers

A Successful Return

Yes, I made it home. If you are wondering why that is a slight shock, make sure you give my last blog posting a read where I lay out what the just completed weekend had in store for this kid (you can find that entry at Las Vegas Vacation). I don’t normally write about football here – pretty obvious when the title of my blog is BaseballGuys.com, but with less than a week to go before the NFL season counts, and with a wild weekend to recap, I’m going to push ahead with an entry about the gridiron.

Here are some of the highlights of the proceedings in Vegas as Fanball hosted the National Fantasy Football Championship.

* Some of the ADP numbers – Average Draft Position – certainly didn’t seem to play themselves out at the NFFC.

Jay Cutler was getting no love as he even fell out of the top-10 at the quarterback position at times.

Kevin Kolb who soared up to #7 at the QB spot has seen his ADP dip back to #10. He was being taken by some inside the top-10, but there may have been as many times when he was on the outside looking in at the top-10 at the position.

Maurice Jones-Drew has everyone panicked with that knee injury of his. The clear cut #3 option overall according to almost everyone worth a darn, he was falling to 4-5-6 and he even fell to #7 in one draft I witnessed. If he falls to you at #7 thank your lucky stars as you’ll likely get a tremendous value (kind of like last season when Joe Mauer was falling into the 7th to 9th round because people were worried about the back injury that was likely to sideline him for the month of April. We all know how fantabulistic that turned out for those that took a chance on the Twins’ catcher. What, you thought I would write a whole piece without mentioning baseball? You know me better than that by now don’t you?).

* Ryan Grant continues to get no love. I guess people see him and think ‘little’ upside, though in his defense, he is one of only four running backs to have rushed for at least 1,200-yards in each of the past two seasons. The others are Adrian Peterson, Thomas Jones and Chris Johnson.

* The Bellagio hosts a hell of an event. Plus, I swear on my mother’s life, I think there are only hot women with four inch heels and tight miniskirts allowed within the city limits of Las Vegas. There’s some astounding scenery in that town.

* Everyone is on the bandwagon with the 49ers defense.

* Speaking of that bandwagon, Arian Foster‘s can barely hold another soul. The guy is simply zooming up draft boards at an astounding rate for a guy who, four months ago, was barely on anyone’s radar.

* How in the world did I have to pay $13 for a White Russian? And no, I’m not talking about one of those hotties in a mini-skirt, I mean the drink. Don’t worry, I got back at them though with my $17 dollar Eiffel Tower drink from Paris. That’s my 15.6 laptop in the picture for scale, and despite what looks like a pink hue, the color was a manly white.

* People still seem to love taking quarterback’s early. I touched on why I think that isn’t necessarily the best plan of action in NFL Mailbag – The QB Conundrum.

So there it is.

I’m back at home in sunny California, I didn’t lose a kidney or get arrested, and I remember the entire trip (no blackouts). All in all, that sounds like a pretty good weekend doesn’t it?

By Ray Flowers

Here We Are Again

You know the feeling. It’s like getting punched in the gut or seeing your high school sweetheart sneak behind the gym to make out with that stoner guy who literally looks like he hasn’t taken a shower in two weeks. It’s the pain you feel when “your team” is eliminated from the playoffs before getting the chance to raise their finger and exclaim, accurately, ‘we’re number 1.’ It happened yet again to me this past weekend.

I know this is a baseball website, but I make no bones about my nearly lifelong connection with the San Jose Sharks. Year after year I buy into the hype, and season after season I end up having flashbacks to that time I caught Suzy making out with that dude on the blacktop.

Last season the Sharks won the President’s Trophy – awarded to the best team in the league (most points) – only to then fall in the first round to the Ducks. I was so distraught I almost turned in my pen after writing When is Enough, Enough? Eleven months later, I’m in the same spot once again.

The Sharks didn’t lose in the first round this time, or the second for that matter, as they lost in the third round – the Conference Finals – which they reached for only the second time in their history. There is some small satisfaction in that, but it rings pretty hollow at this point (you can read more about the battle with the Blackhawks in Frozen Pucks, Conference Finals). Still, much, much more was expected of this club.

* The Sharks led the Western Conference in points for the second straight season.

* They ranked first in the NHL in face-off winning percentage (55.6 percent), fourth in power-play efficiency (21.0) and fifth in the penalty kill (85.0).

* Joe Thornton was second in the NHL with 69 assists and eighth with 89 points.

* Patrick Marleau was fourth in goals scored with 44.

* Dany Heatley was 8th in the league in goals (39) and second in power-play tallies (18).

* Dan Boyle was fourth amongst blue liners with 58 points.

* Evgeni Nabokov was second in the league with 44 victories.

* They vanquished long-time nemesis Detroit in the second round of the playoffs.

But in the end, the results were no different then what we have seen from this club year after year.

In each of the past four years the Sharks have finished with at least 100 points, and in each of the past six years they have totaled at least 99 points as they have taken home four division titles. Still, they have never advanced to the Finals, never had a chance to hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup, and never fulfilled their destiny as one of the NHL’s great teams. I’ve tried to fight the prevalent perception in the national media that the Sharks are the NHL’s version of football’s Buffalo Bills (they lost in the Super Bowl 4-straight years from 1990-93) or baseball’s Atlanta Braves (to be fair the Braves did one title though they made the playoffs 14-straight years), but the fact is they are a great regular season team that can’t find a way to win a championship. They are a consistently good team that can never seem to raise their game to the level of greatness.

I don’t know what the Sharks need to do. They’ll probably lose Marleau and/or Nabokov, you can read move about that in the piece I linked to above, but much of the core will return (Thornton, Heatley, Boyle etc.). I’m certain we’ll hear a lot of tough words from the front office and a certain amount of player movement before next season begins, but in the end, will it matter? Are the Sharks destined to be the NHL version of the Cubs – a team that everyone desperately wants to love despite that little voice in the back of your head that says don’t buy into what your eyes are seeing because no matter how good things look sooner or later they club will break your heart? I desperately hope that isn’t the case, but with each passing year of regular season success followed by failure in the playoffs, I feel a growing kinship with those fans that have cheered their Cubbies on without ever once being able to say – we’re number one.

By Ray Flowers

Can it Get Any Worse?

I’m speechless.

Sports can break your heart worse than just about anything in life. Sports can ruin your day, your week, heck, they can crush your spirit completely. Last night the Sharks, and every person who cheers for the teal and black, suffered through the worst loss in the history of the team, and that is saying something for an organization that has suffered one playoff defeat after another – some being catastrophic in nature (for my take on last years epic playoff failure you can read When is Enough, Enough?). Here’s what happened lat night in Game 3 of the Sharks first round series with the Avalanche (the series was tied 1-1 going into the matchup).

The Sharks outshot the Avalanche 21-3 in the second period.
The Sharks outshot the Avalanche 21-4 in the third period.
The Sharks outshot the Avalanche 42-7 in the second and third periods.
The Sharks outshot the Avalanche 1-0 in OT, yet still lost the game.

How is that possible? In actuality the shot clock will say that the teams matched each other with one shot apiece in the overtime period, but the truth is that Sharks’ defensemen Dan Boyle, :51 seconds in the extra frame, accidently backhanded the puck past Evgeni Nabokov when he attempted a hard wrap around behind the net (after further review, it appears that an angle from a camera in Colorado shows that the puck did glance slightly off Ryan O’Reily’s stick). With that one errant shot of the puck the Sharks, in a game that they totally dominated, ended up losing 1-0.

This is the worst loss I have ever seen. More than that, it’s the worst loss I can recall ever hearing about in my 37 years on Earth. To completely dominate a game only to lose when your own player, your best defensemen mind you, accidently shoots a puck in his own net – catastrophic isn’t a strong enough word. It couldn’t have happened to a better guy either. Dan Boyle always stands up and is accountable for his mistakes. He talks openly and honestly to the press, never shying away from the painful truth, so it was no surprise to see him talk to the media almost immediately after the conclusion of the worst game of his life. His willingness to take responsibility for everything makes the stinging pain of this loss even harder to deal with since he is such a good guy.

So what do the Sharks do?

* They have outshot the Av’s a mindboggling 103 to 39 the past two games.

* They have scored three “own goals” in three games (the other two weren’t on shots like last night, but two pucks have gone in off of Sharks’ d-men Rob Blake and Marc-Edouard
Vlasic, the one off Blake being the deciding goal in the Game 1 loss). “We didn’t beat their goalie, we found a way to beat ours,” HC Todd McClellan said. “We’ve been beaten by some bad bounces

* They are behind 2-1 games to a team they were expected to beat by nearly ever expert in Hockey (the Sharks had the best record in the Western Conference which obviously makes the Avalanche the #8 seed).

Can the Sharks rebound from this loss? I don’t think a team, an organization, a fan base, can get any lower than this. Year upon year of disappointment was summed up expertly last night on one errant backhand pass that unfortunately is a microcosm of the history of the franchise, one filled with almost unsurpassed highs as well as crushing lows. Will the Sharks slink off meekly into the abyss or will they rally from this devastating loss to avenge themselves in the eyes of the hockey world that roundly regards them as papier-mâché champions? For once and for all, the Sharks will have the chance to prove to the world that they deserve respect and admiration for their determination, expertise and ability to rebound from catastrophic failure. Either that or it’s time for every Sharks fan in the world to pack their bags for the last time and move on from a franchise that breaks their hearts anew every year.

I mention the proverb that we have all heard at one time or another as it is one that the Sharks would do well to heed — it’s always darkest before the dawn.

By Ray Flowers

USA Olympic Hockey Delay

A diatribe against NBC and their idiotic decision to tape delay the matchup between the United States and Switzerland until after the game is completed.

By Ray Flowers