(All stats through Friday, March 5)
Week 21 (March 8-14)
Teams playing four games: Atlanta, Columbus, Dallas, Los Angeles,
Minnesota, Nashville, N.Y. Islanders, Philadelphia, Tampa Bay, Toronto,
Vancouver, Washington.
Teams playing three games: Anaheim,
Boston, Buffalo, Calgary, Carolina, Chicago, Colorado, Detroit,
Edmonton, Florida, Montreal, New Jersey, N.Y. Rangers, Ottawa, Phoenix,
Pittsburgh, San Jose, St. Louis.
Atlantic Division
New Jersey Devils: Ilya Kovalchuk
has three goals and six points in his last four games ... Olympic silver
medalist Zach Parise has five goals and
three assists during a five-game point streak ... C Travis Zajac has 26 points in the last 23 games ... David Clarkson returned to the lineup Tuesday after being out since
Dec. 30. Consider him once again in deeper leagues ... Defenseman Paul Martin (arm) could be back in the scoring period.
N.Y.
Islanders: Goalie Rick DiPietro is
out indefinitely with swelling in his surgically repaired knee ... Blake Comeau completed his first career hat trick on Wednesday, and
is really clicking with his new stick (six goals in last four games) ...
Low-end winger Trent Hunter (upper-body
injury) is unlikely to play in the scoring period ... Defenseman Jack Hillen is back in the lineup after missing nine games with a
broken jaw, and could see extra ice time following the trade of Andy Sutton to Ottawa ... Rookie center John Tavares' goal skid has reached 16 games.
N.Y. Rangers: Marian Gaborik is day-to-day with what is rumored to be a groin
injury. He shook off a lacerated thigh to play in the Olympics but got
dinged up in Vancouver ... Defenseman Michael Del Zotto could be close to returning from a lacerated chest
... Vaclav Prospal has 12 points in his
last 11 games ... Goalie Alex Auld was
picked up off waivers and will likely back up Henrik Lundqvist the rest of the way ... Erik Christensen has five points in his last three games ...
Little-used defenseman Anders Eriksson
was shipped off to the Coyotes at the trade deadline.
Philadelphia
Flyers: Goalie Ray Emery is out for
the season with a hip problem that will require surgery. Michael Leighton should continue to get the majority of starts ahead of Brian Boucher ... Jeff Carter saw his
six-game goal streak come to end Friday ... Danny Briere has six points in his last six games ... Danny Syvret will continue rehabbing his shoulder and will begin his
comeback in the AHL ... Ville Leino
played his first game for the Flyers on Wednesday and scored a goal. He
played on the fourth line.
Pittsburgh Penguins: In his first
game with the Penguins, newly-acquired winger Alexei Ponikarovsky played on the second line with Evgeni Malkin and Ruslan Fedotenko ...
The team also acquired Jordan Leopold
from Florida, who has been partnered with Alex Goligoski ... Evgeni Malkin
has recorded a point in 15 straight games after scoring a goal in just
one of his previous 15 contests ... Olympic hero Sidney Crosby has been reunited with wingers Chris Kunitz and Bill Guerin, with
whom he scored 15 playoff goals during last year's playoffs ... Eric Godard (groin) has been downgraded to out indefinitely.
Favorable
matchup: N.Y. Islanders (@PHI, STL, EDM, TOR) While the Flyers and
Blues are not particularly great matchups, the Oilers and Maple Leafs
rank last and second-to-last respectively in goals against.
Unfavorable
matchup: Pittsburgh (@CAR, @NJ, @TB) The Devils have the best
goals-against average in the NHL, while Carolina has only allowed more
than two goals once during their current seven-game home winning streak.
Northeast Division
Boston Bruins: Goalie Tuukka Rask,
who had been getting the majority of starts lately, is day-to-day with a
lower-body injury. Matt Dalton will
back up Tim Thomas ... Patrice Bergeron (groin) hasn't played since the Olympic break ... Dennis Seidenberg, acquired in a deadline-day trade with Florida,
partnered Zdeno Chara on Thursday vs.
Toronto. Seidenberg leads the league in blocked shots ... Center Marc Savard hasn't scored a goal in his last 18 games but does have
14 assists over that span ... Steve Begin
has no points and a minus-9 in his last 18 games.
Buffalo Sabres: Buffalo
is struggling as a team, going just 2-6-3 in its last 11 games ...Newly
acquired winger Raffi Torres, who
immediately becomes the team's goal-scoring leader with 19, played all
over the lines against the Flyers on Friday ... Jochen Hecht has points in three of the last five games (two goals and
an assist) ... Paul Gaustad is out for
at least a week with an upper-body injury.
Montreal Canadiens: Mike Cammalleri (knee) says he's still on schedule for a mid-March
return, but would be a very risky start in Week 21 ... Benoit Pouliot (shoulder) returned in Tuesday's game in Boston and
scored a goal. He now has four points in his last five games as he
continues to play well since coming over from Minnesota ... Maxim Lapierre has been suspended four games without pay for a late
hit on Sharks forward Scott Nichol.
Ottawa
Senators: Brian Elliott, who was
making his 15th straight start, was pulled early in Tuesday's loss to
the Rangers. He was replaced by Pascal Leclaire,
who was yanked himself against Carolina on Thursday ... Andy Sutton came over from the Islanders at the deadline, but will
continue to be a low-end Fantasy option ...Youngster Erik Karlsson returned to action on Wednesday after missing the five
games before the break with a shoulder injury ... Milan Michalek is the new team leader with 21 goals ...Winger Nick Foligno's return from a broken leg has been pushed back to late
March at the earliest.
Toronto Maple Leafs: Luca Caputi, acquired from the Penguins in the Ponikarovsky deal,
played alongside Christian Hanson and John Mitchell on Thursday at Boston. He also saw 2:35 of power play
time ... Coach Ron Wilson now says he might alter his plan of using
goalie Jonas Gustavsson just once a
week in goal in favor of veteran Jean-Sebastien Giguere ... Mikhail Grabovski
(broken wrist) could return soon after a two-month absence ... NHL.com
reports that Mike Komisarek (shoulder
surgery) is with the team on their current road trip that ends Sunday.
Favorable
matchup: Montreal (TB, EDM, BOS) While the Canadiens don't score at
home or on the road, they face the Lightning (22nd in goals against) and
Oilers (30th), two of the league's worst defenses.
Unfavorable
matchup: None
Southeast Division
|
||
Player | Start % | |
1. | Steve Downie, RW, Lightning | 52 |
2. | Alexei Ponikarovsky, LW, Penguins | 49 |
3. | Michael Leighton, G, Flyers | 32 |
4. | Wojtek Wolski, LW, Coyotes | 59 |
5. | Vaclav Prospal, C, Rangers | 55 |
6. | Devin Setoguchi, RW, Sharks | 47 |
7. | Cristobal Huet, G, Blackhawks | 48 |
8. | Steve Mason, G, Blues | 44 |
9. | Joe Corvo, D, Capitals | 35 |
10. | Joe Pavelski, C, Sharks | 58 |
Atlanta Thrashers: Nik Antropov
has 11 points in his last seven games ... Rich Peverley's 19th goal of the season on Tuesday moved him
temporarily into a tie for the team lead with Maxim Afinogenov, but then the Russian scored on Thursday ... D Pavel Kubina registered his sixth goal of the season in the win over
Florida and has seven points in his last six games ... Clarke MacArthur was acquired from the Sabres at the deadline. The
24-year-old has some potential, but remains a low-end Fantasy option for
now ... The team also traded for bruiser Evgeny Artyukhin and signed 48-year-old Chris Chelios ... Veteran winger Slava Kozlov
has requested to be traded because of a lack of playing time, according
to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution ... Christoph Schubert is off IR after missing 13 games.
Carolina
Hurricanes: Cam Ward will not need
surgery on his injured back, but remains out indefinitely ... LW Jussi Jokinen's point streak ended 10 games on Thursday ... The team
added defenseman Brian Pothier, goalie Justin Pogge and forward Oskar Osala
at the deadline. Pothier should get plenty of minutes for his new team,
but none of these guys are expected to factor Fantasy-wise the rest of
the year ... LW Chad LaRose scored in
his first game back in the lineup Tuesday. He had missed all seven
February contests.
Florida Panthers: Nathan Horton (broken leg) is back skating again and could return in
the scoring period ... David Booth has
six points in his last two games ... Bryan McCabe
has a goal and six assists in his last five games ... Byron Bitz was picked up in a deal with the Bruins.
Tampa Bay
Lightning: Steven Stamkos has a
team-record scoring streak of 15 games, the third-longest scoring streak
in the league this season. Stamkos, who has 38 goals on the season, has
picked up 13 goals and 26 points during the scoring streak ... Steve Downie has a career-best scoring streak of nine games. The
third-year pro, who has six power-play goals, has scored five goals to
go with seven assists during the nine-game streak ... Teddy Purcell, acquired from Los Angeles at the trade deadline played
on the second line with Vincent Lecavalier
and Ryan Malone in his team debut.
Washington
Capitals: Deadline day acquisitions Scott Walker, Joe Corvo and Eric Belanger all played well in their first game with the Caps.
Walker scored twice to lead the newcomers. The other new pickup, Milan Jurcina, is out for at least a month with a sports hernia ...
Goalie Semyon Varlamov is 8-0 at home
this season.
Favorable matchup: Washington (DAL, CAR, TB,
@CHI). While the Blackhawks have allowed the fewest goals in the league,
the other three teams Washington face rank in the bottom 10 of the same
category.
Unfavorable matchup: Florida (@MIN, @COL, @SJ). The
Avalance and Sharks both rank in the top 10 in fewest goals allowed,
while the Panthers rank 21st in road scoring.
Central Division
Chicago Blackhawks: Chicago picked up some role players at the
deadline, including Nick Boynton and Kim Johnsson, but none of the additions are likely to have much, if
any, Fantasy impact the rest of the way. Johnsson did have an assist and
was a plus-4 in his first game for Chicago, though ... Jonathan Toews has four straight multiple-point games and has a goal and
seven assists during that stretch ... Patrick Kane has a seven-game point streak.
Columbus Blue
Jackets: Jakub Voracek has one goal
and six assists during a five-game point streak after going eight games
without a point ... Antoine Vermette has
two goals and four assists during a five-game point streak ... Derick Brassard is still dealing with a hand injury ... Mike Commodore (charley horse) should be back soon, while Rostislav Klesla (groin) might be out for the season.
Detroit Red
Wings: Darren Helm scored twice in
Friday's win over Nashville. It was his first two-goal game and enabled
the fourth-line energy player to hit the 10-goal mark ... Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg
have combined for 17 points over the last seven games ... Goalie Jimmy Howard has three wins in his last four games and has allowed
two goals or less in four of five.
Nashville Predators: Must-start
Fantasy defenseman Shea Weber is
day-to-day with a wrist or hand injury sustained on Saturday against the
Wings ... The team added former Oilers defenseman Denis Grebeshkov and Dustin Boyd at
the deadline. Grebeshkov will remain an option in deeper Fantasy
leagues, while you should continue to avoid Boyd ... Solid defensive
prospect Cody Franson has been removed
from injured reserve and is back plying his trade in the AHL for the
time being.
St. Louis Blues: Goalie Chris Mason has won five straight games as he tries to earn a
contract extension ... T.J. Oshie has
scored in four consecutive games. He has seven points in his those
contests ... Matt D'Agostini, acquired
from Montreal at the deadline, played right wing on a line with D.J. King and B.J. Crombeen in his
debut. D'Agostini had one shot on goal and two hits in 11:50 of ice time
... Cam Janssen is eligible to return
from his five-game suspension on March 14 ... Keith Tkachuk has yet to return from his finger injury.
Favorable
matchup: St. Louis (@NYI, @CLB, @MIN) The Blues are ninth in road
scoring and will play three teams in the bottom half of league defenses,
including two in the bottom five (New York, Columbus).
Unfavorable
matchup: Detroit (CGY, MIN, BUF) The Sabres and Flames rank fifth
and sixth respectively in team defense, and the Red Wings are 25th in
home scoring at just 2.65 goals per game.
Northwest Division
Calgary Flames: Jarome Iginla has
six points in his last six games after having just one in his previous
four ...Deadline day acquisition Steve Staios
played mainly with Jay Bouwmeester as
his defensive partner in his first game for Calgary ... Vesa Toskala, who was also acquired on Wednesday, is likely to play
four or five games down the stretch in relief of Miikka Kiprusoff ... C Daymond Langkow
ended a 21-game goal drought on Friday night ... Craig Conroy has been removed from IR, but was a healthy scratch
Friday.
Colorado Avalanche: Brandon Yip
is out 4-6 weeks with a shoulder injury ... The team has scored four
power-play goals in two games with John-Michael Liles and trade deadline acquisition Peter Mueller manning the points after the team went 3-for-37 with
the man advantage in the previous 11 games ... Stephane Yelle is back with his old team following his acquisition from
Carolina on Wednesday. Yelle played 9:51 and helped the Avalanche kill
both of Phoenix's power plays in Thursday's win. Yelle centered the
fourth line with Darcy Tucker and Matt Hendricks ... RW Marek Svatos
had five shots on goal in just 6:59 of ice time Thursday against Phoenix.
Edmonton
Oilers: Lubomir Visnovsky was traded
to the Ducks in return for Ryan Whitney,
who played 26:20 in his first game for Edmonton ... Ladislav Smid is out for the season, as the bulging disk in his neck
will require surgery ... Ryan Jones'
home-ice debut with Edmonton on Friday lasted all of half a period
before he left the game with a sprained knee. Jones was claimed off
waivers on March 3 ... In his last seven games, Fernando Pisani has no points and is a minus-8, while Patrick O'Sullivan has zero points and minus-8 in his last eight.
Minnesota
Wild: Derek Boogaard, who was
suspended five games last year for elbowing Calgary's Brandon Prust, might get another call from league disciplinarian Colin
Campbell. Boogaard stuck his knee out on Edmonton's Ryan Jones on Friday and sprained Jones' knee ... Defenseman Cam Barker is a plus-4 with a goal and an assist in three games for
the Wild after coming over in a trade from Chicago ... Mikko Koivu has seven points in his last six games ... Niklas Backstrom earned just his second shutout in his last 49
decisions when he blanked the Flames on Wednesday.
Vancouver
Canucks: Goalie Roberto Luongo was
pulled for the third time in his last eight games in Friday's loss to
the Blackhawks. he has now allowed 13 goals in his last three starts ... Ryan Kesler has five goals and four assists during his current
eight-game point streak ... Willie Mitchell
(concussion) has been downgraded to out indefinitely ... LW Steve Bernier flew back to Vancouver on Wednesday to see an abdominal
specialist, leading to speculation he may have a sports hernia. His
situation will be cleared up on Monday... Mikael Samuelsson scored for a second consecutive game Friday in
Chicago to match his career high with 23 goals.
Favorable matchup:
Edmonton (OTT, @MON, @TOR) While the Oilers have the second-worst
offense in the NHL, they will face three very average defenses in Week
21. Edmonton has scored three goals in all three games against these
Eastern Conference opponents this season.
Unfavorable matchup:
Vancouver (@COL, @PHX, OTT, CGY) The Canucks face three teams in the top
eight in fewest goals against, while the other squad, Ottawa, held
Vancouver to one goal in their February meeting.
Pacific Division
Anaheim Ducks: Corey Perry has 10
points in his last eight games ... The Ducks bolstered their blue line
at the deadline with the acquisitions of Lubomir Visnovsky and Aaron Ward ... The
Ducks also swapped backup goaltenders, landing Curtis McElhinney from the Flames for Vesa Toskala, and picked up another backup goalie, Joey MacDonald ... There has been no recent word on the only injured
Duck, Joffrey Lupul (back) ... Coach
Randy Carlyle experimented with some different line combinations at
practice Saturday. The top line was Matt Beleskey,
Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry, while the second line was Dan Sexton, Saku Koivu and Bobby Ryan.
Dallas Stars: Marty Turco,
who was playing very well before the break, has allowed nine goals in
his first two games since the break ... RW Loui Eriksson's goal Thursday was his first point in four games ... Brad Richards has points in seven of his last eight games (1-6-7)
... Mark Fistric has been removed from
IR, but was a healthy scratch Thursday.
Los Angeles Kings: Alexander Frolov has three goals and six assists in his last seven
games... The Kings acquired two veteran forwards at the deadline, Jeff Halpern from Tampa Bay and Fredrik Modin
from Columbus. Both are expected to play on the lower lines ... Brayden Schenn, the Kings' first-round pick in the 2009 draft (No. 5
overall), has been signed to a standard three-year entry-level contract.
He has 87 points in 55 WHL games this season ... RW Justin Williams (broken leg) has been participating in practices for
the past week and seems to be on track for a return before the end of
the month. He has been out since Dec. 26.
Phoenix Coyotes: Defenseman
Ed Jovanovski missed Thursday's game with
an upper-body injury. He is listed as day-to-day ... Wojtek Wolski, acquired from Colorado at the deadline, scored the game
winner in Thursday's victory over the Avalanche ... Lee Stempniak, another one of the new Coyotes, also scored in the
game ... The team also traded for winger Petteri Nokelainen and defenseman Derek Morris...
In his last seven games, Daniel Winnik
has no points and a minus-5.
San Jose Sharks: Patrick Marleau scored a short-handed goal Thursday. It was his 39th
goal of the season, a new career high ... Joe Thornton, Dany Heatley and Devin Setoguchi have combined for 16 points in the last seven games
... Ryan Vesce has been called up from
the AHL and could stick around for a while ... Center Scott Nichol will miss 7-10 days with an upper-body injury.
Favorable
matchup: San Jose (NSH, FLA, @ANA) Not like the Sharks need much
help scoring, but they will face the 19th, 18th and 23rd-ranked defenses
in Week 21.
Unfavorable matchup: Phoenix (VAN, @CAR, @ATL)
While the Canucks are tough defensively, the Hurricanes and Thrashers
can be scored upon. Unfortunately, the Coyotes are only 26th in road
scoring.
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