Every week our Fantasy staff will evaluate the landscape around the NHL and how it pertains to Fantasy owners in Fantasy Stockwatch.
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| | Alex Auld, G, Ottawa Auld clearly has Martin Gerber's leg injury to thank for giving him an opportunity to show what he can do between the pipes, but Auld's performances are what has kept him in the No. 1 spot. Auld hasn't lost in regulation in his last five starts and has a stellar 1.86 goals-against average this season. OK, so three of those games were against Southeast Division opponents, but he still held all of them to two goals or less. The Sens are starting to pick up their play and, although they're still in last place in the Northeast, they're only five points out of first and playing well right now. |
| | Brandon Dubinsky, C, N.Y. Rangers Dubinsky was just unconscious to start the season with three goals and four assists in his first five games, but now has one goal and three assists in his last nine contests. Whether it's Dubinski or the Rangers as a team coming down to earth lately we'll have to wait and see, but New York has lost three of their last four, with four total goals in those three defeats. You're better off ignoring Dubinsky for the time being. |
| | Mikhail Grabovski, LW, Toronto The Leafs are playing some superb hockey lately, and Grabovski is one of their hottest young players. He has six goals and two assists in last four games and is now playing on the second line with Niklas Hagman and Nikolai Kulemin. So, we'll call that the NikMikNik line, of course. The jury is still out a little on Grabovski after his struggles in Montreal last season, but you might want to use him in deeper formats this upcoming week as the Leafs play three times, although they are all on the road. |
| | Kyle Turris, C, Phoenix Man, I feel for this kid right now. The 19-year-old Turris, who played in three games for Phoenix last season after finishing up his career at Wisconsin, has only four points in 11 games this season but was looking forward to playing in front of up to 100 friends and family in his hometown of Vancouver last week. However, Wayne Gretzky decided to scratch Turris for a second straight game, leaving many people disappointed. While we understand this is a team-first sport, you would have thought Gretzky, who surely knows what it's like to be a highly-regarded youngster like Turris, would have had more compassion. Incidents like this can leave a young man scarred (Turris refused interview requests after the game), but we hope Turris can bounce back soon. He'd probably be better off playing in the AHL right now instead of sitting in the stands, to be honest. |
| | Bryan Little, C, Atlanta Little averaged a point every three games in 48 contests with the Thrashers last season, but he's averaging a point a game in his sophomore season so far through 15 games and has seven points in his last four. The fact he's a plus-7 for a team like Atlanta tells you how well he's playing on both ends of the ice right now, although the Thrashers are showing some signs of life lately. Little is definitely worth considering as a low-end starting Fantasy forward in deeper leagues right now. |
| | Jason Blake, LW, Toronto Blake is one of the few players struggling for the high-scoring Leafs squad at the moment. He only has six points on the year and currently finds himself stuck on the third line with Dominic Moore and Jamal Mayers. His power play time has also been cut by almost a minute a game, so Blake is just not getting enough top-notch scoring chances. We hope the veteran can bounce back from his bout with chronic myelogenous leukemia that began last season, but things aren't looking good. |
| | Ryane Clowe, RW, San Jose Clowe has nine goals in last 10 after putting up only 34 points in 58 games last season. Currently filling in on the second line for Jonathan Cheechoo, he is playing alongside two other young studs in Milan Michalek and Joe Pavelski. Clowe, who can sometimes find the penalty box as often as he finds the net, plays three times this week, so he could be a nice option if you have one of the many forwards who play only twice. |
| | Ryan Smyth, RW, colorado Smyth scored 36 goals in back-to-back years with the Oilers and the Islanders, but the Avalanche appeared to have overpaid for this guy so far. He's making over $7 million this season, but only has four markers in 14 games after managing just 14 last season in 55 games. Fortunately for Smyth and his owners, no one behind him on the Colorado depth chart is doing much, so it appears his job on the top line is safe for now. Continue to start him in deeper leagues as a low-end Fantasy forward, but be prepared to bench him if this slump continues. |
| | Mark Parrish, RW, Dallas How many teams do you think are regretting their decision not to take a chance on Parrish? I would say 29, after the veteran scored a hat trick in his first game with the Stars. Parrish has found a home on a line alongside Sean Avery and Mike Modano for the moment, which definitely an intriguing grouping. Many are saying Avery's addition has hurt the Stars, but maybe Parrish can turn into enough of a story to deflect those rumors. Keep an eye on him over the next few games in deeper leagues. |
| | Sam Gagner, C, Edmonton Talk about a sophomore slump so far. Gagner looked great in his rookie season with 49 points in 79 games, despite averaging a little over 15 minutes a game. He's getting more playing time this season in Edmonton, but he's produced only two assists through 13 contests. Gagner remains on the top line for now with the Oilers, but only because the whole team is struggling to do much offensively. I don't doubt he'll turn things around at some point, but you're better off just benching him until that happens. |
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