All-Mumps vs. All-Stars
Merry Christmas! Happy Chanukah (Hannukah or however it’s spelled this year) and Happy Kwanzaa to all!
It’s a very short week in the NHL as the league takes three days off for the holidays.
Mumps has replaced the dreaded upper or lower body injury as the main reason (or so it seems as everyone seems to be talking about the illness) players are missing action this season. I think that the players who have suffered from the mumps could be better as an all-star team than the players the fans have voted for.
On the mumps side, the forward line consists of Sidney Crosby, Corey Perry and Derick Brassard with Francois Beauchemin and Ryan Suter on the blueline. No goaltender has been officially diagnosed with the mumps as Marc-Andre Fleury just had a negative test. Karri Ramo is currently being tested for the mumps but there was no word as of this writing.
As far as the voters are concerned, the forwards are Zemgus Girgensons, Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews (I would much rather have the mumps squad) with Duncan Keith and P.K. Subban on the blueline (I’ll go with the fans here, but not nearly by as much as the forwards go to the all-mumps squad).
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Now to The Week Ahead.
WEEK OF DECEMBER 22-28
3 Games – Anaheim, Arizona, Nashville, Pittsburgh, Washington
2 Games- Boston, Buffalo, Calgary, Carolina, Chicago, Colorado, Columbus, Dallas, Detroit, Edmonton, Florida, Los Angeles, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Ottawa, Philadelphia, St. Louis, San Jose, Tampa Bay, Toronto, Vancouver, Winnipeg
1 Game– Montreal
Don't forget to join a Yahoo Hockey pool. It’s not too late.
INJURIES
Jacob Trouba is out until February with an upper body injury. (Click here to see the rest of the injury list.)
Note: A tired team is one that has played the day or night before and is going against a team that did not play the previous day or night. The reverse is true for a rested team.
ANAHEIM
Games this week
vs. San Jose, @ Arizona, @ Vancouver
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: @ Vancouver (Sunday)
Notes
The Ducks recalled Ilya Bryzgalov and Dany Heatley from the minors and sent John Gibson down. Gibson was considered a possibility (and a good one at that) to be the starter in Anaheim by this time but a groin injury on October 30 put a stop to that and the Ducks inked Bryzgalov to a deal in the interim. Emerson Etem is worth looking at in the short term as he has been called up to replace the injured Kyle Palmieri (shoulder) on a line with Ryan Kesler and Matt Beleskey. Sami Vatanen continues to be a top scoring defenseman in the NHL as he has nine goals and 24 points in 33 games this season. Corey Perry is still a week or two away from returning from a knee sprain.
ARIZONA
Games this week
@ Vancouver, @ Edmonton, vs. Anaheim
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: @ Edmonton (Tuesday)
Notes
Not too many times does someone score with less than a second to go in overtime but Oliver Ekman-Larsson managed to do so on Tuesday in a win over the lowly Oilers. The Coyotes have struggled all season and are a long shot at this time to make the playoffs in the Western Conference, but Shane Doan, the lone holdover from the Winnipeg Jets days, still is not interested in being traded, despite this being his 18th season in the NHL. I don’t understand why the Coyotes are not making Devan Dubnyk the number one netminder as he is 6-2-2 this season with a 2.56 GAA and a .922 save percentage while Mike Smith is 5-14-2 with a 3.35 GAA and a .889 save percentage. It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to see the obvious difference.
BOSTON
Games this week
vs. Nashville, @ Columbus
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
Patrice Bergeron has disappointed his fantasy owners this season as he has only six goals and 22 points with a plus-two rating this season. Poolies were expecting a lot more from Bergeron, especially in the plus-minus category. David Krejci finally returned on Wednesday after missing a month of action with a groin injury. His return to action should help the Bruins who are struggling to garner a playoff position 10 weeks into the NHL season. He is playing with Seth Griffith and Milan Lucic which should increase the fantasy value of both. Tuukka Rask continues to struggle this season with a 12-9-4 record to go with a 2.52 GAA and a .914 save percentage. He was most likely a high first round selection in your pool, but he has played like a middle round pick.
BUFFALO
Games this week
@ Detroit, vs. New York Islanders
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
Hard to believe that Zemgus Girgensons is leading all players in All-Star voting but that’s what happens when you give the vote to the fans and his native Latvia gets totally behind him. Girgensons has nine goals and 17 points in 32 games thus far, not exactly All-Star numbers for a forward. Jhonas Enroth has been a big surprise as many did not think he would win 10 games all season, never mind before Christmas. But he is 10-10-1 this season with a 2.96 GAA and a .916 save percentage. Mikhail Grigorenko is back in the minors after playing his first NHL game of the season on Tuesday. Although he has little to no fantasy value this season, I like Nikita Zadorov. Keep an eye on him next season.
CALGARY
Games this week
@ Los Angeles, vs. Edmonton
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
The Flames are mired in a six game losing streak but extended the contract of coach Bob Hartley as they are still 17-14-2 this season. Jiri Hudler is having another nice season as he has 13 goals and 30 points with a plus-seven rating in 32 games. Johnny Gaudreau is off to a nice start in his NHL career. The rookie has six goals and 23 points in 32 games after scoring in his only game last season. He will be a fantasy asset for years to come. Jonas Hiller has the better stats of the two netminders, save for their records as Hiller is 9-9-1 with a 2.42 GAA and a .914 save percentage while Karri Ramo, (who had been extremely hot) is 8-5-1 with a 2.69 GAA and a .903 save percentage.
CAROLINA
Games this week
@ New Jersey, @ Tampa Bay
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
There is good news on the Jordan Staal front as he could return to the Hurricanes lineup before the end of the calendar year. Staal fractured his fibula on September 23 in a preseason game and it was thought at the time he would be out of action for three-four months, so it looks like it will be around three for the center. Staal was projected to play with his brother Eric in training camp but that may change. Alexander Semin could return as early as December 20 from a lower body injury. He is capable of being a big scorer but Semin has not shown that kind of offense since the lockout season when he had 13 goals and 44 points in 44 games. He scored 40 goals in the 2009-10 season, his best year in the NHL but has not been close since.
CHICAGO
Games this week
vs. Winnipeg, @ Colorado
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
Corey Crawford is back from a lower body injury as the Blackhawks sent Scott Darling back to the minors. Patrick Sharp is off to a slow start since returning from a knee injury as he has a goal and an assist in five games with a minus-four rating. Duncan Keith missed Tuesday’s game with an illness and the worry may be he has mumps. Stay tuned. Patrick Kane leads the Blackhawks in scoring with 32 points including 15 goals. Andrew Shaw leads the team with 28 penalty minutes while Kris Versteeg is tops in plus-minus at plus-15. Both Darling and Antti Raanta are 5-2 with Darling going 1.97/.937 and Raanta having a 2.01/.938 GAA and save percentage. Crawford is 12-5-1 with a 1.87 GAA and a .929 save percentage.
COLORADO
Games this week
vs. St. Louis, vs. Chicago
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
Calvin Pickard has been outstanding for the Avalanche despite his 4-5-2 record as he has a 2.27 GAA and a .934 save percentage. When Semyon Varlamov returns from a groin injury, which should be this week, Pickard will likely be returned to the minors as the Avs want him to play a lot. Reto Berra will continue to back up but will likely not get too many opportunities to play. If you need penalty minutes in a deep league with a bit of scoring, then take Patrick Bordeleau who is expected to play before Christmas after missing all season with back woes. He had 11 points and 115 penalty minutes last season.
COLUMBUS
Games this week
vs. Nashville, vs. Boston
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
Nick Foligno continued his outstanding play this season with two goals and an assist Thursday to give him 16 goals and 30 points in 30 games. The Blue Jackets saw their seven game winning streak come to a close Thursday but they still managed to pick up a point in a 5-4 overtime loss. Sergei Bobrovsky had won all seven before giving up five to the Capitals and was spectacular with a 1.63 GAA and a .950 save percentage before the OT loss. The Blue Jackets dealt Tim Erixon, an important part of the Rick Nash trade to the Rangers in 2012, and received Jeremy Morin from the Blackhawks in return. Morin never got a real chance in Chicago but has the capabilities of being a top-six forward in Columbus.
DALLAS
Games this week
vs. Toronto, @ St. Louis
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
The Stars flipped back up goaltenders again as they recalled Anders Lindback from the minors and sent Jussi Rynnas back to Texas of the AHL. Shawn Horcoff went 10 games without a goal before scoring on December 13. Tyler Seguin continues to have an outstanding season as he has 23 goals and 38 points with a plus-seven rating. He also has 11 power play points with six being goals. Antoine Roussel has seven goals and 16 points in 30 games with 62 penalty minutes as he continues to be one of the best combinations of minutes and points. Kari Lehtonen has a nice 12-7-5 record but his peripherals are 2.97 and .906 and that leaves a lot to be desired.
DETROIT
Games this week
vs. Buffalo, @ Ottawa
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
Henrik Zetterberg has seven assists in his last 10 games but has not found the back of the net. He has only five goals in 32 games this season but the good news is that he has yet to miss a game. The Red Wings are getting back some of their wounded before Christmas as Stephen Weiss (shoulder) and Johan Franzen (flu) should be back in the lineup before the Buffalo game. This is after getting Danny DeKeyser (shoulder) and Justin Abdelkader (shoulder) back this past week to their lineup. Riley Sheahan has impressed me this season and with only seven goals and 16 points, he may be a nice sleeper pick next season.
EDMONTON
Games this week
vs. Arizona, @ Calgary
Rested Team: vs. Arizona (Tuesday)
Tired Team: None
Notes
The Oilers finally could not take it and fired head coach Dallas Eakins earlier in the week with GM Craig MacTavish taking over behind the bench temporarily. Oklahoma City coach Todd Nelson will eventually take over the rest of the season with the interim tag being attached to his name. Eakins was 36-63-14 in his brief stint with the Oilers but could have been over his head with the young Edmonton team as a veteran coach may have been a better choice. Eakins was considered the best young coach not in the NHL at the time and this debacle in Edmonton hopefully will not have a negative effect on him getting another chance. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins leads the Oilers with nine goals and 21 points.
FLORIDA
Games this week
vs. Pittsburgh, vs. Toronto
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
The Panthers play the back half of a home-and-home series against Pittsburgh on Monday and Shawn Thornton will provide the brawn should there be any fisticuffs. I thought that Thornton would have a lot more minutes this season but 27 in 22 games is all right for fantasy owners since he has missed eight games with an injury. Roberto Luongo continues to keep the Panthers in a playoff spot as he has won three in a row to up his record to 12-6-6 this season. His 2.24 GAA and .926 save percentage is the major reason why the Panthers have 36 points in 30 games this season, good for eighth in the East. Their leading scorer, Nick Bjugstad has only 19 points, one ahead of rookie blueliner Aaron Ekblad. Aleksander Barkov has been a huge disappointment thus far as he has only two goals and four points in 21 games. If he can ever get things going, the Panthers will be the surprise team in the East.
LOS ANGELES
Games this week
vs. Calgary, vs. San Jose
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
Finally! Anze Kopitar broke out on Thursday with a goal and five points (a career high). That’s the good news. Unfortunately, the outstanding effort against St. Louis gives him only 19 points on the season. It may be a long time, if ever, that we see Slava Voynov back in a Kings uniform as the charge of corporal injury to a spouse with great bodily injury has enough evidence to warrant a trial in Los Angeles. He will be arraigned on December 29 and it does not look like he will play again this season and who knows after that. Marian Gaborik is on fire with five goals and an assist in his last three games. Dwight King has two goals in his last three games and now has four to go with five helpers in 32 games this season.
MINNESOTA
Games this week
vs. Philadelphia, vs. Winnipeg
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
Niklas Backstrom started the last game for the Wild as Darcy Kuemper was out of action with a stomach illness. Minnesota was forced to recall John Curry to back up Backstrom. Thomas Vanek is starting to heat up a little bit with four points in his last five games but the perennial scorer has only four goals and 18 points in 30 games this season in what is shaping up to be his worst NHL season since his rookie year of 2005-06 when he had 25 goals and 48 points in 81 games. Zach Parise leads the Wild with 23 points in 25 games as Jason Pominville sits second only two points in arrears. Ryan Suter has only one goal this season but has 18 assists.
MONTREAL
Games this week
@ New York Islanders
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
The Canadiens play only on Tuesday this week as they get the longest Christmas break of any NHL team. The Habs start a five game road trip as they are being forced out of the Bell Centre because of the World Junior Tournament. The same will happen again in two years as Montreal and Toronto are sharing it this year and in 2016-17. Alex Galchenyuk has three goals and four points in his last two games and the third overall pick in the 2012 Draft is starting to show why he deserved the high ranking as he now has nine goals and 22 points in 33 games. Take him if he is available in your pool. David Desharnais ended a 12 game goalless drought and now has two goals and four points in his last three games.
NASHVILLE
Games this week
@ Columbus, @ Boston, vs. Philadelphia
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: @ Boston (Tuesday)
Notes
James Neal was the first player to get fined for embellishment as he was warned about diving on November 13 and was called for a penalty on December 13. Viktor Stalberg came to Nashville from Chicago with the opportunity to become a top-six forward but after an eight goal and 18 point performance in 70 games last season and none in five games this year, the Predators placed him on waivers, hoping that he will clear and be able to get some playing time in the AHL. The soon to be 29-year-old is likely to be a bottom-six forward at the NHL level at best. Filip Forsberg continues to shine with 30 points in 30 games with a plus-23 rating. He heads all candidates for the Calder Trophy, although Aaron Ekblad and Johnny Gaudreau are closing the gap.
NEW JERSEY
Games this week
vs. Carolina, @ New York Rangers
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
Rookie Damon Severson will be out of action for the next four-five weeks with a hairline fracture in his ankle. He had been playing on it for 10 days before his ankle swelled up and he went for x-rays on Wednesday, which confirmed the break. Adam Larsson is ready to return from the mumps. Patrik Elias finally returned on Wednesday after missing five games with a groin injury. Scott Gomez has two goals and six points in nine games since signing a deal with the Devils. He had only two goals in each of his last three seasons. Travis Zajac also returned to the lineup after missing eight games with a lower body injury and the mumps. He has played alongside Gomez and Jaromir Jagr but has only four goals and eight points in 25 games after a 48 point season in 2013-14.
NEW YORK ISLANDERS
Games this week
vs. Montreal, @ Buffalo
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
The Islanders are starting to get healthy on the blueline as Travis Hamonic and Johnny Boychuk are due back in the lineup on December 19. With the Devils and the Rangers having players come down with the mumps, the Islanders are being a little more careful and have delayed a visit to a children’s hospital. Ryan Strome is still impressing me as he has quietly scored six goals and added 15 assists in 31 games with good peripherals as he is a plus-10 with 24 penalty minutes. Nick Leddy has been good on the point with five goals and 15 points with a plus-seven rating but could lose some power play time as Boychuk is back in the lineup.
NEW YORK RANGERS
Games this week
vs. Washington, vs. New Jersey
Rested Team: vs. Washington (Tuesday)
Tired Team: None
Notes
The mumps seem to be the theme of this article, especially with the New York area teams (and Pittsburgh) and the Rangers now have Derick Brassard and Lee Stempniak on the sidelines. Chris Kreider has been in a terrible slump but scored on Tuesday for his first goal in five-and-a-half weeks. Derek Stepan has been terrific since his return at the beginning of November as he has three goals and 16 points in 17 games. Rick Nash is on an 11 game scoring streak in which he has eight goals and 14 points, giving him 20 goals and 33 points in 29 games. He has a good chance to be the comeback player of the year as he had only 26 goals and 39 points in 65 games last season.
OTTAWA
Games this week
@ Washington, vs. Detroit
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
The Senators have loaned Curtis Lazar to the Canadian Under-20 team and that should help Canada. The rookie had only one goal (scored on Monday) and seven points in 27 games for Ottawa so his fantasy value was and is negligible. Kyle Turris had been having a mediocre season but has a four game point streak in which he has two goals and five points to give him 21 points in 31 games. He should still hit the 50 point mark so is likely worth picking up in plenty of pools. The Senators were and are expecting more offensively from Bobby Ryan who has only seven goals and 19 points in 28 games. Erik Karlsson has a team worst minus-12 rating.
PHILADELPHIA
Games this week
@ Minnesota, @ Nashville
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
Vincent Lecavalier finally returned to the Flyers lineup on Thursday as he missed seven games, one with a lower body injury and the other six as a healthy scratch. His two goals and six points in 17 games with a minus-five rating doesn’t exactly inspire feelings of warmth for poolies who have him on their roster. The Flyers are 11-14-6 this season but have two of the top scorers in the NHL in Jakub Voracek and Claude Giroux. Zac Rinaldo leads the team in penalty minutes with 37. Luke Schenn was dealt to the Flyers from Toronto in the summer of 2012 for James van Riemsdyk. Schenn has been a healthy scratch on more than a few occasions, while van Riemsdyk has been one of the best wingers (top 30) in the NHL. It has not worked out well for the Flyers.
PITTSBURGH
Games this week
@ Florida, @ Tampa Bay, vs. Washington
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: @ Tampa Bay (Tuesday)
Notes
The Penguins play the back end of a home-and-home series against the Lightning this week so look for Steve Downie and Bobby Farnham to get some minutes if there are any fights. Downie leads the NHL in penalty minutes with 118 while Farnham has two majors in three NHL games this season. Sidney Crosby has recovered from the mumps and played on Thursday. Beau Bennett, who seems to get every injury and every illness that is possible, is out with the mumps, as is Olli Maatta. Chris Kunitz could play as early as December 20 as he returns from missing eight games with a foot injury. He has 20 points in 23 games and the Penguins could use his scoring in the lineup.
ST. LOUIS
Games this week
@ Colorado, vs. Dallas
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
Jori Lehtera finally snapped a 15 game goalless streak on Thursday and now has 24 points for the Blues in his first NHL season. It was not a good night for Martin Brodeur on Thursday as he gave up six goals on 37 shots to the Kings. While he will have an occasional great game which will make poolies think that he is back, I can’t recommend Brodeur as most of the time he will play like his age, which is 42. Jaden Schwartz is out indefinitely with a broken foot. T.J. Oshie took over his spot between Alexander Steen and David Backes in five-on-five situations as well as the first power play.
SAN JOSE
Games this week
@ Anaheim, @ Los Angeles
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
Although his fantasy value is nothing to write home about in standard pools, the San Jose Sharks are pleased with the addition of Brenden Dillon since his trade from Dallas for Jason Demers. Dillon has only four assists with 34 penalty minutes in 31 games. A player who should get noticed in deeper fantasy pools is Barclay Goodrow who has two goals and five points in 17 games. He has 14 penalty minutes as well with all 14 being picked up against Nashville on December 13. Joe Thornton had a goal and five assists in three games before the Oilers held him off the scoresheet Thursday.
TAMPA BAY
Games this week
vs. Pittsburgh, vs. Carolina
Rested team: vs. Pittsburgh (Tuesday)
Tired Team: None
Notes
Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said that Nikita Kucherov has been a better player this season because he understands English a lot more than last season. Kucherov had nine goals and nine assists in 52 games last season but already has 12 goals and 29 points in 33 games in 2014-15. Add to that a plus-18 rating and you can see that Kucherov is playing with a lot more confidence. He has three goals and six points in his last four games. Andrei Vasilevskiy was recalled from the minors when Ben Bishop was injured on Monday and was a stud in his NHL debut as he stopped 23 shots in a 3-1 win. Jonathan Drouin was not loaned out to the Canadian Juniors but the Lightning did move him up to the first line with Steve Stamkos on Tuesday and he responded by setting up the aforementioned Stamkos for a goal.
TORONTO
Games this week
@ Dallas, @ Florida
Rested team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
The Maple Leafs have been the hottest team in the NHL, but now will settle into playing a lot of games on the road as they played 21 of their first 32 games at home. Dion Phaneuf has two goals and 17 points in 32 games but his peripheral stats stand out as he is a plus-14, has 58 penalty minutes, 71 blocked shots and 85 hits. That’s mighty impressive especially considering the beating he gets in the press for a perceived lack of good play. He is a number one defenseman in fantasy as well as real hockey. The Maple Leafs have been getting a great effort from Korbinian Holzer as he has been a plus-seven in the 10 games he played with Roman Polak on the shelf. But Polak returned to action on Thursday, bumping Holzer to the press box. The Leafs lost to the lowly Hurricanes so it would not surprise me to see Holzer back on the ice this week.
VANCOUVER
Games this week
vs. Arizona, @ Anaheim
Rested Team: @ Anaheim (Sunday)
Tired Team: None
Notes
The Canucks are struggling on the power play as they are scoreless in their last 19 attempts. Ryan Miller continues to struggle of late as he has lost his last three decisions, giving up 11 goals on 61 shots as he was pulled six minutes into the second period in one of his starts. To add to his woes, coach Willie Desjardins has started Eddie Lack in three of the last six games. Miller has a great record of 16-7-0 but his 2.69 GAA and .900 save percentage leave a lot to be desired. Bo Horvat will not be released to Canada’s World Junior team which doesn’t make a lot of sense since he is averaging less than 12 minutes of action over the last five games. I guess that’s why I’m not making the decisions for the Canucks.
WASHINGTON
Games this week
vs. Ottawa, @ New York Rangers @ Pittsburgh
Rested team: None
Tired Team: @ New York Rangers (Tuesday)
Notes
The Capitals sent Andre Burakovsky to the minors less than a week after refusing to send him to Team Sweden for the World Juniors. He had been a healthy scratch in six of the last six games before his demotion. Braden Holtby has not lost a game in regulation in his last seven starts. Tom Wilson continues to shine on the top line with two goals and seven assists in 21 games with 67 penalty minutes. Eric Fehr has been scoring of late with three goals in his last four games. He has seven goals and 12 points in 28 games this season. Nicklas Backstrom picked up a natural hat trick on Saturday. It was his first three goal game since April 17, 2010 when he accomplished the feat against Montreal in the playoffs.
WINNIPEG
Games this week
@ Chicago, @ Minnesota
Rested team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
The Jets are reeling on the blueline as Mark Stuart and Jacob Trouba were injured this week and are out until February. This, combined with injuries to Zach Bogosian and Tobias Enstrom (both due back in January) forced the Jets to deal a sixth round pick to Carolina for Jay Harrison who will provide some grit on the blueline. Still, the Jets are missing four of their top five defensemen. Paul Postma is seeing second unit power play duty with all the injuries and he may be a worthwhile pickup at this time. Mark Scheifele is getting hot with a pair of three point performances in his last three games. He has sox goals and 16 points in 32 games this season and is worth a pickup at this time.
