It’s been a phenomenal start for the Canadiens this season as they kick off with an 11-2 record leading the National Hockey League with 22 points and a +26 in the early goings of the season. Montreal has 50 goals (which is the most in the NHL) in 13 games and just may be proving the naysayers wrong of the Canadiens lack of offensive talent. Price looks to be sidelined for the week so Montreal will have to continue to put the puck in the back of the net to help the young Mike Condon keep the Habs on track.
When scouring the wire for potential upgrades through the free agency, be sure to keep on top of injuries and promotions. Sometimes you may have a player hurt on the IR or DTD for a few days or a few months; pending the severity of course. You need to adequately fill the void and ensure that slot is producing points for your fantasy team. It’s in your best interest to scoop up players who are not only playing well and producing, but ones who are in successful situations on a top line and getting power play time. Key in on acquiring the player who is replacing the injured player; quite often the success of that line will carry over and you can scoop yourself up a dandy to hold you over until your injured player returns to action.
Remember this is an excellent time of the year to sell high / buy low. Players like Kucherov, Perry, Getzlaf and many others are great players but have had a rough start in the early going of the season. See if you can work out a trade and acquire a great player off someone as they may be panicking in the early going.
Looking at the number of games ahead for each team this week:
2 games:
Arizona – Buffalo – Carolina – Minnesota – Nashville
3 games:
Anaheim – Calgary – Colorado – Columbus – Detroit – Edmonton – Florida – Montreal – New Jersey – New York Islanders – New York Rangers – Ottawa – Pittsburgh – San Jose – St Louis – Tampa Bay – Washington – Winnipeg
4 games:
Boston – Chicago – Dallas – Los Angeles – Philadelphia – Toronto – Vancouver
Starting Goalies:
(DAL) Niemi VS (TOR) Reimer (LA) Quick VS (CHI) Crawford (PHI) Mason VS (VAN) Miller
*bold is starting, italics is probable*
Hopefully things are going well in the HBSL as we enter week 5. Use that salary dollar wisely as you select your team this week; try to remember that Price is hurt, as that would surely cost you. I’m a big fan of picking up the superstar players making 8-10 million with a number of rookies and sophomores who are making 1 million. Of course picking two goalies who are not only going to play 2-3 times that week, but also have a good chance of winning their games which brings in more fantasy points.
In your other pools, continue to hold those high picks if you are struggling out the gates, things will turn around and those players who are letting you down now; should heat up sooner than later and you will be happy you kept them.
Thanks for reading, enjoy and best of luck in this week’s fantasy.