First month is always an exciting one in the fantasy world of hockey. What players worked hard over the off season and which players really dogged it and look like they couldn’t stick handle through a men’s league defensive pairing. Goaltending I find is the most bizarre in the month of October and sometimes trickles into November. Don’t get your panties into a knot though; this is a yearly trend for some goaltending veterans. A prime example is Henrik Lundqvist, who currently has 5.05 goals against average and a .837 save %. It’s just how it is for the King as he usually gets off to a slow start then picks it up when it counts most down the stretch. This happens; goalies are an odd breed…don’t panic, just wait it out and everything will come to fruition.
If you got your HockeyBuzz SuperLeague team set before game one last week you will notice you had to have your team in before first game yesterday at 1pm. I hope everyone noticed and got a chance to update their team. If not you will just have to survive the week with last week’s team you put together. I actually had an ok first week, but I lost…I changed Wayne Simmonds at the last moment because I thought he was injured and was going to miss the first game or two…big mistake, as that cost me the week! Just means I will have to stick it to the next few guys I match up against, not a big deal! If you forgot to update your roster this week, don’t sweat it; just remember for next week as there is a LOT of hockey left in the season!!
A few breakout players to mention:
Victor Hedman – An absolute monster of a game last night versus Montreal; Hedman managed to open the scoring five minutes into the first period. More impressively he got the first assist on all three of Stamkos’ goals which led to his hat trick. He also had a game winning goal in last Thursdays game against Florida; a huge fantasy week for Victor Hedman and the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Brock Nelson – The Islanders are off to a great start; let’s see how the fare against the Rangers tonight…Brock was listed in one of my “sophomore sizzlers… blogs about breakout sophomore’s; so far he is making me look good! Now that the Islanders are more than a one line punch, we should see Nelson, Grabovski and Strome on the score sheet more often. Boychuck the new addition to the Islanders defense isn’t to be left out either; he has a goal and four helpers in just two games…perhaps someone to add to your roster if you are looking for a defenseman and he is still available.
Wayne Simmonds – The feisty Simmonds has only played in three games but already has four goals; which is great for the flyers heading forward…they just need the rest of the team firing on all cylinders. Surprisingly, Wayne hasn’t taken a penalty in the regular season yet; that will likely change tonight when they face Anaheim.
Of course there are a number of players who have also got off to a great start; but I don’t want to get too into detail with each and every player. But I do feel those who have the week 1 hat trick are at least worth noting!
Mason Raymond Steven Stamkos Corey Perry
Stamkos and Perry…yeah that makes sense, I could see that happening..it won’t be their last hat trick this season either…but Raymond on the other hand. Impressive; I don’t know if Calgary will get another hat trick all season! Good for Raymond though; Joe Colborne also had a career night with 4 assists. Always nice to see a spark in the ‘Flames’ as they continue the rebuilding process.
If you got a chance to check out my blog on Saturday for the 15 games going on, you would notice I pointed out that San Jose’s backup goalie Stalock was the free agent goalie of the night pickup. Well, he got a shutout that night; I hope someone out there was listening to me!
Now; if you need a starting goalie who could still be had…look no further. Darcy Kuemper is your man. Two games, two shutouts…Minnesota is an excellent two way team; grab Kuemper if he’s still available.
Starting Goalies:
(NYI) Halak VS (NYR) Lundqvist (ANA) Andersen (first off the ice) VS (PHI) Mason (SJ) Niemi VS (WSH) Holtby (DAL) Lehtonen (first off the ice) VS (CBJ) Bobrovsky (BUF) Enroth VS (CAR) Ward (COL) Varlamov VS (TOR) Reimer (NJ) Schneider VS (TBL) Nabokov (CGY) Ramo VS (NSH) Rinne (EDM) Fasth VS (LA) Quick
Enjoy the night of hockey ahead and best of luck in your Fantasy this week!
Thanks for reading.