Every Sunday this season, we’ll share 20 Fantasy Thoughts from the writers at Dobber Hockey. These thoughts are curated from the past week’s “Daily Ramblings” on DobberHockey.com.
1. Another season, another injury for Zach Parise that can be measured in weeks. So Joel Eriksson Ek was moved from centre to left wing and appears to be a candidate for more ice time moving forward. Eriksson Ek has been solid with limited ice time, scoring five points in five games. His 12 minutes on Saturday was actually his highest total of the season. It will be interesting to see how the Wild use him moving forward, although he can be considered a candidate for keeper leagues at this point.
2. Marcus Johansson was also a scoring star on Saturday, scoring two goals and adding an assist. He is up to a fast start, with seven points in seven games. Johansson isn’t a huge shooter, which tends to keep his point totals under 50. He is currently on pace to take approximately the same number of shots that he has in previous seasons, so his 23 per cent shooting accuracy will no doubt decrease.
3. Hopefully you were astute enough to get Tuukka Rask back into your lineup. Making his return from IR from a lower-body injury, Rask stopped all 24 shots he faced in the Bruins’ 1-0 win over Detroit.
Dating back to his previous two starts, Rask has allowed just two goals. Could last season be a hiccup as opposed to a sign of things to come? Just keep an eye on his injury status, as he may still be dealing with both a hamstring and groin injury.
4. Pavel Buchnevich was back in the lineup and made an immediate impact with a power-play assist. Buchnevic also pushed JT.. Miller to the third line, replacing him alongside Mika Zibanejad and Mats Zuccarello. Looking at how the Rangers are spreading out the scoring, they might have eight guys who put up 40-plus points this year. Doesn’t seem like they’ll have a 60-point guy but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I am very impressed by their scoring depth.
5. First win of the season for Cam Ward. I still cannot believe he is the starter and Eddie Lack is the backup but here we are.
6. Yohann Auvitu has real skills. He’s behind Damon Severson on the depth chart but runs the second PP unit. He could get 30 points this season.
7. Michael Hutchinson secured a 35-save shutout victory in Colorado to strike back in the Jets’ crease battle. This after Connor Hellebuyck allowed just one goal in a victory over the Stars. Still a muddy situation. You guys know I think Hellebuyck is the best here but performance matters.
8. Hampus Lindholm is an awesome, but his talent doesn’t necessarily translate to the fantasy world. If 30-35 points are valuable for a defenceman in your pool, go ahead and keep him. Otherwise, you can drop him without regret. He has also missed eight games already and will likely miss a few more while working on his visa. The Ducks have seven games in the next two weeks, so he could be up to 15 games missed. Lindholm is firmly behind Cam Fowler and Sami Vatanen for PP time.
9. With Bryan Little officially placed on injured reserve the Jets have called up Marko Dano. We haven’t seen him used in a major offensive role so he isn’t necessarily fantasy relevant.
10. Based on his current usage you aren’t likely to get a 50-60-points season out of Scott Hartnell. At around 12 minutes per game, with less than a minute of PP time, there is some risk that Hartnell could fall below even the 40-point mark.
I don’t see that last bit happening. Hartnell still has value and could be traded to a contender. He is someone I’d look for to have a big end to the season somewhere that they need a veteran scorer who can provide a net-front presence.
11. Dylan Strome was a healthy scratch. I could see him sent back to junior given where this season could be headed for Arizona. Certainly getting scratched isn’t a positive sign. I’ll gladly eat crow if I’m wrong. It just seems to be headed this direction.
12. I cannot say I am enthused about Brayden Schenn getting buried on the third line but he continues to see top power-play minutes so I cannot be too upset. And interesting is Travis Konecny up on the top line. The real question is how long it takes before he bumps Schenn from that top PP unit. The Flyers are interesting because their power play is crazy good.
13. Injured Marco Scandella isn’t fantasy relevant anyhow, but his absence could mean Matt Dumba continues to see big minutes, even if Jared Spurgeon gets back into the lineup. In terms of productive youngsters on the Wild, I’d much rather have Charlie Coyle, who continues to produce skating on the top line and top PP unit.
14. Brayden Point might jump into a bigger role if Nikita Kucherov does miss some time.
15. I genuinely thought that the Vincent Trocheck-Jussi Jokinen-Reilly Smith line might be Florida’s top offensive line, with the Aleksander Barkov group taking on the opposition’s best unit. So far that hunch has not panned out. Of course, Florida’s offensive depth has really been tested with Jonathan Huberdeau, Jokinen and Nick Bjugstad all missing time.
16. Gustav Nyquist is no longer in the shadow of Pavel Datsyuk. He’s also in his fourth full NHL season – and it looks like a breakout. He has eight points in seven games now, and all that potential that we saw three years ago is finally bursting free.
17. Keep an eye on Ryan Dzingel. He’s a potential second-line regular with 55-plus points, though this year my expectations are closer to 40. But if you want a potential surprise the way Mike Hoffman surprised us in his first year, then Dzingel is a good candidate.
18. Another thing I’ve been wrong on this year so far is Islanders prospect Anthony Beauvillier, who is showing that he’s here to stay. His production is going to eventually force Jack Capuano to use him on the power play, in which case Anders Lee’s hope of a big bounce-back season will be dashed.
Lee, who should be enjoying a breakout campaign because he’s 26 and in his third year, is still stuck with just the one point and his ES ice time is down a good four shifts. His PP time is down as well.
19. Keith Yandle and Dan Boyle cost Ryan McDonagh some points over the last couple of years, but those guys aren’t holding him back anymore. A return to the 40-point club is in the bag if he plays even 70 games this year.
20. Derrick Pouliot’s comeback season is over before it began. No, he’s not out for the season but his injury is a “longer-term lower-body” and when you’re a bubble player, chances are you’re not going to work your way back into the lineup very easily.
He was already behind the eight ball, but this was poorly timed. I’d like to see him put in 20 successful AHL games when he’s healthy and then return to the NHL and actually make a splash. He’s not making his mark the way he did as a teenager in training camp.
