Yesterday I listed the names of a few collapsed ducks, courtesy of the Frozen Tools Cold Players list. Well, you can add one more game for these players’ slumps, with the Ducks being ruled out by Vegas. The name that seems most interesting is John Klingberg, now without a point in his last seven games. Jamie Drysdale also left that game with an upper body injury after taking a knock along the boards, meaning he has played eight games this season and is yet to register a point.
Drysdale is likely droppable at this point if you can’t move him to IR+, while Klingberg can likely be benched when the Ducks play on a busy night. Heck, dropping Klingberg in a shallow league isn’t the worst idea either. In fact, most Ducks players should only be considered for off-night streaming at this time, with only Troy Terry and Trevor Zegras available daily.
After winning the Ducks’ season opener against Seattle, John Gibson has now received an L or OTL in six straight games. By allowing four goals on 18 shots, Gibson now has as many very bad starts (2) as quality starts (2). With a GAA north of 4.00, Gibson shouldn’t be in your fantasy lineup either.
Logan Thompson posted the Ducks’ 29-save shutout. Fantasy teams should keep rolling with him, as his numbers should give him early consideration for the Calder Trophy.
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Linus Ullmark has been a major part of my Zero G strategy this season as he’s been on two of my teams. Ullmark kicked a 30-save shutout against the Blue Jackets on Friday, improving his record to 6-0-0. Ullmark seemed to fall in the fantasy draft due to two assumptions: 1) the Bruins would struggle with injuries and 2) Jeremy Swayman is the better goaltender and would start more often. As it stands, Ullmark has a GAA below 2.00 this season while holding the most important contract, and Brad Marchand has just returned from injury (although he had a managerial game of load scheduled for Friday). Ullmark has posted a sub-2.70 GAA and .915+ SV% in his previous three seasons dating back to his time with the Sabers, so I’m more inclined to hold than try to sell high.
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Shuouts were a thing Friday, as Vitek Vanecek surprised everyone with a 24-save clean sheet against the Avalanche, his first as a Devil. Vanecek has now recorded back-to-back wins, which were his first two quality starts of the season. Right now, Vanecek appears to have the upper hand in the goalie battle with Mackenzie Blackwood, who allowed five goals on 18 shots in his last start.
The number of goals scored by the Avalanche in their last four games: 2, 3, 2, 0. It’s not their best streak of the season.
The Avs were also without leading scorer Valeri Nichushkin on Friday with a lower-body injury.
With an assist on the lone goal of the game, Jesper Bratt extended his season-opening point streak to eight games. As I write this, he is among the top 5 scorers (13 PTS in 8 GP). Although his 13.2 5v5 SH% and 5.7 PTS/60 suggest a regression is ahead, 8 of his 10 assists have been assists. I’m starting to believe in another 70+ point season for Bratt.
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In its 1000e career game, Josh Bailey scored the game-winning goal in the Islanders’ 6-2 win over the Hurricanes. Not known as a goalscorer, Bailey has now scored goals in consecutive games.
Brock Nelson scored his first two goals of the season in that game. Author of 37 goals last season, Nelson started the season without a goal in his first seven games.
Brent Burns scored his first goal as a Hurricanes with five shots. Only Roman Josi and Zach Werenski have more shots among defensemen than Burns (27 SOG), so he’s still doing his thing in Carolina.
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With Quinn Hughes out for the fourth straight game, Jack Rathbone saw some power-play time with the first unit on Friday. Rathbone only entered the roster when Hughes went down, so it’s possible he could be healthy scratched or returned to the AHL once Hughes returns. Rathbone was a points-per-game defender in the AHL last season (40 PTS in 39 GP), so he still has an offensive advantage.
I’ve been asked several questions this week about what to do with Thatcher Demko, so I’ll expand on her situation here. I was willing to suggest the Canucks would overwork Demko if they played him in back-to-back games, but they decided to give Spencer Martin the go-ahead against the Penguins on Friday. It was the right decision, as Martin took the win (stopped 34 of 35 shots) and Demko received his well-deserved rest.
Even though Martin is a solid goaltender in his own right (no regulation losses in 8 GPs as a Canuck), you can probably assume Demko will be among the league leaders for starts again. Only Juuse Saros and Connor Hellebuyck played more games than Demko (64 GP) last season, and those same two keepers were also the only two with more saves than Demko (1799 SV). Another 60+ season seems likely again with Martin or possibly Collin Delia as a backup, so Demko is a great option if your league emphasizes volume stats.
Although the Canucks’ start to the season couldn’t have been worse, expect them to pick up plenty of wins as the season progresses. At this point, I would expect something similar to last season, where they won’t make the playoffs but still pick at around 15.e overall (the soft middle of the NHL). Demko could still finish in the top 10 in wins, though he’ll be at the mercy of the Canucks’ porous defense when it comes to ratios (especially goals-against average).
According to Yahoo’s Trade Market feature, Demko is traded for Zach Hyman and Ryan O’Reilly. Not exactly high profile attackers, but attackers who have a place on the rosters anyway. It obviously still has value, so I wouldn’t let it down. Maybe you’re watching his matchups more closely at the moment, though it’s worth mentioning that the Canucks have now won two in a row after that nightmarish start.
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The Canucks also made their second trade in as many days on Friday, acquiring Ethan Bear from the Hurricanes. Giving away another draft pick (this one a fifth-round selection) may not seem like the best idea for a team that needs more. But if the Canucks are going to push the competition this season as far as they can go, then getting a right-handed defenseman in Bear makes sense since it’s the Canucks’ weakest area. I wouldn’t expect this trade to mean much in the fantasy leagues, but Bear should at least get into the Canucks’ roster on a regular basis. He had not yet played any match for the Canes this season.
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Do you remember around 2009 when Blackberry guy Jim Balsillie wanted to buy the Coyotes and move them to Hamilton? Let’s say you found a time machine that year and decided to check out life in 2022. There’s absolutely no way you’d believe the Coyotes would be playing in a 5,000 seat building called Mullett Arena, even if you thought they’d survive in the desert. Yet here we are. Sometimes the truth is stranger than fiction. Or Gary Bettman’s economics at work.
I mean, if you’ve watched a junior or minor league game in an arena this size, you wouldn’t really mind Mullett Arena, would you? Even if it’s clearly not big enough.
Not only did Christian Fischer score the first goal at Mullett Arena, he also scored the first two goals at Mullett Arena.
Unfortunately for the Yotes, those two goals weren’t enough, as the Jets ultimately prevailed 3-2 in overtime. With Winnipeg’s first goal, Cole Perfetti now has six points in his last six games. Mark Scheifele also scored for the Jets, giving him the interesting stat so far of six goals and no assists.
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follow me on Twitter @Ian_Gooding for more fantasy hockey.
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