blogging through the boxscore

i'm trying to think of ongoing titles for certain days of the week so that i don't have to try and be creative EVERY day. so far Wednesday is my review day and Sunday i have the Sunday morning armchair, i'm thinking Tuesday will be my stat review day. if you have suggestions then ... suggest them.

see the bloodbath that was Koci last night? Zdeno Chara schooled him good. it seems that Koci broke his nose in the previous game so you gotta respect the fact that he stuck that broken nose right back in harm's way again. Chara is a mean dude. that gets missed sometimes because he contributes offensively more than most D but his PIM levels are always rather nice for a fantasy team. the big drawback for Chara is +/- ever since he left Ottawa and went to Boston. with the Bruins improved play of late though i'm hoping that +/- isn't an issue for Zdeno this season and beyond.
did i tell you the story of Zdeno Chara when he first came to North America? his english was non-existent but he was befriended by a veteran in Long Island, Ray Ferraro. Ferraro used to refer to him as "big dummy" and Zdeno is 6'9" tall without a clue what Ferraro was calling him. eventually Chara figure it out and went to find Ferraro saying "I KNOW BIG DUMMY!", that'd be enough to make a guy the size of Ferraro crap his pants on the spot. no word as to whether that actually happened or not, the crapping part that is, i have it on good authority that the other stuff happened.
anyway, i like Chara and i have a bit more respect for Koci too. now if only both guys would score a little more.

Rick Nash scored a pretty one last night. side of the net, stick back between his legs and then top corner. if i can find a copy of it i'll embed it here, if i can't then you just plain missed a nice one. Pascal Leclaire got his 4th shutout and like i said in posts past, he's really benefitting from a defensive style being put in place by Ken Hitchcock. Jared Boll is becoming a really nice PIMy option for fantasy. old school.
speaking of nice ones, the goal that Ales Hemsky scored in the shootout last night to win the game was NOT a nice one. he lost the handle and it slid between Backstrom's pads. oh well, they all count like that. Horcoff had a 4 pt night and comes up with those but the guy to watch in Oil country of late has been Raffi Torres. dude's getting ice time, bangs around the boards and carries the extra value because he's eligible at LW. if you need some help at LW3 then this may be the way to go.

i've liked Phil Kessel a lot to start this season and he's going to have a career high in pts and surprise many as a secondary scoring threat in Boston.

Jari Tlusty debuted for the Leafs and pocketed 2 in his first night on NHL ice. actually i think he Foligno'd one of them but that counts too. i picked him up as an LW3 flyer-type since i'm behind the curve at LW. it could go either way for me, it could be HUGE or disastrous. i still can't believe that Antropov is putting together a season like this but ride it while you can. Alex Steen is a viable option for secondary scoring in TO but it would be better if he got eligibility on the wing for fantasy purposes. Sid and Gene (that would be Malkin) each with 2 pts and Pitt only gets 2 on the night. i guess that says something that we already know, the offense flows through those 2 guys in Pitt.

man do i ever want Vinny Lecavalier to explode offensively. it's looking like Brad Richards and Vinny Prospal are getting all the gravy. don't worry though, it'll happen. i just want it to be yesterday or sooner. i still say that TB should trade for a goalie and they'd be a world beater. picture Huet in a lightning bolt. that's just spitballing though, i've heard no rumours.

Dan Ellis with a shutout for the Preds last night. Ellis' pic on Yahoo makes him look like a hobbit. attaboy Bilbo. nothing to see here with this guy imo. some guys are still down on Radulov but his ice time is increasing and stats along with it. it still seems like the offense is running through JP Dumont, Legwand and Arnott though. the Tootoo twain went 1 and 1 and is good option if you're in the market for a pest, unfortunately he doesn't get enough ice time to really be useful except in really deep leagues.

McDonald and Kunitz were the 2nd and 3rd stars in a game where the Ducks were shutout by the Yotes. i don't see why. how do the champs get shutout by the worst team in the league? that's supposed to be a gimme boys. think the coach is gonna bag skate 'em? why not? wake 'em up.

Labarbera held off the Stars and won 2-1. i was pulling for Aubin to win that job but it doesn't look like that's going to happen. i actually dumped Labarbera in one league today though in the hopes that Jimmy Howard starts more than pundits are really saying he's going to. if Jimmy starts more than i'd much rather roster the Wings starter than the Kings starter. it's a gamble. hope it pays off.
Mike Cammalleri had less ice time than Frolov, Kopitar AND Brown last night. what's up with that? i still love Camm for elite numbers and i think he'll be carried there by the magic that is Anze Kopitar. if you can get either and stomach some minor aches over +/- then you'll be pleased.