observations off a full sched

Thanksgiving weekend up here in Canada. i have many things to be thankful for and encourage you to be thankful too.

SHG have got to drive coaches COMPLETELY round the bend. you have at least one extra guy on the ice, they shouldn't even be touching the puck unless we're talking about the goaltender or something, how is that Andrei Markov scores a goal on you while you're on the PP? how are there 2 assists on the goal? typically a SHG is scored on a turnover by a forechecking forward, he has no time to pass or to deke, he usually goes in and shoots, that's the best he can hope for. so how does Koivu get the puck to Higgins who in turn gets the puck to Markov who scores? while short handed? that alone almost sunk my Leafs last night.



Ponikarovsky was lined up with Sundin/Antropov for a good chunk of last night. i guess the chemistry between Sundin and Blake isn't coming along very well. Pony-boy pocketed 2 last night. good to see. Sundin with 3 assists, i like it a lot. many have written off Sundin as an elite player but he's got plenty left in the tank. he passed Darryl Sittler for most goals scored as a Leaf earlier this week. Sittler was an absolute favourite of mine back in the day.



Daymond Langkow lined up with Jarome Iginla all night last night. i hope you didn't give up on Langkow, he's got more talent than Conroy and i still peg him as Iggy's C.



Roberto Luongo looked to have hurt a knee last night and i had Curtis Sanford all queued up for the add when he got up and miraculously played like Bobby-Lou again. the man is phenomenal.



Chris Neil was a one man wrecking ball last night. 13 PIMs for my team last night, 5 penalties icluding a fighting major. and to make it all better, he hurt Sean Avery who left the game with a shoulder injury and wasn't heard from the rest of the night. i'm very glad i traded Avery before the season began, i got Simon Gagne for him and am more than tickled by that.



Paul Mara was a healthy scratch last night. uh oh. so much for all that hope of anchoring a significant PP in NY. Mara's +/- really annoyed me last year so the only reason i was suggesting you go with him was so that you you could get some PPA out of him, you need to look elsewhere now.



the Washington Capitals are a better team than they were, just watch that Puckwell kid play Carolina and sing "Somebody's watching me". last night Ollie the goalie shut out the Canes. lots of good things will happen in Landover this year and Semin hasn't even played yet. i like Poti on that blueline by the way.



Cory Murphy scored his first goal (of what will be many) of the season yesterday. he scored against a backup goalie (Kevin Weekes) who probably has the cushiest job in the game backing up Martin Brodeur. it was a great game for Weekes but don't dare add him, if he gets into 15 games this season he'll be overworked. you may've heard of Murphy with all the hype around him in hockey circles though. you'll continue to hear about him too. i like the Panthers D. Bouwmeester could be special and i also really like Bryan Allen and Mike Van Ryn as filler D for the bottom of a fantasy roster, if you can stomach the +/- which probably won't be great.



Mike Comrie is a flash in the pan, i hope. i've never liked the guy since he decided he didn't want to be an Oiler anymore and demanded to be moved. he's gotten 6 pts in his last 2 games though and offensive options aren't very plentiful on the Island so if you need a util option or maybe a C3 he could be nice while he's toting a hot stick. just don't count on me pumping him up often, now if he falls on his face i might be willing to mention that.



i do like Chris Campoli on the Island though, along with MA Bergeron and Rick DiPietro. Brendan Witt is a great PIMs option too. i still say the Isles offense is old and slow though but that doesn't mean there isn't something to like there somewhere.



someone pointed out to me last week that Vinny Prospal rotates between really good seasons and really poor ones. if you believe that then this is to be a really good one. well, he's got 4 pts in 2 games and came out with 2 goals last night. he's eligible at C right now but hopefully he'll get eligibility at RW soon so that his value goes up more. he's well worth taking a flyer on as a bottom end roster guy although i've got to be honest, i've never really been a fan.



LA and Anaheim both had the option of coming home right after their trip to Europe or staying east for some games there. LA went home, Anaheim stayed east. the Ducks have looked exhausted and jet lag of 6 hrs can really wipe you out. i'm betting that the Ducks would choose differently if they ever did this sort of thing again.



Bobby Ryan got sent down. i joined this one league where you select one team and only get players off their squad and play them. i'm the Anaheim Ducks. i wasn't playing Ryan on my roster yet but he was close to making the cut at RW. oh well, at least i know that nobody else could pick him up in that league. i think if you dropped him any but VERY deep keeper leagues that he'd just sit on the wire so don't worry about that decision if you're wrestling there.



David Legwand got a hattie. i had him in the lineup. so should've you.



you know that Brent Burns is pretty good right? no enough NHL buzz around him but he's got more experience than Cory Murphy and a better offense to work with.



Jason Smith is hard-nosed, consistent and mean in front of the net but he still got teary after a tribute to him was played on the Oilers scoreboard last night. Philly's made themselves a GREAT move by making him their Captain. he won't let them down and all their high offense guys can now concentrate on everything else knowing that the leadership void is now well filled. he's not a great asset in fantasy hockey but he's definitely a guy that any NHL player wants to see on the home bench.

i love Patrice Bergeron for basic offensive stats and SOG if you count them. unfortunately his +/- can be brutal. Marc Savard is a very underrated source of PIMs/points combo and in the fantasy game i look everywhere for that combination. he won't be a cheap option to try and trade for though.

Peter Mueller isn't seeing much ice. i guess his breakout won't be this year after all. too bad i say, the boy has skills.

i'm having a hard time convincing a buddy of mine named Marc that the LA Kings are going to be a source of fantasy goodness this season. the fact that they lost to the Blues last night isn't helping my case. i still say that Jonathan Bernier is going to surprise people in fantasy circles this season. in the meantime the Kings offense will flow through Mike Cammalleri, Anze Kopitar and their top 4 better than average Dmen.

i haven't been able to look at the next fantasy team i'm supposed to be reviewing this week. sorry about that. i'd like Wednesdays to be the day that i post those reviews and will still try to meet the deadline.

be thankful my friends. if you have an internet hookup and are literate you're ahead of like 3/4 of the entire globe or something.