[10 Fantasy Thoughts] November 4th

[littleranger]

I will be posting some fantasy hockey thoughts every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. The goal of this 'column' is to teach readers of at least a stat or two about anyone in hockey (nhl players or prospects) that they may not have noticed.

1. Adam Larsson has been playing big-time minutes for the Devils this season. The problem is, he only has one point in eleven games. From all the Devils action I have seen this season, this is truely surprising as he is ALWAYS the player to pass the puck to Kovalchuk to rip the one-timer. Kovalchuk only has two goals this season, but that will eventually change and Larssons enormous powerplay time will pay off.

2. With the injury of Daniel Alfredsson, it has opened up around 18 minutes of ice time for teammates including some pretty good powerplay time. Colin Greening had been playing huge minutes even before the injury, but he will be even more heavily relied on with the Sens not having much depth in offensive wingers. Alfy is suspected to have a 'mild concussion'

3. As mentioned in the ramblings, Kristian Huselius has been skating with his teammates, but is still at least a few weeks to a month away. He is only two years seperated from a 23+40 campaign in 74 games. With how badly the team is struggling, wouldn't one think that he will get a shot at the top line? 2% Owned on Yahoo.

4. It has been reported that Jussi "Juice" Jokinen will be out up to four weeks with a leg injury. The man who has been filling in during practice is Anthony Stewart. Stewart is struggling to start the year with only two points in eleven games while only playing over 10:00 once this season. The former '03 first rounder had a streak of 7 points in 4 games (Dec 16-21), 8 points in 7 games (Oct 15-Oct 29) and a couple of 4 points in four games last season. Could make a decent short-term pickup.

5. Interesting lines for the San Jose Sharks last night. Seems as though the majority of the game was played with Couture-Thornton-Pavelski and in the third period they had Clowe-Marleau-Havlat joined forces.

6. One thought I had for Jeff Carter or Rick Nash owners was that if the team keeps struggling, they'll end up with a top pick in the draft. It's not too difficult to see that Yakupov will be a superstar in the NHL, with one of those two players riding shotgun it could mean a very large spike in there numbers.

7. Rumours of Mats Zuccarello to the KHL/traded are gaining some traction. He told VG Nett "If I am not within a reasonable time feel that Rangers are interested in getting me back, and go for me, I must look for another top club in the United States. There is a limit to how long it's interesting for me to have it now. I would like if they do not really have any future plans for me." Apparently KHL club Neftekhimik is really persuing him.

8. Last season Eric Belanger took up 17:20avg in ice time a game for the Phoenix Coyotes which was good for third on the team in forwards. With him gone, this year the streaky Czech Radim Vrbata is playing 18:41 a game instead of last seasons 16:22. If he can manage to cut down on the slumps, he may actually be able to reach 30 goals and 60 points this season.

9. A list of top scoring players shooting over .200%: Macarthur (.353), Wellwood (.385), Johansson (.238), Lupul (.216), Pavelski (.229), Kopitar (.214), Michalek (.205), J. Staal (.231), Hartnell (.217), Nugent-Hopkins (.208), Eriksson (.222). Good stat to keep an eye on as what goes up, must come down.

10. Here are some statistics on Minnesota goaltender Niklas Backstrom:To end last season, since February 24th, he allowed 3+ goals in 12 of 14 games. This year, he has allowed 3+ in 4 of 8 starts. If you take out the two low-scoring Oilers game this season, he would have a 2.83GAA and a 901SV%. Harding has allowed 5 in 4 and is 3-0-1 this season. If you're reaching for a goaltender, he could be to surprise.

[Laendarian]

Nice points, some facts in there I would not have noticed.

[newper114]

Great stuff!

The larsson thing is suprising and not. The devils offense seems to come largely from there forwards. The last 3 games though I have seen alot more pressure from the defense Joining the play and taking more shots. So like you said once kovy gets over that scoring albatross larssons assists will start piling in.

Not happy about marleau movig lines but he did score last night so can't hate that!

[GMGates]

good work LR!

tweeted it.

[Dean Youngblood]

I hope Yakupov pulls a Lindros and refuses to go to Columbus if they finish last. The franchise is a mess.

[dyzfunctioned]

I hope Yakupov pulls a Lindros and refuses to go to Columbus if they finish last. The franchise is a mess.

Honestly, CBJ is a like a train graveyard. Nothing that ends up there is good.

Overstatement obviously, but seriously, I can't think of a team I'd want a prospect to go to less.

[GMGates]

Honestly, CBJ is a like a train graveyard. Nothing that ends up there is good.

Overstatement obviously, but seriously, I can't think of a team I'd want a prospect to go to less.

You still want Carter?

[bigbabybuda]

I hope Yakupov pulls a Lindros and refuses to go to Columbus if they finish last. The franchise is a mess.

Is Yakupov good enough to overcome the managing of Columbus prospects....

[pharling]

Great post man. Looking forward to reading these all season long!