12/01/11 - Studs & Duds

[bondon]

Ah, the first day of December. I gotta tell you even though exams are right around the corner for me I just love this time of year. Here are your studs and duds for the Thursday!

Studs

3) Nikita Nikitin - Monster performance from the big Russian defenseman as he registered one goal and two assists, leading the Blue Jackets to a much needed victory against the struggling Flames. Ever since joining the Blue Jackets Nikitin has one goal and seven assists in 10 games, which is a far cry from the goose egg that he put up in seven games for the Blues.

2) Ondrej Pavelec - It seems like every time I do the Studs and Duds, Pavelec comes through with a spectacular performance. The matchup between the Coyotes and Jets was a great goaltending duel and Pavelec eventually came out on top, stopping all 33 shots he faced for his second shutout of the season.

1) Cammalleri-Deharnais-Cole - This trio was arguably the best line in the NHL tonight as they were responsible for all three of the Habs goals. Cammalleri and Cole shared identical stat lines with a goal and an assist, while David Deharnais led the team with a goal and two assists.

Honourable Mentions

Jonathan Quick - The man had fantasy GMs worried for awhile as he struggled badly after his three game shutout streak, but he has seemed to figure things out as he was an absolute stud tonight. Quick made 41 saves on 42 shots improving his record to 11-6-4 on the season.

Rayzor Sharp - When Kari Lehtonen sustained his injury last week it looked like the Stars' were set to take a tumble in the standings but backup Andrew Raycroft has stepped in admirably. Tonight Raycroft went 33/35 and is now 2-0 with a 1.50GAA and a .958SV% in his two starts since Lehtonen's injury. The Stars' next game is Saturday against the lowest scoring team in the league (New York Islanders).

Ryan Kesler -Just because

Duds

3) I thought the Hurricane Season was Over! - The Carolina Hurricanes lost again. Surprise! If their goal for the season is to get in on the Yakupov sweepstakes they’re doing a damn good job of it. Cam Ward continues to frustrate fantasy owners as he drops his fifth straight game. While it is obvious that the blame does not solely rest on Ward’s shoulders, at a certain point fantasy GMs just don't care. The one bright spot tonight for the Hurricanes was their captain Eric Staal, who managed to tally two assists while going plus-one with 15 FOW.

2) New coach, same result. -In the Capitals' second game since replacing Bruce Boudreau with Dale Hunter, it appears that absolutely nothing has changed in Washington as they lost 2-1 to the league leading Pittsburgh Penguins. What is most concerning is that this is the second game in a row that the Capitals have allowed 30+ shots while being held to under 20 themselves. Tomas Vokoun is trying to do everything he can to keep the team in games but they need to get more chances and score goals. Crosby, Malkin, and Ovechkin all went pointless in the game but OV did throw up an impressive 10 Hits.

1) One game, four goalies, 11 goals - In a game that most expected to be a low-scoring affair, the Canucks/Predators game turned into a goal-scoring bonanza. To put things into perspective, these two teams scored a total of 14 goals combined in their four contests last season. Mike Fisher would score the game winner with just over a minute left in the game off of a beautiful pass from Martin Erat, but the real story of the night was goaltending (or lack of it).
Cory Schneider:yanked after allowing three goals on five shots in the first
Pekka Rinne: lit up for five goals on 18 shots and eventually given the hook as he carries his November struggles into the month of December
Roberto Luongo: failed opportunity to instil confidence in the team as he allowed three goals on 15 shots.

Dishonourable Mentions

Jarome Iginla - Another game with no points to show for it tonight. At this point it really isn't surprising, as he has now gone pointless in 15 of his 24GP this season. Iginla is now on pace for a whopping 41 points and while we all know that he is a much better player than the numbers show, again as mentioned above at some point fantasy GMs just don't care anymore.

Average Joes - While the San Jose Sharks pulled out the victory in the shootout tonight against the Habs, Thornton and Pavelski were on the ice for all three goals scored by the Canadiens.

Tomas Kaberle - Nobody else really stands out tonight as being worthy of a dishonourable mention so why not give it to Kaberle. He sucks.

Keep an Eye on:

Craig Smith - Spoiled fantasy GMs were getting antsy about Smith's slowed production after his hot start out of the gate, but all fears were quelled tonight. Sure, all of his points tonight were secondary assists, but they count just the same. The rookie put up a very impressive stat line for standard Yahoo! Leagues tonight bumping his season total to 20 points in 25 games. (3A, 3PPP, +2, 1SOG)

Brian Boyle - Stud roto numbers tonight for the underrated player: 1A +1, 5PIM, 3SOG, 2Hits, 10 FOW in 13:29 TOI

#2 and #3 - While Dan Hamhuis and Kevin Bieksa are proud to identify as the Canucks' shutdown defensive pairing, both men are more than capable of putting points on the board when given the opportunities. Both players registered an assist tonight, as Hamhuis builds on his hot month of November that saw him put up 10 points in 13 games. Kevin Bieksa has started to come alive as of late as he now has points in four straight games.

Kane-Little-Wheeler -If Evander Kane is on your waiver wire right now, smack yourself on the head and pick him up. Kane has been nothing short of spectacular so far this season and has actually been even better than the numbers show. Bryan Little has also quietly come alive as he scored 10 points in the month of November after three in the month before.

Clowe-Couture-Havlat - In their first game since being reunited, they were the Sharks best unit tonight. Clowe and Couture each scored a goal and added an assist while the struggling Martin Havlat bounced back tonight with an assist and plus-three rating.

[mounD]

Bwhahwhahahhhahaaahhhaha


"I thought Hurricane season was over..."

CLASSIC.

[Sportfreunde]

Colin Wilson also had a goal and 2 assists for 3 pts and now has I think 15 pts in 25 games and has been seeing top 6 minutes since the start of the season. I know Craig Smith is the new guy and the new flavour but whenever I watch Colin Wilson play, he sticks out as being the more talented and having more potential based on his style.

[bondon]

Colin Wilson also had a goal and 2 assists for 3 pts and now has I think 15 pts in 25 games and has been seeing top 6 minutes since the start of the season. I know Craig Smith is the new guy and the new flavour but whenever I watch Colin Wilson play, he sticks out as being the more talented and having more potential based on his style.

I only caught the third period of the game last night but I saw the highlight of his goal and it was a nice one.

There are quite a few quiet producers on the Predators but the one that stands out to me the most is Ryan Suter. Not too many people realize that he's on pace for 55 points right now. Contract year ftw.

[bigbabybuda]

There needs to be less hating on Kaberle and more hating on Schenn on this forum..

[Instant Karma]

Great post, b0ndon.