[10 Fantasy Thoughts] November 23

[littleranger]

1. Marc-Andre Gragnani could make for an excellent short-term pickup. With the Myers injury, there is one less offensive threat from the point and could create more shifts and opportunities for other defenseman. Ehrhoff has three points in his last ten games while having 3+ shots in five of the ten games. He's currently on pace for 40 points but I think we can and should expect it to go up over the next month with less of a battle.

2. On Monday night the Devils managed to blow a three goal lead with the game-tying-goal coming while shorthanded. New Jersey was on a four on three with four forwards on the ice. That being said, Larsson was limited in powerplay time as the Devils were rolling five forwards on the PP. It's something to keep note of for anyone who's considering calling up or sending down Larsson to their farm. The Devils next four games are against the Jackets, Isles, Isles, Avalanche.

3. I wrote this on November 9th but figured it was still pretty relevant: Once Sidney Crosby returns, there will be one less spot on the top powerplay in Pittsburgh. With Neal's hot start, it's assured he will be playing the top unit along with Malkin and Letang. Last season while Sid was healthy, Kunitz was the third forward but he was playing in the spot Neal currently occupies. Sullivan is on the point with Letang so Sully owners should expect a steady stream of points from here on out. It'll still be nice to own Kunitz as he has been practicing on Crosby's line while five on five.

4. Keep an eye out on Anton Stralman. The twenty-four-year-old may be drawing in today for the first time this season for the New York Rangers. Last practice, the Blueshirts used Stralman on the back end with Richards during the powerplay drills. New York's powerplay has been atrocious and currently sits tied in second last in the league.

5. How hard is it to decide if you should start Dwayne Roloson or sit him? The Lightning have allowed 25 goals in nine home games so far this season. 22 of those goals were scored in only FOUR games.

6. Percentage of a team's goals that are scored on the powerplay - Top 5 - Canucks (41%), Oilers (34%), Kings (33%), Avalanche (32%), Ducks (30%). Bottom 5 - Blues (12.5%), Coyotes (15%), Devils (17%), Bruins (17%), Flames (19%). In leagues that award additional points for powerplay points, this is an interesting statistic.

7. The Edmonton Oilers have amazed just about everyone in the hockey world so far this season. They currently sit fourth in the league in powerplay percentage and that's without the injury ridden Ryan Whitney. They've been rolling Barker, Potter, Petry, Gilbert, Chorney and Smid on the back end and still sit in fourth in the league!?! It will be interesting to see what the kids can do when Whitney can finally beat his injury woes. It has been three years since anyone has done any damage in Edmonton on the power play (Hemsky 31 PPP in 08-09).

8. Hey! Brad Richards, you don't deserve a fraction of what you earn! That appears to be the mentality around NHL hockey forums. He has started the year with six goals and thirteen points in seventeen games. I wrote this in the Rangers section under the "Black Aces": On numerous plays, Richards draws defenders towards him and that opens up a lot of space for the other players. So even when he doesn't have the puck, he's a big-time distraction. Also, every play that Richards is on the ice it starts with him. Whether it's keeping the puck in at the line or finding the open man, he is playing exactly how Rangers fans but not fantasy owners are hoping. He may not be an 80+pt guy but he is doing all the little things to earn the bucks.

9. Biggest negative changers in GAA and save percentage - Brodeur (0.57 added to GAA, 0.015 subtracted from his SV%), Luongo (0.86 added to GAA, 0.032 subtracted from his SV%), Crawford (0.54 added to GAA, 0.016 subtracted from his SV%). A couple of excuses for Brodeur are that he has a new coach and new system along with his age. Luongo had a rough ending to his playoffs but what is the deal with Crawford? I would love to hear any information on him.

10. Last season, Kevin Dineen brought the Portland Pirates to 3.49GPG while the team finished with 102 points. He coached the Pirates for six seasons and the teams have averaged 3.22GPG. Dineen started by coaching Ducks prospects and later Sabres prospects. So what non-NHL coach should we be looking at in terms of fantasy hockey? I've dug pretty deep on this one and come up with ECHL's Kalamazoo Wings coach Nick Bootland. In 2009 the Wings moved from the IHL to the ECHL and since then have dominated in terms of offense. They have finished in the top three of the league in goals since Bootland took over in 2008. He's years away from an NHL gig but when he gets a contract offer in the AHL and if he can take advantage, he could be the next Dineen.

[kevinsrangers]

simply another great read. thanks .

[bondon]

Well done dude!

[metaldude26]

Some really interesting digs in here. It is worth noting re:Oilers power play. Last season and in years past the spent a lot of time forcing the big shot from the point. Whether it was Whitney or Souray, this had become the main focus. Teams knew it and shut it down. They only had Hemsky as a high IQ forward and he would operate on the half boards trying to set things up for the point shot. The problem is he never plays consistently enough.

Now that the young guys are rolling the focus has switched to operating from the half boards and down low and into the net. RNH has assumed Hemsky's spot on the right half boards and sets things up from there with Hall down low, Horcoff out front, Eberle on the left point and which ever guy the decide to put on the point up top on the right, but really more in the middle. High IQ guys like RNH and Eberle are doing all the work moving the puck intelligently and finding the seams. Not sure that the power play will really get more efficient with the addition of Whitney but adding his poise won't hurt. Also his big shot is another weapon so it may simply prevent teams from adapting to what the Oilers are doing out there.

It's also worth noting the Oilers' added depth up front. Suddenly they have some level of depth scoring. This means they have a second unit that can actually put the puck away and that takes some pressure off of everyone else. I mean, if Ryan Smyth and Ales Hemsky are on your second PP unit, you are doing something right. If anything I think Whitney could add more to the second unit (you know he's going to be playing with both the first and second unit) because they have less weapons but a guy like Smyth is going to benefit from banging in tips and rebounds off Whitney's point shots.

Anyways, sorry to hijack this a little bit but I wanted to elaborate on an awesome issue you brought up. All in all a very intelligent piece. Keep these coming LR!

[littleranger]

Some really interesting digs in here. It is worth noting re:Oilers power play. Last season and in years past the spent a lot of time forcing the big shot from the point. Whether it was Whitney or Souray, this had become the main focus. Teams knew it and shut it down. They only had Hemsky as a high IQ forward and he would operate on the half boards trying to set things up for the point shot. The problem is he never plays consistently enough.

Now that the young guys are rolling the focus has switched to operating from the half boards and down low and into the net. RNH has assumed Hemsky's spot on the right half boards and sets things up from there with Hall down low, Horcoff out front, Eberle on the left point and which ever guy the decide to put on the point up top on the right, but really more in the middle. High IQ guys like RNH and Eberle are doing all the work moving the puck intelligently and finding the seams. Not sure that the power play will really get more efficient with the addition of Whitney but adding his poise won't hurt. Also his big shot is another weapon so it may simply prevent teams from adapting to what the Oilers are doing out there.

It's also worth noting the Oilers' added depth up front. Suddenly they have some level of depth scoring. This means they have a second unit that can actually put the puck away and that takes some pressure off of everyone else. I mean, if Ryan Smyth and Ales Hemsky are on your second PP unit, you are doing something right. If anything I think Whitney could add more to the second unit (you know he's going to be playing with both the first and second unit) because they have less weapons but a guy like Smyth is going to benefit from banging in tips and rebounds off Whitney's point shots.

Anyways, sorry to hijack this a little bit but I wanted to elaborate on an awesome issue you brought up. All in all a very intelligent piece. Keep these coming LR!

Excellent insight! Hopefully the return of Whitney doesn't ruin any of the chemistry the units have going right now. You'll have to figure the puck will be heading to the back end on the PP a lot more with Whitney back there.

[metaldude26]

Excellent insight! Hopefully the return of Whitney doesn't ruin any of the chemistry the units have going right now. You'll have to figure the puck will be heading to the back end on the PP a lot more with Whitney back there.

I really don't think it will. RNH and Eberle are too good and too smart to take the keys away from. Honestly, if Renney goes back to his dogmatic way of just pumping point shots because he can then he's an idiot. But I don't think he is an idiot. He knows RNH and Ebs are on another level and he's going to continue letting them do what they do best. Whitney will just be a minor addition to that unit with a well outlined role. The threat of his shot should hopefully open things up a little easier for the playmakers though.

And of course it is worth mentioning that Whitney coming back is more of an if than a when and whenever it becomes a when then it will be a but for how long.

[littleranger]

I wrote this update on Stralman in the Rangers game review.
Stralman made his debut playing 10:26 including 3:25 on the powerplay. Again, the powerplay looked horrific. No movement whatsoever and relying too much on Richards to make anything happen. They would always have two forwards around the net to scoop up the rebounds but no shots would ever make it there. It seems like an adjustment must be made to the unit.

The Rangers have a back-to-back on Friday and Saturday taking on the Caps and Flyers so if they can manage any offense on the powerplay involving Stralman, he'll be worth the pickup.

Gragnani picked up a powerplay assist and an even strength assist last night. He had two shots and was a plus-one. Ehrhoff scored on the powerplay.

[metaldude26]

I wonder if what the Rangers need on the blueline for their power play isn't a puck mover but a guy with a booming shot.

[littleranger]

I wonder if what the Rangers need on the blueline for their power play isn't a puck mover but a guy with a booming shot.

It's exactly what they need. Luckily last season they went with Mccabe instead of taking a chance on Souray.

[Shenanigans]

Awesome job on the Fantasy Thoughts... that was a fine read !

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