Weekend Warriors RESULTS!

Posted by Evan Lewis on January 17

The combined scoring totals of the players we recommended this past weekend:

28 GP
21 points (8 G, 13 A)
+13 Rating
10 0f 14 recommended players registered at least a point (71%)

Overall Grade: B+
Steven Wild was responsible for the Eastern Conference outburst … I, Dale Dupuis, am just happy to be here.

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Going into your weekend, those 1 or 2 points off of the Waiver Wire can be the difference between winning and losing your head-to-head matchup. Here are the Waiver Wire pickups to keep an eye out for.

Results in Green = player who produced at least a point
Results in Red = player who produced no points

*Team records and Special Teams rankings are accurate as of Thursday January 12th, 2011

Here are the teams that play twice this this weekend January 13th-15th (Friday to Sunday, home games in Green, road games in Red):

Anaheim Ducks – Fri @ EDM, Sun @ VAN
Buffalo Sabres – Fri vs. TOR, Sat @ NYI
Chicago Blackhawks – Sat @ DET, Sun vs. SJ
Columbus Blue Jackets – Fri vs PHO, Sat vs SJ
Edmonton Oilers - Fri vs. ANH, Sat vs. LA
Los Angeles Kings – Sat @ CGY, Sun @ EDM
Montreal Canadiens - Sat vs. OTT, Sun vs. NYR
Pittsburgh Penguins – Fri @ FLA, Sun @ TB
Tampa Bay Lightning - Fri @ WSH, Sun vs PIT
San Jose Sharks – Sat @ CBJ, Sun @ CHI

Written by MindPuck.ca’s Contributors

Dale Dupuis –> @MPdaledupuis
Steven Wild –> @StevenTWild

Scorers to Pick-Up

Anaheim Ducks (13-22-6)

Home (10-12-1), Road (3-10-5), Last 10 (4-5-1)
Fri @ EDM, Sun @ VAN

Saku Koivu: You would be hard-pressed to find a player in the NHL hotter than Koivu (of the Saku variety), with 9 points in his last 5 games … I’m not going to “recommend” or “ask” you to pick him up. He is only owned in 12% of Yahoo! leagues, so if you don’t pick him up I will block your access to this website.
Results: 0G, 1A, 0 PTS, +2 Rating … excuse me while I extract my foot from my mouth

Niklas Hagman: 3 points in his last 3 outings, and his points come in bunches so look for the streaky Finn to continue his late offensive surge as the Ducks try to extend their high-scoring ways.
Results: 0G, 0A, 0 PTS

Buffalo Sabres (18-19-1)

Home (10-9-5), Away (8-10-0), Last 10 (2-6-2)
Fri vs. TOR, Sat @ NYI

Drew Stafford: First of all let’s just get this out there, Buffalo has been a huge let down for the Weekend Warrior crowd again and again. But the streak has to end sometime, so why not against the Leafs and the Islanders? Stafford and his wildly inconsistent ways should be able to chip in against the worst penalty kill in the league. Stafford is seeing close to 20 min a game and is on the top pp unit with Vanek and Pomminville (who is on fire). Hopefully he doesn’t let us down like so many Sabres gone by.
Results: 0 G, 0 A, 0 PTS, EVEN Rating … we likely will never recommend a Sabre again. Lesson learned

Chicago Blackhawks (25-13-5)

Home (15-5-4), Road (10-8-1), Last 10 (4-5-1)
Sat @ DET, Sun vs. SJ

Viktor Stalberg: One rule about young NHL players that I swear by in Fantasy Hockey: their lifeblood is confidence. After going 6 games without a point, Stalberg scored 3 points against Columbus on Tuesday night. Riding that ego-boost, Stalberg should combine with streaking line mate Dave Bolland to put up more points against the mediocre PK units of Detroit and San Jose (ranked 23rd and 28th respectively).
Results: 1 G, 1 A, 2 PTS, +1 Rating

Dave Bolland: See the above rule for Stalberg … Bolland is young, and riding a surge of 4 points in as many games. Last game, Quenneville gave him 19:21 of Ice Time, and in the upcoming games (that could be future playoff match ups) look for the agitating Bolland to receive in the neighbourhood of 20 minutes in both contests.
Results: 1 G, 0 A, 1 PTS, +1 Rating

Columbus Blue Jackets (11-26-5)

Home (6-11-3), Road (5-15-2), Last 10 (2-7-1)
Fri vs PHO, Sat vs SJ

Call me rebellious, but I am not recommending a Blue Jacket this week. I will be the first to apologize if they prove me wrong, but I am not risking my Fantasy reputation to give the NHL’s favourite opponent a bode of confidence.

Edmonton Oilers (16-22-4)

Home (10-6-3), Road (6-16-1), Last 10 (2-7-1)
Fri vs. ANH, Sat vs. LA

Sam Gagner: Folks, let me save you some time: Gagner will never be the player he was expected to be when he was taken 6th overall in 2007 … so stop waiting for that to happen. That being said, he has 5 points in his last 5 games and one of the only Oilers actually scoring lately. Also, he is averaging almost 3 minutes of PP time in his last 5 games (on the 4th ranked PP unit in the NHL), and you can expect that to increase in Jordan Eberle’s absence.
Results: 0 G, 0 A, 0 PTS, -1 Rating

Los Angeles Kings (21-15-7)

Home (13-10-2), Road (8-5-5), Last 10 (6-1-3)
Sat @ CGY, Sun @ EDM

Jarret Stoll: only 3 points in his last 5 outings, but he is likely the only LA King on the waiver wire getting significant PP time (2:54 in of PP time his last 5). The struggling Flames and Oilers (a combined 7-11-2 in their last 10) should not pose too much of a challenge for the Kings who are playing well of late.
Results: 0 G, 1 A, 1 PTS, +1 Rating

Montreal Canadiens (16-19-7)

Home (7-8-6), Road (9-11-1), Last 10 (3-7-0)
Sat vs. OTT, Sun vs. NYR

Max Pacioretty: Tough to find a bright spot out of the crease right now for the Habs, but Mighty Max has managed to avoid breaking/ getting his neck broken long enough to get on the ice for around 17 minutes a game and 3 points in the past 5 games. He is on the top pp unit, but that isn’t saying much when it’s the last ranked unit. Hopefully he and the rest of the Habs can recapture the magic from the last game against the Sens because they have not been great at home and this could be another tough weekend.
Results: 3 G, 1 A, 4 PTS, +4 Rating … go ahead you guys, pat yourselves on the back if you listened to Steve Wild

David Desharnais: The diminutive centre (generously listed at 5’ 7” on NHL.com) has been good for 5 points in the last 5 games and has been clawing his way into top line minutes with his hard work. He is a great skater and has been utilizing the room Cole and Pacioretty have been making for him.
Results: 1 G, 3 A, 4 PTS, +4 Rating … ditto Pacioretty’s comment

Pittsburgh Penguins (21-17-4)

Home (11-7-2), Road (10-10-2), Last 10 (4-6-0)
Fri @ FLA, Sun @ TB

Chris Kunitz: Hopefully by the time we post this he isn’t hurt, because with the way the Pens season is going it wouldn’t shock anyone. With points in 7 of his last 10 games Kunitz has been picking up the slack now that the IR is looking like an All-Star team. He has been a lock on the top pp unit lately and against two lower third penalty killing teams he should be able to capitalize.
Results: 0 G, 2 A, 2 PTS, +3 Rating

Tampa Bay Lightning (17-20-4)

Home (11-5-1), Road (6-15-3), Last 10 (4-4-2)
Fri @ WSH, Sun vs PIT

Ryan Malone: Its tough to remember that Malone is the third wheel on the Steve line down in Tampa Bay, but it is a promising place to fly under the radar (if there even is a hockey radar in Tampa Bay). But this ability to blend in has yielded 5 points in the last 3 games. Malone is on pace for a career year and should be able to get results this weekend.
Results: 1 G, 2 A, 3 PTS, -1 Rating

Matt Gilroy: After being highly regarded a few years ago when he was signed out of Boston University by the Rangers has started to turn around in Tampa Bay with Hedman and Ohlund on the IR. He has 11 points this season but 5 in the last 8 games and is looking at about 20 minutes a game in his last 5. Until the D corps heal up he remains a valuable option. Be the first person on yahoo to dig him up.
Results: 1 G, 0 A, 1 PTS, EVEN Rating

Washington Capitals (22-17-2)

Home (15-5-1), Road (7-12-1), Last 10 (6-3-1)
Fri vs TB, Sun vs. CAR

Marcus Johansson: Trust MJ to keep rolling on with 5 points in the last 5 games and taking regular shifts with Alex Semin and Nick Backstrom. Not that the Caps are flying high but they are facing two teams of equal or lesser value this weekend and should be able to move up the standings.
Results: 0 G, 2 A, 2 PTS, +1 Rating

San Jose Sharks (23-11-5)

Home (14-7-2), Road (9-4-3), Last 10 (7-1-2)
Sat @ CBJ, Sun @ CHI

Michael Handzus: Similar to the LA Kings, I can almost guarantee you that none of the top 5 Sharks’ scorers will be available in your Fantasy league. So you have 2 choices: pay a friend to rent you Patrick Marleau; or pick up Michael Handzus for free. Handzus is probably the only Shark worth mentioning in this blog, and he has been getting 2:28 of PP time in his last 5 games. CBJ and CHI’s PK units are awful (ranked 29th and 26th respectively), so Handzus could be a genius move this weekend.
Results: 0 G, 0 A, 0 PTS, -2 Rating

Back-up Goaltenders to Pick-up (likely to get a start this weekend)

Bernier didn’t play
Greiss – W in CBJ

Jhonas Enroth: Miller has owned the Leafs in the past (but not recently), so Enroth likely will get the easier start @ New York Islanders on Saturday.
Results: Loss @ NYI on Saturday

Jonas Gustavsson: Confirmed starter tomorrow @ Buffalo.
Results: Loss @ BUF on Friday

Ray Emery: Hopefully Quenneville learned his lesson last week and listens to our recommendation this week. Hey Joel!!! Play Emery on Sunday vs. San Jose! When he played Crawford back-to-back last weekend the Hawks lost both. Crawford will get the start against rival Detroit though, you can bet on that.
Results: Got the shaft handed right to him again … no starts

Curtis Sanford / Steve Mason: They will almost definitely split games this weekend. Whoever plays tomorrow vs. Phoenix, the other will play Saturday vs. San Jose.
Results: Sanford started both games, Won @ PHO, Lost vs. SJ

Jonathan Bernier: It is unlikely that Quick gets both starts on the Western-Canada road trip. Thus, Bernier will likely play the lowly Oilers on Sunday.
Results: Got the Ray Emery treatment … no starts

Thomas Greiss: Won his last start @ CBJ on January 5th, so he’s a good bet to get the nod Saturday @ CBJ again on the first half of a pair of back-to-back road games.
Results: Won @ CBJ