rafikz Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 http://www.fannation.com/fantasy/column/7341 Fantasy Hockey Forecast Unexpected scoring options key to fantasy success Beginning the season under a cloud of doubts, Alexei Kovalev has proven to be one of the primary culprits in the Canadiens' rise atop the Eastern Conference. Richard Wolowicz/Icon SMI Thursday March 13 By Rob Nucatola, Fantasy Hockey Expert for FantasyFanatics.com The NHL season is winding down, and in a hurry. It's easy to look at your fantasy league and check to see which teams have Alexander Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin, Ilya Kovalchuk, Nicklas Lidstrom, Roberto Luongo, and Martin Brodeur, and expect them to be at the top. But that's not the way it really works. Every team has a stud or two. It's the fantasy team that has some of the "unsuspected" scoring leaders that really takes the prize. Here are some of those "unsuspected" scoring leaders after about 70 games who are making the difference ... 1. Alexei Kovalev, RW, Montreal Canadiens He's a problem, a locker-room cancer, and he's too old for the new NHL. These were some of the knocks on Kovalev before the season. Well, 30 goals and 43 assists later, Kovalev is in the NHL top 15 in scoring. His 16 power play goals pace him second, and his plus-12 rating is even better for fantasy points. He's also made the guys around him better, and that's part of the reason the Canadiens are fighting for the top seed in the Eastern Conference. 2. Tomas Plekanec, C, Montreal Canadiens He's benefiting the most from the resurgence of Kovalev. His 27 goals and 36 assists are nice, a plus-10 rating is sweet, six game-winning goals is a bonus and 11 power play goals are fantastic. Wasn't the Montreal power play supposed to go downhill after Sheldon Souray went west? Montreal plays Ottawa, the Islanders and St Louis this week. 3. Jason Pominville, RW, Buffalo Sabres A lot was dumped on Pominville's plate after all the departures this past summer. Add to that the injury (and subpar season for Maxim Afinogenov and Pominville was asked to do way more than expected. He's responded to all the challenges well. In his fourth year he's continued to show improvement on offense, already setting a new career high in assists and is well on his way to besting last season's high in points (he had 68 last year, has 65 already this year). And the plus-13 rating is good enough to put a smile on a fantasy owner's face. The Sabres face off against Pittsburgh, Carolina and Toronto this week. 4. Alexander Frolov, LW, Los Angeles Kings The 21 goals and 38 assists are nice additions for the Kings, so are the seven game-winning goals (especially since that amounts to almost 1/4 of the wins the Kings have this season ...) The Kings have some talent: Frolov, Michael Cammalleri, Dustin Brown and Anze Kopitar make up the core of a young team that should be fantasy-worthy for years to come. Nashville, Minnesota and San Jose are on the schedule for the Kings this week. 5. Nikolai Zherdev, RW, Columbus Blue Jackets He had a nice year in 2005-06, when he tallied 27 goals and 27 assists. He's up to 24 goals and 33 assists this season, with seven scores on the power play, and he's already set career bests in assists and points. Playing with Rick Nash doesn't hurt, but Zherdev is a solid fantasy competitor, and should be in the future. The Blue Jackets play Chicago, Detroit and Calgary this week. 6. Cam Ward, G, Carolina Hurricanes Ware is one of three net minders who are far exceeding expectations. His 31 wins, 2.83 goals against average and .901 save percentage make him an excellent fantasy goalie. Having a hard-working team in front of him doesn't hurt, either. The Hurricanes play Chicago, Buffalo and Ottawa this week. 7. Niklas Backstrom, G, Minnesota Wild Our next over-achiever between the pipes, Backstrom's 26 wins are nice, his 2.46 goals against is nicer and his .915 save percentage is nicer still. Minnesota is a team that wins with defense and goaltending, and it's built to keep that intact for the future. The Wild host New Jersey, Los Angeles and Colorado this week. 8. Ilya Bryzgalov, G Phoenix Coyotes No one, other than Wayne Gretzky, thought Bryzgalov could win 25 games. The 2.38 goals against and .918 is excellent; too bad the Coyotes don't score enough goals to make Bryzgalov a top-rung fantasy reminder, but his numbers are close enough where you want him on your fantasy team. Phoenix plays Vancouver and Edmonton twice each this week. Finding some of these unexpected sources of points isn't only satisfying for the inner GM in any fantasy owner, but may also win those owners a league or two. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BTH Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 Not sure, I'd give #2 to Plekanec but I'm happy to see us with the 1-2 punch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KoZed Posted March 18, 2008 Share Posted March 18, 2008 Not sure, I'd give #2 to Plekanec but I'm happy to see us with the 1-2 punch. I'd also be nice if we could have a 3-4 punch on our own team... (Lats, Higgins, Koivu, Ryder, I'm looking at you...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 It's nice for Montreal to get some recognition but as Kozed points out, this only shows that if you shutdown that line, you just improved your chances of winning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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