SUNDAY MORNING COFFEE: RUNNING INTO YOUR EX!
The season is upon us and what an opening week so far, especially if you got to play against your old team.
Jacob Trouba versus Winnipeg: 1G, 2A, 3 SOG, 5 Hits, +1
Conor Sheary vs. Pittsburgh: 2G, 3 SOG, +1
Semyon Varlamov vs. Washington: 26/28 Saves, .929 SP in a 2-1 loss
Mika Zibanejad vs. Ottawa: 3G (1 SHG & 1 PPG), 1A, 3 SOG, 2 HTS, +2
Auston Matthews makes opening day his very own with another 2 goals on opening night, which makes 9 goals in 4 opening nights at the start of his NHL career. I can remember his inaugural night when he scored 4 goals, seems like just yesterday.
Ottawa lost to the Leafs on opening night 5-3. That’s what you’re gonna see when you tune into an Ottawa Senators game. Some talent, some scoring, but a lot more L’s than W’s.
Washington against St. Louis, a matchup of the two previous Stanley Cup Champions, was a heated battle with the Capitals ruining St. Louis’ home opener with a Jakub Vrana OT game-winner. This guy is going to be good so if he is available in your fantasy league, scoop him up ASAP.
The Vegas Golden Knights easily handled the San Jose Sharks, who were without the services of Erik Karlsson, by a score of 4-1. The Knights are expected to battle for the Western Conference title and it sure looks like they will.
Don’t worry Sharks fans. They will bounce back and compete with a slight shuffling of the deck as some of the mainstays like Joe Pavelski (now a Dallas Star) and Joonas Donskoi (On Colorado Avalanche) are now gone .
The Oilers won in Head Coach Dave Tippett’s first game as head coach. Don’t dispel the Tippett magic as he usually finds a way to make his team competitive and maybe even surprise a few teams.
I’m expecting a big bounce back year from the Devils G Cory Schneider as he looked at the end of last season to be over his injuries that have plagued him the past 2. Let’s hope what we saw on Friday night was nothing major because Mackenzie Blackwood did not look good as his replacement. Nor in his start against the Jets..
Leon Draisaitl is a beast and is already in beast mode.
Going to the NY Rangers home opener I told my buddy Vin that it’s 6-5 but didn’t say who would win. The game could have been decided either way really. LGR!
Buffalo beating Pittsburgh didn’t surprise me as it may have others. I don’t believe the Penguins will make the playoffs this season. Just a feeling.
With the Sabres starting off 2-0, that’s exactly what they needed as do a few of the other bottom feeder teams that hope to make it a competitive season for their fans. Head Coach Ralph Krueger will have a lot to do with it for Buffalo.
I hope that Arizona doesn’t wait until the playoffs are just about out of reach to start playing competitively like they have the past 2 years.
The battle of Florida, which will be quite a series to watch this season, was close until the end until the Lightning’s talent took over. Panthers will return the favor I’m sure.
And they did with a 4-3 win Saturday.
That Winnipeg Jets team is just loaded with firepower, unlike the New York Jets. If you can get any of the top 6 on that team, do so because they are going to score a ton. Nikolaj Ehlers may be the easiest of obtain in your fantasy league from an unknowing owner.
I expect Patrik Laine to flirt with 45-50 goals. He just isn’t as bad as last season showed.
Sticking with the Jets (hey if my hometown NY Jets can’t be competitive…), Kyle Connor can flat out fly on skates and is deadly with the stick. Woohoo!
Being that I was at the Rangers game Thursday night and not able to watch any of the other NHL action, my buddy Tony from Pittsburgh tells me that Andrei Svechnikov can’t play defense, but I don’t think the Hurricanes are expecting too much D from their talented winger especially if he gives them 30+ goals this season.
Tony also says that Colorado D Cale Makar looks like he has the green light to push the puck up and that he may be the best passing 20-year old D-man he has ever seen. That’s impressive.
Colorado’s first line will give Boston’s top line a run for their money in being the best top line in the NHL this season.
The Columbus Blue Jackets are going to struggle early to find their identity. What can you expect when you lose an NHL top goaltender in Sergei Bobrovsky and elite forward in Artemi Panarin?
It’s going to be tight in the Atlantic & Central Divisions for playoff berths as these are two divisions with all teams being capable of making the playoffs.
Sabres LW Victor Olofsson seems to be the real deal after 2 games with 2 power play goals and an assist. Don’t wait, just scoop him up if he is still on waivers. C Jack Eichel is going to have a 100-point season and this kid will benefit from it immensely.
Plus, the kid “only” has 4G and 3A in 8 NHL games.
New Jersey only had 20 SOG against G Carter Hutton and the Sabres on Saturday. 20. Pfffft. Making Hutton look better than he is.
Montreal’s RW Brendan Gallagher was sure fired up for the Hockey Night in Canada matchup against the Toronto Maple Leafs with 1G & 2A with 7 SOG. As much as he is an agitator, he can score as well giving you 30 goals and at least 20 helpers.
Sticking with Montreal, D Shea Weber seems to be back to his old self with 8 SOG, picking up 2 assists in the 6-5 shootout comeback win against Toronto.
Remember that great season G Michael Hutchinson had with the Winnipeg Jets in 2014-2015? It’s just a fading memory I’m afraid.
I hope that LW Brady Tkachuk is not all that the Ottawa Senators have this season.
Pittsburgh beat up on Columbus 7-2 on Saturday. The question is: Is Columbus this bad or is Pittsburgh this good? Hmmmm. The answer could be Yes or No for both questions.
If Evgeni Malkin’s injury Is long-term, picking up Patirc Hornqvist may be the answer. Hornqvist had 7 SOG and 2 G with 3:20 of PP time. LOL. PP time.
Even though he took the loss against Carolina, Washington G Braden Holtby looked brilliant early on in that game. I’m thinking young G Ilya Samsonov may have lit a fire under Holtby with his NHL debut 2-1 win against the NY Islanders on Friday night.
Dallas Stars D-men John Klingberg (5 SOG) & Miro Heiskanen (7 SOG & 1 G) outshot the forwards easily against the St. Louis blues. Most by a forward was 3 SOG and that was rookie Denis Gurianov. That’s unacceptable with forwards such as Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin& Joe Pavelski to name just a few.
Dylan Larkin (G & A), Anthony Mantha (G & 2A)& Tyler Bertuzzi(2G, 2 A), with that type of production against Nashville, are going to get you a boatload of points this season. Good time to be a Detroit Red Wings fan again.
Maybe forgotten by some poolies but C Mikael Granlund is getting some good PP time with Nashville so far this season. Keep your eyes on him.
The Boston Bruins have won 2 games so far, both on the road, by scores of 2-1 and 1-0. Where’s that high-octane offense? It’s coming.
RW Clayton Keller and RW Phil Kessel are the only two Arizona Coyotes you want on your fantasy team right now.
Don’t look now but the Anaheim Ducks are 2-0 and it’s all because of G John Gibson.
Anaheim’s RW Ondrej Kase is going to break out this year. He was supposed to break out last season but he got hurt. Poolies forgot about him in this year’s draft I bet. He’s got 2 goals with 11 SOG in just 2 games. Get him!
Vancouver, shutout by Calgary Saturday, have just 2 goals so far. That’s not gonna last!
Seems like G David Rittich is the main guy in net for sure in Calgary with his performance in first two games of the season.
Oscar Klefbom over Darnell Nurse for poolies who want an Edmonton D-man. People forget that Klefbom was injured last year.
My coffee is cold but the NHL is hot to start the season! Good luck and may all your fantasies come true this week!