landsharkhockey

36 Years Old • Male

Hot Starts / Slow Starts

It's certainly too soon to draw an conclusions, good or bad, from what's transpired so far this season, but there were definitely a few surprises that came out of opening weekend this season. Some of them may point to a trend, while others may be classified as a blip on the radar.

Hot Starts

Blues own the Wings
The fact that Blues won both games against the Wings this weekend was a bit surprising. The fact that the Wings blew the lead in both games is more shocking. So, are the Wings in trouble or are the Blues that good? I've bet against the Wings before to start a season, and it never pays off. Sure they're down a few players from last season, but they'll recover just fine. If anything, we're starting to see that yes, the Blues have finally become a good team once again. St. Louis showed last season that their young stars have arrived and it looks like this season, their veterans are playing great. Add to that a solid start from Chris Mason in net, and that's a great formula for a winning season. If you picked the Blues to miss the playoffs this year, you're probably going to look silly.

Avalanche Back on Top (?)
A quick glance at the league standings so the Colorado Avalanche as the top team with two wins, 8 goals for and 2 goals against. Looks like the Avalanche are back to their glory days of league domination.
And they won't miss Sakic one bit. And Kazakhstan should win gold this winter.
From a fantasy perspective, feel free to ride this wave as long as it lasts. Wolski and Hejduk may be available in your pool, but they won't be for long. Wolski traditionally gets off to a strong start, so grab him until he cools off, but don't mortgage your team to load up on Avalanche. This won't last long.

Brooks Laich
Yes, he's developing into a decent forward, but seeing his name in the top 5 scorers will be a distant memory in a week or two. Still, he's probably available in your league, and as long as he's seeing occasional duty with Ovechkin and Backstrom, why not ride it?

Slow Starts

Hurricanes looking awful
Many prognosticators (myself included) expected the Hurricanes to have a pretty good season. So far, we're looking like fools. The Hurricanes didn't just lose their first two games, they looked like they weren't even trying. 2 goals for and 9 goals against. Maybe they're still hurting from the smack down the Penguins laid on them last spring. My advice (if you're in my pool) is to drop all Hurricanes right away from your roster. If you're not in my pool, hang tight. This team is well balanced, well coached (despite what you saw this weekend), and will recover just fine.

Canucks drop 2
The Canucks opened the season on the road with two losses in their division. That doesn't bode well for a team with a messed up travel schedule. Luongo is going to have to be the best goalie in the league for this team to be successful, and so far, he's casting some doubt. If the slide continues, feel free to jump off the Canuck bandwagon and join me in the minority who see this team missing the playoffs this year.

Fantasy Wire
From a fantasy perspective, you can learn a little from players who get off to a slow start, but you shouldn't pay much attention to players who come out of the gate slowly in the first two or three games. Remember, Getzlaf didn't register a point in the first week last season, before going on a tear in week 2. Hold tight to your draft picks and check back in another week before bailing on your early picks.

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