Category: NHL

What To Do With Valtteri Filppula

After missing eight games with a knee injury Detroit center Valtteri Filppula has now played in five consecutive unimpressive games.

Analysis: Filppula isn’t a slouch now, he does have 32 points in 55 games but he has been shaky as of late. Filppula only has one goal and zero assists since returning from injury but his minutes are relatively the same. It all comes down to team need on whether to pick up or cut the 26 year old Finn. Filppula is solid in goals, assists, plus/minus and shots, however, he doesn’t get the power play points, ice time or penalty minutes he could get somewhere other than Detroit. If he remains on your squad you have to at the very least give him a few more games to rack up some points or completely falter. If he’s not on your squad he is available in forty to forty-five percent of fantasy hockey leagues and he is under the radar so you have some time to decide.

Projection: No matter what, Filppula’s plus/minus will be solid and that is carrying his value at this point since his return from knee injury. The goals and assists should come if you can be patient, however, he will not give you much in the power play point department nor will he accumulate many penalty minutes. Expect 8-10 points the rest of the season with a plus one rating and just under two shots per game.

Taylor Hall Out For Season

The first overall pick in the 2010 NHL draft will be sidelined eight weeks with an ankle injury, which is the remainder of the NHL regular season.

Analysis: The 19 year old injured his left ankle while fighting with Blue Jacket Derek Dorsett Thursday night. This is a major blow to fantasy hockey squads across the nation. Hall had scored 5 goals and 3 assists over his last ten games and was really playing the very best hockey of his young career. He also recorded five 4 shots on goal or more games in that same span and had 4 power play points. He really was turning into a point per game player. The high ankle sprain is a setback and he will be 100 percent healthy for next year but where does this leave your fantasy squad at the LW/C position since Hall had dual eligibility? Fellow Oiler MPS or Magnus Paajarvi is a logical pickup at left wing and should see a bump in his ice time. At center you may want to consider LA King Jarret Stoll who has four points in his last five games and is a plus two on the season with over 17 minutes of average time on ice.

Time To Drop Niclas Bergfors

Niclas Bergfors is still owned in about half of all fantasy hockey leagues across the nation and is on a nine game scoreless streak.

Analysis: His trade to the Panthers did just one thing, it bumped his ice time up quite a bit. Bergfors received 17 minutes of ice time in his first game with the Panthers after not getting more than 14 minutes of ice time his previous ten games with Atlanta. He is a very talented right winger but he just hasn’t found a home yet and Florida won’t do much to cultivate his talents. In deeper leagues you can get away with Bergfors because he will get more ice time in Florida, he does shoot a decent amount and he does get power play minutes that eventually will translate into power play points. Yet in non keeper standard leagues there is no reason to hitch your wagon to a guy as cold and unproductive as Bergfors.

Projection: He has the talent and scoring ability to put up some solid points in the remaining games on the Panthers schedule but the risk is not worth the reward. Go ahead and pick up a right winger that’s actually producing and dump the 23 year old Swede. Expect 4 goals and 6 assists with over 16 minutes of ice time per game from here on out.

Flyers Goalies Aren’t Getting It Done

Sergei Bobrovsky and Brian Boucher seem to be doing everything in their power to let Tampa, Boston and Pittsburgh back into the race for the number one seed in the east with their poor play as of late.

Analysis: Brian Boucher has allowed nine goals over his last three games including a four goal meltdown against the eastern conference’s worst Ottawa Senators. Boucher has played like the perennial backup that he is, showing little flashes of brilliance followed by long stretches of pedestrian netminding. Sergei Bobrovsky hasn’t been much better either. Bobrovsky has allowed at least three goals in his last three games with just one win. Bobrovsky does have the potential to be a great goalie but both of these guys are being exposed right now playing on a Flyers team that just hasn’t been as tidy as they have earlier in the year. You should stick with Bobrovsky at least another week and see if he can’t rekindle some of that early season magic.

Projection: This isn ‘t a new situation for the Flyers having two goalies they aren’t in love with going into the playoffs but Bobrovsky is a different breed. He’s going to be special one day and has the ability to take over games unlike Boucher. If Bobrovsky can get the majority of the starts you can expect about nine wins with a 2.6 GAA the rest of the season, solid secondary fantasy goaltender numbers.

Brad Boyes To Buffalo Boosts Value

Sunday Brad Boyes was traded to the Buffalo Sabres from St. Louis in exchange for a second round pick. While his points production should remain steady his power play minutes are sure to increase on a mediocre Buffalo power play unit.

Analysis: Brad Boyes has 41 points in 62 games and is available in sixty percent of fantasy hockey leagues. Boyes moves to a team that has a real need for a top six forward. Right now he’s averaging just 17 minutes of ice time a game and with this trade expect 19 minutes of ice time with considerable power play minutes. Boyes is pretty consistent in every category- he takes over two shots a game, he scores more than enough points for a forward of his caliber, his plus/minus is solid but his lack of ice time in St. Louis really did hurt his fantasy production.

Projection: Boyes should still be putting up points in the .6-.8 points per game range but his power play points and ice time are the real winners here in the trade to Buffalo. This trade takes Boyes from a solid deeper league forward to a six category producing fantasy asset.