Desperate times call for desperate measures. Judging by their activity this past week, Montreal and Buffalo know that feeling all too well right now.
In “La belle province,” the injury riddled Habs are fading quickly in the Eastern Conference playoff picture. After Saturday night’s 3-2 overtime loss versus Pittsburgh, the winless streak is now up to five games.
In an effort to find a boost, general manager Marc Bergevin went out and acquired local product Marco Scandella from Buffalo and signed veteran free agent forward Ilya Kovalchuk (though Kovalchuk didn’t play Saturday). If things don’t improve drastically over the next little while, the Canadiens could become sellers by the Feb. 24 trade deadline.
My condolences to Bills Mafia on the cruel loss to Houston. Maybe the Sabres can turn that frown upside down? After a four-game skid, Buffalo has notched back-to-back victories. That said, they’re dropping like flies, especially in the top six. This past week, super rookie Victor Olofsson joined Jeff Skinner on the injury list. That prompted Jason Botterill to acquire Michael Frolik from Calgary.
Perhaps these two squads can look at the Penguins for some inspiration. Despite a ridiculous rash of injuries, Jake Guentzel being the latest, Mike Sullivan’s group just keeps on winning. Remarkably, they’ve only lost twice in regulation since December 1 (12-2-1). By the way, that Sidney Crosby guy returned to practice on Friday and should be back some time soon. Watch out!
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1. In-house, Alex Galchenyuk is the logical choice to move up the Penguins’ lineup. That said, the 25-year-old can’t escape Mike Sullivan’s doghouse. He played just 9:22 in Montreal last night, a game in which the former Canadien actually started on the top line with Evgeni Malkin and Bryan Rust. Yeah, that ended before it started. Galchenyuk does have two goals and four points over his past five outings, though.
2. Sheer speculation, but we know how much Jim Rutherford loves wheeling and dealing. Already, the Penguins have been linked to New York’s Chris Kreider and Chicago’s Brandon Saad, who’s a Pittsburgh native, by the way. Start thinking about logical fits.
3. Test out Michael Frolik. Because Buffalo is so thin at the wing right now, the 31-year-old will inevitably get a shot at some point to skate with Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart on the first line. Book it.
4. Also, I don’t think it’s outlandish to contemplate selling high on Eichel. In less than two short weeks, he’s lost two massive point producing wingers. Eichel has been terrific, but he can’t do it by himself.
5. Funny enough, considering where he was in fantasy circles just a month ago, Nikita Gusev is probably the best available dual eligible wing option right now. The former KHL MVP is averaging a point per game over the past 10 contests (two goals, eight assists). Think about it.
6. Take a wait-and-see approach when it comes to Ilya Kovalchuk. The 36-year-old could emerge as a stealth short-term play. I don’t expect much, however.
7. With Jonathan Marchessault banged up for the Golden Knights, both Chandler Stephenson and Alex Tuch deserve your undivided attention right now. We could see plenty of line shuffling over the next little while for Vegas. They lost Cody Glass on Saturday afternoon to a knee injury as well.
8. In a bangers league and missing the bite that Brendan Gallagher brings to the table? Jake DeBrusk, Wayne Simmonds and Noel Acciari all could help soften the blow of the loss.
9. Keep Robert Thomas and Tyler Bozak on your watch list. This recent swoon for the Blues has prompted Craig Berube to throw his lines in a blender:
Jaden Schwartz – Ryan O’Reilly – David Perron
Brayden Schenn – Robert Thomas – Tyler Bozak
10. Two Vancouver wingers – Tanner Pearson and Jake Virtanen – aren’t getting the fantasy praise they deserve at the moment. Both, very much attainable in Yahoo! standard leagues, are producing at career high paces: 60 for Pearson, 50 for Virtanen. Try them out!
11. As the deadline nears, keep tabs on Drake Batherson. The 21-year-old is expected to play a ton for the Senators in the second half of the season. Batherson has 13 goals and 41 points in 33 American Hockey League games this season.
12. In the crease, you should have some “Burning Love” for Elvis Merzlikins. The 25-year-old Latvian will see the brunt of the load for Columbus with Joonas Korpisalo on the shelf. Yes, shamelessly, that was an Elvis song reference. I couldn’t help myself.
13. I wouldn’t feel confident about it, but if you’re in dire need of a goalie, pick up Adin Hill. Same old story in Arizona. Antti Raanta got hurt again Saturday night. Darcy Kuemper isn’t ready to return. We’ve seen this movie too much over the past couple of seasons.
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14. Target Connor Hellebuyck on the trade market. Chalk this up to a rough patch in the season. All goalies go through it.
15. In Washington, if this keeps up – Ilya Samsonov routinely outplaying Braden Holtby – we may eventually have a crease controversy on our hands. Monitor closely.
16. John Klingberg day-to-day for the Stars; grab Esa Lindell. The Finn has five points over the past three games. Value buy.
17. Now, to list some Ryan Ellis injury replacements. If you’re really pressed, look internally – rookie Dante Fabbro could fit the bill.
18. If you’d prefer going the safer route, Samuel Girard, Dmitry Orlov and Sami Vatanen should be on your radar.
19. The first full week of NHL action in 2020 will see 49 games played. Stay away from Minnesota – they’re the lone team with a two-game slate.
There are eight teams to target because of their favourable four-game schedules: Arizona, Columbus, Los Angeles, Montreal, New Jersey, Tampa Bay, Vancouver and Winnipeg.
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20. For schedule manipulation purposes, take a look at these three squads:
Winnipeg Jets: Mon (@MTL) Wed (@TOR), Thurs (@BOS), Sun (NSH)
Waiver Looks: Jack Roslovic (one per cent), Mathieu Perreault (one per cent)
SN Fantasy Pool: Connor Hellebuyck (three), Kyle Connor (two), Patrik Laine (two)
Arizona Coyotes: Tues (@FLA), Thurs (@TBL), Fri (@CAR), Sun (PIT)
Waiver Looks: Jakob Chychrun (27 per cent), Carl Soderberg (seven per cent)
SN Fantasy Pool: Taylor Hall (three), Adin Hill (two), Oliver Ekman-Larsson (two)
Los Angeles Kings: Mon (CBJ), Wed (DAL), Thurs (@VGK), Sat (@CAR)
Waiver Looks: Jeff Carter (20 per cent), Tyler Toffoli (nine per cent)
SN Fantasy Pool: Jonathan Quick (three), Anze Kopitar (three), Drew Doughty (two)
