NHL News Break

 Detroit’s most formidable playoff opponent seems to be the Sharks here in the beginning of the 08-09 season.  San Jose looks sharp behind Nabokov and the new defensive strategy for San Jose to go on offense.  Whereas last season, San Jose looked to have all action stem from point-man Joe Thornton, now Defenseman like Christian Ehrhoff are getting into the shooting and scoring mix.  Similarly, Duck defenseman Rob Niedermeyer added a goal, and Francois Beauchemin had five shots.  Unfortunately, Beauchemin is not the offensive threat that Niedermeyer and Pronger are, so should pass more often.  There was a situation last night when Beuchemin got the puck, had an open shot, had a guy down low to Nabokov’s right, yet Beuchemin failed to pass, shot, and Nabokov ate it up.  The Sharks just dominated the Ducks and Ryan Getzlaf did not even shoot the puck once.  Anaheim may be the better team, just more rusty and need to get better adjusted with the addition of Teemu Selanne.  In addition, Chris Kunitz displayed his playmaker capabilities, however, San Jose’s defense was very good and seemed to bubble up any of Anaheim’s offensive attack.

The difference maker between these two teams on Thursday night was the respective goalies from San Jose, Evgeni Nabokov and Vancouver Roberto Luongo.  These two were exceptional while both teams interestingly rolled over Anaheim and Calgary.

Most notably, Vancouver rolled over Calgary 6 to ZERO.  Steve Bernier was fantastic playing with the Sedin twins and scored a goal.  Mattias Ohlund scored a goal and a vicious hit on Jerome Iginla that send his neck almost through the boards.  Alex Burrows payed tribute to his late teammate Luc Bourdon who tragically died in a motorcycle accident in the offseason, by scoring two goals.  The Canucks still have young talent that is fast, like Mason Raymond, Ryan Kessler, and Taylor Pyatt.  Vancouver displays great young energy and should be considered an early contender in the West. 

FANTASY WATCH:  Canuck Teammate Pavol Demitra expressed his belief linemate speedster Mason Raymond will have at least 30-goals this season.  If you are like me and like 30-plus goal scorers than you may want to consider adding Mr. Raymond.

Also, you should add Steve Bernier to your team ASAP and Alex Burrows.  They look too good and problematic for opposing defenses.

Lastly, don’t be afraid to start Chris Kunitz.  This is Kunitz’s golden opportunity to be a great player at left-wing for the Ducks.  Kunitz is an offensive spark plug so he should inject some life into your fantasy team’s offense too.

Phoenix Coyotes Right-Winger Peter Mueller is primed to break out this season playing along with Shane Doan and newly acquired Olli Jokinen.  He is 20-years old, but Mueller proved his worth scoring a hat-trick against San Jose on Monday.  Mueller scored 54 points and 32 PIMs in his rookie campaign, and we are looking for Mueller to get at least 30-35 goals on one of the most exciting lines in all hockey.  Lastly, look for Mueller’s game winning goals to increase.  One of three game winners last season is in the picture to the left.

All of those who have already drafted Mr. Power Play Point Sergei Gonchar have a few decisions to make.  First, how long will Gonchar be out?  It looks like Sergei Gonchar will be out the next four to six months with a separated shoulder he received in the exhibition game versus Tampa Bay.  So now what do you do?  Plan A is to hold onto Gonchar, at least long enough to put him on the injured reserve.  Then you can pick up a free agent, but what if you have only one IR spot on your roster?  It is going to be a rough ride folks.  Ultimately Gonchar may need to be dropped if you have one IR spot.  For example, what if Evgeni Malkin goes down for three months?  Well, you are probably going to need to drop one of them, and it is not going to be Malkin.  So the deal is hold onto Gonchar unless you absolutely cannot wait to add a free agent on the board until the Penguins effectively place him on the injured reserve.  If you can wait long enough for him to go on the injured reserve, stick him there, and adjust accordingly if you must drop him in favor of a better player in a worst case scenario.  Finally, yes, it is worth holding onto Gonchar if you can.  It is possible that Gonchar could miss the whole regular season, however, if Gonchar heals quickly he would come back with two to three months in the season remaining.

Anaheim re-signed Superstar Teemu Selanne to a two-year deal that keeps Selanne happy and where he wanted to play while in great shape still.  Selanne played on the 28th versus Vancouver and scored two power play goals, while fellow right-wing Corey Perry added two goals as well.  If you are worried about Selannes 90-point potential because of starting right-wing Corey Perry, this is a great indicator to ease those fears.

1. Alexander Ovechkin LW WAS

2. Sidney Crosby, C PIT

3. Pavel Datsyuk, C DET

4. Evgeni Malkin, C PIT

5. Dany Heatley, LW OTT

6. Henrik Zetterberg, C DET

7. Joe Thornton, C SJ

8. Jerome Iginla, RW CGY

9. Vinny Lecavalier, C TB

10. Nicklas Lidstrom, D DET

11. Dion Phaneuf, D CGY (ok, top-eleven!)

Coming Soon, the Rest of NHL Newsbreak’s Top-100 List For Your Fantasy Drafts!

With naysayers around the league looking for a decline in Vinny Lecavalier’s numbers, we are targeting him to finish as a top-10 player, and the center of attention in Barry Melrose’s Lightning resurgence back to the top into the playoffs.  Vinny’s sore shoulders may slow him down slightly but a month of rehab will do the trick.-the Newsbreak Staff.

Below is a story from the St. Petersburg Times that outlines Vinny rebuilding his confidence after surgery.

Vinny Lecavalier admitted his rehab from arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder has been painful and difficult.

It was disappointing, too, when he skated for the first time, tried to shoot a puck and thought, “Oh, my God, I’m not feeling right.”

But six sessions on the ice later, the Lightning’s superstar center is feeling so good, he said of the Oct. 4 season opener against the Rangers: “I’m sure I’ll be ready.”

“With shoulders like this, every time you do something for the first time, it feels terrible,” Lecavalier said by phone from his native Montreal. “It doesn’t feel like where you want to be. But the second time, it’s way better. It’s like the first time I did a push-up four weeks ago; oh, my god. And the next day I could have done 10. You build your shoulder and confidence.”

The key is getting clearance for contact.

Lecavalier said he was told that could happen after five months of recovery. The Lightning opens training camp at the St. Pete Times Forum on Sept. 16, five months after Lecavalier’s April 15 surgery for a torn glenoid labrum sustained April 3 on a questionable hit by the Capitals’ Matt Cooke that also separated Lecavalier’s shoulder.

“Once they tell me I’m ready, then it’s just to build your confidence about not getting hurt again,” he said. “I know it won’t dislocate like that, but you have to be careful.”

Still, Lecavalier, 28, who recently signed an 11-year, $85-million contract extension, said he is “excited” by his progress.

“Not being able to shoot like I normally can was disappointing,” he said of his first workout on skates. “But after five or six times, I’m not 100 percent, but it’s getting better, and my shots are getting better.”

Damian Cristodero can be reached at cristodero@sptimes.com.

From the St. Petersburg Times August 26, 2008

The hype over the Blackhawks is mainly over their first scoring line that is made up of the sophomore tandem of center Jonathan Toews and right-winger rookie of the year Patrick Kane.  In addition, the left-wing is held by Patrick Sharp.  Sharp is entering his sixth season after breaking out last season with 36 goals, a number that should rise with Kane and Toews gaining experience last season.

Jonathan Toews is 6-2 and 200 pounds at the ripe age of 20.  He had 54 points in 64 games last season so expect those numbers to improve with the improvement of almost 20-year old Patrick Kane and 18 additional games lost from injury.  Kane is like a speedy St. Louis/Heatley, at 5-10 170.  He could look to build on those 50-plus assist numbers from last season, while adding onto the 20-goal mark he reached while playing all 82 games last season.

With the addition of Brian Campbell to their defense, and Cristobal Huet at goalie, Blackhawks fans have reason to believe they have a good team on their hands.  The addition of Campbell to the defense supplants a young and budding defensive effort last season from Duncan Kieth, Brent Seabrook, with a veteran 50-assist season presence.