Spart's Fantasy Hockey Stuff Pt 2

So, the fantasy draft for the 2011-2012 NHL season was tonight, and in addition to being all kinds of fun, I think I made out pretty well! Astonishingly enough, Alexander Ovechkin didn't get picked till I selected him 3rd overall! For some reason, the first overall pick was... Roberto Luongo? And 2nd was Daniel Sedin? Really? I also didn't get everyone I wanted, and several people I really wanted were (frustratingly) picked literally the turn before I picked them! Still and all, here's the starting roster for "The Ralph Wiggums" this season!

Note: In the interests of nerdiness, when possible, links to both The NHL and Wikipedia pages for players will be provided. An asterisk (*) denotes that the player was a draft pick.

Current Players[]

Forwards[]

Rich Peverley (Bos-C)
Derek Stepan (NYR-C)
Henrik Zetterberg (Det-C/LW)*
Claude Giroux (Phi-C/RW)*
Rick Nash (CBJ-LW/RW)
Alexander Ovechkin (Was-LW)*
Matt Moulson (NYI-LW)
Troy Brouwer (Was-RW)*
Marian Hossa (Chi-RW)

Defensemen[]

Kimmo Timonen (Phi-D)*
Kevin Bieksa (Van-D)
Matt Carle (Phi-D)
Kyle Quincey (Col-D)
Nick Leddy (Chi-D)

Goalies[]

Injured Reserve[]

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (Edm-C)

Former Players[]

R.J. Umberger (CBJ-LW)* - Don't get me wrong, R.J. is a great player, and I love him to death. He's a tremendous asset to the Blue Jackets, but a lot of this is in areas that don't translate to fantasy status. I picked up Vinny Prospal, the third member of Columbus' top line (along with Rick Nash and Jeff Carter, both of whom are owned already) to benefit on the awesome scoring they've already displayed.
Jimmy Howard (Det-G)* - One of two players making up my half of a major multi-player trade. Howard is a great goalie, a little wobbly when it comes to saves (due to being young and new to the #1 spot), but solid on wins, but I really wanted King Henrik. He's expected to do great things this season, and I want in on that!
Brent Burns (SJS-D)* - The other player involved in my half of the trade. My friend Nathan wanted to shore up his D, and with Ryan Whitney expected back soon, I can do with one less, I suppose. So I traded Burns to shore up my scoring, which I was lacking on last season.
Jakub Voracek (Phi-RW) - Voracek was an addition to bolster points while Ryan Whitney was injured. Whitney is back, so I needed to lose someone else. And it was Voracek.
Stephen Weiss (Fla-C)* - Weiss is very good, but very streaky, and plays for an iffy team. So I dropped him for one of the power forwards from the Red Wings. We'll see how it pans out...
Ryan Whitney (Edm-D)* - this is getting ridiculous. Whitney was back off the IR for about a week. He played a handful of games, then injured his knee during practice. As soon as his status went from healthy to DTD (day-to-day), I dropped him like a bad habit. All my spidey senses told me he's going to be so injury prone that he's more trouble than he's worth. And sure enough, now he's not DTD anymore. He's back on the IR, expected to be out at least three more weeks. Dropped him for a good scoring defenseman from Colorado.
Tomas Kaberle (Car-D)* - Dropped Kaberle because he wasn't doing anything with Carolina. He ended up being traded to Montreal (IIRC) and was picked back up before I could get him back.
Steve Mason (CBJ-G)* - Mason has fluctuated insanely this season. I've picked him up and dropped him a few times, and unfortunately, the Calder winner hasn't played at the level he did when he won aforementioned Calder Trophy.
Joe Corvo (Bos-D)* - Corvo was being pretty slow when I dropped him. He's since picked it back up, and been picked back up, but not by me! :P
Valtteri Filppula (Det-C) - Filppula was a tad bit slow and I picked up David Legwand to try and get some much needed points. Can't recall if it worked or not! :P
Brian Elliot (STL-G) - Picked up Elliot to replace Mason because St Louis' normal starter, Jaroslav Halak, was sucking. Elliot played a few good games for me, but then Ken Hitchcock was brought on as St Louis' new coach, and Halak started playing more games.
David Legwand (Nsh-C) - Dropped Legwand because he wasn't really performing, and I wanted to get some added scoring.
Dwayne Roloson - Still looking for a complete goalie team. Traded Roloson to Erik for Hiller.
Brett Clark (TBL-D)* - Clark was doing subpar. He wasn't putting up points, his peripherals weren't that great, and his plus/minus was lousy because Tampa Bay was doing lousy.
David Krejci (Bos-C) - Krejci was a great short-term pickup who gave me some good points. but then he slowed down a little bit.
Jonas Hiller (Anh-G) - Jonas Hiller has been one of the great enigmas of the season. He's a phenomenal goalie who was out for a good chunk of late last season with some mysterious vertigo nonsense. Now he's back, and Anaheim has been terrible. Truly distressing.
Jussi Jokinen (Car-C/LW) - Picked up Jokinen for scoring, and then, when he dropped off for a bit, I dropped him to pick up Filppula again. Then I re-dropped Filppula for Matt Moulson, who is still (as of now) on my team.
Grant Clitsome (CBJ-D) - Clitsome is a great young defenseman from Columbus who puts up decent numbers, but I needed a bit more. I picked up Chris Pronger on the IR hoping to use him when he got better, but he's in terrible shape with his concussion, so he won't be back this season.
Curtis Sanford (CBJ-G) - Sanford is actually (in the grand scheme) the third string goalie for Columbus, behind starter Steve Mason and #2 Mark Dekanich, but Dekanich got hurt and Mason was doing terrible, so Sanford got quite a few starts. He did very well for Columbus, getting more wins than we had in quite a while, but then Mason got back and they started alternating. Picked Hiller back up, then dropped him recently for Brodeur.
Ryan McDonagh (NYR-D) - McDonagh was doing pretty well with point scoring, but then I dropped him in my eternal quest to bolster my defense.
Chris Pronger (Phi-D) - the captain of the Flyers, Pronger is a great physical player, really hard-nosed and gritty. A great addition to ANY team. Unfortunately, he's suffering from a serious concussion (horrific symptoms including memory loss, migraines, confusion, etc) and likely won't be back for the rest of the season.
Sergei Gonchar (Ott-D) - Gonchar has been great since I picked him up. Unfortunately (extremely unfortunately for my team) I had three key players get hurt in the same week, and one of them was Gonchar. So I had to drop him to get some relief. I'll likely pick Gonchar back up on Monday when I can make more moves (I've used all four this week!)
Jeff Skinner (Car-C/RW)* - This one hurt. A lot. The week three of my players were hurt at once, Skinner was one. I needed to ditch two to have ANY hope of winning, since none of them were being put on the IR. So it was Gonchar and then either Skinner, last year's Calder winner and the lone bright spot in Carolina's offense, or Claude Giroux, the point leader in the league. No brainer. Unfortunately, right before I could pick Skinner back up, he was snatched by my roommate and placed on his IR. That jerk!
Cam Ward (Car-G)* - Cam Ward is a phenomenal goalie. Easily one of the ten best in the league. But Carolina has been doing horrible. SO I dropped him, first for Mason again, and then for Ray Emery.
Fedor Tyutin (CBJ-D) - A great Columbus defenseman who another attempt to get my defense sorted out.
Pascal Dupuis (Pit-LW/RW) - Picked up Dupuis for some scoring, hoping that Crosby being hurt would help Dupuis, but it didn't happen.
P.A. Parenteau (NYI-RW) - Picked up Parenteau to supplement my scoring while Giroux was out. He did great, but I needed to axe someone to bring Giroux back. And of the top guys on the Islanders, Moulson is a tad bit better lately.
Joe Pavelski (SJS-C/RW)* - Pavelski has been doing pretty well. He's slumped lately, but he's still a great player who will do very well. I traded him to Matt for Rick Nash, whose linemate (Vinny Prospal) I have. This should help me quite a bit.
Ray Emery (Chi-G) - Emery is a backup, and as such, iffy on starts. And out of the blue, another guy in our league, Ryan, decided to do something totally stupid and drop all his goalies to pick up more forwards. All three of his goalies were quickly snapped up. I tried for Corey Crawford, Chicago's #1 goalie, but was too low on the waiver list, so I had to settle for Edmonton's #1, Khabibulin.
John Carlson (Was-D) - Carlson started doing nothing fast, and then Kyle Quincey (who I'd dropped to pick up Carlson) came back and was a point a game in his first three games back, so I went back to the old reliable, aka Quincey.
Tuomo Ruutu (Car-C/LW) - Ruutu was one of my stalwarts last season. I picked him up midseason and he was with me till the end. I picked him back up because last season, he was easily one of the top hitters in the league, and packed a decent scoring punch too. This season, he still does ok scoring-wise (not phenomenal, but not terrible either), but he just isn't hitting. So I dropped him for a two-fer, getting Ryan Nugent-Hopkins for my IR and Mike Ribeiro till the Nuge is back.
Mike Ribeiro (Dal-C) - Mike is a great player. He puts up lots of points, mostly assists. Unfortunately, he went and tore his MCL, which put him out right when I needed him. So I had to drop him.
Nikolai Khabibulin (Edm-G) - The Bulin wall did some good service for me, but he's been really hit or miss, and Edmonton's backup has been playing very, very well. So Khabibulin has been getting a few more nights off lately. As such, I dropped him in favor of Florida's #1, Jose Theodore.
Vinny Prospal (CBJ-C/LW) - Vinny, Vinny, Vinny... I love Vinny Prospal. He's far and away been the best off-season pickup for Columbus (the other big ones were Jeff Carter and James Wisniewski), and he did some stellar work for me earlier this season. But then he really slowed down. No points, barely any peripherals. So I dropped him. He had an assist the other night though, so if he starts up again, maybe I'll pick him back up.
Olli Jokinen (Cgy-C) - Jokinen is a great player. He's the only Calgary player I've had on my team so far this season. But I wanted to get a fifth defenseman, and needed to drop a centre. And while Jokinen puts up more points than Stepan, Stepan hits more, and that's more of what I need at the moment.
Dmitry Kulikov] (Fla-D) - I picked up Kulikov because he's got a good mix of hits, shots, blocks, and scoring. Unfortunately, right after I picked him up, he down for knee surgery. Bad timing defined!
Jose Theodore (Fla-G) - I like Jose Theodore, even if his name is weird. (It's totally not pronounced like it's spelled. It's pronounced Joe-say Tay-o-dore) He's Florida's #1 goalie, and Florida has been doing surprisingly well, due in no small part to Theodore's exemplary service. Unfortunately, he went and got hurt, so I picked up a goalie from the other hockey team in Florida.

Random Facts/Items[]

Scoring categories in my league are: Goals, Assists, Points, Plus/Minus, Power Play Points, Shots on Goal, Hits, and Blocked Shots for skaters, and Wins, Goals Against Average and Saves for goalies.
The first point by anyone on my team was an assist by Boston defenseman Joe Corvo on 6 October in a game against Philadelphia. It was also the first Power-Play Point for my team.
The first goal scored by someone on my team was scored by Claude Giroux of the Philadelphia Flyers during a game against Boston on 6 October.
The first one of my goalies to chalk up a win was Jimmy Howard, who won against the Ottawa Senators on 7 October. Unfortunately, while it was a win, it wasn't a great one. The game ended 5-3, and Howard ended the game with a 3.00 GAA and 29 saves.
The first time I regretted a roster decision was 8 October, when I sat Jeff Skinner. I just didn't think Carolina was going to do great against Washington. Skinner had three assists. Three assists. Two were on the power play. Boo!
The first shutout for one of my goalies occurred on 13 October, when Jimmy Howard led the Detroit Red Wings to a 2-0 win over the Vancouver Canucks. As it so happens, this was also the last game Howard played for my team, as he's part of a big multi-player trade that will be effective Saturday. Starting Saturday, I'll have the King back! Then I'll have two of my goalies from last season!
Finally got my first hat trick! Ironically enough, it happened on Friday the 13th (Jan 13th) when my lowest-scoring player, Troy Brouwer (he was even lower-scoring than all my defensemen!) scored three goals in a game against Tampa Bay, earning his first career hat trick.
The second hat trick for my team occurred on the 8th of February when Olli Jokinen scored three goals during Calgary's 4-3 win over San Jose. And, just to sweeten the deal, Jokinen had an assist on the one Calgary goal he didn't score himself.

Results[]

This season, I decided to post results on a weekly basis. I'll list who I played, the final score, and how each category turned out. For each week, I'll post a brief synopsis of who I played (until I get through everyone once, I won't repeat), and then I'll give the final score and a breakdown. As a reminder, the scoring for our league consists of 11 categories: Goals, Assists, Points, Plus/Minus, Power Play Points, Shots on Goal, Hits, Blocked Shots, Goalie Wins, Goals Against Average, and Goalie Saves. These will be abbreviated as G, A, P, +/-, PPP, SOG, HIT, BLK, W, GAA, and SV, respectively.

Week One, Oct 6 - Oct 16[]

In week one, I played Cannonball Dookie, aka Preston. Preston is a fantasy hockey novice, but a fantasy football regular. This is his first season in our league, but he's very enthusiastic. And it shows. This week, unfortunately, The Ralph Wiggums lost narrowly, 6-4. Abbreviations - TRW is The Ralph Wiggums (Me), and CBD is Cannonball Dookie (Preston).

G: TRW - 15, CBD - 14.
A: TRW - 12, CBD - 26.
P: TRW - 27, CBD - 40.
+/-: TRW - (-12), CBD - 0.
PPP: TRW - 11, CBD - 22.
SOG: TRW - 136, CBD - 148.
HIT: TRW - 54, CBD - 54 (tie).
BLK: TRW - 56, CBD - 36.
W: TRW - 4, CBD - 3.
GAA: TRW - 2.99, CBD - 2.18.
SV: TRW - 300, CBD - 196.

This week, Preston just had a really good week, with several of his players (particularly Daniel Sedin, Nicklas Backstrom and Erik Karlsson) having phenomenal weeks. Still, it was close. It came down to the last day or so to see who would win.

Week Two, Oct 17 - Oct 23[]

In week two, my opponent was the Fighting Hellfish, aka Matt. Matt is the commissioner of our fantasy league, and the one who got it started last year. He also placed third overall last year, and was second best in the regular season, only getting knocked down to third in the playoffs. This week, The Ralph Wiggums dominated, cruising to a resounding 9-1 victory. Abbreviations - TRW for The Ralph Wiggums, FH for Fighting Hellfish.

G: TRW - 12, FH - 7.
A: TRW - 19, FH - 15.
P: TRW - 31, FH - 22.
+/-: TRW: 2, FH - (-14).
PPP: TRW - 15, FH - 10.
SOG: TRW - 97, FH - 93.
HIT: TRW - 32, FH - 35.
BLK: TRW - 35, FH - 28.
W: TRW - 3, FH - 3 (tie).
GAA: TRW - 1.61, FH - 2.42.
SV: TRW - 168, FH - 136.

Matt blames my crushing victory on problems with his roster. There's some validity to this. Two of his star forwards were hurt. Evgeni Malkin was DTD for much of the week, and Sidney Crosby has been on the IR since the season began. In addition, he picked up James Wisniewski, who was suspended all week, with Saturday night being his last night out. So essentially, Matt had two useless players taking up spots with no benefit. However, I also had a really good week, with several of my players, most notable Alexander Ovechkin, Joe Pavelksi and Stephen Weiss doing very well.

Week 3, Oct 24 - Oct 30[]

In week three, my opponent is The Price is Right, aka Nathan. Nathan is my roommate, so this was an interesting week. It was even more interesting because, midway through the week, Nathan's computer died. However, being the good sport I am, I was more than willing to lend him my laptop whenever he needed to make line changes. This week I won, though not quite as decisively as last week. All in all, I fared well, winning 7-3-1. It could have been 8-3, but I didn't play Steve Mason on Sunday, erring on the side of caution, as I stood to either win Goalie Wins, or lose GAA, depending on how he did. Abbreviations - TRW for The Ralph Wiggums, PiR for The Price is Right

G: TRW - 12, PiR - 6.
A: TRW - 18, PiR - 14.
P: TRW - 30, PiR - 20.
+/-: TRW - 2, PiR - 5.
PPP: TRW - 10, PiR - 5.
SOG: TRW - 99, PiR - 83.
HIT: TRW - 31, PiR - 43.
BLK: TRW - 33, PiR - 44.
W: TRW - 1, PiR - 1 (tie).
GAA: TRW - 2.73, PiR - 2.84.
SC: TRW - 146, PiR - 128.

Interestingly, neither of us had a good week as far as goalies are concerned. There were quite a few games where the teams our goalies were on played their backups instead of the #1s (I have the #1 goalies for Columbus, Carolina, and the New York Rangers, and he has the #1s for Buffalo, Detroit, and Phoenix). Overall, I owe this win mainly to a few players: Claude Giroux (2g, 5a, 10sog), Joe Pavelski (3g, 2a, 9sog), Kimmo Timonen (7a), and Cam Ward (1w, 0.96gaa, 56sv).

Week 4, Oct 31 - Nov 6[]

This week, my opponent is the token Black$, aka Erik. Erik is one of my coworkers, and as his name implies, he is the sole black member of our league, and is a big South Park fan. We are anticipating a good deal of smack talk here, on three tiers: On the league page on Yahoo Sports, the league Facebook page, and at work. He's got some good scorers on his team, including John Tavares and Phil Kessel (the first person to get a hat trick this season), and three great goalies (Antti Niemi of San Jose, Jonas Hiller of Anaheim, and Marc-Andre Fleury of Pittsburg), so it should be interesting. So, I dominated. 8-3. Not even close. Here's the breakdown. Abbreviations - TRW for The Ralph Wiggums, TTB for the token Black$.

G: TRW - 12, TTB - 7.
A: TRW - 19, TTB - 12.
P: TRW - 31, TTB - 19.
+/-: TRW - 8, TTB - 2.
PPP: TRW - 4, TTB - 5.
SOG: TRW - 99, TTB - 63.
HIT: TRW - 36, TTB - 38.
BLK: TRW - 35, TTB - 26.
W: TRW - 4, TTB - 1.
GAA: 3.57, TTB - 3.97.
SV: TRW - 152, TTB - 154.

This one was, as stated above, pretty lopsided. The few Erik did win were by narrow margins (one power play point, 2 hits, and 2 saves). Far and away my best performer was Marian Hossa, who had two goals and four assists. Ovechkin, Giroux, Skinner and Pavelski all had four point nights as well, so 22 of my 31 points came from those five.

Week 5, Nov 7 - Nov 13[]

This week, my opponent was W.S.G. Minotaurs, aka Ryan. Ryan dominated last season, but has been doing lousy this season. Alas, this week, Ryan managed to best me 6-4-1. Abbreviations - TRW for The Ralph Wiggums, WSG for W.S.G. Minotaurs

G: TRW - 8, WSG - 14.
A: TRW - 19, WSG - 16.
P: TRW - 27, WSG - 30.
+/-: TRW - 13, WSG - 14.
PPP: TRW - 9, WSG - 10.
SOG: TRW - 86, WSG - 122.
HIT: TRW - 50, WSG - 42.
BLK: TRW - 32, WSG - 33.
W: TRW - 3, WSG - 3 (tie).
GAA: TRW - 2.80, WSG - 3.00.
SV: TRW - 168, WSG - 151.

Again, a lot of close ones here. He won +/- by one, PPP by one, and blocks by one. Again, Hossa was my top performer, with one goal and four assists. Quincy, Bieksa, Prospal and Skinner all had three pojnt nights. On Ryan's team, Tyler Seguin had four goals and two assists, and Duncan Kieth had two goals and two assists.

Week 6, Nov 14 - Nov 20[]

This week, my opponent was Planet Express, aka Maggie. It was a Matt Groening-themed battle. Last season, Maggie made it to the finals, but lost to Nathan. This week, it was all about The Simpsons as The Ralph Wiggums beat Planet Express 7-3-1. Abbreviations - TRW for The Ralph Wiggums, PE for Planet Express.

G: TRW - 9, PE - 12.
A: TRW - 20, PE - 13.
P: TRW - 29, PE - 25.
+/-: TRW - (-3), PE - (-8).
PPP: TRW - 10, PE - 9.
SOG: TRW - 99, PE - 85.
HIT: TRW - 28, PE - 27.
BLK: TRW - 38, PE - 22.
W: TRW - 3, PE - 3 (tie).
GAA: TRW - 3.53, PE - 3.14/
SV: TRW - 170, PE - 178.

Again, a lot of close ones. I won PPP by one, hits by one, she won saves by 8. It also marks the first week I was in a matchup where the +/- winner had a negative total. This week, the top performer was, surprisingly enough, not Hossa. It was Claude Giroux, with two goals and five assists. Hossa was my second best performer, with one goal and four assists. For Maggie, Pavel Datsyuk had two goals and three assists, and Teemu Selanne and Jordan Staal each had 4 points.

Week 7, Nov 21 - Nov 27[]

This week, my opponent was Sick Wristers, aka Andy. Andy was a mid-season replacement for other Matt, who didn't really participate at all after the draft. Unfortunately, I lost this one narrowly, 6-5. Abbreviations - TRW for The Ralph Wiggums, SW for Sick Wristers.

G: TRW - 5, SW - 14.
A: TRW - 17, SW - 15.
P: TRW - 22, SW - 29.
+/-: TRW - (-2), SW - 0.
PPP: TRW - 7, SW - 5.
SOG: TRW - 111, SW - 105.
HIT: TRW - 57, SW - 52.
BLK: TRW - 28, SW - 30.
W: TRW - 3, SW - 5.
GAA: TRW - 2.25, SW - 2.17.
SV: TRW - 219, SW - 202.

This week was just mediocre for me. The players worthy of recognition are both on Andy's team. Jonathan Toews and Jordan Eberle both had six point weeks. Those two by themselves had as many goals as my entire team for the week.

Week 8, Nov 28 - Dec 4[]

This week, my opponent was the Whodunnits, aka Glenn. Glenn traditionally has one of the stronger teams (traditionally as in this season and last) and, unfortunately, this week I suffered my worst loss to date, 9-2. Abbreviations - TRW for The Ralph Wiggums, W for Whodunnits.

G: TRW - 9, W - 14.
A: TRW - 18, W - 17.
P: TRW - 27, W - 31.
+/-: TRW - 3, W - 4.
PPP: TRW - 8, W - 13.
SOG: TRW - 107, W - 135.
HIT: TRW - 47, W - 59.
BLK: TRW - 33, W - 40.
W: TRW - 3, W - 2.
GAA: TRW - 2.98, W - 2.81.
SV: TRW - 126, W - 166.

This one was bloody. Not a whole lot to brag about. Two of my defensemen (Bieksa and Timonen) had four points. Unfortunately, Glenn had three players with four point weeks and one (Ryan Nugent-Hopkins) with a five-point week.

Week 9, Dec 5 - Dec 11[]

This week, my opponent was It's A Trap!, aka Anthony. Don't know much about him. He's new to the league, and he's the only member I've never met (oh, except Andy, the mid-season replacement. Never met him either) This week, I snapped the two-week losing streak with a 7-3-1 win. Abbreviations - TRW for The Ralph Wiggums, IAT for It's A Trap!

G: TRW - 9, IAT - 7.
A: TRW - 25, IAT - 16.
P: TRW - 34, IAT - 23.
+/-: TRW - 8, IAT - 3.
PPP: TRW - 7, IAT - 7 (tie).
SOG: TRW - 117, IAT - 84.
HIT: TRW - 49, IAT - 57.
BLK: TRW - 43, IAT - 45.
W: TRW - 3, IAT - 2.
GAA: TRW - 3.23, IAT - 2.48.
SV: TRW - 206, IAT - 138.

A big week for The Ralph Wiggums. Some great performances out of a few of my players. Big surprise as to who my top performers were. Claude Giroux had one goal and six (yes, SIX) assists, and Marian Hossa had one goal and four assists. And Henrik Lunqvist had 75 saves, Cam Ward had 74, and Jonas Hiller had 57, adding up to a killer 206 saves.

Week 10, Dec 12 - Dec 18[]

Coming full circle, this week my opponent was Cannonball Dookie, Preston. Preston has been virtually unstoppable. In ten weeks, he's 8-1-1. Crazy. And last week, he demolished me in my worst defeat yet, 9-1-1. It was almost 11-0, but at the last minute, I managed (through sheer luck) to get one win and one tie. There's a reason though, which will be elaborated upon shortly.

G: TRW - 9, CBD - 14.
A: TRW - 15, CBD - 21.
P: TRW - 24. CBD - 35.
+/-: TRW - 2, CBD - 9.
PPP: TRW - 5, CBD - 10.
SOG: TRW - 91, CBD - 120.
HIT: TRW - 34, CBD - 45.
BLK: TRW - 27, CBD - 27 (tie).
W: TRW - 1, CBD - 5.
GAA: TRW - 2.73, CBD - 2.31.
SV: TRW - 187, CBD - 176.

What a horrible week. This is the week that my top scorer (Claude Giroux), third top scorer (Jeff Skinner), and top scoring defenseman (Sergei Gonchar) got hurt at the same time! Hossa put up his usual five points, but it wasn't enough. Fortunately, a series of events played into my hands here. On Sunday, Steve Mason wasn't supposed to play in net for Columbus. Curtis Sanford was. So Preston sat his goalie (Reimer, I think) to make sure he wouldn't somehow lose GAA. Then, at the last minute, Sanford had back spasms, and Mason had to play. He got enough saves to win me the category. And in the last game of the night, in the last few minutes, Kevin Bieksa had one block (his only one of the game) to tie it for me. So it wasn't a total loss!

Week 11, Dec 19 - Dec 25[]

This week, it's the Fighting Hellfish again, Matt, the league commish. The dates are a bit misleading. The NHL doesn't play on Christmas Eve or Day, so the week really went till 23 December. This week was weird. I started out on top, totally dominating. Then, somehow, Matt came back and tied it. The week ended 5-5-1. Exciting stuff!

G: TRW - 9, FH - 10.
A: TRW - 14, FH - 16.
P: TRW - 23, FH - 26.
+/-: TRW - 8, FH - 11.
PPP: TRW - 10, FH - 10 (tie).
SOG: TRW - 83, FH - 69.
HIT: TRW - 25, FH - 37.
BLK: TRW - 31, FH - 28.
W: TRW - 2, FH -1.
GAA: TRW - 2.45, FH - 2.71.
SV: TRW - 118, FH - 82.

Let's see... my top performer this week was Matt Moulson. He had a goal and three assists, which really helped. Hossa only had two assists. On Matt's side, his top performer was without doubt Brad Marchand, who had four goals and two assists, for a total of six points. Five of those were in one game! That, combined with the fact that I left Giroux on the IR one game too long and missed out on his four point return to playing, cost me the scoring categories. But the masterful playing of Henrik Lundqvist, particularly during the Rangers 4-2 win over the Flyers on Friday, really saved the week for me.

Week 12, Dec 26 - Jan 1[]

This week was a rematch against my roommate, Nathan, and his team, The Price is Right. And wouldn't you know it, Santa brought me just what I wanted for Christmas, a big 'ol win! Bragging rights, that's what I'm talking about! This one ended up 9-2, with some pretty wide margins. And it was gratifying to because, before my mini-losing streak starting in Week 7, I was in second place in the league. This would get me one of two coveted Bye spots for the first week of the playoffs. But my three-week losing streak saw me lose three spots, ending up at fifth place. Still qualifying (top 6 make the playoffs), but just barely. This weeks win moves me back up to fourth!

G: TRW - 14, PiR - 12.
A: TRW - 20, PiR - 10.
P: TRW - 34, PiR - 22.
+/-: TRW - 6, PiR - (-4).
PPP: TRW - 10, PiR - 7.
SOG: TRW - 120, PiR - 113.
HIT: TRW - 55, PiR - 35.
BLK: TRW - 33, PiR - 26.
W: TRW - 3, PiR - 6.
GAA: TRW - 0.67, PiR - 2.12.
SV: TRW - 77, PiR - 254.

Pretty lopsided. Two players on my team far and away stood out as top performers. Kevin Bieksa, a defenseman, did better than all but one of my forwards with five points this week (one goal and four assists), and Alexander Ovechkin, my first round pick, seems to have finally remembered how to play. In four games this week he had 7 points (five goals and two assists), which really helped me out. Several of my players (Zetterberg, Hossa, Moulson and Nash) also had three point weeks, which is nice. In fact, those six combined had two more points than Nathan's entire team! For goalies, Henrik Lundqvist was outstanding. Two wins, one a shutout and the other a one-goal game for a combined 0.50 GAA. All in all, a great week!

Week 13, Jan 2 - Jan 8[]

This week was a rematch against Erik, my coworker, and his team, the token Black$. What a week! It started out ok, with me developing a steady lead over the first couple of days. Then things went downhill. By about Thursday, I was down 9-2. Erik started to gloat. Was I concerned? You bet. But I was also holding put hope for Sunday. Sunday, I had 7 people playing, and he had 1. So I told him not to start bragging yet. He assured me Sunday wouldn't make any difference. Fortunately, it did. I started chipping away at his lead Friday, and by Saturday, he was only leading 6-4. Then on Sunday, sure enough, I tied it up. It's not a win, but a 5-5-1 keeps me in fourth place and Erik in last, so I can live with it!

G: TRW - 8, TTB - 11.
A: TRW - 22, TTB - 25.
P: TRW = 30, TTB - 36.
+/-: TRW - (-20), TTB - 24.
PPP: TRW - 13, TTB - 9.
SOG: TRW - 92, TTB - 101.
HIT: TRW - 55, TTB - 34.
BLK: TRW - 36, TTB - 33.
W: TRW - 3, TTB - 3 (tie).
GAA: TRW - 2.85, TTB - 2.93.
SV: TRW - 221, TTB - 141.

Some major lopsidedness in a few categories. I think I set a new league record by losing in plus/minus by an astounding 44 points! On the other hand, I blew him out of the water in hits and saves. My top players this week are no-brainers. First and foremost, Henrik Zetterberg had a six point week! (All assists) And four of my players (Prospal, Hossa, Bieksa and Giroux) had three-pointers. That's 18 out of 30 from just 5 players. Next, Matt Carle is the reason I tied this week. He had 10 blocked shots overall, and four on Sunday alone, which is what pushed me past Erik in that category. Next, four of my guys (Zetterberg, Nash, Hossa and Carle) had double-digit shot totals, which kept me competitive there, and finally, Vinny Prospal, who normally never hits, had 7 hits this week, more than anyone else. Three others (Bieksa, Brouwer and Giroux) had 6 each, for 25 of my 55 from those 4. Oh, forgot about goalies. King Henrik was great, with two wins and a 1.50 GAA, and Marty Brodeur clinched it for me with his 91 saves and a critical win over Pittsburg which tied me and Erik on goalie wins.

Week 14, Jan 9 - Jan 15[]

This week was a rematch against Ryan and his team, W.S.G. Minotaurs. The week started out pretty good, and just kept getting better. Ryan, for reasons known only to him and his Creator, decided to drop all his goalies in week 12, thereby automatically forfeiting three stats in the hopes that the extra forwards would make it up in the other eight. It didn't work. This was the last week of his 2 1/2 week "no goalies" experiment. He picked up a couple of goalies towards the end of this week, but they didn't even make the minimum 3 starts, so he still lost out on all three stats! I won 10-0-1. it was great,

G: TRW - 9, WSG - 7.
A: TRW - 11, WSG - 9.
P: TRW - 20, WSG - 16.
+/-: TRW - (-1), WSG - (-2).
PPP: TRW - 4, WSG - 4 (tie).
SOG: TRW - 114, WSG - 81.
HIT: TRW - 72, WSG - 31.
BLK: TRW - 42, WSG - 23.
W: TRW - 2, WSG - 0.
GAA: TRW - 2.79, WSG - 3.03.
SV: TRW - 123, WSG - 49.

This week saw some pretty lopsided matchups too. I won shots by 33 and hits by 41. Two players really stand out. One, Troy Brouwer, had 24 hits, which means that one of my players all by himself had almost as many hits as Ryan's entire team. Brouwer also had his first career NHL hat trick in a game against Tampa Bay. And Matt Moulson, who is shaping up to be my best free-agent pickup, had a six point week, 3G and 3A.

Week 15, Jan 16 - Jan 22[]

This week was a rematch against Maggie, whose team is also named after a fixture from a Matt Groening show. Whereas my team name is from The Simpsons, Maggie's team is named Planet Express, from Futurama. Maggie's team is one of those teetering between greatness and mediocrity. She's in the running for the playoffs, and will probably make it, but in what spot? Anywho, after a hard-fought week, I prevailed by a score of 6-4-1.

G: TRW - 9, PE - 7.
A: TRW - 25, PE - 17.
P: TRW - 34, PE - 24.
+/-: TRW - 2, PE - 8.
PPP: TRW - 18, PE - 6.
SOG: TRW - 110, PE - 86.
HIT: TRW - 49, PE - 52.
BLK: TRW - 36, PE - 40.
W: TRW - 3, PE - 3 (tie).
GAA: TRW - 2.35, PE - 1.58.
SV: TRW - 207, PE - 165.

Another pretty good week for me. On the individual level, Claude Giroux was my best forward, with six points, all assists. Henrik Lundqvist did well as goalie with to wins, 91 saves, and a 1.63 GAA. The really cool thing is what happened over the weekend. Going into the weekend, I was actually a tad bit behind Maggie and was mostly hoping for a tie. Then though, I had a great weekend. I had 18 points in two days, 9 on Saturday and 9 on Sunday. And the two players I was thinking of dropping at the end of the week (Olli Jokinen and Kyle Qunicey) each had two points, justifying keeping them! What a way to end the week!

Week 16, Jan 23 - Feb 5[]

This week was a rematch against Andy, aka Sick Wristers. First a quick note on the seeming discrepancy in dating. This week was technically two calender weeks. The reason for this is because there was a five day period where no regular games were played due to the NHL All-Star Game. So technically, the week was a little longer, but only by two days. This week was pretty good for me, with my team coming out on top by a score of 8-3.

G: TRW - 7, SW - 12.
A: TRW - 23, SW - 15.
P: TRW - 30, SW - 27.
+/-: TRW - (-8), SW - 13.
PPP: TRW - 8, SW - 5.
SOG: TRW - 150, SW - 133.
HIT: TRW - 68, TRW - 98.
BLK: TRW - 54, SW - 45.
W: TRW - 5, SW - 3.
GAA: TRW - 1.65, SW - 1.92.
SV: TRW - 158, SW - 141.

This week was good in many respects, but a bit disappointing in others. My hits continue to flounder, which sucks, but my goaltending is finally coalescing. Hopefully I've finally got my goaltending team stabilized with Brodeur and Garon. This week also saw some calculated decisions. I sat both my goalies on Sunday, since Andy didn't have any playing and I was winning all three stats. If I had played them, I'd have had 7 wins and 207 saves, but I probably would have lost GAA. (Both Lundqvist and Brodeur allowed 2 goals) Players deserving of the spotlight for this week include Claude Giroux for his five points and Henrik Lundqvist for posting not one but two shutouts. For me this week (since I sat him Sunday), King Henrik had 2 wins, a 0.00 GAA, and 56 saves. Very nice!!!