Sunday, October 7, 2007

What a weekend!



Needless to say, a spectacular way to start the season--a home-and-home sweep of the Sabres.

I will have a full fantasy update following Wednesday's matchup with the Blueshirts, but for now, here are a few notes:

*The Fedotenko-Comrie-Guerin line is on fire. While Mike Comrie (4-2=6) and Bill Guerin (0-5=5) were likely drafted in your league, Ruslan Fedotenko (1-4=5) is a safe waiver pick-up. The trio lead the team with +3 ratings.

*Gerard Gallant has experimented with a number of PP combinations, among them:
Satan-Bergeron
Campoli-Bergeron
Fedotenko-Comrie-Guerin
Sim-Vasicek-Satan
Sim-Sillinger-Hunter

*Despite providing energy and hard hitting, Sean Bergenheim played just 3:11 Saturday. Ted Nolan has got to find a way to utilize him more than that. He had an assist in just 7:18 the night before.

*Jon Sim sprained his knee when he missed a hit on his signature all-out forecheck. He will be re-evaluated before Monday's game. If Bryan Berard is signed by then, look for the Isles to dress seven defensemen. Otherwise, Jeff Tambellini or Blake Comeau could get their first shot of the regular season.

*With the Sim injury, Nolan put Andy Hilbert back on the Sillinger-Hunter unit and Richard Park skated with Miroslav Satan and Josef Vasicek. Neither line missed a beat.

*Freddy Meyer has been waived, opening a spot for the signing of Berard, though nothing has been announced yet. If he's available, you might want to grab him before word gets out.

*With two PPG in two games, Chris Campoli is making a strong case to assume his spot on the top PP unit. He has looked strong in both ends of the ice, and leads Isles defensemen with a +2 rating. His well-timed pinches have resulted in hits and offensive opportunities. Campoli could be a solid fantasy pick-up, but if Berard takes his spot on the top PP unit, his production will falter. Obviously, don't expect him to maintain this goal-a-game pace regardless.

*Garth Snow followed up his signing of Radek Martinek by extending Richard Park's contract two more years. Another good decision by Snow. Park provides much more than he is often given credit for, including stellar PK play and versatility.

1 comment:

Carey303 said...

Tim, I really enjoy your analysis from more of a statistical perspective. Keep up the good work, look forward to learning a lot this season.