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Ice and Fire: Devils in the details
I'm aware I've mentioned the Devils in nearly every column this season. Maybe it's the fan in me, or it's who I'm forced to watch most nights -- by no one but myself, mind you. Some childhood devotion recalling Sean Burke, Pat Verbeek and Kirk Muller keep me coming back. The question running through my brain most nights is: Should I watch the Devils tonight, or a good game? This is a new regime led by a group of Pittsburgh boys in GM Ray Shero and new coach John Hynes, and they're not nearly as bad as I believed they would be. They play with good tempo and can sneak up on the opposition. These Devils aren't great, but they're not entirely awful either. Cory Schneider covers up a lot of holes on this team, and he's starting to prove his value in head-to-head leagues.
While it's not exactly the 9-0 start the Montreal Canadiens have put together, the Devils have reeled off four consecutive wins on the backs of Schneider and the top line of Adam Henrique, Mike Cammalleri and Lee Stempniak. The last of that trio has found himself in a tremendous situation, especially considering that he signed the week before the season started. Stempniak has produced a four-game point streak, with two goals and three helpers over that span. Cammalleri and Henrique have been red-hot as well, with a combined six goals and 15 points over the four-game run.
The Devils are unlikely to keep winning at this pace, but someone needs to score the goals for this team. Cammalleri has a track record of performing somewhat consistently over his well-traveled career, and despite his inconsistencies, Henrique has a 51-point rookie season and a 25-goal campaign under his belt. If either of these players is still kicking around your league's waiver wire, don't be afraid to snatch them up. The odds of them producing at a point-per-game clip for the remainder of the season are low, but how many other forwards in your league's waiver pool are going to see first-line minutes and heavy power-play time?
Another Devil to look at is Travis Zajac. No, he hasn't been reunited with Zach Parise in Minnesota. Remember, Zajac did produce consecutive 60-plus point seasons from 2008-10. Since then, he has been rather less productive offensively. Still regarded as one of the league's better faceoff men and a strong defensive forward, Zajac has two goals and four points in his last three games. He's not playing on the team's top trio as of yet, but is still seeing an average of 20:42 per evening and a solid 2:00 on the power play. Zajac's not going to score 30 goals or rake in 60 points, but those in extremely deep leagues looking for help at center should give him a look.
Domi doing it
Max Domi continues to produce. The amazingly talented rookie sits with nine points through eight games, and he has failed to register a point in just two contests. He has an assist in each of the last three games.
Like most rookies, Domi will have some valleys to go with these peaks. The Coyotes are not a team on many Fantasy radars outside of Oliver Ekman-Larsson, but this group is garnering attention. Mike Smith has turned out to be a huge value in goal for now, and Mikkel Boedker grabbed a hat trick Saturday evening.
Bearing fruit
Two players who figured prominently in the 2012 World Junior tournament have been enjoying rather nice starts to the season. Mika Zibanejad of Ottawa sits with two goals and five points through eight games.
Evgeny Kuznetsov has grabbed nine points in the last three games. This is the man who committed the egregious faux pas of showing joy after scoring his hat-trick goal in 2012's semifinal win over Canada, something the Canadian media will never allow him to live down. However, he and the Capitals put on quite the offensive display Friday evening in Edmonton, with Kuznetsov again scoring three goals and adding two assists for good measure.
Both Kuznetsov and Zibanejad are likely owned in your leagues, but these players have been projected to be impact offensive forces for several years now, so this will likely end up being the last year that you could grab them at a bargain -- it'll be retail price from now on. It might be a good time to sell high on Kuznetsov; if someone is willing to offer you a boatload of talent in response to that five-point game, by all means, consider the offer. It's always difficult to decide whether to deal a hot commodity on the heels of an explosion. Weigh your options carefully.
Good grief
Minnesota defenseman Jared Spurgeon is in the midst of his yearly outburst, teasing Fantasy owners worse than Lucy convincing Charlie Brown he will actually get to kick the football. Spurgeon had two assists in consecutive games, then didn't register a point during Sunday's 5-4 loss to Winnipeg, in which he managed to finish a minus-5. Yes, Spurgeon was on the ice for every one of Winnipeg's goals. He saw 2:22 of power-play time in the loss, and just one of his four assists on the season has come on the man advantage. Spurgeon can jump onto the scene for several games at a time before disappearing off the scoresheet for much longer stretches. Offensive consistency isn't his strong suit, and he has a modest seven shots in eight contests. Let someone else think this is the year Lucy won't move the football.
Smashville
While we're on the topic of smaller defensemen (Spurgeon) and former Windsor Spitfires (Henrique), Ryan Ellis is fighting for space on a crowded Nashville blue line, and he earned a goal and two assists in last Thursday's win over Anaheim.
He has four points through seven games, but of course, much of that came in that one game against the Ducks. Still, Ellis is averaging 2:16 of power-play time and more than two shots on goal per game (17 in seven), and he has a staggering 61.7 percent offensive-zone-start rate. Roman Josi, Shea Weber and Seth Jones are significant roadblocks to Ellis potentially breaking out, but this kid has a first-round pedigree (11th overall in 2009) and once notched 101 points in juniors. The telltale signs are there for Ellis to produce regularly, but whether it will come could be determined by his teammates. Nashville has scored 23 goals this season, with five on the power play -- that's the area where Ellis will have to capitalize to return major Fantasy value.
Final notes
In case you missed it, Don Cherry informed Blue Jays fans that their loss to the Royals in the ALCS had nothing to do with the team's inability to produce with runners in scoring position, nor with presumptive American League MVP Josh Donaldson failing to have the greatest series; it was because of the umpires. However, his Twitter rant was even more memorable, with Cherry saying that the Canadian team, made up of mostly American players, would mean poor ratings in the United States for Fox and therefore was not allowed to win. There are bonus snarky comments about hockey's advanced stats as well.
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Player Bio
| HT/WT: 6-2, 240 lbs |
| Birthplace: Trumbull, CT, USA |
| Age: 30 |
| School: Villanova |
| Experience: 1 |