My team as currently constituted:
C - Nicklas Backstrom, WSH
C - Mike Ribeiro, WSH
C - Jeff Carter, LA
W - Daniel Sedin, VAN
W - James Neal, PIT
W - Jarome Iginla, PIT
D - PK Subban, MON
D - Andrei Markov, MON
D - Brian Campbell, FLA
D - Cody Franson, TOR
G - Jimmy Howard, DET
G - Cory Schneider, VAN
Bench - Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, EDM
Bench - Wayne Simmonds, PHI
Bench - Chris Stewart, STL
Bench - Craig Anderson, OTT
As things currently stand, I'm neck-and-neck in between 3rd and 4th place. And that's actually pretty remarkable given Daniel Sedin's pathetic numbers this season. With only 29 points in 35 games, the guy's been killing me. I took him with the #4 overall pick (just my luck, of course, to miss out on Crosby, Stamkos & Malkin) and he has NOT delivered so far this season. I would say that I hope he can pick up the pace in the homestretch, but since I have him benched for the week, it would probably just piss me off if he did.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (EDM), on the other hand, is a player I am holding out hope for. I recently dropped Ryan O'Reilly (COL) to pick him up and he's posted 7 points in the last 4 games. So, it looks like he could be shaking off his sophomore slump. Here's to hoping, at least.
Jarome Iginla (PIT) is another player who could potentially put me over the top. If he picks up the slack for the Penguins, left in the wake of the injury suffered by Sydney Crosby, he could potentially finish REALLY strong -- stronger than he has in years, like the good ol' days, back when he was threatening 100 pts. per season. Then again, the move may not affect his numbers all that much, but I find that hard to believe now that he's skating with Malkin & Neal. He's in my lineup for the week, so I'm banking on big numbers.
But then again, the problem with my team is not points. I'm ranked #1 in goals scored and #4 in assists, so I'm doing pretty well in that regard. My problem is +/-. I've more or less booted that category entirely, which is a shame, because I'd obviously be in much better shape right now if I hadn't. But by drafting players like Brian Campbell (FLA) and Jack Johnson (CLS) to start the season, it was pretty much a foregone conclusion that I wasn't going to be much of a threat in that category.
However, I had cut both Campbell and Johnson several weeks ago when I picked up Paul Martin (PIT) and Cody Franson (TOR), hoping to reclaim some lost ground. But the deficit turned out to be too much to overcome. I'm currently languishing at -10, whereas the next placed team is sitting on a +12. So, when Martin went down with a season-ending injury last week, I ended up re-signing Brian Campbell from the waiver-wire (he was still there, regardless of all of his points, BECAUSE of his wretched plus/minus). Mind you, before I added Martin & Franson I was dead in the water with a -22, but with so few games left in the season, I don't see myself gaining a +23 in that time (and even if I did, I'd only gain 1 point in the standings). So, Campbell's back in my lineup and I don't give a shit anymore (oddly enough, Jack Johnson was claimed off waivers but Campbell never was, even though he's been far more valuable this season -- go figure).
As for my goalie situation -- Jimmy Howard (DET) & Cory Schneider (VAN) have been coming on strong lately (barring the last two nights, in which they both got scored on pretty hard). But Craig Anderson is killing me. He was the #1 ranked goalie when he was healthy, and the Senators' goalies have been cleaning up while he's been out. So, I'm just waiting for him to get back in between the pipes and start blanking teams again. Of course, ankle injuries can be tricky for goalies, but few people thought he'd be out as long as he has been. Luckily I didn't trade Schneider earlier in the season when I thought I had the leverage.
All in all, I'm fairly happy with my team. I'm in a decent position to make a run in the final few weeks of the season. But it won't be easy. The 1st place team is ranked 12 points ahead of me, but that's worse than it looks, because we're separated by only a couple of points in each category. So there's plenty of room for a run.
+NHL
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