The more famous John Madden pitches video games; this one only racks up points.

As we try to find a system that works for the “new” Treasure Hunting, as I will henceforth call it, we will continuously come back to the idea that made this column so popular last season: the predictions. Every once in a while we will try something new, such as our injury report last week or our “Over/Under” feature the week before, but we will consistently return to the meat and potatoes of the Treasure Hunting series here on Sports Grumblings.

One major difference, I’ve decided with the great authority that has been vested in me, is that unlike last year’s column, in which Hale previewed just two players each week, this year’s column will feature five players per week – one at each position. 

LW – Ryan Malone, Pittsburgh Penguins

In the past, fantasy breakdowns have always pointed to Sidney Crosby’s linemates as potential breakout candidates. Michel Ouellet, Colby Armstrong and Maxime Talbot have all gotten press somewhere or another for holding this distinction, and have had success to a degree. But none of the aforementioned players can say they’ve had the privilege of playing on a line with both Crosby and the Penguins’ other superstar, Evgeni Malkin. Enter Ryan Malone. With only two goals and three assists on the season so far, Malone is as good a breakout candidate as anyone in the league right now. Pens coach Michel Therrien has tossed around the idea of keeping Malkin and Crosby on a line together on a permanent basis, and has used Malone as the third forward since the line’s inception. Malone, a Pittsburgh native, has shown a bit of offensive talent in his own right in the past, and is probably the best candidate to stick with the big boys. He registered two assists on two Malkin goals in a game against Minnesota on October 30, which could be a prelude to bigger things. With just five points, Malone may be available on your waiver wire. Now might be a good time for an experimental flier.

C – John Madden, New Jersey Devils

When Brent Sutter took over the coaching reins from GM Lou Lamoriello at the start of the season, it marked the end of a long and painful era in New Jersey. Sure, three Stanley Cups in less than a decade were nice, but let’s face it, fans had more fun during the intermission “Human Score-O” contests than during the game itself. It was time for a change. As Sutter stepped in, out went the previous mantra of “defense first and only,” and in came a philosophy designed for scoring. And for one Devil, the timing couldn’t have been better. As former pivot Scott Gomez bolted for the other side of the river, checker-by-default John Madden was given an opportunity to step into a scorer’s role. So far this season, Madden is second on the team in scoring with five goals and five assists, while going +1 with two power-play goals, all while playing on a line with Jay Pandolfo and recently, Dainius Zubrus. If that doesn’t speak to his offensive abilities, nothing does. Madden was a prolific scorer in college at the University of Michigan, and once scored 98 points in a season with the AHL’s Albany River Rats. It looks like a sleeping giant may have been awakened in New Jersey.

RW – Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks

At this point, there’s almost no chance that Patrick Kane is available in your league or that you have much of a shot of stealing him from an opponent in a trade for a washed out Glen Murray. But we’d be remiss if we didn’t at least mention his red-hot start. In Blackhawks camp, all of the Calder Trophy attention was being paid to high-profile teammate Jonathan Toews, and while Toews has gotten off to a great start as well, his younger but just as skilled teammate has stolen the spotlight. Kane wasn’t even a lock to make the team out of camp, but is now leading the Blackhawks in scoring with five goals and 11 assists. The 18-year-old has registered points in all but three of Chicago’s 12 games so far this season, and is the early favorite for the Calder. Even when superstar Martin Havlat comes back, look for Kane to continue to get valuable power-play minutes and play in critical situations for the Blackhawks, who are more than desperate for a playoff spot. 

D – Brian Pothier, Washington Capitals

With the Tom Poti experiment not going as well as planned, the Capitals have fallen back on their old mainstay, Brian Pothier, as the team’s No. 1 defenceman. So far this season, Pothier has one goal, six assists, is +6 and has 12 PIMs, not bad fantasy numbers for a defenceman this early in the season. With the Capitals looking to have an improved team this year after adding some offensive pieces and with the maturation of Alex Ovechkin and Alexander Semin as leaders, it is looking like fantasy owners can start coming out of hiding and begin to pick up Washington players without as much fear as in the past. Pothier’s good plus/minus rating is a testament to the improvement the Caps have made to this point, and he has the potential to surprise some people with his numbers, especially if Poti continues to struggle with consistency and injury.

G – Tim Thomas, Boston Bruins

One look at the Bruin’s goaltending numbers this season and its evident who the starting netminder should be. But unfortunately for that goaltender, politics and supposed favoritism have prevented that from being the case. Veteran netminder Tim Thomas was supposed to be replaced by imported $4.3 million goalie Manny Fernandez at the start of the season, who even said he’d like to play at least 70% of the team’s games. Nonetheless, as the season began and Fernandez (2-2, 3.93 GAA, .832 SV%) struggled, the Bruins found themselves in an unusual situation. Thomas (4-2, 1.34 GAA, .957 SV%) was consistently winning games and playing Boston to near the top of the standings, but there was still pressure from above to play the more expensive goalie. However, another knee injury to Fernandez that will keep him out for at least the foreseeable future will give Thomas the chance to cement the starting job and give management no choice but to ride his super-hot hand.

Here’s a look at how our predictions from last week panned out.

C – Bryan Little, ATL – 0 goals, 0 assists, even, 0 PIMs, 2 shots, 11 faceoff wins
RW – Alex Kovalev, MTL – 2 goals, 1 assist, -3, 6 PIMs, 2 PPGs, 5 shots
LW – Peter Schaefer, BOS – 0 goals, 0 assists, -1, 0 PIMs, 4 shots
D – Adrian Aucoin, CGY – 0 goals, 1 assist, +1, 4 PIMs, 7 shots
G- Chris Osgood, DET – 3-0-0, .933 SV% (54 for 60), 1.33 GAA (Four goals allowed in three games)

So it looks like our first round was pretty hit-or-miss. Kovalev and Osgood had pretty decent weeks, while Little, Schaefer and Aucoin stunk up the place. Maybe we’ll keep a running count of hits and misses throughout the year. Or maybe we won’t. We’ll see.