| Fantasy Hockey Grumblings: The Second Season |
| By Fantasy Forecaster |
Published
04/8/2008
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Fantasy Hockey Grumblings
| Unrated
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Fantasy Forecaster
FANTASY SPORTS SERVICES INC. is a sports editorial, statistical
information and fantasy games company that specializes in interactive content
and games for sports fans.
View all articles by Fantasy Forecaster
Ovechkin topped out...
Rumors, moves, injuries and newsmakers...
After
1,230 regular-season contests, the stage is finally set for the second
season. In the Eastern Conference, the match-ups are: Bruins vs. Habs,
Senators vs. Penguins, Flyers vs. Capitals and Rangers vs. Devils. In
the West, the Predators face the Red Wings, the Flames square off
against the Sharks, the Avs meet with the Wild and the Stars tackle the
Ducks. Who will hoist Lord Stanley's precious hardware?
THE SECOND SEASON IS HERE!
MONTREAL VS. BOSTON
It's an Original-6 matchup as the Habs take on the Bruins. Captain Saku Koivu is questionable for Montreal for the opener because a broken foot, while Boston's top scorer Marc Savard is questionable with a fractured bone in his back.
PITTSBURGH VS. OTTAWA
In a rematch of last season's first-round battle, the two teams
have a completely different look. The Pens have added a weapon to their
arsenal in former Senator Marian Hossa, whereas the Sens are down a couple of weapons as both Daniel Alfredsson and Mike Fisher are out with knee injuries.
WASHINGTON VS. PHILADELPHIA
Just days ago, the Capitals were out of the playoffs, and now they are
the third seed. They take on the Flyers in a battle of teams who did
not make the postseason in 2007. The Flyers boast nine players with 40
points or more and three with 70 or more. The Caps have just one player
who posted more than 70 points--Alexander Ovechkin topped that mark by a wide margin with 112.
NEW JERSEY VS. NY RANGERS
The Rangers roll into this one going 13-3-5 in the final quarter, but
the Devils boast a solid 7-3 overtime record this season. It's a
classic case of a hot team versus a clutch team in what is sure to be a
heated battle between two rivals. New York's Scott Gomez hopes to stick it to his former team, while New Jersey's Karel Rachunek hopes to do the same to his.
DETROIT VS. NASHVILLE
While Detroit has several players battling groin injuries--(Tomas Holmstrom, Mikael Samuelsson, Kris Draper)--, the Preds will be without center David Legwand,
who is still recovering from a foot injury. Neither team holds an edge
in overtime, as Detroit went just 2-2 in regular season OT versus
Nashville's 5-4 record.
SAN JOSE VS. CALGARY
The Flames have their hands full taking on the Sharks in the first round, but is there a bigger clutch player than Jarome Iginla?
That being said, no team can say that they finished the final quarter
of the season with an 18-1-2 record like San Jose did. The turning
point for them was the acquisition of defenseman Brian Campbell at the trade deadline.
MINNESOTA VS. COLORADO
If it was five or six years ago, the Wild should be very scared. Peter Forsberg, Joe Sakic, Adam Foote? Fortunately for them, it's 2008 and those players are not as formidable as they once were. Now it's up to the likes of Marian Gaborik and Pavol Demitra to prove it to them.
ANAHEIM VS. DALLAS
A tough break for the Stars. Last year it was Roberto Luongo and the Canucks. This year, it's the defending champion Ducks. Will the emergence of Mike Ribeiro and the addition of Brad Richards give them enough offense to overcome the absence of Sergei Zubov, who is out after undergoing hernia surgery?
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