Fantasy Hockey Monday: Week 5 Recap

I lost for the first time in the AAtJ league, mostly thanks to Yahoo being a terrible site and for some reason not putting Mike Condon into my lineup even though I picked him up Sunday night and started him. I'm officially announcing that ESPN's fantasy site is far superior. It's the first time I praised ESPN for anything in probably 8 years. Anyway, there are no longer any undefeated teams, as Nick D'Alessio's Russian Snipers also lost their first.

There were some big injuries this week. Perhaps you heard about the first one. Connor McDavid is out for months with a broken collar bone, which stinks for your fantasy team, stinks for the Oilers, and sort of stinks for hockey in general. Not surprising it happened against the disgusting Flyers. Zach Parise is week-to-week. I don't root for anyone to get hurt, but whatever, Zach, you Benedict A-hole. You're on my AAtJ fantasy team and I still don't care. Rick Nash is day-to-day with injury right now, too. Not that it matters much, since he hasn't been doing a whole lot fantasy wise so far. Carey Price is still out, too.

Anyway, here are the two and four game teams, so plan your lineups accordingly if you're in a weekly league. Luckily there are only 2 teams with only 2 games:

Two Game Teams: Boston, Montreal

Four Game Teams: Arizona, Calgary, New York Rangers, Toronto

THREE STARS

Interesting notes: Milan Lucic had 24 hits this week, averaging 6/game. That's video game numbers. Patrice Bergeron had 20 shots this week in 4 games, almost doubling his total for the season. Alex Ovechkin at 21 shots in 3 games, which really isn't surprising at all, I guess, but still a lot.

Forwards

* Patrick Kane - 4 Goals (1 PPG), 5 Assists, 18 Shots, +6

9 points. In one week. There's an owner in my category league whose entire team only had 11 points. Kane is currently on a 10 game point streak and only 2 Blackhawks games have passed where he didn't notch a point. He is our first Forward to earn a 2nd Star of the Week.

** Tyler Seguin - 4 Goals (2 PPG, 1 GWG), 3 Assists (1 PPA), 18 Shots

I'm not saying this means a whole lot because we're not even 1/5 of the way into the season yet, but Seguin is on pace for 357 shots and 123 points. I said he has potential to be the #1 fantasy player in the league, and thus far he has been.

*** Kyle Palmieri - 2 Goals (1 PPG, 1 GWG), 3 Assists (1 PPA), 9 Shots, 9 Hits

A DEVIL! A DEVIL! A DEVIL! I debated Corey Perry here, who had an almost identical week as Palms, but Palms outshot Perrs by 2 and out hit him by 6. Plus, A DEVIL! A DEVIL! A DEVIL! High-fives to me for adding him to my team last week. His OT PP GWG Sunday night gave me a win.

Rankings: 5 Points - Patrick Kane, 3 Points - 4 guys tied

Defensemen

* Erik Johnson - 1 Goal (1 SHG), 2 Assists, 11 Shots, 10 Hits, 6 Blocks

While 3 points isn't amazing, I love that his goal was a shortie. I also like the spread on the back end. That's a solid defensive category output.

** Brent Seabrook - 1 Goal, 2 Assists (1 PPA), 12 Shots, 9 Blocks

Seabrook isn't generally a premiere fantasy asset. I mean, he only had 31 points all of last year. He's more of a solid 3 or 4 defenseman, but he is holding down the fort in Chicago really well while Duncan Keith is out. He was riding a 7 game point streak until he met our beloved Devils on Friday night, but got right back on the board with an assist in the following game.

*** John Klingberg - 4 Assists (3 PPA), 8 Shots, 6 Hits, +4

The fact that 3 of his 4 points came on the power play is a nice thing , but not really much else to get excited about. I do think he could be a stud in a couple years and this is his 2nd Star of the Week in a row (3rd star last week, too). It's helpful that the Dallas Stars are playing exceptional hockey right now. I'll admit that I don't watch them much, so I don't know if he's a reason why or not. Sorry, I guess, but it's hockey in Texas.

Goalies

* Craig Anderson - 2 Starts, 2 Wins, 74 Saves, 1.43 GAA, .961 SV%

Two starts, two terrific performances. He made 36 saves and stole a W from Mike Condon and the Montreal Canadiens, then followed that up two days later with a 38 save win against Winnipeg. Anderson is up and down all the time, though, so I fully expect him to get shellacked at least one time in the coming week.

** Henrik Lundqvist - 2 Starts, 2 Wins, 61 Saves, 1.50 GAA, .953 SV%

The #2 goalie on my preseason top 10 goalies list is the #2 this week for his 2nd Star of the Week nod (3rd star in week 1). He's now won 3 straight starts and 4 of his last 5. His only loss was against the Flyers when he gave up just 2 goals on 48 shots. He hasn't given up more than 3 goals in a game in almost a month (3 GA against the Jets on 10/13). Man, I hate him and his stupid team.

*** Kari Lehtonen - 3 Starts, 3 Wins, 87 Saves, 1.67 GAA, 94.5 SV%

3 starts, 3 wins. Pretty good for a guy who sat the previous 4 games, and 6 of the previous 7. The one game he did play in that string, he gave up 3 goals and made just 8 saves against the Panthers.

WAIVER WIRE

Kyle Palmieri (RW-NJ) - Last two weeks, 6 Games, 4 Goals, 5 Assists, 15 Shots, 15 Hits

He's buzzing. Nab him up while the nabbing's good. He was owned in 23.6% of leagues last Monday, but now he's up to 67.7%. I think he's the clear 2nd most offensively talented player on our team.

Sam Bennett (C, LW-CGY) - Last 6 games, 3 Goals (1 PPG), 5 Assists (1 PPA), 11 Shots, 11 Hits

He is a highly talented player, and lately he's been playing like I expect him to play two years from now on a consistent basis. He's just 19-years-old, so there is a lot of room for him to grow. He's currently skating on the 2nd line and has been seeing 17 minutes of ice time per game these last two weeks. I was really surprised to see that he's owned in just 10.7% of leagues. I think it's literally because his name doesn't stand out. He sounds more like a 2nd string running back for the Packers than he does an offensive hockey talent. There's a good chance if you get him now, you may not be dropping him the rest of the season. Only one way to find out.

David Desharnais (C-MTL)  - Last two weeks, 8 Games, 4 Goals (1 PPG, 2 GWG), 4 Assists, 12 Shots

He's got 3 goals and 4 assists in the last 5 games, which is pretty good, especially for a 3rd line guy. That last fact is sort of my concern with this guy, though. He's a 3 center, so he's not going to continue to see the amount of ice time he's been seeing recently. Plus he doesn't even average 1.5 shots per game. Point being, he's playing a little above his actual worth. He's only eligible at center, so that withers his value a bit, too. I had to mention him, though, since he's playing so well.

Oscar Lindberg (C-NYR) - Last two weeks - 6 Games, 3 Goals, 3 Assists (1 PPA), 14 Shots, 15 Hits

He's on 3 game point streak, notching 2 and 2. I like that he's finding the score sheet with a fair consistency. He has 7 goals and 4 assists in 14 games so far, with 25 shots and 30 hits. He's only skating 12 and a half minutes per game, though, and his limited minutes come at center.

Kari Lehtonen (G-DAL) - This week - 3 Starts, 3 Wins, 87 Saves, 94.5 SV%

It looks like "Lettin' 'Em In" is the official starter in Dallas, so if you're in need of a goalie, I'd get him on your team. They're playing really well, and so is he. I like to think he's righting the ship a bit. The other bonus is that his competitor, Antii Niemi, isn't great, so the job is Kari's to lose.

DEVILS FANTASY VALUE

Kyle Palmieri (RW) - See stats above

I just thought I'd mention him again here to get the hat trick. I may be changing my tune about Cammy being the only Devil skater worth owning.

Lee Stempniak (RW) - 3 Games, 1 Goal, 3 Assists (1 PPA), 4 Shots, 5 Hits

He's still chugging along and turning in some nice stat-lines. He's still available in a quarter of the leagues, so get him if you have room for him.

Travis Zajac (C) - 3 Games, 2 Goals (1 PPG, 1 GWG), 2 Assists, 2 Shots

He hit the net twice this week and they both went in. He's scored 4 goals on his last 5 shots. Lucky. He is currently scoring every 3rd shot (6 goals, 18 shots). That obviously isn't going to continue.

Mike Cammalleri (LW) - 2 Goals, 1 Assist (1 PPA), 6 Shots, 4 Hits

He's owned in 100% of leagues, so if you want him, you're going to have to trade to get him.

Sergey Kalinin - Scored.

I mention it only because he's the only other Devil to score a goal this week besides the above mentioned players and Adam Henrique. Point being, we're not very deep. His photo-bomb in this article's photo is in honor of his stat sheet bombing. "Wait, I didn't even know Kalinin was even at the party!"

What's good? What's bad? Let's see it below in the comments, friends.