Stamkos snipes his way onto the DF Fantasy Team of the Week
We are nearing March in this shortened NHL season and teams are closing in on the 20-game mark. How is your fantasy team doing? Did you think you had tons of potential at the start of the year but are sitting at the bottom of the standings like the Rangers? Are you battling injuries but still squeaking out wins like the Senators? Have you had historically bad teams but are competing for the playoffs like the Maple Leafs? (Sorry Leafs fans) There is still a few weeks left of the Fantasy regular season and time to make up ground, I’m sure if you have some of the players on this week’s DailyFaceoff Fantasy Team of the Week you’re not doing too bad! Remember this team will be based off of the usual fantasy scoring categories and players that excelled across the board. Skaters – (G, A, +/-, SOG, GWG, SHG, PPP) Goalies – (W, GAA, SV%, SO)
C -Steven Stamkos – Tampa Bay Lightning
It was only a matter of time before Stamkos was on this team. All the guy does is light the lamp… What more could you want out of a fantasy player? He had four games this past week so I’m sure his fantasy owners were expecting big things, and he didn’t let you down. Stamkos registered one goal in all four games and added four assists to give him eight points on the week. Surprisingly of his eight points only one of them came on the power-play but Stamkos is a sniper and always provides you with shots on goal and this week he rifled 11 shots at opposing netminders. If you have Stammer along with either of his wingers Cory Conacher or Teddy Purcell it was definitely a good week for you. Conacher has two goals and two assists and Purcell assisted on three of his lines six goals.
LW – Wayne Simmonds – Philadelphia Flyers
Simmonds is everything you want in a power-forward. He scores, he hits and he fights. If you somehow have Gordie Howe Hatricks (Goal, Assist and a Fight) as a scoring category in your league, then Simmonds was the man this week! He recorded two Gordie Howe Hatricks in three games. He had three goals and three assists but was only a +1 because the Flyers gave up 13 goals to the opposition this week. Simmonds also had a game-winning goal, two power-play points, eight shots on goal and if you’re in a league that counts penalty minutes then his two fights added up to 10 PIMS. All of that in three games over a four-day span.
RW – Jakub Voracek – Philadelphia Flyers
Voracek has been on fire lately, after putting up four assists on February 18 he rode that into this week scoring four times including a hatrick vs. Pittsburgh. He added another three assists giving him eight in five games. I think Flyers head coach Peter Laviolette is pretty excited about how well Voracek has played since being moved to the top-line with Claude Giroux. Of his seven points this week four of them came via the power-play and he was a +3 with a game-winner to cap off a very strong offensive week for the Flyers. It appears as if Voracek is finally living up to his potential Columbus thought they were getting when they took him with the seventh overall pick in 2007.
D – Niklas Kronwall – Detroit Red Wings
Losing Nicklas Lidstrom was a big deal for the Red Wings coming into this season but Kronwall has done a good job of easing the pain for Wings fans. He has an absolute cannon from the point making him lethal on the power-play and a very exciting fantasy option. Kronwall had a goal and five assists to go along with a healthy +5 rating in four games this week, although all the production came in their two weekend games vs. Nashville and Vancouver. He registered six shots this week and picked up three power-play points to give him 10 PPP on the year which ranks him second amongst NHL defenceman in that category.
D – Francois Beauchemin – Anaheim Ducks
There could have been a few other players that took this spot this week because Beauchemin’s numbers aren’t off the charts but what is most impressive is that he did it all in only two games. He didn’t score a goal but threw three shots on goal in each contest and spread the love recording five assists including four vs. Colorado. The best part about his five assists is that four of them were on the power-play. Beauchemin continues his strong season and as of February 24 he has two goals, nine assists and leads all NHL players with a +15 rating. Him and Sheldon Souray continue to be reliable fantasy options.
G – Tuukka Rask – Boston Bruins
It was a weird week for goalies because a lot of backups made starts. An honorable mention has to go to Ben Bishop who played very well after Craig Anderson went down with an injury. However Rask continues to take the fantasy world by storm… I mean the guy just can’t lose! The Bruins have played less games than anyone in the NHL at this point so making Rask more valuable going forward. Rask only had two games this week but he won them both with ease. He went 2-0-0 with a 1.50 GAA and a .951 SV% with 4-2 and 4-1 wins over Tampa Bay and Florida.
Feel free to leave comments about who you think should have made this weeks DailyFaceoff Fantasy Team of the Week!
Editor’s Note: The publishing was delayed until Wednesday due to our Free Roll promotion. In the future, if there are no conflicts, the Team of the Week will go up on Mondays.