With all but the slimmest of margins already decided in roto leagues and the final few days remaining in head-to-head playoffs, this blog is dedicated to all those who are still fighting for position as the NHL's regular season draws to a close. I've got two players that have sown a love-hate-love relationship among the fantasy hockey populace this season and both have elected to close the season out in righteous fashion. I've also got two players whom the contributors to this blog have been harping on for the past few months but who are still widely underowned, and both of these gents can also do some damage in the remaining contests.
Our first roller-coaster technician is Jonathan Quick, the Los Angeles Kings' goalie who transformed from the fellow keeping Jonathan Bernier's seat warm into a legitimate NHL starting goaltender this year. He burst on the scene in December, and was all over the place in terms of performance. He was better as a roto option than a head-to-head one at first, since it seemed he either scored a shutout or allowed four goals, and one of those latter types could kill weekly ratios. Lately though, as the spring flowers begin to bloom, Quick has blossomed into a consistently reliable goaltender, and the only folks who really hate him anymore are Edmonton Oilers fans, after his 38-save effort Tuesday eliminated their team from playoff contention. In his past eight games, Quick has surrendered 15 goals total, and if you discount a bad performance against the Predators in which he saved only 24 of 28 shots, that's 11 goals against in the past seven. The Kings play two more games: They'll travel to Vancouver on Thursday before closing out the season on Saturday afternoon against San Jose. One trend will change for Quick on Thursday: Either his hot streak or his streak of poor play against the Canucks will come to an end. Earlier this month, the Canucks scored six goals combined in two games against Quick, whose save percentage was just .897 in those two contests. Quick has yet to play against San Jose this season, but the Sharks should have home-ice advantage wrapped up by Saturday so the Kings could be facing a watered-down version of the Sharks … Wait, aren't all Sharks technically "watered-down"?
The only watering down the next player in the hopper has done is to dash the hopes of some teams struggling for position in the Eastern Conference playoff race. Alex Auld had a hot start to the season, but struggled midway through. But in his past five starts, he has allowed just 10 goals total, and on 151 shots that's a 0.934 save percentage, lads and gals. That is way better than what, say, Martin Brodeur has done for us lately. Oh, look who's visiting Scotiabank Place on Thursday. Auld has been generous to the Devils this season, giving up nine goals in two games, but the Devils aren't exactly playing well as of late, as documented one week ago in this space, and as seen Tuesday night when they managed just one goal on 48 shots against Martin Gerber. Gerber had let in six goals in each of the two games prior, so that gives you an idea of the ineptitude of the Devils' offense. The Sens will then close out their season with a visit to Maple Leaf Gard … err, Air Canada Centre, and Auld is 1-1 against Toronto this season with four goals against total. He is a great play for both games if he gets the nod for the start.
While the two goalies listed above have had fluctuating value, both David Backes and Alexandre Burrows have been razor sharp as the season has wound down, and I'd expect nothing less in the last couple games for either. Backes will finish 2008-09 at better than 30 goals and 160 penalty minutes. You may wonder how many other power forwards put up those kinds of stats this season. Here's a hint: none. Scott Hartnell, a player who is universally owned and whose average draft position in ESPN leagues was 61.6, has an even 30 goals so far, but only 137 penalty minutes. At the youthful age of 24 and on a St. Louis Blues team that is poised to get better and better in the next few years, Backes is a monster for keeper leagues and should add another goal or two along with some penalties in the final two games against the Blue Jackets and Avalanche as the Blues fight for one of the final two spots in the playoffs. Burrows, whose Canucks have already clinched a spot in the playoffs, is doing some fighting of another kind as of late, and he earned his fantasy owners a cool 14 minutes five nights ago when he decided to punch Oilers enforcer Zach Stortini from the bench. It was a throwback move, harkening to the movie "Slap Shot," but NHL disciplinarian Colin Campbell didn't appreciate it as much as everyone else and fined Burrows $2,500. Nevertheless, expect Burrows to continue his killer play for the team's final two games, as the Canucks will host Quick and the Kings before closing out at the Avalanche.
Ice Chips
After a brilliant run of late, Nikolai Khabibulin issued the Columbus Blue Jackets franchise their first-ever tickets to the postseason by allowing four goals on just 23 shots Wednesday night. The Blackhawks are off until the weekend, when they'll close out 2008-09 with a home-and-home against Detroit. With both teams all but entirely locked into their current playoff seeds, there could be some seldom-seen faces on the ice. Expect the Bulin Wall to take one of these starts and Cristobal Huet to take the other. … For those looking to the future, Maple Leafs center Christian Hanson -- son of Dave Hanson of "Slap Shot" fame -- scored his second NHL point during the Leafs' loss to the Sabres. Hanson was a reasonably effective scorer for Notre Dame this past season, with 31 points in 37 games, but he'll have to start throwing his 228-pound frame around a bit more if he wants to live up to the legendary surname.
