Sorry about the lack of an article last week but considering there were no games going on and it was Thanksgiving day, I figured I'd give it a rest...just once. In any case, hope things went well with your Thanksgiving since we'll be giving a focus on some players for each playing position (forwards, defenseman, goalie) who are mostly owned in leagues and are either stinking it up or shooting for the stars for the past couple of weeks.
Hotter than a Dodongo's breath:
Evander Kane, Jets (6 G, 1 A, +3, 6 PIM, 1 PPP, 34 SOG) - What a find he has turned out to be this season and there seems to be no slowing down for the power forward. It's interesting that when Kane contributes to the score sheet in some way, the Jets are more likely to win. People who had him on the cheap can sit back and relax because the ride is just getting started for the 20 year old winger (plus he's got an awesome name). He should be owned in most, if not all leagues, but if he isn't make room for him!
More hot and cold players after the jump...
Sergei Gonchar, Senators (0 G, 5 A, +4 6 PIM, 2 PPP, 10 SOG) - Another gem in a rough land of underperforming players, Gonchar has been great for anyone who took a chance on him. He's had a long, long history of getting injured but considering he's owned in most leagues but not all leagues with the year he's had so far, there's no reason that you shouldn't take a chance on him if he's available so long as he stays away from the injury bug. Something else to consider, he's playing for the Senators who aren't performing well lately.
Mike Smith, Coyotes (4 Wins, 2 GAA, .939 Sv% 1 shutout) - There must be something in the Phoenix water that makes decent to good goaltenders to suddenly become pretty good. Smith is having an outstanding season overall and there's no excuse that he is not universally owned out there considering the amount of goalie controversies and injuries going on. He makes for an excellent goalie for the time being and the longer he goes like this, the more it's going to be harder to resist the temptation to play him.
Cooler than an ice bat (seriously, how cool is that?!)
Bobby Ryan, Ducks (2 G, 1 A, -8, 2 PIM, 1 PPP, 17 SOG) - What a crappy year for the talented winger. There's no sign he's injured so it's easy to say he's just plain struggling along with the rest of the Ducks. Now that Bruce Boudreau is the coach, this might be a good opportunity to see if you could still get Ryan on the cheap since he's still only 24 years old and quite talented so there's no reason to think he'll never rebound from his crappy year.
Drew Doughty, Kings (0 G, 0 A, -2, 4 PIM, 0 PPP, 13 SOG) - This one stings a bit since the last time he contributed to the score sheet was November 10th. Ouch. Much like Bobby Ryan owners, Doughty owners will have to keep toughing this out since he's too talented to keep this slump up for long. Another good player to try and buy low.
Pekka Rinne, Predators (1 Win, 2.99 GAA, .910 Sv%) - Sure, the stats don't seem bad but he's been pulled in 2 games in the past 14 days, including the game tonight when he allowed 5 goals in 30 minutes. This can be attributed to poor play on his part and some of the blame to the team struggling to find consistency and the score sheet. Not sure I would buy low at this point since it's falling on the fault of Rinne making the saves rather than the team struggling to help him.
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