Really solid article. tons of fantasy gems in there.

Agreed. Couple of questions:

Boyle - are his goals garbage goals? They did a thing on CBC a few weeks ago where he had been working on his skating all summer. Is this a case of a big guy with obvious skill (look at his junor stats) getting the wheels to keep up with the pro game? Is he scoring nice goals? Or is it a case of a big guy getting a hot streak on garbage goals in front of the net (not to say that's bad - look at Thomas Holmstrom)...Is this a case of a big guy finally getting coordinated and a sign of things to come, or is it dumb luck?

Kreider - you say he's being used in a secondary role...how was he used last year? Do you think his stats are a reflection of a worse role on the team, or is he playing worse?

Thanks - great posts.

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12 Tm Keeper League
3-6 C 6-9 Wing 6-7D 2G
P,A,+/-,PIM,PPG,GA,Saves

C: Malkin, Berglund, Briere, Stepan, J. Jokinen, Brunner
W: Boedker, Oshie, Clarkson, Downie, Hudler, JVR, Sharp, Fleischmann, Galchenyuk
D: Giordano, Bogosian, Yandle, Gilbert, Pietrangelo, Myers, Campbell, Blum
G: Price, Niemi

Farm:
C: Nyquist, Bjugstad
W: Bennett, Coyle
D: Trouba
G: Greiss, Holtby

Thanks for reading my posts man!

Boyle worked in the offseason with a former olympic skater Barbara Underhill to improve every part of his stride. He's skating a lot harder and is being a lot more aggresive on the puck and off the puck. He's added consistent hitting to his game as for the first time in his NHL career hes using his size. As for his goals, hes not scoring garbage goals...he's finding a different way to put it in the back of the net on every goal. Lots of his goals have been on 2 on 1s and just finding the hole in the goalie...I wouldn't expect him to keep up this pace of course but I could see him finishing this year with 20ish goals. The reason for the slowdown would be due to his depleting role once Drury and Prospal get back. He's definently on the right track and should be a 50 pt player within a few years. I couldn't see him being anywhere above 60 just cause hes more of a grinder than a sniper.

Kreider - from everything I've read (hard to watch BC games in Ottawa ), hes been rather lacksy-daisy on lots of shifts and looks invisible for the most part. Hes been playing with Kevin and Jimmy Hayes but the brothers haven't been able to create anything. I think its on him right now. Hes supposed to be able to create offense as hes been known for his speed and slick shot but he isn't doing anything. I think we'll be waiting quite a while for Kreider to make it to the show.

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Thanks a lot man and welcome to Dobber!

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Today at practice these were the lines:

Dubinsky-Stepan-Gaborik
Fedotenko-Boyle-Callahan
Frolov-Anisimov-Prust

That doesn't bode well for Frolov owners...also anyone who was expecting long term production out of Callahan for this season might have to look elsewhere. I assume he tossed Dubinsky on the top line to get Gaborik going as he's been invisible lately (still has 4 pts in last 5 though). I think this shows that Dubinsky is in Torts favour (playing 20+ minutes also) and I expect him to have his best campaign yet (28G+26A).

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littleranger whats your take on Dubinsky and Callahans upside? Can both of them hit 60pts this year or is that expecting too much offense from the Rangers; considering Gaborik should be at his usual PPG pace.

Seems every time I hear Tortorella talk about his team he praises those 2, have they taken the next step? or was this just a hot start?

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10 Team Roto Keeper League; 20 Keepers; Start 3C,3LW,3RW,1U,5D,2G
Stats: G,A,Pts,ppg,ppa,pims,+/- ; W,sv%,svs
C: Sedin, Kopitar, Krejci, J.Stall, Stastny, Galchenyuk
LW: Sedin, Hall, Vanek, Prust, Dubinsky
RW: Seguin, Pacioretty, Clarkson, Kassian
D: Subban, Doughty, Kronwall, J.Johnson, Faulk
G: Price, Quick, Varlamov, Vokoun

Dubinsky - As I just posted I think Dubinsky should be around 55-60 pts this year. 60 isn't out of reach. He'll be used in a secondary role once Prospal is back due to Tort's favourtism of the Gaborik-Prospal duo. But, towards the end of last season Gabby and Prospal were split up...so that could leave a hole for Dubi. Dubi is just a hard working-never take a shift off player. I must say that Dubinsky is playing a lot better offensively compared to his past and I would not be surprised if he reached 30 goals (thats a lot of optimism!).

Callahan - This guy is a Torts favourite simply because every shift he gets at least one hit, one shot on goal or one blocked shot. Simply put: he's noticeable on every shift. The problem with Callahan is that he'll always be behind Gaborik or the next superstar that comes to NY on the depth chart. He's more of a PK guy with not much of a scoring touch. I can't count how many opportunities he's missed this season. For Cally, I'd expect around a 50 pt season with 20 goals. Another thing is that the Rangers are almost cash strapped after spending on superstars so the 2nd line is always either prospects or try-out over-the-hill vets (no offense Fedotenko hes been playing well).

Hope that answers your question! Thanks for checking out the Rangers thread!

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I keep reading today that the Flames have Sean Avery to thank for their win! Way to go Sean! Stirring up some contraversy when hes not even in the game!

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Nov 25th: Torts says Todd White is back in lineup and Derek Boogaard will sit out tonight; Michal Rozsival will not return to lineup tonight.

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Lundqvist has looked solid this evening. He's been playing square to the puck on every shot and his feet seem a lot steadier than the Lightning game.

Frolov and Anisimov have been nonexistent this evening. I can't say I have heard either's name more than once. In a 3-0 game you could visibly see Torts angered at Frolov's play...he reamed him out pretty good after one of his shifts.

Like I mentioned in posts prior, Staal is playing with a lot more physical and offensive presence than years past. I will be the first to say: Staal AND Girardi will outpoint DZ this season.

For the first time as a Ranger, Gaborik is seeing PK time. He seems to be trying to do it all himself and has had plenty of turnovers lately. Gaborik also hit the post on a breakaway...it's just that kid of slump.

Derek Stepan is having another impressive outing extending his point streak to six games. He has tremendous hands and is very strong on and off the puck. He drew the penalty on Kulikov and then used some hand eye to score his goal.

Fedotenko-Boyle-Callahan is the best energy line I have ever seen for the Rangers. They can hit and they can create scoring chances.

The Rangers first PP consisted of Dubinsky-Stepan-Gaborik up front with Del Zotto and Girardi on the points.

Matthias has really impressed me tonight. He has great breakout speed and a decent shot. Time to get him back on your radars.

The Panthers roll with 4 forwards on the PP. Booth-Santorelli-Stillman with Weiss-Wideman on the points. No Mccabe.

Florida also pulled their goalie with around 4 minutes left in the 3rd. Should be good for Stammer 6 times a year...

Attendance for the game was 17,013...pretty good if you ask me for Florida!

Booth hasn't scored in 10 games.

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