Week Eighteen Newsletter

Sorry everyone for the late Newsletter this week, some work came my way, which I had to take, so since it interrupted my quality hockey pool time, it was a necessary evil (or good thing, whichever). This is the headline... maybe the times are changing for your Opiated Sherpa, so let's hope that's the case and that it does little to sway my attention from the beloved pools.

So, saying that... we'll kick right to it and maybe cut some corners on the way... bare with me.

The Mover & Shaker award had a tie at the end of the week and it came down to the first tie-breaker again this week. So, with 38 points, 16 of which were goals, Larry takes our Mover & Shaker in the week. The sudden increase of points meant a sudden increase in position in the standings, as Larry finished the week 2 points out of the money in 4th place, which was a great big jump from his 7th place position in the end of Week Seventeen. Alex Semin had 6 points for Larry in the week to be his best player, while Keith Yandle came out from the fog and picked up 5 points in Phoenix. His real claim to the M&S nod was due to his consistency through the line-up.

Moving on quickly... the race for the Bruins Winter Classic jersey is good & hot through two weeks. Both Stuart & Larry are neck & neck at the moment with 71 points, but I'll save the tie-breaker for when I actually need it. It keeps up the suspense. Currently third is Wayne with 69 points and Dale B. is looking for his second jersey sitting with 67 points. Chris M. is working his way out of the basement and trying for a jersey, sitting in 5th with 66 points. Oh yeah, Wes also has 66 points... so he's tied for 5th.

Can you feel the anxiety at the moment? Our Draft leader, Leon, has now found himself dwelling in the Basement after Week Eighteen, which can't sit well with him. Leon has lost a lot of ground to Wayne and everyone else chasing him at the moment, after he finished the week with 16 points. He did have an okay week from his best goalie, Ilya Bryzgalov, who had 6 points. Unfortunately, he had seven players without points in the week and it kept him down in the basement for a week. Leon's lead is now down to 13 points after the week and it will be interesting to see how his team fares through Week Nineteen, checking to see what happens to his lead.

There were a number of good candidates to take the Player of the Week honours for Week Eighteen, but its actually a bit of a surprising winner in the end. Shane Doan finished with 9 points in the week, which was the highest among all players in the Draft this week.

Here I am cutting corners... Doan is Peter's player in the Draft, he did really, really well and there is a picture of him ----->.

That has to be good enough this week... I'm sure you were looking forward to a lot more, but I really just want this post done.





Okay, this is gonna be really quick, so don't blink... John P.'s lead is now down to 32 points, Tony C. had the best week in the pool with 74 points and had the best move up the standings, moving up seven places from 13th to 6th... on the cusp of the money.

Other News and Notes

Kristian Huselius missed Saturday's game with the flu, I wouldn't expect this to keep him out of the line-up for too long.



Jack Johnson's recurring upper-body injury kept him out of the Kings' line-up on Saturday night, but there wasn't any immediate word as to whether or not he'll miss much more time that this.


Big news on Mike Cammalleri's injury will come down first thing in the morning. Let me increase the suspense, if you haven't heard already... it's not very good news.


The Islanders rotation of goaltenders saw Dwayne Roloson back in the press box for a game. Again, this is a minor issue, which will likely be resolved when one of the goaltenders that are not Rick DiPietro is traded.


Horrible news for Nick Foligno, as the lower-body injury that he suffered on Saturday night turned out to be a broken leg and it will be an injury that keeps him out upwards of 8 weeks.


The Flyers made a splash on the weekend by signing newly-released defender, Lukas Krajicek to a deal, which will complete the season in Philly, which is believed to be worth the league-minimum. Krajicek was cleared through unconditional waivers by the Lightning and was immediately picked up by the Flyers.

Peter Mueller was a healthy scratch over the weekend, but then was re-inserted into the line-up because Scottie Upshall suffered a major knee injury, which will keep him out of the Coyotes' line-up for the long-term. Upshall will be missed by the Coyotes, but this will give the team a little bit of flexibility when it comes to putting their youth in the line-up.

The Sharks were already without Dan Boyle, but then they ended up losing Marc-Eduoard Vlasic... to the exact same undisclosed injury that we know nothing about. They are both listed as out day-to-day, so your guess is as good as mine.


Click here to see an updated injury page.

Hockey Night in Canada

In the early game, its the 2004 Cup rematch between the Flames and Lightining... in the late game, its the Avalanche and Oilers facing off... good? Good.

Next week should be back to normal... as far as I can tell.