Posted by Sean Allen
There is a reason hockey can be so unpredictable at the start of the season, and it's a very simple reason: line combinations. Coaches tinker and fiddle all preseason and training camp, and when the regular season begins, the coaches often never serve us the meal they hinted at preparing.
Montreal will be my case in point. Guy Carbonneau didn't really ice his regulars together through much of the preseason and he experimented with old chemistry between newcomer Robert Lang and Alexei Kovalev from their Penguin days. There was also some talk of a Sergei Kostitsyn-Andrei Kostitsyn connection. The line combos they have iced through two games of the regular season are a bit unexpected in some cases and could prove to elevate the value of a few players.
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Latendresse; great hockey name, good fantasy option.
We begin with Alex Tanguay and his four points from Saturday in a 6-1 stomping of the Maple Leafs. Tanguay, a newcomer also in Montreal, skates with Saku Koivu (three points) and junior Guillaume Latendresse (three points). At least two of the three skaters were in on four of Montreal's six goals. Koivu and Tanguay are also inseparable on the power play, as they form the first unit with Sergei Kostitsyn, Lang and Andrei Markov. The chemistry Koivu and Tanguay have shown will help keep them relevant to fantasy owners all season, and may even elevate Latendresse to a point where he could be useful. If I was a Daniel Alfredsson owner, I'd consider Latendresse to help tide me over for two weeks.
Carbonneau has kept the Andrei Kostitsyn-Alexei Kovalev-Tomas Plekanec line together from last season. Saturday's contest was for the other top line to shine, but this one will dominate their fair share of nights. The trio plus Roman Hamrlik and Patrice Brisebois have been making up the second power-play unit. It's not as exciting a power play, as Hamrlik and Brisebois at the point don't really compare with Markov.
The third line in Montreal consists of Robert Lang between Sergei Kostitsyn and Tom Kostopoulos. Not as exciting as the first two combinations and it is notable that all three of Sergei's points from Saturday came on the power play. Kostopoulos could earn deep league value as the Habs appear to be turning out as good as expected.
You could do this kind of in-depth line analysis with any team in the league, so remember to be vigilant at this point in the season as there will be indicators as to who might be a breakout candidate simply based on who is playing with who.
Ice Chips
Were you really worried about the Devils' defense this season and how it might slip? Don't be anymore. The high-flying Pittsburgh Penguins could muster only 15 shots against Martin Brodeur in a 2-1 overtime loss. The only goal the Pens slid by Marty was on a first-period power play. … At the other end of that ice, Marc-Andre Fleury had to face a barrage of 49 shots. If you were worried about the Penguins' defense without Ryan Whitney and Sergei Gonchar, you should be. … The Jarkko Ruutu experiment as the replacement for Daniel Alfredsson alongside Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley lasted all of 25 minutes. As expected, Jesse Winchester finished the 3-2 loss to Detroit alongside Ottawa's dynamic duo. Winchester should be picked up is medium-sized leagues; even though they were held off the scoresheet here (save for a Heatley assist), they won't be every night while Alfie is out. … Daniel Briere assisted a goal by each of his new linemates this season, as Simon Gagne and Mike Richards both tallied in what proved to be junk time against a Rangers team that was resting Henrik Lundqvist. Philly lost the game 4-3, but they won the final 43 minutes 3-0 as Antero Niittymaki stopped all 13 shots he faced in relief of Martin Biron. Niitty is an old favorite of mine and I expect this is nothing more than a tease, but I'm still spotting him onto my bench in deeper leagues as it looks like his hips are just fine. … Jose Theodore allowed two first-period goals before settling in for the 19-save 4-2 win over Chicago. Be patient with Theodore; the Caps definitely have a quality team to put in front of him. … The Islanders scored five times in a big victory over St. Louis, yet only Bruno Gervais, Andy Hilbert and Doug Weight came away with more than one point (and they each only had two). It's a good sign for Long Island as the Isles will need everybody contributing this season to have success. … The Blackhawks appear to be spreading their talent onto three lines for now. The Kris Versteeg-Martin Havlat-Jonathan Toews lines excites me the most, and if they stay together, Versteeg should get some attention (he did score a goal Saturday). Toews was back with Patrick Sharp and Patrick Kane when the Hawks were down in the third, but this at least indicates that coach Denis Savard plans to experiment. … Vesa Toskala gets a free pass for allowing six of 23 shots past him. The Maple Leafs gave up seven power plays to the league's best converting team. … Just to follow up Victoria Matiash's work from Friday's games; Nikolai Zherdev with another two-point night, and Aaron Voros also got into the action in the Rangers win. … Lee Stempniak missed the Blues-Islanders contest with a tweaked knee. He may be available by Monday and give us another chance to see the most productive line from the preseason again. Paul Kariya took his spot next to Brad Boyes and Andy McDonald and he responded with two assists. … Round one goes to Manny Legace, as his 5-2 win on Friday looks much better than Chris Mason's 5-2 loss on Saturday. … Known for scoring more when the pressure is on, David Booth did his thing in the Panthers 3-2 overtime win against Atlanta. After scoring a first-period goal, Booth slipped one past Kari Lehtonen almost four minutes into overtime. Booth looks to have good linemates this season in Richard Zednik and Stephen Weiss, and a repeat of 20-plus goals looks promising. Just remember that for the ESPN standard game, his stats outside of goals and plus/minus are a bit empty. … It appears Lightning coach Barry Melrose is a least a little bit serious about putting Jamie Heward on the power play for now. The stay-at-home defenseman had two power-play assists in a 4-3 overtime loss to Carolina. … Assist-machine Marc Savard appears to be taking matters into his own hands this season. His two goals against Minnesota gives him three on the season. Of his 78 points last season, only 15 were goals. Despite his efforts, Boston and netminder Manny Fernandez (looking for vengeance against his former club) lost to Minnesota, 4-3. … Devin Setoguchi scored his second goal of the season as Joe Thornton's winger in the Sharks 3-1 win over the Kings. Expect more where that came from. … The Sedins and Steve Bernier combined for five points in Vancouver's 5-4 overtime win against Calgary. Bernier needs to be owned in every ESPN league.
Sean Allen is a fantasy baseball and hockey analyst for ESPN.com. You can e-mail him here.
