Posted by Tim Kavanagh
With the trade rumors swirling around Marian Gaborik (who leads the franchise in career scoring, nearly doubling second-place Pierre-Marc Bouchard), the de facto first line of Mikko Koivu, Antti Miettinen and Andrew Brunette had one of the more productive nights for any line this season. Koivu, the "superstar" of the trio given his 81.4 percent ownership in ESPN fantasy leagues, set the pace with a goal and four assists, giving him nine points through the first three games. Miettinen, more famous for giving copy editors nightmares than for his scoring prowess through his time as a Star, added two power-play goals and one assist. Brunette, who played in Minnesota for three seasons before spending the past three in Colorado, chipped in the game's first goal and assisted on the final tally as well.
With the hot start, Miettinen is someone you should race to add to your team, as he personifies the concept of "streaky" winger. During 2007-08, he scored 16 points in 16 games from mid-November through the end of December. Using my simple grasp of math, it is seen that he had just 18 points during the remaining 53 games played. So the strategy here is to add and start Miettinen (he's only owned in 9.8 percent of leagues) while this streak continues, but be prepared to bench him just as quickly once the tide starts to turn the other direction.
With a fairly long history to draw on, Brunette is certainly a known commodity. His three seasons in Colorado went quite well, owing much to the chemistry he developed with Joe Sakic, a pairing that yielded a career-high 83 points in 2006-07. Expectations were not as high this season, since he would be placed with new linemates, but so far, so good. Brunette will give you consistency more than Miettinen, but his ceiling this season is in the 60-point range. He definitely has value in deeper leagues, but is more of a bench or fill-in player in standard formats.
One final note: Minnesota is sitting at second in the league right now in power play scoring, converting 6 of 14 chances so far. In addition to the gentlemen listed above, give some thought to picking up defensemen Marc-Andre Bergeron and Kim Johnsson along with Brent Burns and Marek Zidlicky, the latter two of whom should've already been on your radar.
Ice Chips
Scott Cunningham/NHLI/Getty Images
Martin Brodeur has allowed a total of five goals in his four starts so far this season.
Martin Brodeur is now six behind Terry Sawchuk on the career shutout list, and 10 behind Patrick Roy on the career win list after blanking the Thrashers on 25 shots. … Brian Rolston scored his first goal since returning to the Devils this offseason, a power-play tally with assists from Dainius Zubrus and Brian Gionta. Any help Rolston can offer to New Jersey's power play will be welcome: the team ranked 25th in the league with the man advantage last season. … The magical season of Keith Tkachuk continues, as he started the rout of Dallas with his fifth goal in four games this season. After being avoided like the plague in fantasy drafts, he's producing at a pace unseen since his days as a Winnipeg Jet. … Tomas Holmstrom grabbed another goal, his fourth overall and third on the power play, as he continues his career trend of being a fast starter. … Roberto Luongo stopped 32 shots to pick up win No. 3. Vancouver stops in Buffalo before continuing their trek across middle America with stops in Chicago and Columbus in the upcoming week. Captain Roberto may have trouble with the high-scoring Sabres, but the other two games should be good for what ails his fantasy owners. … Brad Stuart is off to a horrible start, with just one assist in four games to go with a minus-4 and just two penalty minutes. … Trent Hunter is on pace for 82 goals, scoring twice to bring his total to four in four games. While he's never been a dangerous fantasy asset, he may provide a little value in spite of playing on a bad team. Just be ready to take a big plus-minus hit. … Vaclav Prospal is an immediate pickup right now. He returned to his role on the top line, and the chemistry with Vinny Lecavalier was evident, as he scored a goal and had an assist. … Alexander Semin is having a breakout season thus far after a disappointing 2007-08. His goal and assist combo against the Penguins gives him four of each through just four games, and his hot start has amplified the value of Michael Nylander, who should be started in most formats until the tandem cools off. … Simon Gagne has quieted any concerns about his health following last season's concussion-shortened year, adding a penalty shot goal against the Avs to up his total to four on the season. … Colorado Avalanche with Peter Budaj in goal this season: 0-3. Colorado Avalanche with Andrew Raycroft in goal this season: 1-0. Keep an eye on this goalie battle, since Raycroft was a top-tier fantasy goaltender once upon a time.
