Somewhere in southern California, I can see Brian Burke sticking pins in a Steve Yzerman doll.
How else do you think the Anaheim Ducks' GM is going to get back at the Detroit Red Wings?
Especially since injured — and expensive — free agents Mathieu Schneider and Todd Bertuzzi were allowed to migrate to the Pond.
Fantasy pool GMs should have noticed by now that the Wings have found depth from within and are doing just fine without Schneider and Bertuzzi, thank you very much.
Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, Nicklas Lidstrom and even Tomas Holmstrom have all had a hand in Detroit's surge (10-2-1) to the top of the Western Conference standings. Zetterberg, for his part, rifled home his league-leading 10th goal to clinch a 2-1 victory over Edmonton Tuesday night.
This Wings line-up is hockey's version of Murderer's Row, minus a fun-loving guy named Ruth — sorry I mean Hasek.
Yep, the Dominator is nursing a sore hip, but the Wings haven't skipped a beat with Chris Osgood in net.
Ossie has been brilliant, winning all six of his starts while limiting the opposition to just 1.5 goals a game. Any of you who picked him for backup depth can join the Psychic Hall of Fame.
In front of this intimidating goal tandem is a defense corps that is deep and effective in both ends.
Lidstrom has been an ageless wonder, using his still-superior skating and passing skills to make mincemeat of opposing defenses. He is right where he should be fantasy-wise, recording 10 points in 13 contests. He's also plus-10.
Equally impressive is free-agent pickup Brian Rafalski, who unlike former teammate Scott Gomez has been anything but a bust to his pool owners. Rafalski has one more point than Lidstrom and two powerplay goals.
Here's a peak at how some other Wings stack up in Fantasyland.
- Kris Draper - five goals and seven points, to go along with 20 penalty minutes.
- Mikael Samuelsson - two goals and six assists in 10 games.
- Matt Ellis - dynamic rookie has recorded two goals and two assists, also in 10 games.
Any way you look at it, this Wings team is being groomed for a deep run in the playoffs.