Yandle’s Not Useless!
October 29th, 2009 | by johnearnhart |The real story from last night’s game in Columbus was our 6’3”, 200+ pound, 29-year-old goaltender. And no, it wasn’t Ilya Bryzgalov. Jason LaBarbera made the start in net last night and stopped 31 of 32 shots.
While LaBarbera was the real story of the game, it didn’t start out the way. The first period opened up with a Paul Bissonnette vs. Jared Boll fight which then led way to a James Vandermeer vs. R. J. Umberger battle royal. LaBarbera also allowed an early first period power-play goal after Scottie Upshall “accidentally” left his stick high and dry. Luckily, after that goal LaBarbera shut the door on the Blue Jackets.
The referees were stricter than a Catholic School Nun regulating recess last night. Luckily, the Coyotes power-play was monstrous.
Martin Hanzal, Zbynek Michalek and Robert Lang all had a PPG. Vandermeer, Hanzal and Michalek’s goals were their first of the season and Lang’s goal was his first since opening night.
THREE STARS OF FANTASY HOCKEY:
3. James Vandermeer – fights are fun especially if your fantasy league rewards PIM. Oh, and he also scored on a blistering slap shot.
2. Keith Yandle – finally something positive! Took my advice on learning how to handle a puck and quadrupled his assist total for the year (4). The three assists were all on the power-play, too.
1. Jason Labarbera – Brizzy who? Got his first win as a ‘Yote and is now 1-1-0 with a .952 SV% and a 1.59 GAA on the season. He has now stopped 80 of the 84 shots he’s faced this year.
Next up, our ‘Yotes will travel to St. Louis to face the Blues, who are coming off of an impressive victory of their own against the Hurricanes. Tonight, we just need to play smart and get the odd-man advantages in our favor. The Blues are 0 for their last 17 power-plays and we Coyotes are three for the last six. Tonight’s netminders will be Ty Conklin and Brizzy.
PREDICTION: Coyotes 4, Blues 2. I also have a feeling that I will be blogging about Daniel Winnik tomorrow.
Tags: Daniel Winnik, James Vandermeer, Jason LaBarbera, Keith Yandle, Martin Hanzal, Paul Bissonnette, Robert Lang, Zbynek Michalek
