Fantasy Spin: Minus Schwartz, Blues spread scoring

Friday, 12.19.2014 / 2:15 AM

By David Satriano - NHL.com Staff Writer / Fantasy Spin Blog

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Fantasy Spin: Minus Schwartz, Blues spread scoring

The St. Louis Blues will miss the offense that top-line forward Jaden Schwartz has provided. He sustained a foot injury Tuesday and is considered week-to-week, but the Blues had no problem scoring Thursday in their first game without him.

In Schwartz's absence, 11 different Blues each had one point in a 6-4 loss to the Los Angeles Kings.

Schwartz, who was tied for second on the Blues with 27 points, was replaced on the first line by Steve Ott (owned in 1 percent of Yahoo leagues, center eligible), alongside Vladimir Tarasenko and Jori Lehtera.

Ott did not have a point against the Kings but could be in line for an increase playing with Tarasenko. Ott also skated on the first power-play unit with Tarasenko, Lehtera, Alexander Steen and defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk. Ott had two penalty minutes, giving him 34 in 31 games.

T.J. Oshie (74 percent, C) returned after missing one game for personal reasons. Oshie skated with Alexander Steen and David Backes; the latter two each had an assist.

Oshie, who has 12 points in 24 games, is nowhere near last season's totals of 21 goals and 60 points, but does have nine points in his past 10 games. Getting more ice time with Schwartz out should benefit him.

* Colorado Avalanche goalie Calvin Pickard (15 percent owned) started his fourth consecutive game Thursday and stopped 47 shots in a 1-0 overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Pickard has allowed eight goals in four games and has faced 30 or more shots in five straight games. Semyon Varlamov was placed on injured reserve Wednesday and will be sidelined at least through the weekend, meaning Pickard likely will start against the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday or against the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday.

* Penguins defenseman Christian Ehrhoff left the game Thursday in the first period (undisclosed) and didn't return. He played 1:21 on the first power-play unit and was replaced by Paul Martin. Defenseman Scott Harrington made his NHL debut and played 13:33, including 37 seconds of power-play time.

* Philadelphia Flyers forward Vincent Lecavalier (7 percent owned, C), who had been a healthy scratch for the past seven games, played 11:48 on Thursday, all at even strength, in a 2-1 shootout loss to the Florida Panthers. Lecavalier was on the fourth line with Zac Rinaldo and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, and didn't record a shot on goal.

* Montreal Canadiens forward Max Pacioretty, the team leader in goals (13) and points (25), was injured in a 2-1 loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday. He sustained an upper-body injury in the third period when he was checked into the boards headfirst. Forward Michael Bournival (less than 1 percent owned, F) replaced Pacioretty on the top line with Alex Galchenyuk and Brendan Gallagher.

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