Fantasy Hockey and NHL Weekly Honors

Good morning, Buffalo Sabres fans. It’s another game day as the Sabres prepare to face the St. Louis Blues tonight in an 8 p.m. puck drop, but first… some news and notes this morning around the hockey world.

Before we begin, I ask all Buffalo Sabres fans and anyone else who may be reading this, please take a moment today to remember all those military veterans as well as active military personnel and anyone in a military family. These brave men and women sacrifice on a daily basis to defend our country, so on this Veterans Day and every day, let’s be thankful for that.

Now… onto some hockey news.

First up, the NHL announced a multi-year agreement with DraftKings, which will now become the official daily fantasy hockey game of the league. According to the Forbes article, the deal is currently set for two years but could extend further than that. In addition, the new partnership will allow fans the chance to win trips to events such as the Winter Classic, All-Star Game and NHL Awards.

I’ve never been much into fantasy hockey, but this sounds like a good partnership that will open up some new opportunities for fans across the league.

Also announced on Monday were the NHL’s three stars of the week. To no one’s surprise, none of the stars were members of the Buffalo Sabres organization…. could that change sometime in the near future? Who knows, really.

Mark Giordano, Craig Anderson and Vladimir Tarasenko got the honors for last week. Buffalo Sabres fans will get a look at Tarasenko tonight as the team faces the St. Louis Blues; will the young right winger have another highlight-reel goal? He’s already had a few this season, so keep an eye out for what moves he could pull on Michal Neuvirth.

Could the NHL consider a 3-on-3 overtime format sometime in the future? According to James Mirtle of the Toronto Globe and Mail, such a change could prove killer to the shootout – which wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing.

The American Hockey League has already implemented such a format, at least in some part. AHL teams play 4-on-4 for three minutes of overtime before switching to 3-on-3 for four minutes. This has nearly eliminated the need for the shootout; just five games (of 171) have been decided by shootout so far in the AHL season. That’s less than 3 percent, compared to what used to be 15 percent of games being decided by shootouts.

From what I can tell, a lot of NHL fans aren’t, well, fans of the shootout. Personally, I like the idea of the new overtime format, even if it would take some getting used to at the NHL level. Shootouts can be fun once in a while but shouldn’t be used to determine such a high percentage of games. Keep tabs on how the AHL deals with the new OT format throughout the season, and then consider implementing it soon after, NHL execs.

Finally, power rankings this week from CSN Washington have the Buffalo Sabres movin’ on up…. to 29th. Up from the last place spot, the Sabres’ move was due in part to the play of Michal Neuvirth, who has proven to be a true contender for the top goaltending spot on the team. Will the Sabres keep moving up?