Following a blowout loss in week one, Top of the Rock used the defeat as motivation to secure their first victory of the 2021 fantasy campaign. Thanks to a 20.50 point margin, the Rock edged out the Stoned Assassins to improve their record to 1-1 on the season. Meanwhile, the Assassins dropped their second straight contest, falling to 0-2 and fifth place.
The original matchup projects had the Rock scoring a 318.40-279.80 victory, a margin of 38.60 points. In the end, the teams ended up closer with a difference of just 20.50 points. Despite playing nine more games, missing the original projections is a sign that the Rock still has a few kinks to work out in the system.
This week’s matchup opened in Top of the Rock’s favor, 39.00-36.50, a difference of just 2.50 points. They held the lead until Wednesday night when the scaled tipped in the Assassins’ favor. Their opponents padded their lead after Thursday, jumping ahead by 22 points, the largest lead they would hold at any point of the week. The Rock swung the score in their favor Friday night before losing it again on Saturday. Armed with many players playing games on Sunday, the Rock rebound and secure their first win of the young season.
The two teams exchanged the lead three times during the seven-day matchup, with the Rock grabbing a fourth day and the win. On Saturday, they scored a week high of 88 points. The Assassins also produced a boatload of points on the same day, reaching their high of 97.50 points on the second to last day of the matchup.
Thanks to a 1-1 record, Top of the Rock noticed an improvement in several statistical categories. The team ranked at or near the bottom of eight categories, trimming one off the list this week.
The team’s best categories are shots on goal, hits, and blocks, ranking second in the league. They are struggling with losses and power-play points, which put them dead last. As mentioned previously, Top of the Rock has been notoriously terrible at scoring goals and, through two weeks, remains the second to last team on the sheet in terms of production.
When we take a deeper dive into the team statistics, two statistics really stand out. The team’s plus/minus rating is now 28 points from the league leader. The other one is the hit totals. So far, the team has collected 105 body checks, which is a whopping 123 behind the team in the first place.
Five of the three teams in the league managed to score over 300 points in week two, with Sanchez again leading the league with the highest total, 420.50. They remain the best team in the league at 2-0, while the Rock jumped a few spots to third overall. The manager-less team stayed in sixth place, with the Assassins only a spot ahead. Two teams remain undefeated while two teams have yet to win. The other two teams have 1-1 records.
The Calgary Flames are off to an impressive start and have Elias Lindholm to thank for that. In week two, he was the best forward, scoring 38.00 points thanks to five goals. The versatile player collected a short-handed point to compliment five hits, two blocks, and 12 shots on goals. When the week ended, he was a plus-six, the best mark on the team. Jacob Markstrom, meanwhile, was solid in the net, collecting 37.50 points with a win and a shutout. He gave up a total of three goals and turned away 57 shots.
Recently signed Mathias Ekholm (Nashville) did not live up to expectations in his second week of action, finishing the week with -0.50 points. He had no points with only three shots on goal. What hurts him the most was his team’s worse minus-four rating. Ekholm edged out William Karlsson (Las Vegas), who also finished with the same points but found his name on a scoresheet.
Now that the NHL is in full swing and fantasy hockey is about to kick it into high gear, Top of the Rock management were busy bees with holes to patch in the lineup. When a specific player found himself on the IR+ as a day-to-day player, there was room to make a move. Viktor Arvidsson (Los Angeles) rejoined the team, previously playing last season with the Rock.
When Mikael Backlund (Calgary) struggled despite his team off to a hot start, management needed to cut him swiftly. In his place, Jakob Silfverberg (Anaheim) found his way home, returning to the team that signed him last season as a free agent.
A few days later, management decided to cut ties with former free agent signing Mattias Ekholm (Nashville). Through a week and a half of action, Ekholm was just not producing enough points to warrant a roster spot. That transaction opened up a place for Gustav Forsling (Florida). The Panthers are off to the best start in their franchise history, with Forsling chipping in every game.
The final transaction of the week occurred when long-time teammate William Karlsson (Las Vegas) was sent packing after a poor start to the season. In an attempt to collect more points with their defenceman, Erik Karlsson (San Jose) was brought on to shore up the back end.
Weekly Move Total: 4/4
Season Move Total: 5/50
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Keeping the Stats 