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Victoria Matiash, Fantasy HockeyJan 5, 2024, 11:00 AM ET
CloseESPN.com Fantasy Contributor since 2010Part-time anchor at NEWSTALK1010
After making his Washington Capitals debut against the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday, forward Max Pacioretty seemed less than fully satisfied with his first game in nearly a calendar year.
“… At the end of the day it probably couldn’t get any worse than it did [Wednesday] for me. So, got to just get better … I don’t think [I] ever really caught up.”
A relatively fair self-assessment since the winger registered zero shots on net (one attempt), took a bad tripping penalty, and finished minus-one through less than 12 minutes of ice-time. The six-time 30-plus goal-scorer has certainly enjoyed better outings in his career.
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But how about we give him a minute? Again, it’s the 35-year-old’s first game since blowing out his Achilles for the second time as a member of the Carolina Hurricanes last January. As someone with prospective fantasy interest in the prolific shooter/scorer, I’m mostly thrilled he finished the contest in one piece.
“It’s not easy at his age to step back into NHL games, especially against this team that I would argue is one of the fastest in the league,” Capitals Coach Spencer Carbery said. “It’s going to be a work in progress.”
So a little patience please. Allowing Pacioretty the time to develop chemistry with new line mates, get his legs under him, and reclaim that vicious timing could pay off in deeper fantasy leagues. However, by all means, if he’s still struggling to find his form wading into late January, rethink matters.
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Other key injury notes from around the league:
The Minnesota Wild: The Wild are banged up bad. Star forward Kirill Kaprizov…
Source link : https://www.espn.com/fantasy/hockey/story/_/id/39247455/fantasy-hockey-injury-updates-return-max-pacioretty-jake-oettinger
Author : Victoria Matiash
Publish date : 2024-01-05 16:05:39
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