The Matchups
May the Fors(berg) be with you (Liv S., 326.1) def. like breadard and butter (Caitlynn C., 237.8)
Last week Liv scored 240.5 and lost. This week she had the league's high score, and she did it with a zero on Wednesday.
Liv took Wednesday off and still won by 88.3, the fantasy equivalent of skipping a workday and getting promoted. She led 146.2 to 72.0 after Tuesday, then added 98.3 on Saturday, the biggest single day any team had all week.
Brandon Hagel was the best skater in the league: 34.0 on four goals, including a hat trick, and 17 shots. Tim Stutzle added 28.0 on four goals and three assists. Andrei Svechnikov scored 24.5 and David Pastrnak 22.0. In net, Karel Vejmelka won twice and made 64 saves for 39.9.
Filip Forsberg, of the team name, chipped in 11.0 on three assists. The Fors(berg) was with her. Quietly.
Caitlynn's goalies did everything asked of them. Linus Ullmark won three games for 41.1, and Sergei Bobrovsky made 70 saves for 40.2. Tage Thompson put 21 shots on net for 20.0. Connor Hellebuyck scored zero for the second straight week. Still resting. Very thoroughly.
Verdict: Take Wednesday off. Just score 98 on Saturday.
Dude, Where's Makar? (Kaitlyn M., 253.2) def. Keller? I hardly know her (Anna Y., 207.9)
Anna took the lead on Thursday and still had it going into Saturday, 145.8 to 136.2.
Then Kaitlyn scored 94.4 on Saturday. Anna scored 44.1. Saturday reviewed the first five days and issued a correction.
Kaitlyn's goalies split the work: Darcy Kuemper 29.8, Joey Daccord 27.1. Kirill Kaprizov and William Nylander scored 24.5 each, Nylander on five assists. Matt Boldy fired 14 shots for 17.5. And Makar, of the team name, has been located for a second straight week: 15.0 on two goals and two assists.
Anna's roster showed up too. Andrei Vasilevskiy scored 25.8, Mark Stone 23.0, Mikko Rantanen 18.0 and Mika Zibanejad 16.5. Clayton Keller, her namesake, added 14.0.
Verdict: Leading on Friday is a mood, not a result.
John Tavares' Magic Amulet (Heather S., 279.6) def. Freezing My Kucherov (Alexius S., 214.4)
Heather trailed 19.8 to 4.0 after Monday. Then she scored 97.0 on Tuesday and never trailed again.
Alexius pushed back with 76.6 on Thursday and cut the gap to 21.7. Heather answered with 89.0 on Saturday.
Jesper Wallstedt made 86 saves for 47.9, the second-best score in the league. Auston Matthews had three goals and six assists for 30.0. Alexis Lafreniere scored five goals, hat trick included, for 29.0, and Jack Eichel added 22.5. Spencer Knight scored 15.5 on Heather's bench, which is the kind of problem you want.
The amulet himself, John Tavares, put up 7.0 and moved to IR on Saturday. The magic appears to be transferable.
Alexius's goalie may be the most consistent person in the league. Jeremy Swayman scored 43.2 this week after 43.1 last week. Joseph Woll added 23.2 and Bo Horvat 22.5. Nikita Kucherov had six assists and zero goals for 13.0, so the team name is, technically, accurate.
Verdict: The amulet works even from IR.
Honorable Mentions
Colorado Scuba Club (Ashley P., 292.3) def. Pop That Bussi (Ashley L., 215.8). The commissioner led from Tuesday on and won five of seven days. Logan Thompson made 70 saves for 42.3. Sebastian Aho scored 26.0 on three goals, four assists and two shorthanded points. Beckett Sennecke added 19.5 and Nathan MacKinnon 17.5. For Ashley L., the namesake delivered again: Brandon Bussi won twice for 28.2. John Carlson scored 18.0, and Rasmus Dahlin blocked 13 shots. Goalies made up just 20% of her points, the lowest share in the league, in a week when nine goalies finished in the top ten.
Sorokin Deez Nutz (Nina R., 315.1) def. Flickin' the Bean (Catarina M., 272.9). House rules, so this stays short. Catarina scored 272.9, up 120.8 from last week and enough to beat five of the other nine teams. Jake Oettinger was the top scorer in the league with 55.2: two shutouts, an overtime loss, and one goal allowed on 60 shots all week. Goalies remain committed to the bit. Tom Wilson and Jake DeBrusk scored 20.0 each. On the other side, Sergei Murashov made 77 saves for 39.0, and Ilya Sorokin, of the team name, added 25.0.