Monday Morning Ramblings ft. Bussi, Talbot, Lyon, Allen and More

Welcome fantasy managers to another week of the Monday Morning Ramblings. With week two of the fantasy hockey season now in the books, let’s have a look at what transpired over the last several days with the league's masked men.

Let’s get to it!

Brandon Bussi sure is enjoying life as a Carolina Hurricane. Now 27 years old, the former Boston Bruins prospect has put up some very respectable numbers in the AHL over the past several seasons but has never broken through to the big leagues. Well, Bussi is making the most of his opportunity in Carolina with the current injury to youngster Pyotr Kochetkov by starting his NHL career with a 2-0-0 record accompanied by a 1.97 goals against and .911 save percentage. Bussi may be relegated to the minors once Kochetkov makes his way back into the lineup but until then Bussi will remain a viable option in goal due simply to the play of the team in front of him.

The won-loss record may not show it but New York Ranger Igor Shesterkin is enjoying a red hot start to the season and the underlying numbers more than back that up. Shesterkin currently sports a 2-2-1 record with an incredible 1.00 goals against and .962 save percentage. The issue quite simply is the Rangers are struggling to score sitting 30th league wide at 2.14 GF/GP, that being said, let’s give this situation some time to breathe with a new coach and new system being implemented in the Big Apple. Once this team gets cooking offensively the wins will match Shesterkin’s peripherals in kind. Patience is the key with this file.

Juuse Saros is having himself a phenomenal start to the season going 2-1-2 with an excellent 2.35 goals against and .919 save percentage. Saros was on average the eighteenth goaltender off the board in drafts this year and is providing some pretty high value for any fantasy managers out there employing the Zero G strategy.

Karel Vejmelka was a highly sought commodity in this year's fantasy drafts and rightfully so as the 6’4” 221lbs netminder has given the Utah Mammoth some rather solid play to begin the campaign fashioning a 3-1 record to go along with a very respectable 2.00 goals against and .910 save percentage. The Mammoth look to be a formidable outfit this season with the addition of scoring winger J.J. Peterka to an already burgeoning group of talented players which will only benefit Vejmelka in both the win column as well as his peripheral numbers throughout the season. It’s a stock I would invest in given the opportunity.

One goaltender I’ve been keeping an eye on is Jake Allen of the New Jersey Devils. The Devils are on a heater to start the year and with the untimely injury to incumbent Jacob Markstrom the team will lean heavily on the veteran netminder over the next couple weeks. Allen has given this team every reason to put their trust in him as he has put together some impressive totals so far this year going 2-0 with a miniscule 1.88 goals against and superb .934 save percentage all this behind the league's fourth ranked offense at 3.80 GF/GP. That’s a recipe for fantasy success in my book, I would be rostering Allen with confidence until Markstrom's return.

Another Zero G mainstay is having quite the start to the season as Cam Talbot has the Detroit Red Wings atop the Atlantic Division with a 3-0 record accompanied by a sizzling 1.78 goals against and .932 save percentage. If Talbot can continue to play anywhere near this level in combination with the Wings taking another step in their overall development, both he and the organization could surprise. It doesn't hurt that his main competition for playing time is longtime band-aid boy John Gibson, however It is a situation to closely monitor as the season progresses but the early returns are positive.

Lastly I wanted to touch on the Buffalo Sabres and their recent winning ways thanks in large part to journeyman Alex Lyon who helped this club get itself out of quite the funk to begin their 2025-2026 season. All Lyon has done over the Sabres two game win streak is fashion a 2-0 record along with a 2.00 goals against and sparkling .941 save percentage as well as shutting out the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers on Saturday. Expect Lyon to be leaned on rather heavily as the Sabers deal with an injury to the team's number one goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. In the meantime keep close tabs on UPL’s availability moving forward as the 6’5” Finn works his way back into the lineup.

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Thanks for reading and feel free to follow me on X @mikeouellet9 or BlueSky @mikeouellet9.bsky.social

See you all again next Monday!