TOMAS PLEKANEC
Montreal Canadiens, C
Comment: Montreal's top line isn't necessarily its best. The second line of Plekanec, Kostitsyn (Andrei) and Kovalev have been on fire. Plekanec has two goals and seven points in his last three games all the while staying well above 0. His plus / minus has really improved in the past two months and this should be the trend for most of the second half.
JASON BLAKE
Toronto Maple Leafs, LW
Comment: One of Toronto's only bright spots this week has been one of their biggest disappointments all season. Blake has not been playing up to snuff, however, he turned it up a notch this past week, scoring three goals and notching three assists in three games. Last week, Blake offered to donate $,1000 for each goal and $500 for each assist to Lukemia research. He should do that more often — if not for the charity than for his own play.
RADIM VRBATA
Phoenix Coyotes, RW
Comment: You're kidding me, right? Vrbata has been the Coyotes' best offensive player by far and has been scorching the goals column recently. He has five goals and six points in his last five games to go with his 18 goals and 32 points on the season. And he's a plus-8! He's doing this in Phoenix, people! PHOENIX!
ANDREJ MESZAROS
Ottawa Senators, D
Comment: Even with teammate Anton Volchenkov back, Meszaros has played great this week, scoring two goals and adding an assist, sticking at plus-3 for the week.
TIM THOMAS
Boston Bruins, G
Comment: People might think he has a fever, what with him going from ice cold to red hot this week. Since New Years Eve, Thomas is on a three game winning streak with a terrific 1.67 GAA and .953 SV%. Stack a shutout on top of those great achievements.
DEREK ROY
Buffalo Sabers, C
Comment: This recent cold spell has lasted a little longer than expected. Roy has one assist in his last seven games and is an unflattering minus-5 in that timeframe. The turnaround should come again but his streaky scoring this season doesn't bode well.
KEITH TKACHUK
St. Louis Blues, LW
Comment: Andy McDonald's arrival doesn' mean great things for everyone. Tkachuk has faded with only two points in his last six games. We don' expect him to provide 80 or 90 points but fantasy owners have been wanting more out of this guy, especially with Brad Boyes playing the best hockey of his young career.
MARIAN HOSSA
Atlanta Thrashers, RW
Comment: Can someone tell this guy that this is a contract year?! Christmas came around and Hossa just shut down. Just one goal in his last six games does not cut it. Especially when guys like Ilya Kovalchuk, Todd White and Mark Recchi are gathering points!
SERGEI ZUBOV
Dallas Stars, D
Comment: Zubov missed two games with an injury, however he's been chilly long before this. He has two points in his last eight games, but you can be sure of one thing: his plus / minus will always be respectable. It won't be great but he won't let it dip below plus-5 for very long.
CAM WARD
Carolina Hurricanes, G
Comment: He's winless in his last three games and has just four wins in his last twelve contests. It's been a brutal Dec. for Ward. There's no need to worry about job security, but he's going to have to pick up his game soon or else he'll become a fantasy liability. The worst of his latest cold streak? Allowing five goals on only 14 shots against Atlanta in his last start.
SIDNEY CROSBY
Pittsburgh Penguins, C
Comment: Like you need me to tell you to start this guy. He is records more than a point per game on the road, and Tampa (who he plays this week) is not shy of letting in goals; good news for Crosby.
RYAN GETZLAF
Anaheim Ducks, C
Comment: Brian Burke's golden boy is proving why he's going to assume the mantle as the Duck's offensive leader. Hell, he already has. He's on a seven game point streak right now and is leading the charge for his team (which has woken up since Scotty N's return). Yeah, he's more of a road player but 19 points in 20 contests is nothing to sneeze at.
KRISTIAN HUSELIUS
Calgary Flames, LW
Comment: Okay, so he won't have a week like he just had (eight points in his last three games!) but he will do very well against the Coyotes, Oilers and Islanders. I wanted to put him on the hot list but the world needed to know about Jason Blake waking up from his slumber.
BRENDEN MORROW
Dallas Stars, LW
Comment: What's worse than going scoreless in your last four games? How about adding a minus-5 to that terrible streak. Morrow stunk last week. However, he enters a good week of matchups (especially against the Los Angeles Kings and the floundering Chicago Blackhawks), so think hard before benching him. He'll likely wake up and shake off the frost for the week.
JAROMIR JAGR
New York Rangers, RW
Comment: The Rangers have turned on the jets recently and their offense is clicking well. Jagr pots more goals at home and keeps his head well above a zero rating, so a week's worth of home games against some suspect goaltending and weaker teams is just what the doctor ordered.
J.P. DUMONT
Nashville Predators, RW
Comment: Dumont has scored goals in four straight, while amassing an impressive 11 points in 10 games. He's a streaky player, and you'd normally be skeptical of a hot streak like this continuing, but looking he's a totaled a point per game against all of his opponents and plays almost equally as well on the road as at home. It's a safe bet that this will be a good week for Dumont, but expect him to cool down for a short while as his streakiness sets in.
JAY BOUWMEESTER
Florida Pantehrs, D
Comment: Home is where the heart is for Jay-Bo. You've heard it all year: he's a second half player. Well, it's the second half and he's picked up his play. I knew I kept him on my team for a reason. Bouwmeester is going to see plenty of home action this week and he loves playing his division rivals, so I wouldn't expect anything less than a wake-up week for the Bouwmeester.
SERGEI GONCHAR
Pittsburgh Penguins, D
Comment: Gonchar's heart is on the road. With 15 points in 17 games on the road, you couldn't ask more from your star blueliner. A week on the road is far from a bad thing for No. 55.
HENRIK LUNDQVIST
New York Rangers, G
Comment: With 13 home wins under his belt I'd put a lot of faith in Lundy. He has a week's worth of home games to settle back on and fantasy owners should be well aware.
DAN ELLIS
Nashville Predators, G
Comment: Going into January it looks like Ellis is Nashville's man in the net. I don't know how long this will last; I expect Ellis and Mason to trade duties down the stretch, but right now Ellis is playing terrific hockey, winning four of his last five and keeping his numbers respectable (adding a shutout to that list of achievements).
NIK ANTROPOV
Toronto Maple Leafs, C
Comment: Antro has once again fallen back into obscurity. This isn't so much a cold streak, as a not-so-surprising fall from grace. He's pointless in his last nine games, and I don't know how a week on the road in sunny California will brighten their spirits. With L.A. being their most promising matchup, I don't see Antro making so much as a squeek.
MICHAEL NYLANDER
Washington Capitals, C
Comment: If I sit Alexander Ovechkin because of a two-game week, you can be sure I'm going to tell you to sit Nylander. It isn't even so much that I don't think two games warrants Nylander's participation. Colorado has been playing brutal hockey but they haven't been absolutely terrible in net. And Philadelphia is going back to basics, allowing Marty Biron to playing good hockey again, so tell me why you would start Nylander?
ALEXANDER SEMIN
Washington Capitals, LW
Comment: Bench the oft injured Semin this week. He has just two matchups this week, both at home — where Semin has managed a meager four points in 14 games. Oh, by the way, he is questionable for his next matchup with a tailbone injury. Doesn't that just kick the bucket.
BRIAN ROLSTON
Minnesota Wild, LW
Comment: The streaks will start all over again for Rolston. He's due for a cold spell and who better to chill him off than Evgeni Nabokov? Rolston has no points this season against either Dallas or San Jose and only one in two meetings against Nashville, so there's no reason to think things will be any different this week.
DUSTIN BROWN
Los Angeles Kings, RW
Comment: His four game goal streak has just come to an end, which means it's time for a bunch of goose eggs in a row. How do I know that? Firstly, he's incredibly streaky. Next, he manages nothing of note against Nasvhille and Dallas. The only bright spot could possibly be a visit from the drowning Maple Leafs.
MILAN HEJDUK
Colorado Avalanche, RW
Comment: Hejduk will not be leading the charge in Colorado. To be honest, I don't think anyone will this week. They'll manage without Sakic and Smyth, but I think it will take at least a week of bad games to get the ball rolling again. Stastny hasn't been playing his best hockey and Wolski has been asleep for much of the season, so who is going to get Hejduk the puck?
ED JOVANOVSKI
Phoenix Coyotes, D
Comment: Jovo had a great week but that doesn't mean he'll have another. In 20 road games he has only nine points (assists) and a brutal minus-9. That's a bad sign for a week of road games against some offenses in the North that can score.
TOBIAS ENSTROM
Atlanta Thrashers, D
Comment: The Trasher's young rising star is set to have a pretty unproductive week. He is a terrible home player with only eight points in 20 games and an un-Enstrom-like minus-5 rating. With a week of home games would YOU want a guy like that in your starting roster? Didn't think so.
CHRIS MASON
Nashville Predators, G
Comment: Mason's saving grace was that he was getting the nod over Dan Ellis more often than not but oh, how quickly things can change. Ellis is their star in net right now and Mason won't likely see much action while Ellis is playing this well. He'll likely get one start this week because of the two back-to-back matchups to book end the week but don't put too much faith in his keeping this week. And by too much, I mean don't put any.
NIKOLAI KHABIBULIN
Chicago Blackhawks, G
Comment: Khabbie hasn't been himself recently and he's been facing a lot of pucks. This is bad news considering he's going into a very hectic and busy week against some good offenses (Montreal and Nashville) and some offenses that will likely wake up (Dallas and Minnesota). Khabbie needs a few days of rest to fix those cracks in the Bulin Wall. Thank god for the All Star game weekend, eh?
J.P. Del Monte is UPDATE! National Hockey League Editor.
