MATS SUNDIN
Toronto Maple Leafs, C
Comment: Sundin is taking all of that criticism recently directed at his choice to allow a trade from Toronto and turning it into his best offensive production of late. He is on a five game point streak which has yielded five goals and nine points.
RICK NASH
Columbus Blue Jackets, LW
Comment: Rick Nash is doing everything he can to make sure the Jackets have an extended season. He has goals in all but two of his last seven games and points in all but one in his last nine. Nash is unstoppable right now with six goals and 10 points in nine games.
MIKE KNUBLE
Philadelphia Flyers, RW
Comment: Knuble's surprising everybody again with four goals and eight points in his last five games. This, like his last little hot streak, is a flash in the pan of a waning career but it's still worth noting. His PIMs have declined drastically this year and other than these little pockets of production, Knuble has very little fantasy value anymore.
TOMAS KABERLE
Toronto Maple Leafs, D
Comment: Sure, he doesn't score all that often but he loves to pass that puck. In his last 12 games Kaberle has managed 11 assists and has stayed above even for his plus / minus.
TIM THOMAS
Boston Bruins, G
Comment: Thomas is on a three game winning streak with a very impressive 0.97 GAA, .962 SV% and a shutout. On top of those impressive stats he has won five of his last seven with no regulation losses in that time.
VINCENT LECAVALIER
Tampa Bay Lightning, C
Comment: He's been getting points at his normal pace so, technically, he's not 'cold' but this is Vinnie Lecavalier we're talking about! A sniper! A goal scorer! And he hasn't scored a goal since Feb. 9 — that's no goals in nine games!
PAUL KARIYA
St. Louis Blues, LW
Comment: This is a bad streak for the talented Kariya. He's on a six game pointless drought and only one point in his last nine games. Stinky, stinky.
MARTIN ST. LOUIS
Tampa Bay Lightning, RW
Comment: At least Lecavalier has managed some points. Marty hasn't found the scoresheet in six games and his plus / minus has been atrocious, going minus-7 in that six game stretch.
TOBIAS ENSTROM
Atlanta Thrashers, D
Comment: The once red-hot rookie has finally cooled off and his youth is starting to show. Not to mention he's probably just now realizing he's on an absolutely brutal team. Enstrom has nothing to show for his last seven games and that once respectable plus / minus rating has dropped to a minus-3 on the season because of this recent stretch.
KARI LEHTONEN
Atlanta Thrashers, G
Comment: Lehtonen is winless in his last five games. He also has only two wins in his last nine. Worse than that, in those five straight winless games Lehtonen has allowed more than three goals in all but one of them (where he allowed three right on).
BRAD RICHARDS
Dallas Stars, C
Comment: This wasn't such a no-brainer a week ago. Now that Richards is on Dallas (and scored a career high five assists in his debut) his value shoots way up. He has a much better goalie and defense to help his plus / minus get back into respectable numbers and he clicked well with his new line. Use this new scenery to your advantage.
JASON ARNOTT
Nashville Predators, C
Comment: What a great week to have Arnott! Four matchups, all on the road (29 points in 31 away games) and all against teams he just LOVES to score on! Five-in-three against both Edmonton and Vancouver, and a point-per-game pace versus Flame County and Hockey Town...this, of course, means you're safe to go with Arnott.
NIKLAS HAGMAN
Dallas Stars, LW
Comment: Hagman scores his first career hat trick the day that Brad Richards joined his line. This could very well be a sign of things to come and these guys love divisional rivalries which is what this week is full of.
ANDREW BRUNETTE
Colorado Avalanche, LW
Comment: The return of Colorado Joe is great news for Brunette owners. The injury to Ryan Smyth also helps out as Brunette and his line will likely see added playing time. The injury to Marek Svatos hurts a little bit but Brunette's recent productivity did not rest on Svatos' shoulders. By the way, is 'Avalanche' a code word for 'injury'?
TEEMU SELANNE
Anaheim Ducks, RW
Comment: The King of Finland is now challenging for the crown of California. He's making the west coast a hell of a lot hotter with his six goals and nine points in his last four games. In his illustrious career Selanne has managed a point per game against opponents and Chicago and is even better against Montreal and Colorado. If you know his history you know this scoring pace is not just a quick flash in the pan.
ALEXEI KOVALEV
Montreal Canadiens, RW
Comment: Kovalev is one of the main reasons why the Canadiens are fighting for tops in the East. It's a busy week for the Habs and their offense does not look to be slowing down. Kovalev is a lock for some consistent points this week, especially against the Kings and the Sharks-two teams he does traditionally well against.
JAY BOUWMEESTER
Florida Panthers, D
Comment: Tim Thomas might be the only stumbling block in what will be a solid week for Bouwmeester. He's not going to get you those incredibly flashy points but he's coming into his own recently. His team will have every opportunity to score against the likes of a struggling Ty Conklin, not quite fresh MA Fleury in Pittsburgh and an absolutely tanking Kari Lehtonen in Atlanta.
BRIAN CAMPBELL
San Jose Sharks, D
Comment: A great way to settle into a rhythm on a new team is to face teams you know very well and that's exactly how Campbell's week will start out with games against former division rivals Ottawa and Montreal. Things will go very well for the new Shark this week.
MARTIN BIRON
Philadelphia Flyers, G
Comment: Great news for Biron owners: he's getting back into the groove that made some happy fans back in Oct-Nov. After slumping hard Biron is on a three game winning streak with a sexy 1.62 GAA in that time. Philly is fighting to stay alive in the playoff race and will need Biron to keep it coming.
MANNY LEGACE
St. Louis Blues, G
Comment: Four straight losses and no wins in his last six are not stats you want to hear. But consider that the other, sometimes more important, stats are a good GAA and SV%, both of which Legace has in that little losing streak. St. Louis is hitting Detroit at the right time (when they aren't on fire) and he should manage well against both LA and the Canucks so trust in the Legace.
TOMAS PLEKANEC
Montreal Canadiens, C
Comment: Ignore the first hat trick and impressive five points in two games he's got going. He doesn't show up too well against teams in the West (two points in five games) and it's not as though he'll be facing easy competition. Do the names Giguere, Bryzgalov and Nabokov ring a bell? Sure, he'll be up against LA and might feast off Kovalev's production but it's not worth the risk.
PAUL STASTNY
Colorado Avalanche, C
Comment: Sure he's great. He's amazing. He's sugar and spice and everything nice, but he's also without Ryan Smyth and will possibly lose the chance of playing with Milan Hejduk now because of the Marek Svatos injury. He has the potential of doing everything on his own but I wouldn't bet a roster spot on it.
VACLAV PROSPAL
Philadelphia Flyers, LW
Comment: I don't see it. I just don't see him keeping up his pace without Vinnie Lecavalier and Marty St. Louis. Sure, Mike Richards or Danny Briere are good pivots but they aren't the aforementioned Lightning stars. On top of all that Philly's facing the solid Rick DiPietro and Rryan Miller so the job just keeps getting harder and harder.
SCOTT HARTNELL
Philadelphia Flyers, LW
Comment: Unless you're hard up on PIMs Harntell's across-the-board uses are waning. He only has one point in his last nine games but at least he's managed a boatload of PIMs in that time frame. His production has really dropped off from a hot January and I don't see it picking up to that fantasy pace again.
TOMAS HOLMSTROM
Detroit Red Wings, RW
Comment: He's back to that second-half snail's pace that has plagued his career. D-Town has a slow two-game week and I don't see Holmstrom changing his habits any time soon, especially against Manny Legace and an out-to-prove himself Chris Mason.
COLBY ARMSTRONG
Pittsburgh Penguins, RW
Comment: This will likely be the last time you hear any mention of Colby Armstrong in this column for the year. I'll give you two simple reasons why Armstrong no longer deserves a spot on your fantasy roster: 1) No Evgeni Malkin 2) No Sidney Crosby.
ANDREJ MESZAROS
Ottawa Senators, D
Comment: The Sens are starting to sink and it's mainly because of their goaltending. But you can't blame it all on bad keeping (although the argument can be made)— the defense has not been up to snuff. Meszaros has managed a minus-5 rating in his last seven games and things don't appear to be getting any better. They might score a lot of goals but that doesn't matter to you. Meszaros won't be the one potting them and you have to remember that the sens have allowed way too many as of late.
ROB BLAKE
Los Angeles Kings, D
Comment: The invasion of high powered offenses this week is not good news for Blake. Sure, he might get lucky and pot a goal against some bad goalies but his team will be lit up and his plus / minus could very well singlehandedly sink your team. Stay away!
CHRIS MASON
Nashville Predators, G
Comment: The poor performances as of late (8.61, 6.00, 14.17 GAA in three separate games) is all in the past-he really will perform better and get back in that medium-range level of keeping that can help you out. That said, however, this week is not the week to test him out again. Edmonton, Vancouver, Calgary and Detroit will chew him up, spit him out and sweep him under the rug. That is, if he even manages more than one start.
RAY EMERY
Ottawa Senators, G
Comment: Don't put yourself through the pain. Emery MIGHT get you a win if the boys in front of them can win an offensive duel but they will murder you in other stats. It really does appear that the defense in front of him has given up completely.
J.P. Del Monte is UPDATE! National Hockey League Editor.
