Our weekly digest of everything fantasy hockey. Facts don't lie and Power Plays is full of 'em. Projections for the week of Nov. 19-Nov. 25. Stats through Nov. 18:


Tampa Bay Lightning, C
Comment: There is no player in the NHL right now that can touch Lecavalier. He's leaving a trail of bodies behind with his seven-game multipoint streak and league leading 32 points (four points ahead of Sidney Crosby). He had an outstanding five-point night against Carolina on Nov. 14 and continues to rack up the points. This week should be no different. We might even see our first 40-plus point total by the end of the week.

Washington Capitals, LW
Comment: Ovechkin is back to his goal-scoring ways these days. The crafty young Russian has scored a goal in each of his last four games and is falling back into a consistent rhythm.

Atlanta Thrashers, RW
Comment: We knew it would only be a matter of time before Hossa found his game. He's on a tear with a four-game multipoint streak where he's scored at least one goal in each contest. Atlanta's big guns have woken up and there's no reason why they should slow down.

Dallas Stars, D
Comment: Although four of his 18 points came from his Nov. 16 game against Colorado, Zubov has still been the NHL's best fantasy defenseman this month. He's been holding the powerplay together and has enough games this week to keep him rolling.

Ottawa Senators, G
Comment: He's the NHL's best goalie right now by far and is riding an eight game winning streak. He has just one loss on the season dating back to Oct. 11. Ray Emery will not be taking his place barring any ridiculous occurrence.
Florida Panthers, C
Comment: Olli is slowing down with only two points in his last five games. That won't mean much in the long term as he'll get back on track very soon and continue to be more than a point per game but keep in mind that he may be entering a short-term slump.

Colorado Avalanche, LW
Comment: Smyth was brought into Colorado to score goals and add some offense but he's been fairly average to start the year. He has four points in his last seven games and only 13 points in 18 games for the season. Not bad, but considering the firepower beside him we expect more from Smitty.

Minnesota Wild, RW
Comment: Rolston might not be a point per game player but fantasy owners out there at least expect some consistency out of him. He tends to be very streaky and is in that cold phase of the streak this week. He'll likey jump out and get some points this week, but he has only had two multipoint games all season so don’t expect much.

Colorado Avalanche, D
Comment: Another not-so-bad player that we expect more out of. He only has one point in last five games, seven points on the year and a plain-old even average. His biggest redeeming quality — and something to look forward to when he finds his game — is that six of his seven points have come on the powerplay.

Calgary Flames, G
Comment: He's finally finding the win column again but he's been struggling. His save percentage and goals against were helped by a victory over another struggling team (the Oilers) Saturday night but keep in mind his recent poor play. He's ranked very poorly in several fantasy leagues, falling behind the likes of Curtis Sanford and Mike Smith. This is all ridiculous, of course, as Kipper will get back to form but it's still worth being hesitant for certain matchups (like Colorado twice this week if they wake from their recent slumber).


New York Rangers, C
Comment: A Rangers' center has made it onto this list?! Drury might not be the hottest commodity right now but look at it like this: the team is starting to click, he has more points in his last three games than he had in the previous five and he will more than likely find time again with Jaromir Jagr. The week ahead is as good as any for Drury to finally bust out and start producing with four matchups against teams that haven't been shy in the way of allowing goals recently (Islanders, Panthers and Stars, especially).

New York Rangers, C
Comment: This might be a sign of the apocalypse: TWO Rangers Centers on my list. If Drury made the list this week, then Gomez has gotta be here too. He's been the more productive of the two, notching at least a point in every game in November. Avery's return has been terrific for the Rangers as the whole team is slowly shaking out the cobwebs.

Calgary Flames, LW
Comment: Tanguay has a very busy and potentially productive week ahead. He's been very consistent as of late and is going into a five game week. He plays best at home (two games) and is very solid against the Avalanche who he'll see twice this week. Calgary might not be winning consistently but they are still putting up numbers and Tanguay has been a major reason why.

St. Louis Blues, LW
Comment: This season, Kariya's scoring pattern seems to be a five or more game streak followed by five or so of sporadic play. It's a cycle that could prove true again this week. Kariya could be in store for another good week. Both Tkachuk and Boyes are playing well again. The opponents are tough but not unstoppable (Nashville, Detroit, Vancouver, Calgary).

Ottawa Senators, RW
Comment: Ottawa's Captain has been nothing short of amazing recently. They have a solid week of matchups (two very favourable ones in Buffalo and Pittsburgh) and it couldn't come at a better time for Alfredsson. Who needs assists when you can score six goals in five games? Alfie is tearing up the goals column and should continue to tickle the twine.

Tampa Bay Lightning, RW
Comment: St. Louis has been an absolute monster the past few weeks. He's riding a seven-game scoring streak where he's posted 14 points. He's hitting his stride and, yes, this should roll for a while. The busy four-game week ahead will only fuel St. Louis' fire.

New York Islanders, D
Comment: Berard returned to the lineup late last week and replaced Marc-Andre Bergeron (NOTE: BERGERON HAS NO FANTASY VALUE ANYMORE!). Berard seems to be Nolan's golden boy on defense as he logged nearly 20 minutes in his return and should continue to see significant ice and powerplay time.

Tampa Bay Lightning, D
Comment: One man's loss is another man's gain — that's been Ranger's motto for the season. With Dan Boyle gone (again), the Ranger's productivity shoots up. He's scored a goal in each of his last three games (four points in those three) and is maintaining a solid plus-11 rating. He still has no value on the power play but his five-on-five play is well worth it.

Anaheim Ducks, G
Comment: Giggy extended his winning streak to four games the same day that his only possible competition was claimed off waivers. If he wasn't before, Giguere is now officially the go-to guy. He'll be riding this streak into three solid matchups this week.

Tampa Bay Lightning, G
Comment: Well, we knew with Tampa's offense Holmqvist had a fighting chance to scrape together some wins but who knew he'd be on a solid five-game winning streak and keeping his GAA hovering under three? Ride him while he's hot, fantasy junkies!


Carolina Hurricanes, C
Comment: Just like Olli, Staal is slowing down. This could be the pick that bites me hard this week but I've got a feeling you won’t see big things from him. Maybe next week? Either way, he's going into the week cold, doesn't have incredible matchups and has been a streaky player who plays a defense-oriented game. He'll be back on track but look at your options this week.

Anaheim Ducks, C
Comment: McDonald's value dropped significantly when Teemu didn't return to the team. His only streak of the season (a respectable four-game point streak) was snapped Saturday night and that will be all that's needed to keep him cold. The matchups aren't great this week (now that Phoenix seems to have goaltending) so why bother with the headache that McDonald and his 11 points on the year will give you?

Toronto Maple Leafs, LW
Comment: Blake has posted zero's in his last seven games and hasn't scored as far back as Oct. 18. Although the Leafs are struggling to win they aren't struggling to score — they've scored the third most goals in the NHL, behind only Tampa Bay and Carolina with 66 — but poor Blake hasn't been a part of the offensive game.

Edmonton Oilers, LW
Comment: He looked like he might be turning a corner with his three game point streak but then followed it up with numerous goose eggs. He isn't living up to the ridiculous expectations that his new contract makes for him simply because those expectations are just too big for him this year. Maybe next year, poolies.

Nashville Predators, RW
Comment: He's been quiet the past few games and a week against two of the league's best defensive teams (Detroit and Minnesota) won't help his consistency. Look for another streaky week of potential binary numbers.

Buffalo Sabres, RW
Comment: The Afinonogenov Saga continues as Afino had found his way onto Buffalo's fourth line late last week. He'll likely be bumped back up to at least third line duties but his poor play and Lindy Ruff's impatience with him does nothing for fantasy owners. Don't even bother with him until he proves he's worth the starting spot on your roster.

Buffalo Sabres, D
Comment: He hasn't managed a point in four games and is proving that his early start was nothing but a fluke. Buffalo is struggling to score and I wouldn't expect Spacek to be their saviour.

Atlanta Thrashers, D
Comment: He has two measly points all season, the last of which dates back to Oct. 13. This drop in production — although not surprising — is too big to ignore. For those of you who were fooled into drafting him by last year's performance and power play production I offer my condolences. His powerplay time has been limited, especially with the Waddell's recent man-crush on Tobias Enstrom. When things are this bad it means you can only get better...but I don't see any significant increase in value for a while.

Edmonton Oilers, G
Comment: The slide continues for Rollie the Goalie. Backup Mathieu Garon will be challenging for that starting spot very soon and another bad week may spell the end of his starting job (for now, at least).

Phoenix Coyotes, G
Comment: I'm grouping both these guys as no-go's. For-ev-er! Well, not quite, but their fantasy value has fallen pretty well to the bottom of the barrel now that Phoenix grabbed Ilya Bryzgalov. Phoenix has a true starter and one of these two will see zero ice time while the other will see barely any. Bryzgalov's stock also rose about 500 points after his shutout on Los Angeles in his first game for the 'Yotes Saturday night.



J.P. Del Monte is UPDATE! National Hockey League Editor.

38,500 Dollars combined in fines against the New York Rangers and Toronto Maple Leafs, Sean Avery and Darcy Tucker over their confrontation last week.

52 Martin Brodeur needs just 51 more wins to pass Patrick Roy for the all-time record.

21 Evgeni Nabokov has started in all 21 games this season.

19 One of the best defensemen, Larry Robinson, will have his #19 jersey retired by the Montreal Canadiens on Monday.


Washington Capitals, C
Comment: The NHL-hype machine was in full swing on Backstrom back in September. Before he had even played an NHL game everyone thought he would be absolutely dominating. He has been off to a slow start (but respectable, considering the team he's on) to start the season and has now, finally, had the chance to play with Alexander Ovechkin. He centered Ovechkin's line last Friday and has supposedly made a great impression on the coaching staff. It's likely we'll see this line played more and more as the season continues, and if they keep clicking watch Backstrom's stats soar.



Saturday,7:00 p.m. ET, CBC, WPSG
Here's a potential Conference Final or, at the very least, a future, gritty playoff series. These two teams have been offensive powerhouses as of late and have two of the hottest goalies in the NHL. Something's gotta give. Expect this to be a grueling, physical matchup with some of the week's nastiest highlights.

OTTAWA @ TORONTO

• Power Plays: Nov. 11-Nov. 17, 2007
• Power Plays: Nov. 4-Nov. 10, 2007
• Power Plays: Oct. 29-Nov. 4, 2007
• Power Plays: Oct. 22-28, 2007
• Power Plays: Oct. 15-21, 2007
• Power Plays: Oct. 8-14, 2007
• Power Plays: Oct. 1-7, 2007