Our weekly digest of everything fantasy hockey. Facts don't lie and Power Plays is full of 'em. Projections for the week of Dec. 10-Dec. 16. Stats through Dec. 9:


Edmonton Oilers, C
Comment: The Edmonton Oilers might not be flying high but Shawn Horcoff didn't get the memo. Horcoff is playing his best hockey of the season right now, going on a run of four goals and 10 points in his last six games. The BC native might be able to continue this offensive trend if his linemates keep clicking well, and with Sheldon Souray due back the Oilers could begin to play above their level for a while. Ride Horcoff's wave for now.

Washington Capitals, LW
Comment: Alexander the Great is on a four game point streak where we've seen him put up four goals and eight points. If not for being shut out on Nov. 28, Ovechkin would be on a 14 game point streak. The matchups this week are very promising, but none more than a game at Tampa. Watch for a lot of scoring in that one (most of it coming from Ovechkin and Lecavalier).

Atlanta Thrashers, RW
Comment: Hossa has returned to form! He has at least one point in each of his last six games and has carried over a big Nov. with 23 points in his last 17 games. The only trouble stat is his minus-1 on the year; he finds himself on the ice for opposition goals more often than not. It was particularly bad over the past two weeks.

Ottawa Senators, D
Comment: With Anton Volchenkov out Joe Corvo has been seeing a lot more ice time and his numbers are reflecting that change. Before being held pointless last Friday, Corvo was riding a five game point streak. He's been finding lots of time on the power play unit and is a great fantasy option right now.

New Jersey Devils, G
Comment: All I have to say is this: nine game winning streak. That is all. Oh, and...it's Marty Brodeur!
Montreal Canadiens, C
Comment: He's got just one point in his last five games. He had a very sporadic Nov., never able to notch more than a two-game points streak.

Philadelphia Flyers, LW
Comment: The hype hasn't caught up to many of the Flyers blue chippers. Hartnell, although playing alongside the Flyers' best players, isn't playing up to snuff. Jonathan Cheechoo from San Jose is outscoring him (nine to Hartnell's eight points). In his last 20 games Hartnell has managed to only pump out six points. At least three of them were goals, eh?

Carolina Hurricanes, RW
Comment: Cole hasn't been the same since returning from his neck injury more than two weeks ago. Cole only has two points in his last six games and they both came during a 5-1 romp against the Habs last Saturday. Carolina's offensive production has finally leveled itself out and it may be a while before Cole begins producing more regularly.

Florida Panthers, D
Comment: Bouwmeester has been non-existent during the first half and there's no reason to think he will break out this week. He WILL come around eventually, however, so hold on to him and see how his second-half picks up, because that tends to be when he finds his game.

Ottawa Senators, G
Comment: With just one win in his last six games Coach John Paddock was forced to make a change. He's gone with Ray Emery over the last few games and has seen a change in the Sens' fortune. Paddock will likely go with whoever is hot at the moment and right now Gerber is ice cold.


Tampa Bay Lightning, C
Comment: I know it seems unnecessaryto tell you to start the best player in the NHL, bu you should really, really, really start him this week. Aside from being the best player in the NHL, he's also the best player at home in the league right now. He’ll be facing a Washington team that he just loves to dominate (five points in three games) and could pounce on a visiting (and struggling) Flames team. On the road he'll be playing for his family and country, coming up against the Leafs and Habs (who have been struggling even worse than the Flames), so you can expect huge games from Vinnie and linemate Martin St. Louis.

Buffalo Sabres, C
Comment: Roy seems to finally be finding his game and filling the shoes left empty by Chris Drury and Daniel Briere. He's finally able to adapt to the stronger checking and is beginning to click with Thomas Vanek really well. Roy has six points in his last four games and a strong set of four matchups to help carry on this production.

Atlanta Thrashers, LW
Comment: He seems to be turning it around in December. He's still not seeing a lot of time with the big names, but with Mark Recchi coming in he might find himself on a new line and there may be chemistry and energy injected into the Thrashers. You know to start Kovalchuk but you may also want to consider Kozlov this week with Boston and Toronto coming to town (Tim Thomas is still injured and Alex Auld will not carry this team).

Colorado Avalanche, LW
Comment: Captain Canada has stepped it up in Joe Sakic's absence, showing why he is a great leader. Smyth is on his best stretch of offense of the season and is going into some potentially good matches. He's played very well (four points in two games) against Columbus this season and is catching Pascal Leclaire at a great time (back to back losses).

Columbus Blue Jackets, RW
Comment: This could be Zherdev's biggest month of the year. He might be available on waivers (he was when I needed a band-aid this week) and now's the time to get him. He's on a four game stretch of goals and is on pace for a career year. He turns up his game for the home crowd and could have some big games against teams that have been letting in big numbers as of late. Look for the trend to continue all throughout the holidays.

Tampa Bay Lightning, RW
Comment: When Vinnie has big games, St. Louis has big games and this week should be no different. St. Louis has been scoring with more regularity as of late, notching two goals and six points in his last five games. He's going into a great week and should continue to assert himself as the NHL assists leader.

Montreal Canadiens, D
Comment: Hamrlik might not get you a ton of points on the year, but as of right now he is one of Montreal's best bets on the blueline. With Andrei Markov struggling this team is looking for someone to produce from the blueline. Hamrlik has been paired up with rookie Ryan O'Byrne and this has produced some interesting results. O'Byrne's style of play is such that Hamrlik can now jump into the rush and play the buck more. If you have Hamrlik you might be treated to some rare points this week to go with his very strong +/- rating.

Pittsburgh Penguins, D
Comment: Gonchar is having yet another great season. He tends to be a middle-of-the-month guy over most of his career, seemingly turning on the jets around this time of the month. That time should be right about now and with Pittsburgh coming off a great Western Conference run confidence should be soaring.

Philadelphia Flyers, G
Comment: Biron owns Carolina (3-0-0, 1.99 GAA) and Pittsburgh (2-0-0, 1.50 GAA). Looks ready to bounce back. They are hitting Montreal in the midst of a struggle and the team in front of him has the firepower to solve Martin Brodeur in New Jersey.

Anaheim Ducks, G
Comment: He's on a bit of a roll and with Neidermeyer returning this team will be more confident than ever. Giggy is an average road goalie but is lucky to find himself out of his element only once this week against a Columbus team who he dominated earlier in the season (0.92 GAA). The rest, all at home, should be good matchups. He plays incredibly well against San Jose and Minnesota but watch for the Vancouver game; Giggy has trouble with the 'Nucks.


Anaheim Ducks, C
Comment: Getzlaf is coming into a stretch of games that will do him no good whatsoever. Minnesota's defensive game will be too strong, Roberto Luongo and Pascal Leclair both have Getzlaf's number and San Jose will be trying to play strong, defensive hockey after last Saturday's embarrassing 7-1 loss to Buffalo.

New York Rangers, C
Comment: Drury might make this list more than any other NHLer by the end of the season. Besides being less than stellar, Drury-owners have the added disadvantage of having only two chances to get points from the sporadic scorer, and one of those chances comes in the form of red-hot Martin Brodeur. Sit this one out, folks.

Calgary Flames, LW
Comment: He was finding his game and more ice time this past week, so why would I tell you to sit him? He's pretty bad on the road, carrying a minus-5 rating and only seven points in 11 road games this year. Calgary has trouble on the road and Huselius hasn't gained Keenan's favour just yet.

Montreal Canadiens, LW
Comment: How Saku Koivu has managed only one point in his last five games is beyond me, especially since linemate Christopher Higgins has three goals and five points in his last four. Now, those sound like great stats but know that Higgins is a perfect example of the streak player. He hasn't strung together more than a three game point streak this season and tends to follow up streaks with long spans of nothing, and it looks like that span is begining this week. Expect little to nothing from Montreal's struggling top unit.

Nashville Predators, RW
Comment: Raddy is such a streaky player and I'm sensing a disappearing act this week. Detroit's stifling defense and Colorado's slow return to form might be enough to guarantee Radulov becomes invisible.

Minnesota Wild, RW
Comment: When good teams have brutal games you can bet that they bounce back in strong form. Expect Joe Thornton's San Jose Sharks to put in a great defensive effort and shut down Minnesota's offense. That's bad news for Rolston owners going into a week of road games. Rolston is sub-par on the road, getting only seven points in 14 games this season. Don't expect big things against San Jose and Anaheim and so all you'd have to hope for is a blow out (unlikely) against L.A.

Montreal Canadiens, D
Comment: This seems to be pick-on-Montreal week, and I love it. Montreal's Five Million Dollar Man is stinking up the joint. Markov has two points in his last 10 games and has an absolutely brutal minus-9 rating on the year.

New York Rangers, D
Comment: After a great start and a half decent November, Rozsival has slowed down. December isn't going very well for the native of Vlasim, Czechoslovakia. He's a minus-six over his last four games and only has one assist in that timeframe. Like his teammate Chris Drury, the matchups just aren't there.

Calgary Flames, G
Comment: Part of me wants to be wrong on this one (the Fantasy Owner part--DAMN YOU KIPPER!) but there will be bad stats abound for Kiprusoff owners this week. He's 4-4-0 with a not-so-flashy 3.32 GAA on the road this season and a four-game road trip is NOT what the doctor ordered. The week ahead doesn't look good for the Flames' netminder, as they will be heading into some of the best at-home teams in the league, headlined by Tampa and Carolina's ferocious offense. Not to mention St. Louis is picking up steam, and Olli Jokinen in Florida has been known to notch a few points. As tempted as you are, and as much as you always hope "this week's the week" for Kipper...STAY AWAY!

Edmonton Oilers, G
Comment: It looks like Roloson's days may be numbered soon. Mathieu Garon is slowly asserting himself as Edmonton's starting goalie, winning more and taking more starts away from Rollie. When Sheldon Souray gets back, we'll see how Craig MacTavish handles the situation.



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

1,000 Jason Smith only needs to spend 10 more minutes in the sin-bin to earn his 1,000th penalty minute.

100 Wade Redden only sits at 99 career goals, needing only one more to end his double-digit reign.

28 Evgeni Nabokov has started in 28 straight games for th San Jose Sharks.

1 Wade Belak's lone goal of the season puts him ahead of such notable names like Sergei Samsonov, Brandon Bochenski and Anthony Stuart.


Montreal Canadiens, D
Comment: This 23-year old native of Victoria, British Columbia has two points in his first two games with the Habs. He has found himself playing with veteran rearguard Roman Hamrlik and might end up seeing significant ice time. Keep a look out for this young gun. He won't play out the entire season with the Habs, but will give people a good look for potential keeper material. He hasn't been a great scoring threat throughout his days in junior but has eight points in 18 games for the Hamilton Bulldogs this season and could be finding his groove offensively while being a strong defender.



7:30 p.m. ET, TSN(HD), RDS(HD), XM 206, 172
This game could go either way — Tampa could continue their road woes and the Canadiens could snap their terrible losing ways or Vincent Lecavalier and Marty St. Louis could have a terrific homecoming, putting on a show for the French Canadian faithful. My bet: a fast paced game with a ton of defensive lapses, leading to Lecavalier and St. Louis making more enemies than friends.

DOMINIK HASEK

• Power Plays: Dec. 2-Dec. 9, 2007
• Power Plays: Nov. 25-Dec. 1, 2007
• Power Plays: Nov. 18-Nov. 24, 2007
• 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