Chris Nichols

­Chris Nichols is Sportsnet.ca's fantasy hockey writer.

Twitter: @Nichols_NHLPool/ Email: chris.nichols@sportsnet.rogers.com

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The Chicago Tribune writes that as they slowly filed off the bus on a rainy afternoon in the nation's capital, many Blackhawks players, coaches and front-office personnel believed the atmosphere they were about to encounter inside would match the gloomy weather outside.

They were, after all, about to spend time with soldiers who have lost limbs while fighting for the United States, mostly in Iraq and Afghanistan. Instead, during the Hawks' visit Thursday to Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, the Stanley Cup champions discovered the wounded soldiers' appreciation for life and in the process learned some valuable lessons they will take with them the rest of this hockey season as well as the rest of their lives.

"Coming in here, you don't know how injured everyone's going to be and what their spirits are," defenseman John Scott said. "Everyone had such high spirits and they were just so positive it really makes you double-check on your life and kind of puts everything in perspective.

"I'm not going to complain as much as I used to. You know hockey players, we say, 'Oh my legs are sore, I hit the post, I'm so down on myself'— that's nothing. These guys went through hell and back and now they're here with a smile on their face and are joking around. What we're going through pales in comparison with what they are."

The Tribune notes that for two hours, members of the Hawks organization, along with NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, visited with soldiers, even while some were going through arduous rehabilitation from catastrophic injuries. The team distributed more than 90 Hawks sweaters along with a plethora of caps, pennants and posters that players autographed for soldiers and their families.

"This is great for all of us," team President John McDonough said. "Not only to demonstrate our appreciation, but for players to get a better understanding of what these wounded warriors, men and women, have to go through in their therapy, how long they're going to be here and some of the interesting stories that our players and staff are going to take away from this for the rest of their lives. It changed my life."

During the visit, thoughts about a current two-game losing streak and its impact on the Western Conference playoff race took a back seat to the inspiration, determination and spirit of soldiers from all over the United States.

"It really opens your eyes and makes you realize how fortunate we are to not only do what we do for a living but just that we're able to walk around and enjoy life on foot," winger Patrick Kane said. "Sometimes you're so worked up and focused on hockey that you forget about these little things and this really makes you realize what we do for a living isn't nearly as important as what goes on in the real world."

According to the article, the Stanley Cup was also on hand and captain Jonathan Toews presented a replica to the medical center.

"The first thing you really think about are the little things you have to deal with every day as a hockey player," Toews said. "Things you think are a big problem all of a sudden aren't so important anymore. You learn to really appreciate the little things you have.

"These people are sacrificing everything for us to be able to live our normal lives. For us to get to meet them and be inspired by them I think is extremely special. It's an inspiration for us as people and as a hockey team. We definitely learned quite a bit."

The Washington Post says that with goalie Semyon Varlamov perhaps set to face shots today as he works his way back from what's believed to be a knee injury, the Washington Capitals soon may have three goalies with strong cases to be the regular starter.

That means eventually coach Bruce Boudreau and GM George McPhee must confront some difficult choices among Varlamov, Michal Neuvirth and Braden Holtby.

Goaltending has been a major factor during Washington's six-game winning streak. The Capitals have yielded eight goals over that time and have not surrendered more than two goals in any of those games. Washington has moved up to fourth in the league in goals allowed at 2.38 per game.

"I mean all three goalies are playing great," Boudreau said. "Where it was a two-man competition, now it almost looks like it's a three-man competition, so it's really good to see."

The current sensation is Holtby, who logged his first shutout on Wednesday in Washington's 5-0 victory over Edmonton. Holtby made 22 saves in that game and has stopped 130 of 133 shots over his last five games, with a record of 4-0-1.

The Post writes that Neuvirth had appeared to move into the lead for the regular No. 1 slot before yielding to Holtby, compiling a 22-10-4 record with a 2.47 goals-against average. His 22 victories are a team rookie record, and during a personal four-game winning streak from Feb. 26 to March 6, Neuvirth had a 1.73 GAA and .942 save percentage.

Varlamov, meantime, is the most playoff tested. During the 2008-09 postseason, he started 13 out of 14 games and finished fifth in playoff save percentage (.918), tied for fifth in wins (seven) and sixth in goals-against average (2.53). His two playoff shutouts were tied for the most in the league.

"Don't ask," Boudreau joked when asked how he planned to choose among the trio. "Call George.

"I don't know. As long as they're all playing good, it's great, and they are all playing good."

Holtby will start tonight against the Carolina Hurricanes. Nicklas Backstrom will not play again and Marcus Johansson is once again expected to be between Alex Ovechkin and Mike Knuble, with Marco Sturm and Alexander Semin flanking Jason Arnott.

The Denver Post says that Ryan O'Byrne was given the chance to go off the record or just not answer at all. The question was: Have Avalanche players tuned out coach Joe Sacco, and is there a problem there?

"Turn the recorder back on," O'Byrne said, followed by: "He's one of the best coaches I've ever had in professional hockey. The way he communicates with guys, individually, as a group — he's always trying to get it across to guys what he wants them to do. It's been tough for everybody lately losing games, but he's done a great job. Every day, he's passionate and comes to the rink and gets guys going."

The Avalanche has said Sacco will return next season for the final year of his three-year contract. But the longer the Avs keep losing — they are 1-14-2 in their past 17 games entering tonight's home contest with Anaheim — the more people keep looking for scapegoats. Coaches usually are among the first.

"It's just unfortunate we haven't been able to do our job on the ice," said O'Byrne, the Avs defenseman who returned Tuesday from a facial laceration. "We're the ones who haven't been getting the job done."

He added: "Guys want to prove they belong here. We're playing for pride and playing for jobs.

One of the players who typically takes optional practices off to keep fresh is leading scorer Brad Richards, but The Dallas Morning News indicates he was a big part of an optional practice Thursday. And he said he needs as much time on the ice as he can get right now.

"I've got tons of energy,'' Richards said. "I need the time out there.''

Richards missed 10 games with concussion-like symptoms and then returned to the ice Wednesday in a 4-3 (SO) loss to Calgary. He played 22:39 in the game, and said he felt like he hadn't played in 10 games.

"I felt all right, but it wasn't how I felt in the middle of the season when I was on form,'' Richards said. "But I had to get that one out of the way and I'll probably have to get another one or two out of the way before I get back to feeling good.''

Richards said practice will be an important part of that process.

"The reality is this is my second practice since getting hit,'' he said. "It is what it is, but there's no other way to get back into it.''

Stars coach Marc Crawford told the Morning News that the process of getting back to top-level intensity could actually be good for Richards.

"In a funny sort of way, the 10 games off should serve to rejuvenate him once we get him back to NHL speed and NHL competitiveness," Crawford said. "I think it's pretty honest of us to say the speed and competitiveness of last night's game were a little above him, but he got better as the game went on and the puck was on his stick with a chance to win it on his last shift of the game. You know that he is only going to get better. We think he is going to get better each and every day, and part of that process is to give him what he needs. What he needs is more intense competition. The intense practices are something that help him maybe more than they do some of the other players that we had out there."

Richards said he definitely has to get back to a trust of the game where he believes he won't be vulnerable to another situation that could create more concussion-like symptoms

"I was probably looking over my shoulder too much, but that will go away once I get used to the game,'' Richards said. ``I felt that, as the game went on, I was more comfortable holding onto the puck, and I think I'll look to take more chances as I go forward. It's confidence, really, knowing you're going to get hit but also knowing you're going to be fine.''

Steven Stamkos was the first to break out, according to The Tampa Tribune. Then came Marty St. Louis and Teddy Purcell. By the time the Lightning's 4-3 shootout victory against the Blackhawks ended on Wednesday, all the players they count on most to score had seemingly broken out of their individual scoring slumps.

All, that is, except for one - Simon Gagne.

For Gagne, a two-time 40-goal scorer who was brought in this past offseason to give the Lightning a second scoring line, the head-scratching struggle to score continues. He has not scored in six games and has one goal in his past 16. He has 10 goals in 48 games overall.

"It just seems like the puck doesn't want to go in as much as it used to," Gagne said.

Gagne might have reason to fret if he were the only one mired in a drought, but he's not. Before they scored on Wednesday, Stamkos had just one goal in 12 games, St. Louis four in 16 games and Purcell none in six games.

The only consistent goal-scorer for the Lightning lately is Vincent Lecavalier. He has three goals in his past seven games but, with 16 goals this season, is hardly a threat to contend for the Rocket Richard Trophy.

The Tribune believes that Stamkos is a contender for that award, given annually to the league's top goal-scorer, and with 42 goals - eight more than his nearest competitor - stands a good chance of winning it. But Gagne believes that race holds a clue that could unlock the mystery behind his and other goal-scorers' recent struggles.

"If you look at that race, you have Stammer with (42) goals and I believe he can get to 50," Gagne said. "But after that, I'm not sure if anybody else in the race will even get to 40.

"The last time you saw something like that was before we came back from the (2004-05) lockout, so I wonder if we've kind of gone back to where we used to be where the game was so much tighter defensively. I know the games we have been playing lately are definitely tighter. It's playoff-like hockey and the (scores) are 2-1 a lot of times, and that's after going to a shootout."

Gagne has a point. In the season after the lockout, 16 teams scored more than three goals per game, and no team scored fewer than 2.35 goals per game.

This season, only five teams average more than three goals, and the lowest-scoring team in the league, the New Jersey Devils, averages just 2.08.

"It's weird," Gagne said. "You can really question if the game has gone back to where it was five years ago."

The article points out that Lightning coach Guy Boucher sees several factors working against Gagne. His timing isn't quite as sharp as it needs to be, Boucher said, particularly when it comes to releasing his shot. Also, the absence of checkers whose jobs are to create room for scorers such as Gagne is hurting the entire team.

Forwards Ryan Malone and Steve Downie are out indefinitely, Malone with an abdominal injury and Downie a high ankle sprain.

"And let's not kid ourselves," Boucher said. "It's going to be like that for a while. Until they're back, scoring is going to be hard and we're just going to have to win our games 2-1, 3-2 at best."

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette relays that at one point last month, when injuries among forwards reached an unusually high level, the Penguins had recalled the top seven scorers from their Wilkes-Barre/Scranton minor league team. A few remain on the NHL roster.

Wilkes-Barre has not missed much of a beat and continues to lead the American Hockey League with 90 points in 63 games.

How? The same way the Penguins have remained competitive despite lingering injury issues -- a strong and relatively intact defense, and nearly unbeatable goaltending.

In particular, Brad Thiessen has established himself as a gangbusters prospect who helps make Wilkes-Barre the favorite to win the Calder Cup.

He hasn't gotten playing time or headlines with the Penguins because he plays goaltender, where the Penguins not only are healthy but also are set with All-Star Marc-Andre Fleury and rock-steady backup Brent Johnson.

If Thiessen were a forward, he would have gotten his shot with the Penguins by now.

The Post-Gazette points out that te leads the AHL in wins (27), shares the lead in shutouts (six, breaking Fleury's team season record), is second by 0.01 in goals-against average (1.94), ninth in save percentage (.921) and in February was the league goaltender of the month for the second time (he shared it with teammate John Curry for October).

"He's a good prospect," said Gilles Meloche, goaltending coach for the organization, likening Thiessen to former Penguins goaltender Johan Hedberg.

Thiessen, 25 and a 5-foot-11, 171-pound butterfly goalie, has a base of strong positional play. Throw in above-average puck-handling skills and a growing willingness and ability to make an athletic save when needed, and he has a solid repertoire.

"He's a very intellectual goalie," said Penguins assistant general manager Jason Botterill, who doubles as the Wilkes-Barre general manager. "He knows that, especially when you get up to [the NHL] level, you have to be extremely good positioning-wise."

Meloche said Thiessen has the perfect goaltenders' demeanor, steady and low key, and that's reflected in how he plays.

"He won't overreach," Meloche said. "He plays the same, game in and game out -- let the puck hit him. Sometimes, it looks like he's not doing anything, but he's always at the right place."

The article notes that Thiessen, matching his calm exterior in games, isn't sweating the future.

"It's not really in my control as far as at the end of the season," he said. "Marc-Andre Fleury's not going anywhere. He's a Stanley Cup-winning goalie. I'm happy watching him play."

Kelly in Calgary, AB: "Hello Chris, I've been enjoying the daily blogs and fantasy news. Thanks for your work as always.

It's been a frustrating season for me. I'm currently sitting 4th out of 12 teams and I think that's probably as high as I'll get this year. I've typically been top 3 in our league and this year have been riding the roller coaster in our standings.

My league is standard with 9 keepers per team. Our stats are G, A, +/-, PIM, PPP, SHP, SOG, FW, Blocked Shots, and Hits. For goalies the stats are Wins, GAA, Sv%, Saves. We start 3 Centres, LW, and RW; 4 Defence; and only 1 Goalie, with 2 IR spots and 4 Bench spots. We have an 82 max. game limit per position.

My team: C - Backstrom, Spezza, Oshie LW - Kovalchuk (RW), Morrow, Benn RW - Gaborik, Giroux, Backes D - Phaneuf, Karlsson, Carlson, Subban G - Howard Bench - C. Crawford, E. Johnson, B. Gionta, C. Glencross IR - Mueller

I have a strong team overall I think, I've just had some disappointing seasons from some core players (Phaneuf, Gaborik, Spezza, Howard, Backstrom even). Because of their performance this season I'm questioning who to keep moving ahead. Some guys I was planning to keep are moving to the bubble (Karlsson, Howard, Gaborik) and some guys I wasn't planning to keep are really becoming valuable (Crawford, Benn, Backes).

Who would be your 9 to keep out of this list? My list has changed over the last couple months. Right now, I'm thinking Backstrom, Spezza, Kovalchuk, Gaborik, Giroux, Backes, Howard are pretty solid locks. Crawford is making it interesting and might be a good option over Howard. Gaborik drives me nuts, but has that elusive potential to have 90 points playing with Brad Richards next season. I was planning to keep more Defencemen, but now I think I can only keep one (either Phaneuf or Subban probably) and Jamie Benn is playing like he could be a real fantasy stud long term. I think he's becoming a keeper for me now. That would mean I'd try to re-draft one of my exposed defencemen with my early draft picks.

Your thoughts? Thanks Chris!"

Chris: Thanks Kelly. Ideally you'll be able to deal one of your goalies this summer, perhaps with a 7-9 ranked keeper guy, to land another stud keeper. There will always be decent players left unprotected with 9 X 12 keepers, but Howard and Crawford are in too good of spots to leave unprotected.

Locks, goaltending aside, would be Backstrom, Spezza, Kovalchuk and Subban. Leave two spots for one goaltender and your new theoretical stud acquisition. That'd be six spots.

An argument can be made for Backes given the PIM/ point combo, but I'm honestly on the fence about guys like that who aren't necessarily top-end point producers. Giroux and Gaborik (Richards or no Richards), who you also noted in your original list, would be two I'd also strongly lean toward.

I like Benn and Dallas felt it could deal Neal because of him, but I'd be much more inclined to keep a defenceman with the last spot and get Benn back at the draft. Karlsson, Johnson and Phaneuf can all present arguments to be kept for various reasons. Part of your thinking there will factor in which guy carries the best "name value" and would be harder to get back at the draft. Maybe Karlsson has a slight edge now, but I actually like all three going forward.

Shane in Oil City: Hey Chris, I'm in a 10 team points only pool with 2 keepers.

I have no chance of winning this year, so I just made a couple moves in time for the trade deadline today, where I traded Cammalleri and Havlat for Sharp and Recchi, and turned Sharp and my Howard to get Kovalchuk.

You think it was worthwhile or too much to give up? Now, I have to choose 2 keepers for next year, and I have to decide between Kovy, Heatley, Malkin and Lundqvist. Malkin would usually be a given, but I'm assuming he's gonna have a rough year coming back from injury, and I'm hoping to get him with my 3rd pick overall next season. I'm thinking Kovy and Lundqvist. What do you think? Thanks!!"

Chris: With only two keepers per team Shane, I don't have a problem with the Kovalchuk acquisition.

I think there's a very real chance you could not land Malkin back at the draft, even with only two people picking ahead of you. That said, I feel it's an incredibly important distinction that you're in a points-only pool and (I assume) don't count PIM. If you were in the latter, I'd almost rather eat a bad year with Malkin (he may still be really good) to ensure you have him going forward. Remember that PIT now has Neal in the top six and a few really good prospects that are getting closer and closer to making an impact with this team. That should only help Malkin's value going forward.

Since you'd only be counting points, I think there's a legit argument to be made for hanging onto Kovalchuk over him. I'm still not 100% sure on that and would want more news related to Malkin over the summer to see how he's faring.

One thing I do agree with you on is that Lundqvist is a lock for one of your two spots.

I have both Kovalchuk and Heatley on my team and today I'd rank Kovalchuk ahead of Heatley for value in your format.

Mike: "I'm in a h2h league and tied with another team for the playoffs, so I need to do as well as possible.

Right now I am winning GAA and sv (1.63/2.88 and .935 to .912) and winning Wins 2-1. My goalies are Brodeur, Kipper, Holtby, What would your strategy be, would you play these guys each time they start or bench them and go with the stats I have so far? Kipper for instance plays Van on Sat, which I am unsure about.

My opponent has Ellis (@Col, vs Pho) and Rask (@NYI). Thanks for the advice Chris."

Chris: These are the sorts of situations that can be absolutely maddening for a fantasy owner Mike, as you know.

The short answer here is that if you want to play it safe, the odds say you can sit your goalies for the rest of the week (assuming you've met your minimum start total) and you'll likely win GAA/ SV% and lose (or tie if you're really lucky) wins. It may not play out that way, but that's the likely scenario. Safety = sitting and living with the results.

Given Kipper's career stats against the Canucks (3.23/ .887), I'd have to agree about worrying there. I'd likely sit him for that game regardless of what else you do. His splits this year (3.96/ .880) aren't great either.

Holtby will start tonight against the Canes. This season the Caps are 4-0 against the Canes with 3-0, 3-2, 3-2 (SO), 3-2 scores. Washington is playing really well, the game's at home and Holtby has been sensational. I'll be playing him in my league tonight. Chances are we'll see a score in that range again, but you know as well as I do that ANYTHING can happen out there. No Backstrom again. No Green again.

Atlanta CRUSHED Jersey in mid-December in Atlanta, but that was a different Jersey team obviously. Brodeur's career stats against them are fine. The Devils play again Saturday against the Isles. Will that mean a start for Hedberg since Brodeur plays tonight? No idea.

I'm a stubborn SOB. I'd be more likely to play Holtby and Brodeur tonight and see what happens. If they both win with scores typical of their teams lately, that should seal all three categories for you. Then maybe you don't need to play Brodeur Saturday (if he starts) or Holtby Sunday (Hawks game and he may or may not get the start anyway).

Again though, I'm stubborn with a "bring it" attitude toward any opponent. The safe thing for you it to just sit them all now and take the likely 2-1 goalie category win.