Each Friday we take a look back at the week that was in fantasy hockey.
STANDING OUT
Since the calendar hit 2009, the Florida Panthers (29-21-8) have been humming along and now sit with 66 points and are on the good side of the playoff bubble.
The team is 13-5-3 since the start of January, although they’ve got a home-and-home Saturday and Tuesday with the league-leading Boston Bruins.
They don’t have a single player at the point-per-game mark. Stephen Weiss, who leads the Panthers with 41 points, is tied for 74th in league points.
They’ve been getting the job done as a team though and Tomas Vokoun, who suffered through a brutal November with 3.29/ .904 peripherals, has really rebounded strongly.
In December, January and February his GAA splits have gone from 2.45 to 2.16 to 1.86, while his SV% has been raised from .925 to .927 to .947.
QUOTABLE
“I call Gomer, ‘Mr. Muffin,’ ” New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist told the New York Post of teammate Scott Gomez. “Because let’s just say he doesn’t have the hardest shot.”
Ouch.
HIGHLIGHT-REEL PERFORMANCES
Mike Richards tallies a five-point night vs. BUF Thursday on the same night he scores his league-leading sixth short-handed goal: He now has games with five (1), four (1) and three (4) and this kid just keeps on proving his talent level has not yet been fully realized.
Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane net six combined points after being reunited on L1 for Tuesday’s outing @TB: Toews actually has seven points in his past three starts, while Kane has five. Can this reunion finally be something to spark each of their production levels to something closer to what we’ve expected for this pair in their sophomore seasons?
Steven Stamkos records his first career hat trick vs. CHI in that same Toews-Kane show: Last summer’s first overall pick has points in nine of his past 14 GP now. You can see the work the team has done with him in terms of conditioning and just getting his confidence back is paying dividends. If you had a chance to get this guy at a big discount in a deep keeper league earlier in the season and passed because you thought he might be overhyped… you’re going to be kicking yourself.
Ilya Kovalchuk collects his first hat trick of the season in a four-point outing @ANH Sunday: The Russian sniper is currently on a six-game goal streak with four different multi-point efforts in that span. He has sniped 18 of his 30 overall goals in his past 21 GP alone.
Alexander Ovechkin picks up his eighth career hat trick Sunday @FLA: He’s also riding a 10-game point streak now and he has three hat trick this season – including two in February. He has 205 goals in 301 career regular season starts along with 385 helpers, 208 PIM and 1632 SOG. He has a 5.4 shots per game average over his entire career. Ridiculous.
Mike Green sets a new record for consecutive goals by an NHL defenceman by scoring one in his eighth straight game Saturday @TB. He has 35 points in his past 27 starts.
Todd Bertuzzi accumulates four assists in a 7-5 win @PHO Saturday: He has 16 points in his past 16 starts with 33 PIM and a +3 rating.
Joe Thornton tallies four helpers in a wild 6-5 shootout loss @BUF Friday: That bottom line was his second four-pointer of the season and he’s got nine points on this current four-game point streak.
QUOTABLE
“I’m probably leaning toward retirement after talking about it with my wife,” Tampa Bay Lightning netminder Olaf Kolzig admitted to the Washington Times. “But I still don’t have my name on the Cup yet, and I still have the desire to play.
“It is ‘Do I have the desire to go through the preparation of what it takes to get ready for a season?’ I’ve been pretty durable over the course of my career, but in the last year I’ve had two major surgeries. I’ve got to weigh all that and see what I want to do.”
WORTH NOTING
Andrei Kostitsyn, F, Montreal Canadiens: Ok, so aside from this little distraction, AK seems to be picking up his offensive production. He had three points last night and has a four-game point streak rolling now. Tomas Plekanec has points in four straight and five of seven, if you’re down a centre.
Ryan Whitney, D, Pittsburgh Penguins: With Sergei Gonchar back, Whitney has points in two of three games and all signs point to increased offensive production from Pittsburgh’s blueline down the stretch.
Theo Peckham, D, Edmonton Oilers: This Richmond Hill-born blueliner has racked up 39 PIM in six starts this season. And wait! Who is that the Oil plays tomorrow? Calgary. Hmm. Too bad. If they played an intense rival maybe there’d be a better chance of more PIM…
Alex Burrows, F, Vancouver Canucks: We’ve seen approximately 398 people moved onto the first line with Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin since they emerged as front-line players and Anson Carter has really been the only guy to make a successfully extended run at the position. It’s way too early to suggest Burrows is the answer, but as a short-term fantasy pick-up he’s worth a shot. He’s got six points in his last three starts, including three in last night’s tilt @OTT.
Fabian Brunnstrom, F, Dallas Stars: This Swede’s stats have been underwhelming on the whole after a lot of hype last summer, but keep the faith long-term with this guy’s offensive talents because they’re definitely there. The fact that he’s not a slacker is a positive as well. He has three different multi-points in his past eight starts and of the six games he’s played since getting healthy, he has a point-per-game average and got his fifth game-winner of the season in that span.
Ed Jovanovski, D, Phoenix Coyotes: He’s been known as a solid standard league defenceman for a long time now, but Jovo has gone above and beyond for poolies in terms of sin bin time this month. With his fight last night, he has now amassed 37 PIM in only eight starts. He also has five points in that span with a pair of PPGs and 17 SOG.
Chris Mason, G, St. Louis Blues: Three of his four shutouts have come in the past month and his post All-Star splits, which don’t even count one of those goose eggs, come to 1.75/ .936 over 11 starts with a 6-3-3 record in that period.
Valtteri Filppula, F, Detroit Red Wings: This two-way Finnish forward has 14 points in his past 18 starts with a +7 rating in that time. He hasn’t been good for power play points, but he continues to skate with Marian Hossa on one wing and the now-healthy Johan Franzen on the other on Detroit’s second line. If you’re looking for a decent stretch run assist option with a safe +/-, he’s a solid choice. He’s also a potential breakout player for ’09-10 if he can send more shots toward the net and Mike Babcock keeps Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk together next season.
Tom Gilbert, F, Edmonton Oilers: The Oilers are losing defencemen faster than Madison Square Gardens can print up “Welcome back, Sean!” t-shirts, but Gilbert has been helping to fill the void and has 15 points in his past 15 starts.
Carlo Colaiacovo, D, St. Louis Blues: This Toronto product has been a pleasant surprise for poolies, who have seen a healthy string of games and points in 2009. The blueliner has 15 points in his past 21 GP with a +8 rating and nine PPP.
CATCHING UP
If you’re ever in a bind and need to quickly find a guy in your free agent pool that can help you out in any category, all you need to do is look over our past few NHL recaps in the archives. Not only can you get an idea of what kind of point streak a player has been on, but you can also instantly see all of his key ice time stats and on which line he’s playing.
Tune in Mondays and Thursdays for live fantasy hockey Q&A at 3pm ET/ 12pm PT. Your rosters, your free agents and your potential trade offers.
The live game blogging takes place anytime there’s an NHL regular season or playoff game going, regardless of the time and regardless of the day.