Posted by Victoria Matiash, special to ESPN.com
The "Mason Raymond/Sedins" experiment isn't working. Henrik and Daniel were held off the score sheet completely and Raymond has only one assist all year. Look for another line mate to join the twins shortly.
Ryan Kesler is still the hardest-working member of the Canucks in general. He earned an assist on Markus Naslund's second-period goal and has seven points in his last seven games. This guy should be owned in every league, medium sized and up.
The Red Wings are proving to be somewhat more of a well-balanced squad than previously thought. Jiri Hudler and partners Mikael Samuelsson and Valtteri Filppula contributed both the tying and winning goals in Sunday's 3-2 victory over Vancouver. Don't bank on this happening regularly. Most of the offense will continue to come from Henrik Zetterberg, Tomas Holmstrom and Pavel Datsyuk. The trio provided the first goal and munched up far more ice time. With Zetterberg's assist on Holmstrom's opener, the league leader is now on pace to net 144 points this season. You tell him he can't do it.
Chris Osgood is filling in just fine for a hurt Dominik Hasek. He's allowed only three goals in his past two starts. But Osgood is no longer an everyday guy; watch Jimmy Howard get an opportunity soon.
Edmonton's power play stinks. Officially, since it's the worst in the league. The Oilers once again went 0-4 with the man advantage against Anaheim, but managed to even the score up with a late short-handed goal from Andrew Cogliano. At age 20, Cogliano is an asset in deeper and keeper leagues. Overall, it's hard to find much worthwhile, fantasywise, in Edmonton; but if, and when Ales Hemsky decides to shoot the puck with some regularity, he and Shawn Horcoff will carry serious value.
Corey Perry recorded another goal and an assist to bring his point total to 10. Now's the time to sell this fellow high. Once Todd Bertuzzi and Ryan Getzlaf return, Perry's production will slow somewhat.
In net, Jean-Sebastien Giguere played well for Anaheim, but Edmonton's Mathieu Garon performed better. Dwayne Roloson's backup stopped 30 of 32 shots and didn't allow a goal in the shootout. This was, by far, Garon's best outing. Expect him to get more and more starts as the season wears on in relief of Roloson, who's struggling.
The Minnesota Wild are having some serious groin issues these days. Pavol Demitra still hasn't returned after aggravating his last week. Marian Gaborik and Niklas Backstrom are both out after pulling their respective groins in weekend practice. Fortunately, all three are listed as day-to-day and could be back within the next few days. Regardless, Minnesota was without its three best players for Sunday's matinee in Colorado, and it showed. Eric Belanger provided the lone goal, with assists from Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Kurtis Foster. Between the pipes, Josh Harding played adequately, stopping 27 of 30 shots.
Meanwhile, Colorado played efficiently at both ends of the ice. Joe Sakic and Ryan Smyth enjoyed excellent chemistry with each other and linemate Marek Svatos, resulting in two points each for Sakic and Smyth. Paul Stastny, Andrew Brunette and Wojtek Wolski are also clicking together on the Avalanche's second line; they provided the lone power-play goal in the third period. In fact, Wolski is proving his fantasy worth by quietly running a seven-game point streak. As long as this offense remains consistently potent, these six offensive starters all deserve fantasy consideration to varying degrees. Sakic, Smyth and Stastny are obvious choices, but Svatos, Brunette and Wolski will pay dividends as well.
In net, Peter Budaj stopped 21 of 22 shots for his fifth win of the season. Never mind recent appearances from Jose Theodore. As long as he stays competent, Budaj will get the bulk of playing time.
Victoria Matiash is a fantasy hockey analyst for ESPN.com. You can send her e-mail for potential use in "The Vicky Files" by clicking here.
