Posted by John Pereira, special to ESPN.com
The Anaheim Ducks looked very much like the defending Stanley Cup champions in their 4-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday night, but that wasn't the main story line of the evening. GM Brian Burke announced defenseman Scott Niedermayer will return to the team after flirting with the idea of retirement for the better part of six months. Sean Allen covered the fantasy impact, but I will say Neidermayer already is owned in 92.3 percent of ESPN leagues. The news might have played a part in lifting up the Ducks, since a number of their key players looked good in the game. Andy McDonald and Todd Bertuzzi led the way.
All the Ottawa Senators needed to break their surprising losing streak was a date with the perennially woeful Florida Panthers. Jason Spezza and Randy Robitaille were the big players on offense for the Sens, but more importantly, Ray Emery was able to backstop the team in the 5-4 win. It wasn't a great performance, but it might have been just enough to see a shift in net for the Senators. Hopefully Martin Gerber owners have some insurance, because I doubt he'll be playing as often as he has been. At the other end of the ice, it was another impressive performance by Olli Jokinen with two goals and an assist. If he played in another city, we'd be hearing about him much more often.
Sidney Crosby had three assists as the Pittsburgh Penguins doubled up the Edmonton Oilers 4-2, but the more interesting performance came from Colby Armstrong, who currently is owned in fewer than 10 percent of ESPN leagues and should be a hot pickup now. He's Crosby's winger-du-jour and had a goal and an assist in the game. Ales Hemsky was back in the lineup for Edmonton after missing two games with a bruised right knee. He picked up right where he left off, registering another point. He and Shawn Horcoff have made an impressive pair.
Zach Parise and Patrik Elias. That was all the offense the New Jersey Devils needed Wednesday night. Parise and Elias each scored twice in the Devils' 4-3 win over the Boston Bruins. Elias has run hot and cold this season, but this might have been a sign he finally has found some chemistry with a linemate. I'm buying into it. Tim Thomas left the game late in the third period after falling awkwardly. The team isn't releasing much information, but he currently is listed as day-to-day. Continue to monitor the situation closely.
It was the young guns who came up big for the Philadelphia Flyers in their 3-1 win over the Minnesota Wild. Jeff Carter and Scottie Upshall each had a goal and an assist, and Braydon Coburn added another goal in the win. The victory moved the Flyers into a tie with the New York Rangers and the Devils for the top spot in the Atlantic Division. The loss snapped a four-game winning streak for the Wild.
Some players see their production suffer without a good linemate to create offense, but not Joe Thornton. Just as he has done all season long, Thornton put the San Jose Sharks on his shoulders and carried them to a 3-2 win over the Dallas Stars. Thornton had a goal and two assists in the game to push his point total to 34 on the year. He is tied for seventh in the NHL in points, despite having no help. The second-leading scorer on this team is Jeremy Roenick, who has just 13. Also of note in the game was Marty Turco's presence on the ice. He played in four of the team's past five games and is showing he is without a doubt the team's No. 1 goaltender, despite the early challenge mounted by backup Mike Smith.
The Phoenix Coyotes are no longer the worst team in the Western Conference. That title now belongs to the Los Angeles Kings, as the Coyotes beat the Kings 4-1. Ilya Bryzgalov has had a lot to do with the turnaround in Phoenix, and it was the same story in this game. He stifled the Kings' offense, stopping 28 of 29 shots. Peter Mueller was the Coyotes' main offensive threat in the game, collecting a goal and two assists. He still is widely available in ESPN leagues and is worth an add in deeper leagues.
The good news for the New York Islanders: They finally scored more than two goals in a game. The bad news: They still lost. This was only the second time they managed three goals in a game since Nov. 6. The problem was the Atlanta Thrashers can score, too, and showed it in their 4-3 win. Marian Hossa scored his 11th of the season while Ilya Kovalchuk scored his 23rd in the win. Kari Lehtonen looked good in the win as well, stopping both shots he faced in the shootout. The young Finn now has a 1.50 goals against average since his return from injury.
It really was a quiet and uneventful game as the Vancouver Canucks visited the Chicago Blackhawks. Brendan Morrison broke out of his scoring slump to net the winner on his eighth goal of the season.
It was a couple of former London Knights who woke the Columbus Blue Jackets and led them in their come-from-behind 5-4 win over the Colorado Avalanche. Rick Nash scored twice, and Dan Fritsche added another in the third period for the Blue Jackets. Fritsche has become an interesting name for those in deeper leagues, but he still is far too raw to be rostered quite yet. Lately, it has seemed as if Ryan Smyth either has a multi-point game or doesn't score at all. He picked up three points for the second time this month.
John Pereira is a fantasy hockey analyst for ESPN.com.
