Posted by Sean Allen, Special to ESPN.com
All right! Uncle! Thomas Vanek has something left in the tank for the rest of the season. Even though he's scored about a point per game in February, I was still quite tentative thanks to his minus-6. But Wednesday's hat trick in a 4-3 win over the Lightning was legitimate and quite impressive. Coach Lindy Ruff tried an interesting, if little-used, line combination by putting centers Tim Connolly and Derek Roy on a line with Vanek. It worked brilliantly, and I endorse each member of the trio for the foreseeable future. Connolly is one of my favorite players when he is healthy, which appears to be the case right now. Still available in 50 percent of ESPN leagues, Connolly makes a good case for a pickup.
The Devils' checking line took charge in a 3-2 win over the Sharks. Sergei Brylin has taken over on the line with Jay Pandolfo and John Madden. That makes David Clarkson useless in fantasy and Brylin mildly interesting to deep leagues. Among the best checkers in the league, Pandolfo and Madden make their linemate a source of plus/minus. As an example, Brylin was a plus-2 and had two points in this game. Jonathan Cheechoo scored his 11th point (9th goal) in 13 games since I recommended him as a must-trade-for player on Jan. 21.
When Dave Bolland was a silent leader and an unsung puzzle piece for the mid-2000s dynasty of the London Knights, he was second fiddle on a team with names like Robbie Schremp, Corey Perry and Sergei Kostitsyn. Bolland scored two goals in the Blackhawks' 3-0 win over the Wild, and in so doing he may have put his name on the map. Given an expanded role due to the loss of Yanic Perreault, Bolland responded in the best way possible. If nothing else, jot his name down; he is going to be a second-line star behind Jonathan Toews for some time.
Rick DiPietro is rewarding patient owners with his fifth straight win, as the Islanders beat the Capitals 3-2 in a shootout. He remains a great (maybe the best) No. 2 goalie from here out. Tomas Fleischmann didn't make a fantasy impact in this game, but he played a ton of power-play time with the first unit. That role should pay dividends at some point.
Only four of eight starts in February have been above average for Miikka Kiprusoff. So watching Curtis Joseph backstop the Flames to a 3-2 win over the Stars, the Western Conference's second-best team, was concerning to some fantasy owners. I don't think Kipper's a complete write-off, but I do think you should consider whether he is the goalie to lead you to victory. Joseph is a real threat to steal starts if he is winning because Mike Keenan knows him and trusts him.
Teemu Selanne scored his second goal in eight games since returning to the Ducks, as Anaheim edged the Avalanche 3-2. Maybe Selanne was bitter about his season in Denver, but both his goals have come against Colorado. The Avs were still without leading scorer Paul Stastny, a last-minute scratch. Peter Budaj got the start for Colorado, and despite stopping 20 of 22 shots, this game still goes in the loss column. That plays right into Jose Theodore's hand.
Sean Allen is a fantasy baseball and hockey analyst for ESPN.com. You can e-mail him here.
