Posted by Tristan H. Cockcroft
Shocking: The Canadiens beat the Bruins on Thursday. Again. That's 10 meetings in a row if you're counting, matching the franchise's longest winning streak against the Bruins, set back in 1944-45. Oh, by the way, guess who plays again on Saturday? That's right, Canadiens and Bruins … only this time, it'll be in Montreal. Load up on Canadiens!
Carey Price was the standout in net on Thursday, stopping 34 of 36 shots to pick up his sixth win in nine starts since the trade of Cristobal Huet to the Bruins. But, when you think about it, isn't it easy for a guy to pick up a W when his team has such a record of sheer domination against one particular opponent? Price now has a 2.23 goals-against average and .934 save percentage in his past nine starts, establishing himself as a trusted, must-start No. 2 fantasy goalie for the season's final two weeks.
On offense, Alexei Kovalev was Thursday's stud, scoring two goals and adding an assist. He has seven goals, four assists and a plus-8 in seven games against the Bruins this season, and 33 goals, 44 assists and a plus-16 in 75 games overall this season. Yeah, I'd say it's safe to let your expectations from Kovalev this coming Saturday get the best of you.
Hey, one bright spot for the Bruins Thursday: Zdeno Chara returned from an upper-body injury, firing four shots on goal, registering a minus-2 and skating a team-high 24 minutes, 50 seconds. Not that I expect the Bruins' results Saturday to be much better, but Chara certainly looks healthy enough to activate immediately in all formats.
Martin Gerber stopped 24 of 26 shots to defeat the Blues on Thursday, bringing him to 4-1-0 with a 2.00 GAA and .933 save percentage in his past five starts. That qualifies as a hot streak, albeit a brief one, so I wouldn't let myself get carried away with expectations in this case. For one thing, Gerber has been anything but consistent since Jan. 1, with a 9-8-2 record, 2.77 GAA and .903 save percentage in 21 games. For another, look who the Senators have yet to play: Two apiece against the Bruins, Canadiens, Maple Leafs and Sabres, three of whom (Bruins excluded) rank among the league's top 13 in goals per game. Ride Gerber's hot streak if you want, but keep your fingers crossed, tightly.
Filip Kuba scored a goal and added an assist on Thursday, his first goal since Dec. 4 and his first multi-point effort since Oct. 6. So why is his performance of significance? With Paul Ranger, the team's leading point-getter among defensemen, now likely out for the season with a shoulder injury, Kuba should get more looks in the offense. He's a risky bet on a team so poor defensively, killing any skater's plus/minus, but if you're looking for a final plug-in on your defense, he's not a bad addition.
He'll finish quite a ways from last year's 52 goals and 108 points, but Vincent Lecavalier did become this season's fifth member of the 40-goal club on Thursday. Though he seemed to slump a bit shortly after the trade deadline, Lecavalier has bounced back nicely with eight goals in his past six games. The Lightning play nothing but so-so defensive teams the rest of the way -- all in division -- so expect the hot streak to keep up.
Tomas Vokoun's four-game winning streak came to an end on Thursday, but let's give him a mulligan for this one; he stopped 41 of 42 shots, but lost in the shootout. Even with the L, Vokoun has a 1.56 GAA and .951 save percentage in his past five contests, capitalizing upon some rather favorable matchups. I see a good share of favorable matchups ahead for him, too: The Panthers get the Lightning and Thrashers twice apiece, and a March 29 home game against the Capitals shouldn't be too bad of a one for him, either.
Across the ice, Vokoun's counterpart, Cam Ward, stepped up with an outstanding effort of his own. He stopped 36 of 37 shots to win for the 11th time in his past 13 starts. He has a 2.34 GAA and .914 save percentage during that span, numbers that make him a must-start No. 2 fantasy goalie. The Hurricanes get two games of their own against the Lightning, one more against the Panthers and two against the Capitals -- not a bad schedule.
Alexander Radulov scored two goals on Thursday, the fourth time he has done that this season. Seeing that statistic, wouldn't you have imagined it meant he had realized the breakout potential everyone seemed to see in him in the preseason? Sadly, all it brought Radulov's season totals to were 26 goals and 57 points, career highs, yes, but certainly short of most preseason expectations. He had five assists in 11 games coming into the night, that snapping a brief month-long hot streak, securing his status as one of the year's bigger disappointments. Hey, at least Radulov will be 22 come the start of next season, and he'll probably finish this season with a 10-goal and 25-point boost. Maybe the big breakout campaign was simply destined to wait until 2008-09?
Jose Theodore is slipping just a tad of late, allowing two goals on 28 shots to drop his fourth decision in his past five starts. Fortunately, going back to the All-Star break, he has a 2.18 GAA and .920 save percentage, must-start fantasy totals, though his won-loss record stands an underwhelming 11-9-0. Keep riding Theodore, with his remaining opponents merely the Canucks (two games), Flames (one), Oilers (two) and Wild (two). His ratios should be fine, even if he's not getting much offensive support.
Tristan H. Cockcroft covers fantasy sports for ESPN.com. You can e-mail him here.
