This week’s honorable mention goes to Chris Osgood of the Detroit Red Wings. Last week Osgood collected two wins while posting a 1.95 GAA, .934 SAV%, one shutout and 85 saves. Ozzie has been a playoff warrior but usually struggles during the regular season. Despite this Chris is still the #1 for a very good Red Wings team and is a decent 2nd or 3rd goaltending option as he should at least be able to get you some wins with a decent GAA.

Lets take a look at the NHL Fantasy 3 Stars for Week 6.

3rd Star – Jarome Iginla (RW), Calgary Flames

Despite being on the usually low scoring Flames Jarome Iginla has been a fantasy stud for years and this year seems to be no exception. Last week Iggy scored 4 goals and added one assist for 5 points with two of those points coming while on the power play. He also had a plus/minus rating of plus-1, zero penalty minutes, two game winning goals and 9 shots on goal. Jarome may be getting up there in age but he has yet to show any signs of slowing down.

2nd Star – Anze Kopitar (C), Los Angeles Kings

Anze Kopitar has been one of the biggest surprises so far this year and it doesn’t appear that’ll be changing any time soon. Last week Anze scored 3 goals while adding 3 assists for 6 points with one of those points coming while on the power play. He also had two penalty minutes, a plus/minus rating of plus-4, 11 shots on goal and won 23 faceoffs. Kopitar is on pace for a career year and it doesn’t look like he’ll be letting up anytime soon.

1st Star – Evgeni Nabokov (G), San Jose Sharks

The San Jose Sharks have been on a roll lately and a big reason for that has been because of their goaltender Evgeni Nabokov. Last week Evgeni collected two wins while posting a 0.95 GAA, .967 SAV%, one shutout and 88 saves. Nabokov has gotten off to a great start and if the Sharks keep playing like they can and win another Presidents Trophy he should end up being the #1 fantasy goaltender for this season.

Remember to check back in next week to see who the NHL Fantasy 3 Stars will be for Week 7.

Total Pro Sports – The fourth week of the NHL Fantasy 3 Stars sees a familiar face make his first appearance of the season, a young centre who will become a regular, a solid veteran off to another great start and an Oiler showcasing his playmaking ability.

This week’s honorable mention goes to Ales Hemsky of the Edmonton Oilers. Last week Hemsky scored 1 goal while adding 6 assists for 7 points with 4 of those points coming while on the power play. He also had two penalty minutes, a plus/minus rating of plus-2 and 16 shots on goal. Ales isn’t in the elite category among wingers but is a solid fantasy option as he has great playmaking ability and is good for 60+ points.

Lets take a look at the NHL Fantasy 3 Stars for Week 4.

3rd Star – Patrick Marleau (C/LW), San Jose Sharks

Patrick Marleau had a great 2008-09 fantasy season and so far he’s had another great 2009-10 season. Last week Marleau scored 3 goals and had 6 assists for 9 points with 4 of those points coming while on the power play. He also had a plus/minus rating of plus-2, zero penalty minutes, 14 shots on goal, one game winning goal and 27 faceoffs won. Patrick often gets lost in the shuffle behind Joe Thornton, Dany Heatley, Devin Setoguchi and Dan Boyle but is a great fantasy option.

2nd Star – Roberto Luongo (G), Vancouver Canucks

Not a big surprise here as Roberto Luongo is probably the best fantasy goaltender in the league. Last week Luongo collected 3 wins while posting a 1.26 GAA, .955 SAV%, 107 saves and one shutout. Roberto remains one of the best goaltenders in the league and as long as he stays healthy and plays around 65+ games is a threat to win 40 games each season.

1st Star – Anze Kopitar (C), Los Angeles Kings

Anze Kopitar is a young skilled centre who was expected to help carry the Kings offence but so far he’s been exceeding expectations. Last week Kopitar scored 6 goals while adding 3 helpers for 9 points with 4 of those points coming on the power play. He also had two penalty minutes, a plus/minus rating of plus-3, 15 shots on goal and won 31 faceoffs. Normally I would say sell high on a player in this situation but the Kings are a decent young team and Anze just has too much talent, if you have him, keep him unless you get a great offer.

Remember to check back in next week to see who the NHL Fantasy 3 Stars will be for Week 5.

Total Pro Sports – The first week of the NHL Fantasy 3 Stars sees a mixture of expected and unexpected players make the list.  Leading the expected is a highly skilled winger showing off for his new team and a goalie standing on his head in the dessert for the unexpected.

This week’s honorable mention goes to Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals. Ovie was able to score 2 goals and add 4 assists for 6 points with 2 of those points coming on the power play. He also posted a +/- rating of plus-3  with a staggering 32 shots on goal and zero penalty minutes. Expect even better things from Ovechkin as the season wears on as the top fantasy player.

Lets take a look at the NHL Fantasy 3 Stars for Week 2.

3rd Star – Anze Kopitar (C), Los Angeles Kings

Anze Kopitar has always been looked at as a young skilled center and this year may be his break out season. Last week Kopitar potted 3 goals and 5 helpers for 8 points with 4 of those points coming on the power play. Anze also posted a +/- rating of plus-4 with just 9 shots on goal and zero penalty minutes.

2nd Star – Ilya Bryzgalov (G), Phoenix Coyotes

After a disappointing 208-09 season Ilya Bryzgalov has started the 2009-10 season on fire. Bryzgalov recorded 2 wins while posting a 0.33 GAA, .985 SAV% and 2 shutouts. Ilya has gotten off to a great start, but the Coyotes are still a fairly young team that will most likely finish near the bottom of the standings so consider Bryz a sell high candidate.

1st Star – Dany Heatley (LW), San Jose Sharks

Dany Heatley seems to like his new surrounds in San Jose after filling the score sheet nicely this past week. Heatley scored 5 goals and put up 3 assists for 8 points with 4 of those points coming while on the power play. Dany also posted a +/- rating of plus-5, 6 penalty minutes, 12 shots on goal and 2 game winning goals. After a bit of a disappointing season last year Heatley looks like he’s well on his way to stud status.

Remember to check back in next week to see who the NHL Fantasy 3 Stars will be for Week 3.

The biggest loser in our NHL Power Rankings this week were the Boston Bruins. After winning the East last season all eyes are on the Bruins this season and so far they’ve disappointed with a so-so start and the sub-par play from their goaltenders.

The biggest gainer in our NHL Power Rankings this week were the Los Angeles Kings. It appears that writing off the Kings before the season began was a bit premature. It’s a long season but so far the Kings from Los Angeles have looked impressive.

Lets take a look at the rest of the league: NHL POWER RANKINGS for week 1 & 2

Rank	Team	Record	PRV	Comment
1		5-1-0	-	Have won 5 games in a row after losing their season opener to Pittsburgh.
2		5-1-0	-	The Pens haven’t shown any signs of fatigue winning 3 games in a row.
3		4-1-0	-	Lead by Anze Kopitar‘s 10 points the Kings have been the surprise of the 2009-10 season so far.
4		4-1-1	-	Great start for the Flames as they already have 4 wins and have also shown an ability to score which was a question mark heading into the season.
5		3-1-0	-	Steve Mason hasn’t been suffering from a sophomore slump and it shows with 3 wins in their first 4 games.
6		3-1-1	-	So far the gamble on Ray Emery has paid off as he looked great in preseason and has been solid early in the regular season.
7		3-1-1	-	Have won 2 in a row but some goaltending questions have popped up with the so-so play of Cristobal Huet.
8		3-1-1	-	Another big surprise to start off the season as the Avs have had three big wins over the Sharks, Canucks and Bruins.
9		3-1-1	-	If it wasn’t for a brain cramp by Nikolai Khabibulin in the season opener the Oilers would be undefeated in regulation.
10		3-2-1	-	Despite the disappointing start, the newest Shark Dany Heatley has been on fire and was named the 1st Star for week 2.
11		2-0-1	-	Have managed to win 2 of their first 3 games but scoring seems to be a problem as they have yet to score more than 2 goals in a game.
12		3-2-0	-	Got off to a terrible start but have rebounded and are on a 3 game winning streak.
13		3-2-0	-	The off-ice activities haven’t affected the play of Ilya Bryzgalov as he’s been great for Phoenix in the first two weeks.
14		3-2-0	-	Have won 3 games to start off the season although they were against sub-par teams.
15		2-1-2	-	Steven Stamkos appears to be a lot more comfortable in his 2nd year in the NHL as he has 6 points in his first 5 games.
16		2-2-2	-	Got off to a great start winning their first 2 games but have now lost 4 games in a row.
17		2-1-0	-	Rookie goalie Ondrej Pavelec has looked great so far and just might end up taking the #1 job from Kari Lehtonen.
18		2-2-1	-	Have had a so-so start as they try to figure out who their starter is…my money’s on Jonas Hiller.
19		2-2-0	-	After dropping both of their games to St.Louis in Stockholm the Wings have come back to North America and won their last 2 games.
20		2-2-0	-	After beating the Red Wings in their two games in Stockholm the Blues have struggled since coming back losing their last 2 games to the Thrashers and Kings.
21		2-2-0	-	After getting off to a promising start the Preds have lost their last 2 games.
22		2-3-0	-	After struggling out of the gate the Canucks appear to have turned things around winning their last 2 games.
23		2-3-0	-	Some questions in goal as Tim Thomas appears far from his Vezina winning ways and Tuukka Rask hasn’t been any better.
24		2-3-0	-	Will be looking to work on their consistency as they’ve had an up and down start to the season.
25		2-3-0	-	Despite the solid play of Carey Price the Canadiens find themselves one game below .500 after the first two weeks.
26		1-0-3	-	Although they have yet to lose in regulation they only have 1 win to start the season.
27		1-3-0	-	Disappointing start to the season for the less defensive new-look Minnesota Wild.
28		1-4-0	-	After winning their season opener against Chicago in Helsinki the Panthers have lost 4 in a row.
29		0-1-3	-	Despite the lack of a win John Tavares has looked great so far putting up 5 points in 4 games to start the season.
30		0-4-1	-	So much for the re-vamped defence. The Leafs currently sit last for Goals Against, second last for Penalty Killing and have yet to win a game.

Be sure to check back next week with our NHL Power Rankings for Week 3

Total Pro Sports – With the start of the 2009-10 NHL Season upon us it’s time to take a look and see how each team stacks up. As per the norm, each preview will be broken down by division in order of how we think the team will finish.

Lets take a look at the Pacific Division for the 2009-10 NHL Preview.

1. San Jose Sharks

The Sharks managed to disappoint yet again in the playoffs last year after being eliminated in the 1st round by the Ducks. They’re hoping that the addition of a superstar winger and new captain will change the result, time will tell.

Despite loosing some depth in their trade with Ottawa the Sharks still have some very talented forwards. Joe Thornton will look to remain as one of the best playmakers in the league and Devin Setoguchi will look to build off of a great sophomore season that saw him collect 65 points. It’ll be interesting to see how Patrick Marleau reacts to his captaincy being taken away and how long it takes for Dany Heatley to find chemistry on the top line.

San Jose is set on defence with a good combination of toughness and offence. Dan Boyle and Rob Blake will yet again be the key catalysts for offence on the point. Marc-Edouard Vlasic will also be able to supply some scoring from the point and Douglas Murray will use his aggressiveness and toughness to hold things down in the Sharks end.

Evgeni Nabokov will be looking for his 3rd 40+ win season in a row and with an unknown backup in Thomas Greiss  it isn’t that unrealistic as Nabokov will most likely end up playing 65+ games in the regular season.

2. Anaheim Ducks

Despite the loss of two key defencemen over the summer the Ducks still have a solid roster and will look to build off of a fairly successful playoff run that saw them beat the Sharks and give the Red Wings everything they had.

Up front Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry still lead the Ducks offence. Teemu Selanne will be able to help out with the secondary scoring and Bobby Ryan should have a great sophomore season. Saku Koivu should be solid as the team’s 2nd line centre and Joffrey Lupul will look to forget his days in Philly and rekindle the success he had in Anaheim before being traded to Edmonton.

On defence veteran Scott Niedermayer leads what will be an underrated group. Ryan Whitney will be helping out Niedermayer with offence from the blue line and Luca Sbisa will show why he was picked 19th overall in the 2008 draft. Nick Boynton will look to build off of a successful 2008-09 season with Florida and James Wisniewski will have a solid season as he collected 11 points in 17 games with Anaheim after being traded from Chicago last season.

In net the Ducks will have a healthy battle between Jonas Hiller and Jean-Sebastien Giguere. Jiggy struggled last season which saw him loose his starting job to Jonas Hiller who had a great showing in the playoffs. If I was a betting man, I’d put my money down on Hiller to win the starting job.

3. Dallas Stars

Dallas had a terrible 2008-09 that saw them end with just 83 points and end up on the outside looking in during the playoffs.

Dallas really missed captain Brenden Morrow last season as he was only able to play in 18 games in which he managed 15 points. They’ll also be looking for a solid season out of Brad Richards as he was able to collect 48 points in just 56 games last year. The underrated Mike Ribeiro will be looking to crack the 70+ point mark for the 2nd season in a row and Loui Eriksson should be good for 30+ goals again. Budding power forward James Neal will look to improve from a successful rookie season as well as Fabian Brunnstrom who had 29 points in 55 games.

Although the Stars defence is fairly young and talented they’ll sorely miss the play and leadership of one Sergei Zubov.  Matt Niskanen will be taking Zubov’s spot as the go-to guy on the point on the power play with help from Stephane Robidas and Trevor Daley. Mark Fistric and Nicklas Grossman will give the team some solid defensive play and Jeff Woywitka will look to solidify himself as an NHL defenceman.

Marty Turco will have a great rebound season and Alex Auld is a solid reliable backup who can also start a few games if Turco happens to fall to injury.

4. Los Angeles Kings

As expected the Kings had a terrible 2008-09 season. However, there’s some optimism surrounding this young team heading into the season.

Anze Kopitar is the star of the Kings offence, although he took a bit of a step backwards last season recording 66 points and Dustin Brown brings a combination of toughness and scoring ability. There are some big question marks regarding three players: Alexander Frolov, Ryan Smyth and Justin Williams. Frolov seems to be on the outs and has been rumoured to be playing on the checking line. Ryan Smyth brings with him some leadership qualities but he’s run into some injury trouble the last couple of seasons which will effect his offensive production. Big fan of Justin Williams and think he’ll be great on the team’s top line, but he’s another case of a skilled winger who can’t seem to stay healthy.

Whether the Kings improve on last year will rely fairly heavily on how the team’s defence performs. Drew Doughty had a great rookie capaign while Jack Johnson is still struggling to find his game in the NHL. Both Matt Greene and Sean O’Donnell are tough hard-nosed defencemen that will play solid in the Kings’ end and they’ll be getting some help in that department with the offseason addition of Rob Scuderi.

In net there should be a good battle for the starter’s job between Erik Ersberg and Jonathan Quick. At the end of the day though, the Kings will most likely just go with the hot hand rather than have a true #1.

5. Phoenix Coyotes

If there’s one team to feel sorry for for the 2009-10 season it’s the Phoenix Coyotes. They have a decent roster on paper, but the off-ice destractions on the sale of the team may be too much to handle for the players.

Up front the ‘Yotes are lead by the usual suspects in Shane Doan, Martin Hanzal and Peter Mueller. Despite only registering 28 points, Mikkel Boedker still had a successful rookie season displaying his speed, offensive and defensive abilities. Speaking of speed, Matthew Lombardi is expected to use his to put up some points and Scottie Upshall will be looking to act as the team’s tough pest while adding 30-40 points. Robert Lang was a savy pickup and will most likely be the team’s #1 centre.

On the backend Phoenix is looking fairly solid. Although his plus/minus takes a hit, Ed Jovanovski is a decent defenceman who plays tough and can also score some points. Zbynek Michalek will look to continue to grow as an NHL defenceman after putting up 27 points last season and Adrian Aucoin will look to continue his offensive play after back-to-back 30+ point seasons.

Ilya Bryzgalov will once again be looked upon to try and stand on his head. Although he is on Phoenix he should still be able to register around 25-30 wins as he’ll most likely end up starting 65+ games this year. Jason LaBarbera is a good backup but nothing special as he suffers from streakiness.

 5. Los Angeles Kings

Even though I have them ranked last, they do have a good young team.

The Kings forwards are lead by the young talented trio of Alexander Frolov, Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown. Derek Armstrong, Kyle Calder, Jarret Stoll and Michal Handzus will look to provide the secondary scoring. Young guys like Marc-Andre Cliche, Rich Clune, Ted Purcell and Brad Richardson will look to make their marks and be solid everyday players.

On defence Los Angeles looks pretty thin and don’t have anyone that stands out as the #1 guy. Jack Johnson will aim to improve from last season along with Matt Greene who comes over from Edmonton. Denis Gauthier will add some toughness and Tom Preissing will provide the offence.  Drew Doughty will become a great defenceman in the future, but the Kings wont be relying on him to do anything spectacular this year.

Their situation in net is interesting. If Jonathan Bernier makes the team then a tandem of him and Jason LaBarbera is pretty solid. If he doesn’t, then just like the defence, they’ll be weak and thin in net.

There’s some good/great potiental with this team but their young players aren’t quite ready to break out this season.