Before we get to the honorable mention and the 3 Stars, we here at Total Pro Sports would like to congratulate the “Finnish Flash” Teemu Selanne on joining the 600 goal club last week. It’s just another great accomplishment for a player who is one of the best European born players to ever play the game and a sure fire Hall of Famer.

This weeks honorable mention goes to (LW)-Brenden Morrow of the Dallas Stars. Last week Morrow scored two goals and had 4 assists for 6 points with two of those points coming while on the power play. He also had 4 penalty minutes, a plus/minus rating of plus-2 and 8 shots on goal. Brenden was a surprise pick for Team Canada but he showed this week just why he was picked as he brings the ever valuable combination of size, grit and scoring.

Lets take a look at the NHL Fantasy 3 Stars for Week 22.

3rd Star – John Tavares (C), New York Islanders

The Super Rookie John Tavares, drafted 1st overall by the New York Islanders, got off to a solid start to the season but faded away during the months of January and February. However, after a big 5 point game against the Canucks last week he showed us that he still has something left in his tank. Last week Tavares scored 3 goals and added 4 assists for 7 points with 3 of those points coming on the power play. He also had a plus/minus rating of plus-3, zero penalty minutes, 9 shots on goal and won 12 faceoffs. John had a solid week last week but don’t let it fool you, even with his big 5 point night, he still only has 9 points in the month of March heading into this week.

2nd Star – Brad Richards (C), Dallas Stars

Brad Richards great comeback season continues as he had at least one point in every game for the Dallas Stars last week. Richards scored 3 goals last week while also putting up 4 assists for 7 points with 4 of those points coming while on the power play. He also had a plus/minus rating of plus-1, zero penalty minutes, 16 shots on goal and won 43 faceoffs. Sitting at 80 points with 10 games left heading into this week look for Brad to flirt with the 90 point mark to finish off the season and don’t hesitate to pick him for next either as he was still able to get 48 points in 56 games in an injury plagued season last year.

1st Star – Pekka Rinne (G), Nashville Predators

Pekka Rinne continues his solid play in the month of March after signing a two-year contract extension last month during the Olympics. Last week Rinne collected 4 wins while posting a 1.22 GAA, .958 SAV%, made 115 saves and also had back-to-back shutouts in wins over the Wild and Blue Jackets. Pekka is on pace for his first career 30+ win season this year and has really taken the bull by the horns since taking over as the team’s #1 last season. At 27-years old consider Rinne a decent keeper option for the next 4-5 years as Nashville continues to improve by bringing in more of their young players.

Remember to check back in next week to see who the NHL Fantasy 3 Stars will be for Week 23.

This weeks honorable mention goes to Jean-Sebastien Giguere of the Anaheim Ducks. Last week the man known as Jiggy collected three wins while posting a 1.71 GAA, .945 SAV%, one shutout and made a total of 120 saves. Giguere had been a fantasy stud since the 2005-06 season but fell on hard times last season struggling mightily and ended up losing his starting job to Jonas Hiller. Since returning from his latest injury J.S. has looked good and might be on his way to regaining his #1 status or getting some playing time somewhere else via trade for a team that could currently use some goaltending help.

Lets take a look at the NHL Fantasy 3 Stars for Week 9.

3rd Star – Brad Richards (C), Dallas Stars

Despite being a consistent 70+ points per season producer Brad Richards left a bad taste in people’s mouths after an injury riddled 2008-09 season that saw him put up 48 points in 56 games. So far this season Richards has been the great playmaking center that everyone grew accustomed to and showed it last week scoring one goal and adding 5 assists for 6 points with 5 of those points coming while on the power play. He also posted a plus/minus rating of minus-1, zero penalty minutes, 17 shots on goal and 19 faceoffs won. With his history I wouldn’t recommend to sell high with Brad but if you’re sitting pretty at center and could afford to loose him to strengthen another position like goaltending now is as good of time as any to involve Richards in a trade.

2nd Star – Miikka Kiprusoff (G), Calgary Flames

The workhorse known as Miikka Kiprusoff has been just that so far this season and just appears to be playing better and better as the season wears on. Last week Kiprusoff collected two wins while posting a .098 GAA, .970 SAV%, one shutout and made a total of 96 saves. Miikka is well on his way to another Vezina Trophy nomination as he already has 14 wins with a 2.38 GAA, .922 SAV% and two shutouts on the season.

1st Star – Sidney Crosby (C), Pittsburgh Penguins

Sidney Crosby has gotten off to a so-so start for his standards but if last week was any indication then he’s well on his way to another 100+ point season. Last week Crosby scored 5 goals and had three assists for 8 points with two of those points coming while on the power play. He also had 4 penalty minutes, a plus/minus rating of plus-3, 16 shots on goal, one game winning goal and won 49 faceoffs. Nothing much else needs to be said here as the young talented forward seems to be hitting his stride and remains a top 3 fantasy forward.

Remember to check back in next week to see who the NHL Fantasy 3 Stars will be for Week 10.

Ending (Feb 22nd)

Total Pro Sports – This week’s NHL Power Rankings sees a very familiar face…umm logo…re-take the top spot and the Ducks flying south.

NHL Power Rankings Movers And Shakers

The biggest Shakers in our NHL Power Rankings this week were the Anaheim Ducks falling 4 spots to land at #20.

The second biggest shaker was the Los Angeles Kings who dropped 2 spots to end up at #24.

The biggest Movers in our NHL Power Rankings this week were the Vancouver Canucks, Minnesota Wild and Pittsburgh Penguins all moving up 2 spots to sit at #11, #17 and #18 respectively.

Lets take a look at the rest of the league: NHL POWER RANKINGS for Week 20.

Rank	Team	Record	Change	Comment
1		40-8-9	1	Look to be back on track after winning all 3 games last week.
2		39-13-8	1	Solid week for Henrik Zetterberg collecting 2 goals and 3 assists for 5 points in 3 games.
3		38-17-5	-	7-2-1 in their last 10 games. Alexander Ovechkin appears to be in fine form after getting under the skin of Sidney Crosby in their game against Pittsburgh.
4		38-19-3	-	With Martin Brodeur set to return from injury the Devils will look to challenge the Bruins and Capitals for top spot in the East.
5		40-12-8	-	4-4-2 in their last 10 games.
6		35-18-6	1	Collected 5 out of a possible 6 points.
7		34-16-8	1	Outscored their opponents 12-4 in their 3 wins but had a hard time scoring vs Minnesota losing 2-1.
8		31-17-9	-	Great week for Mike Richards posting 8 points and being named the NHL’s 1st Star.
9		31-22-7	-	Putting the drama behind him Alex Kovalev re-joined and lead the Habs to a 5-3 win over the Sens collecting 3 points.
10		31-23-7	-	Will be interesting to see how the players react to the firing of Tom Renney and the hiring of John Tortorella.
11		30-21-8	2	On a 4 game win streak including an emotional 3-2 shootout victory for Mats Sundin over his former Leafs team.
12		31-23-6	1	With both Thomas Vanek and now Ryan Miller out of the lineup due to injuries the Sabres will have to dig deep to keep their playoff hopes alive.
13		30-21-8	1	Great week for Tomas Vokoun posting two shutouts in the Panthers wins over the Devils and Bruins.
14		30-24-6	-	Went 4-1-1 during their busiest stretch of the season playing 6 games in 9 nights.
15		31-25-5	-	On a 3 game win streak with Matt Cullen scoring a hat-trick in the Hurricanes 5-2 win over the Avalanche.
16		29-22-7	1	Have fared well so far with Brad Richards out of the lineup going 2-1 last week.
17		30-24-4	2	Went 2-0-1 against three tough opponents in the Flames, Red Wings and Blackhawks.
18		29-26-6	2	Despite their loss to the Capitals, the Penguins appear to be a better team with Sergei Gonchar in the lineup which is great news as they try to push for a playoff spot.
19		29-25-5	1	Currently on a 3 game winless streak.
20		29-27-5	4	Were able to break their 3 game losing streak with a 5-2 win over the Blue Jackets.
21		28-28-4	-	Steve Sullivan scored his first 2 goals in almost two years in the Predators 6-2 loss to the Red Wings.
22		27-28-5	1	Put together back-to-back victories over the Thrashers and Kings.
23		25-26-8	1	Congratulations goes out to head coach Andy Murray who collected his 300th career victory in the Blues 2-1 win over the Predators.
24		25-24-9	2	Have gone 1-3-2 in their last 6 games.
25		28-31-1	-	Nice week for Ryan Smyth who posted 2 goals and 2 assists for 4 points in 3 games.
26		22-27-9	-	Chris Campoli had a solid Sens debut posting 2 assists in their 5-3 loss to the Canadiens.
27		22-26-12	-	Suffered two tough shootout losses to the Blue Jackets and Canucks and almost faced the Rangers in one too but managed to beat them in OT.
28		20-28-12	-	Are 1-3-1 in their last 5 games.
29		21-33-6	-	Will be interesting to see who else the Thrashers trade away before the deadline as they build towards next season…and beyond.
30		18-35-6	-	The Islanders will look to continue stock piling picks and young players/prospects as the deadline nears.

Be sure to check back next week with our NHL Power Rankings for Week 21.

RW – Jonathan Cheechoo – San Jose Sharks: After a disappointing 2007-08 season with only 37 points, Cheechoo has followed it up with…another disappointing season. He only has 7 goals and 11 assists for 18 points, and only 5 power play points, in 33 games. Seems like his 50+ goal season is only but a distant memory now.

LW – Milan Michalek – San Jose Sharks: I will first point out that Michalek is still a young player with lots of potential and could easily turn things around in the second half. However, with only 29 points (11 goals & 18 assists) he definitely needs to pick up his play and show people why he was the 6th overall pick in 2003. He is playing with guys like Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau, Ryan Clowe and Devin Setoguchi so I do expect things to pick up for Milan in the second half.

C – Pierre-Marc Bouchard – Minnesota Wild: I will cut Bouchard some slack as he is playing on the defence first Wild and hasn’t had his buddy Marian Gaborik around a lot. But, that still doesn’t make up for the points, or lack thereof, that he’s put up so far this season. Pierre-Marc has 8 goals and 15 assists for 23 points after 43 games. Oh, and back to the defence first part, he currently has a +/- rating of minus-10.

C – Sam Gagner – Edmonton Oilers: After a successful rookie campaign last year putting up 49 points in 79 games bigger and better things were expected of Gagner for this season. So far he has disappointed scoring 4 goals and 13 assists for only 17 points in 43 games.

C – Rod Brind’Amour – Carolina Hurricanes: After a disappointing and injury plagued 2007-08 season Brind’Amour was looking to rebound with a solid season this year…so far no luck. Rod has only been able to score 8 goals and add 19 assists for 27 points in 48 games. He also has a terrible +/- rating of minus-29.

D – Kris Letang – Pittsburgh Penguins: When Sergei Gonchar and Ryan Whitney both ended up on the I.R. at the start of the season the Penguins turned to Letang to pick up some of the slack. Unfortunately he wasn’t able to. In 43 games Kris has managed 1 goal and 13 assists for 14 points and has a +/- rating of minus-3. Now that Whitney’s been back for a bit look for Letang to improve his play in the second half as some of the pressure has been lifted off his shoulders.

D – Mathieu Schneider – Atlanta Thrashers: After some very successful post-lockout seaons in Detroit and Anaheim, Schneider’s been having a hard time adjusting to playing in Atlanta. So far Mathieu has 4 goals and 6 assists for 10 points in 35 games. He also only has 3 power play points, a part of the game in which Schneider has excelled throughout his career.

D – Andrej Meszaros – Tampa Bay Lightning: When the Lightning traded Dan Boyle right away they looked to find a cheaper and younger replacement. They chose to trade for Andrej Meszaros to lead their defence and power play. So far it hasn’t worked. Meszaros has 2 goals and 13 assists for 15 points in 47 games. He has only averaged 37 points so far in his career but he is still young and was expected to take the next step this season.

G – Jean-Sebastien Giguere – Anaheim Ducks: What was thought to be one of the more solid fantasy picks for the season, Giguere has been anything but. In 31 games he’s posted 12 wins, a 3.08 GAA, .904 SAV% and 2 shutouts. Far from the stats normally posted by J.S.. Jonas Hiller has played well and has earned more playing time than expected due to Giguere’s lack luster play. It will be interesting to see if this battle for playing time will bring out the best in Giguere in the second half.

G – Marty Turco – Dallas Stars: Looks like the Stars might have given away the wrong goaltender in the Brad Richards deal from last season. In 42 games Turco has collected 19 wins while posting a 3.08 GAA, .885 SAV% and 1 shutout. At 33-years old Marty is getting up there in age for goaltenders and might be playing for a new team if his play doesn’t improve in the second half.

Week: | 1-2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9

Total Pro Sports – Things have seemed to settle down a bit in this week’s NHL Power Rankings as 9 teams remain in the top 10 from last week with the Wild dropping out and the Flames moving in.

NHL Power Rankings Movers And Shakers

The biggest Shakers in our NHL Power Rankings this week were the Toronto Maple Leafs moving down 5 spots landing at #27.

The second biggest shaker was the Columbus Blue Jackets also falling 5 spots to end up at #23.

The biggest Movers in our NHL Power Rankings this week were the Edmonton Oilers climbing up 4 spots to sit at #17.

Lets take a look at the rest of the league: NHL POWER RANKINGS for Week 9.

Rank	Team	Record	Previous	Comment
1		22-3-2	-	The machine just keeps on runnin’. JoeThornton is now leading the team with 32 points while Dan Boyle leads the defence with 24 points.
2		18-4-4	-	Seems like their determined to prove that this isn’t a fluke. They outscored their opponents 7-1 in their two games last week.
3		18-4-4	1	Bounced back from a so-so week by winning all three of their games. Marian Hossa now leads the team in points again with 29.
4		18-10-2	1	Seem to be going through a bit of a rough patch losing two of their three games last week and scoring just 6 goals in those three games.
5		15-7-4	-	Up until last week Dany Sabourin had done a great job filling in for the injured Marc-Andre Fleury, but he might be slowing down a bit after a not so great week.
6		15-6-5	2	Solid week for the Habs collecting 5 out of a possible 6 points. Saku Koivu continues to lead the team with 22 points.
7		15-10-3	1	Ryan Getzlaf continuing his great play now leading the Ducks with 34 points in 27 games.
8		15-10-3	1	The Sedin twins are keeping up with their solid play scoring a combined 53 points in 28 games.
9		16-10-1	2	Good week for the Flames winning two of their three games and Jarome Iginla continues to lead the team with 32 points.
10		15-10-3	-	An alright week for the Caps going 2-2. Bruce Boudreau splitting starts between Jose Theodore and Brent Johnson seems to be working so far.
11		13-7-6	2	Philly seems to be hitting their stride winning 8 of their last 11 games.
12		15-10-1	3	The surprising Mikko Koivu is maintaining his point per game pace with 29 in 26 games.
13		14-8-2	1	Devils managed to win both of their games in Overtime last week. Scott Clemmensen seems to be on a hot streak right now, only question is how long will it last?
14		12-6-7	-	The Blackhawks’ young players are continuing to put up good numbers and Jonathan Toews scored a highlight reel goal against Detroit on Saturday.
15		14-10-2	2	Won all three of their games last week and Shea Weber is continuing his impressive play with 25 points and a plus-12 rating.
16		13-12-3	1	Looks like the Canes will need more than just a coaching change to get things back on track.
17		13-11-2	4	The up and down season continues for this young team winning all three of their games last week.
18		12-11-3	2	Thomas Vanek is trying his best to get wins for his team as he’s leading the league with 20 goals.
19		11-11-4	-	Disappointing week for the Kings losing to the Leafs, Coyotes and then the Oilers in Overtime.
20		13-13-1	3	Good week for the Avs going 2-1-1. Surprise, surprise, Paul Stastny still leads the team with 24 points.
21		11-11-3	1	Brad Boyes leads the team with 25 points and Carlo Colaiacovo has looked good since coming over in a trade with the Leafs.
22		12-13-2	2	An okay week for the soon to be extinct Yotes going 2-2. Their captain Shane Doan leads the team with 26 points.
23		11-13-3	5	Kristian Huselius and Derrick Brassard are finally giving Nash some secondary scoring but so far it doesn’t seem like it’ll be enough to push them into the 8th spot in the West.
24		10-10-4	2	Thanks to some solid goaltending and the improved play of Dany Heatley and Jason Spezza the Sens got two big wins last week.
25		11-12-3	2	Good week for the Panthers going 2-1. Jay Bouwmeester has picked up his play lately and now leads the team with 16 points.
26		10-12-4	2	Just like the Panthers, the Stars went 2-1. Despite their bad record they’ve been getting widespread scoring as Mike Modano, Mike Ribeiro, Loui Eriksson and Brad Richards all have 20+ points.
27		9-12-6	5	Disappointing West Coast trip losing to the Sharks and Coyotes then come up flat against the Capitals on Saturday night.
28		10-14-2	3	Horrible week losing both of their games while being outscored 10-3
29		9-14-3	-	Ilya Kovalchuk has picked up his play of late leading the team with 26 points. It’s just too bad the rest of the team isn’t following suit.
30		6-12-8	-	Nothing going right for the Lightning right now. They only have one win in their last 13 games…I repeat one win in their last 13 games.

Be sure to check back next week with our NHL Power Rankings for Week 10.

They surprised a lot of people with their defensive play last year and getting Richards was a bold but great move.  With the experience their young defence received last year they should be in line for another solid season.  Even with Niklas Hagman and Jussi Jokinen gone the Stars still have a very good set of forwards.

Brenden Morrow, Jere Lehtinen, Mike Ribeiro and Brad Richards make up the foundation for the top 6.  Mike Modano will look to add speed and some offensive flare to the 3rd line and Sean Avery brings toughness and a win-at-all-costs attitude.  Fabian Brunnstrom will look to show why everyone was making a big fuss over him and I see him being a top 6 forward for this team. 

As I mentioned earlier Dallas’ defence is young, but showed last year that they can handle the pressure. Trevor Daley, Mark Fistric, Nicklas Grossman and Matt Niskanen highlight the young guys on the back end. The ole dependables are of course lead by Sergei Zubov with Stephane Robidas and Philippe Boucher.

In net the Stars are set with Marty Turco and an unknown but good goaltender in Tobias Stephan.  As long as the forwards can stay healthy and the defence keep improving the Dallas Stars will be fighting for home ice advantage in the playoffs.