Elliott further cemented his position as the Blues top goalie with his performance last night against the Vancouver Canucks, as he stopped all 32 shots that came his way, en route to the 3-0 shutout victory.  Elliott was especially busy during the third period, as the Canucks threw everything and the kitchen sink at him in an effort to close the gap, but Elliott was up to the task, making 17 saves in the final frame.

That effort earned Elliott’s team an impressive road victory and it earned himself “The Stat Line of the Night” for Wednesday, October 26, 2011.

This weeks honorable mention goes to (C/LW)-Henrik Zetterberg of the Detroit Red Wings. Last week Henrik scored 3 goals and added two assists for 5 points. He also had two penalty minutes, a plus/minus rating of plus-6, 22 shots on goal, one game winning goal and won 38 faceoffs. Zetterberg has been a bit of a disappointment so far this year, mostly because of injuries, as he’s on pace for 71 points. However, as has been the case the last 3 years, Henrik will be bringing it in the playoffs for Detroit so don’t hesitate to take him in your office pools if you think the Red Wings can go far in the playoffs.

Lets take a look at the NHL Fantasy 3 Stars for Week 23.

3rd Star – Ilya Kovalchuk (LW), New Jersey Devils

Ilya Kovalchuk is having another great year as he’s currently on pace for 40+ goals and 80+ points. Last week Kovalchuk scored 3 goals and had 5 helpers for 8 points with 3 of those points coming while on the power play. He also had zero penalty minutes, a plus/minus rating of plus-4 and 16 shots on goal. Ilya has been a point a game player (20 points in 20 games) since being traded to New Jersey but questions still surround how he’ll perform in the playoffs with his lack of experience (2 points in 4 career playoff games).

2nd Star – Jimmy Howard (G), Detroit Red Wings

Jimmy Howard has been Detroit’s saving grace between the pipes so far and is a big reason why this team currently holds a playoff spot. Last week Howard collected 4 wins while posting a 1.23 GAA, .958 SAV%, made 114 saves and had one shutout. Jimmy already has 32 wins with a 2.24 GAA and .926 SAV% in 57 games played, not bad for a young goaltender who was supposed to be the backup in his first NHL season.

1st Star – Brian Elliott (G), Ottawa Senators

Just like Jimmy Howard, Brian Elliott was expected to play the role of backup heading into the season. However, due to the lackluster play of Pascal Leclaire, Elliott has become the Senators #1 and has provided Ottawa with some solid goaltending. Last week Brian collected 4 wins while posting a 1.00 GAA, .967 SAV%, made 116 saves and had two shutouts. Elliott is far from being a big name goaltender nor is he a flashy goaltender, but he gets the job done and at 24-years old has potential to improve even more.

Remember to check back in next week to see who the NHL Fantasy 3 Stars will be for Week 24.

This weeks honorable mention goes to Jarome Iginla of the Calgary Flames. Last week Iginla scored 3 goals and had 4 assists for 7 points with two of those points coming while on the power play. He also had 5 penalty minutes, a plus/minus rating of plus-4 and 13 shots on goal. Jarome was going through some rough times prior to last week, but seems to be getting things back on track which is good news for the Flames and your fantasy team.

Lets take a look at the NHL Fantasy 3 Stars for Week 17.

3rd Star – Shane Doan (RW), Phoenix Coyotes

Shane Doan was supposed to act as the typcal veteran leader for the younger players on the Coyotes and be able to pitch in offensive once and a while, but so far this season he has been pitching a lot more than expected. Doan had 3 goals and 6 assists for 9 points with two of those points coming while on the power play. He also had two minutes in penalties, a plus/minus rating of plus-5, 14 shots on goal and one game winning goal. Although because of his age he isn’t getting as many penalty minutes as you’d expect, Shane is still a solid fantasy option as long as he’s putting up points and with 43 points already it looks like he could get close to 70 this season.

2nd Star – Nicklas Backstrom (C), Washington Capitals

As one of the top playmakers in the league Nicklas Backstrom showed off his great passing abilities yet again last week to help the Capitals extend their winning streak to 10 games. Last week Backstrom netted two goals while adding 5 assists for 7 points with 4 of those points coming on the power play. He also had two penalty minutes, a plus/minus rating of plus-6, 18 shots on goal and won 36 faceoffs. With 63 points already Nicklas is poised for a second consecutive 80+ point season. Expect this to be a common trend with Backstrom as he plays with the two most talented Alexander’s in the league with Ovechkin and Semin.

1st Star – Brian Elliott (G), Ottawa Senators

It seemed like everything was doom and gloom in Ottawa when Pascal Leclaire went down with yet another injury. Seems like those thoughts were a little premature. Last week Elliott collected 3 wins while posting a 0.98 GAA, .964 SAV%, made 81 saves and had one shutout. Brian isn’t a big name nor is he a flashy goaltender but he’s consistent and gets the job done. Consider holding onto Elliott even when Leclaire comes back as the Sens will most likely want to go with the hot hand and give Brian a chance to become the team’s clear cut #1.

Remember to check back in next week to see who the NHL Fantasy 3 Stars will be for Week 18.

Elliott not only made the amazing save, but it was early enough in the 3rd period that if the Hawks score there the outcome of the game could have been vastly different. If Hossa didn’t have a chin strap on his jaw probably would have hit the ice.

You also have to love the call by the play by play announcer: “Elliot somehow gets the magic wand on that and steals a goal!” Magic, indeed. The Sens went on to win the game 4-1. They’ve won 4 straight games and they are creeping up on Buffalo in the Northeast division.

NHL Power Rankings Movers And Shakers

The biggest Shakers in our NHL Power Rankings this week were the New Jersey Devils and Edmonton Oilers both dropping 4 spots to end up at #8 and #20.

The second biggest shaker was the Dallas Stars failing 3 spots to land at #23.

The biggest Movers in our NHL Power Rankings this week were the red hot St.Louis Blues moving up 4 spots to end up at #18.

Lets take a look at the rest of the league: NHL POWER RANKINGS for Week 25.

Rank	Team	Record	Change	Comment
1		48-17-10	2	After going through a bit of a funk David Krejci has returned to form posting 7 points and a plus/minus rating of plus-4 in his last 5 games.
2		49-15-11	-	Set a new franchise record for points in a season with 109 after their 3-2 win over the Coyotes Saturday night.
3		49-18-10	2	Bad week for the Wings going 1-3-0 losing to the Flames, Islanders and Predators.
4		41-24-10	1	Have 5 players who have scored 25+ goals this season and Joffrey Lupul is poised to join that club as well as he currently sits at 23 goals for the season.
5		46-23-7	1	Alexander Ovechkin padded his lead for the Rocket Richard Trophy scoring 3 more goals last week to put his total to 53 goals on the year.
6		41-27-8	2	Good week for Marc-Andre Fleury who picked up both wins for the Pens including a 2-0 shutout over the Flames.
7		43-26-6	-	Recorded a big 3-2 win over the Wild Sunday night after being shutout in their previous two games.
8		47-24-4	4	Currently on a 4 game winless streak after losing all 3 of their games last week.
9		42-28-7	2	Extended their home game winning streak to 9 games and are also on a 6 game winning streak.
10		41-25-9	1	Great week for the Sedin Twins as they combined for 17 points in 4 games.
11		40-23-11	1	Reverted back to some “old time hockey” in their 4-0 loss to the Canucks Sunday night when a total of 105 penalty minutes were handed out in the 3rd period.
12		39-28-9	2	Chris Drury had a good week collecting 4 points in 3 games.
13		38-27-10	1	Great week for the trio of Alex Tanguay, Alex Kovalev and Saku Koivu as the three forwards combined for 19 points in 3 games.
14		39-29-8	1	Rick Nash enjoyed a great week posting 7 points in 4 games.
15		38-30-8	2	Picked a perfect time to go on a 3 game winning streak as they’re battling for a playoff spot in the ultra competitive Western Conference.
16		37-30-8	3	Just like the Preds, the Sabres picked a great time to go on a 3 game winning streak as well as they’re in a battle with the Canadiens and Panthers for the 8th and final playoff spot in the East.
17		37-28-11	2	Despite Cory Stillman‘s 6 point effort the Panthers were only able to collect 5 out of a possible 8 points last week.
18		37-30-9	4	Have been as hot as a blue flame the last two weeks and currently hold the 8th and final playoff spot in the West thanks to a 5 game winning streak.
19		38-32-6	1	Are trying their hardest to capture the 8th and final spot in the West going 7-3-0 in their last 10 games.
20		36-31-9	4	Have put a damper on their playoff hopes after going 1-4-0 in their last 5 games.
21		33-32-10	-	Congratulations to Brian Elliott who recorded his first career shutout in the Sens 3-0 win over the Lightning.
22		36-32-8	1	Marian Gaborik has looked great since coming back from injury and has 7 points in his last 5 games.
23		33-33-9	3	Currently on a 6 game winless streak after losing to the Canucks, Kings and Panthers last week.
24		32-38-6	1	Ilya Kovalchuk had yet another solid week this time collecting 6 points in 3 games.
25		31-32-13	1	The duo of Mikhail Grabovski and Alexei Ponikarovsky enjoyed another successful week this time combining for 10 points in 3 games.
26		31-33-11	-	Have gone 3-1-1 in their last 5 games.
27		31-37-7	-	Only 2 games last week in which they recorded a 3-2 win over the Oilers then suffered a loss to the Sharks by the same score.
28		24-35-17	1	Currently find themselves on a 3 game winless streak.
29		31-43-2	1	Currently on a 5 game losing streak after losing to the Canucks and Ducks twice last week.
30		25-41-9	-	The Islanders advertising their AHL affiliate’s playoff games on their website pretty much sums up the Islanders season this year.

Be sure to check back next week with our NHL Power Rankings for Week 26.