The strategy succeeded in getting the Flyers to play with a little more energy and aggressiveness, but unfortunately, Carcillo’s biggest hit in the game was on his teammate, Jeff Carter.  Carcillo, who was jawing at the Blackhawks’ Tomas Kopecky all game, lined Kopecky up for one of his signature bone crushing body checks, but when it came time for impact he completely whiffed on Kopecky.  In the way was Jeff Carter who got knocked the, you know what, out.  Carcillo didn’t seem phased, as he still stuck out his chest, and started yapping at Kopecky like a neanderthal.  While he was in Kopecky’s face, he made a couple head butt motions, still having no care in the world that he may have just concussed his own teammate.

Of course, Carcillo doesn’t seem to have any comprehension of what’s right or wrong on the ice, as he’s been disciplined by the NHL four times in the past two seasons, and as recently as the end of March.  Jeff Carter isn’t exactly a saint, though, either.  His hit on Anssi Salmela earlier this year is one of the dirtiest hits I’ve seen.  Something tells me this brutal teammate collision was meant specifically for these two.  A match made in woops.

Take this hit for example from the Flyers’ Jeff Carter. As Devils’ newly acquired forward, Anssi Salmela, just completes a shot on goal (and a goal, no less), he gets drilled in the head by an oncoming Flyers skater.  The puck is already off of Salmela’s stick and Carter puts his shoulder down into Salmela’s head/neck region, dropping Salmela into the ice, face first.

Salmela broke his jaw and lost some teeth, but otherwise should be okay.  He needed a stretcher to be taken off the ice, though.

The more I look at  the play, the more I guess Carter wasn’t heading toward Salmela at full speed with any added intent, and I know it’s awfully hard to avoid a player on a dime when you’re skating toward him for what will  eventually be a clean hit.  No penalty was called on the play, but I’m sure many people will have a good, hearty debate about this and whether or not Campbell should see a fine, or suspension.

When we’ve seen a  flurry of dirty hits over the past couple months in hockey, seeing a guy go off on a stretcher as a result of a controversial hit is always going to strike a chord with some people.

Hat Tip Video – [PuckDaddy]

This weeks honorable mention goes to Jeff Carter of the Philadelphia Flyers. Last week Carter potted 5 goals and added 3 assists for 8 points with 3 of those points coming on the power play. He also had a plus/minus rating of plus-5, zero penalty minutes, 25 shots on goal, won 41 faceoffs and had one game winning goal. Overall Jeff has had a disappointing season, however he’s been picking it up lately with 8 points in his last 5 games.

Lets take a look at the NHL Fantasy 3 Stars for Week 16.

3rd Star – Sidney Crosby (C), Pittsburgh Penguins

Sid The Kid has been quietly putting together another great season, although it’s what’s expected of him so that might be why he’s done so without a lot of press. Last week Crosby scored 3 goals and had 5 assists for 8 points with 5 points coming while on the power play. He also had two minutes in penalties, a plus/minus rating of even(0), just 9 shots on goal and won 35 faceoffs. Athough he’s been playing great so far, expect a bit of a drop off after the Olympics as he will most likely be taking it easy for a handful of games to gear up for another long playoff run.

2nd Star – Tomas Vokoun (G), Florida Panthers

In what seems to be a repeating pattern, Tomas Vokoun had a rough start to the season but has turned it on in the last little bit and now sits second behind only Martin Brodeur for the league lead in shutouts with 6. Last week Tomas had two wins while posting a 0.49 GAA, .985 SAV%, made 131 saves and two shutouts. Vokoun tends to get overlooked because of the team he plays for but he’s a great goaltender and should be good for at least 25 wins a season even though he plays for Florida.

1st Star – Craig Anderson (G), Colorado Avalanche

For those of you holding your breath waiting for Craig Anderson to fall on his face, I’d suggest to give up and start breathing again because I looks like it won’t be happening. Last week Anderson collected 3 wins while posting a .033 GAA, .988 SAV%, made 80 saves and had two shutouts. It’s no secret that Craig has played amazingly well this year and is a big reason why the Avalanche are this year’s big surprise. Bravo if you were one of the lucky ones to have either drafted or claimed Mr.Anderson off of waivers at the beginning of the season.

Remember to check back in next week to see who the NHL Fantasy 3 Stars will be for Week 17.

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 Atlantic Division for the 2009-10 NHL Preview.

1. Pittsburgh Penguins

Obviously not a big surprise here. As seems to be the trend, the Penguins did loose some players to free agency during the summer but they’ve managed to keep their core together which is huge.

Sidney Crosby and Bill Guerin showed some nice chemistry playing together in last year’s playoffs and will look to continue that success for the 2009-10 season. Evgeni Malkin unfortunately lost his linemate in Petr Sykora to Minnesota, but Malkin is too good of a player to let that stop him from collecting 100+ points. Jordan Staal leads a group of players looking to provide some secondary scoring with Matt Cooke, Maxime Talbot and Michael Rupp adding some sandpaper.

Defence is probably the one weak spot for the Penguins but when looking at their blueline it’s anything but. Sergei Gonchar, Kris Letang and Alex Goligoski supply the offence from the back end while Mark Eaton, Jay McKee and Brooks Orpik hold things down in the defensive end.

Marc-Andre Fleury showed in the playoffs that even though he may not be one of the top goaltenders in the league, he is capable of making the key save at the right time which is all Pittsburgh needs with their fire power. Despite some injury issues, Brent Johnson had a solid season with Washington last year and is a solid back-up.

2. Philadelphia Flyers

Bit of a disappointing season for the Flyers last year after making it to the Eastern Conference Finals in the 2007-08 season. However, like the Pens, Philly has managed to keep their core players and with the addition of Chris Pronger will be one of the harder teams to play against.

The great young duo of Mike Richards and Jeff Carter will look to lead the Flyers offence yet again this season. If Daniel Briere and Simon Gagne can stay healthy for longer than 40 games and Scott Hartnell can duplicate his 2008-09 campaign Philly could challenge the likes of Pittsburgh, Washington and Detroit as the league’s highest scoring team. Claude Giroux will look to build off a successful rookie season and highly touted prospect James Van Riemsdyk looks poised to make the opening day roster and possibly compete for the Calder Trophy.

The Flyers defence looks solid with Chris Pronger, Kimmo Timonen and Matt Carle playing the point on the power play and also very capable in their own end. Ryan Parent, Braydon Coburn and Ole-Kristian Tollefsen are three big young defencemen that’ll bring a solid defensive presence.

As per the norm since Ron Hextall left, the Flyers goaltending is a big question mark. Ray Emery has looked good so far during preseason but it’s only preseason and a lot can happen between now and early/mid April. Brian Boucher played great for the Sharks last year but at 32-years old will probably start running into some injury problems.

3. New Jersey Devils

After a disappointing end to their 2008-09 season in the game 7 loss to Carolina, New Jersey will look to rebound with a solid 2009-10 campaign.

Zach Parise leads the Devils offence with another young player in Travis Zajac looking to improve off of a  great 2008-09 season. Brendan Shanahan, Patrik Elias Jamie Langenbrunner and Brian Rolston will look to help put the puck in the net as well but with Jacques Lemiare behind the bench, don’t look for it to happen as often as it did last year.

The Devils defence doesn’t stand out as great, but they do have some solid players and should end up working well together as a unit. Paul Martin, Johnny Oduya and Cory Murphy will be looked upon to supply a majority of the scoring from the point. Players such as Colin White, Mike Mottau and Bryce Salvador will be looked upon to keep things simple and play solid in their own end.

Martin Brodeur will look to build on what will be a Hall of Fame career and Yann Danis will have a great time watching from the bench. If Marty misses a handful of games due to injury like last year things could get interesting as they don’t have a guy like Scott Clemmensen currently in their system that’d be able to help bail them out.

4. New York Rangers

Unlike some people I actually like the look of the Rangers this year and think they have enough to finish ahead of the Devils and possibly compete with the Flyers for second in the division. However, the Atlantic is a very tough division so I have them in the four spot, but I expect them to make the playoffs.

Just like the past few years, the Rangers have a solid forward group heading into the season. However, there is one big question…can Marian Gaborik stay healthy? If he can, adding him to the likes of Chris Drury, Chris Higgins, Brandon Dubinsky, Ryan Callahan and Vincent Prospal New York could surprise.

The biggest question mark has to be on defence. Wade Redden needs to step it up big time and Matt Gilroy will have to show why he won the 2009 Hobey Baker Award. Daniel Girardi, Michal Rozsival and Marc Staal are all good bets to have a solid 2009-10 season.

Henrik Lundqvist is one of the top goalies in the league and should have himself another 30+ win season. Steve Valiquette played well when relied upon last season and is one of the more underrated backups in the league.

5. New York Islanders

I don’t think I’m blowing anyone’s mind here with this pick. The Islanders have some decent young players coming up, but it’ll still be another 2-3 years before you can even think about the playoffs with this team.

As it looks right now the Islanders offence will live and die by John Tavares. Josh Bailey, Jesse Joensuu, Blake Comeau, Jeff Tambellini and Kyle Okposo make up a solid but inexperienced core of young players. Doug Weight, Richard Park and Trent Hunter will try to help the young players adjust to life in the NHL with their experience and leadership while also chipping in a few goals in the process.

With Brendan Witt, Mark Streit and Bruno Gervais the Islanders defence doesn’t look terrible. It doesn’t look great, but it isn’t horrible.

Goaltending is definitely New York’s strength for the 2009-10 season. With Garth Snow unconvinced about Rick DiPietro’s health he went out and signed both Dwayne Roloson and Martin Biron. Both upgrades over Yann Danis and Joey MacDonald from last year.

Total Pro Sports – With the NHL  regular season over and the NHL playoffs now under way it’s time to take a look back at the 2008-09 the NHL season and see who some of the top players were in terms of fantasy.

This entry will take a look at some of the players, 10 to be exact, who increased their value or surprised during the season. We’ll be keeping out the usual suspects, so if you’re looking for Alexander Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin you wont find them.

Lets take a look at the 2008-09 NHL Fantasy Studs.

LW – Zach Parise – New Jersey Devils: These weren’t your typical New Jersey Devils this year as they finished in the top 15 for goals for with 238 and were lead by the young gun Zach Parise. In 82 games this year Parise scored 45 goals and had 49 assists for 94 points with 30 of those points coming on the power play. Zach also registered 24 penalty minutes, a plus/minus rating of plus-30, 364 shots on goal and 8 game winning goals.

C – Jeff Carter – Philadelphia Flyers: The Philadelphia Flyers were a goal scoring machine this year finishing 5th for goals for with 260 and a large part of that had to do with the great play of  the young goal scorer known as Jeff Carter. In 82 games this year Carter netted 46 goals and had 38 helpers for 84 points with 24 of those points coming while on the power play. Jeff also registered 68 penalty minutes, a plus/minus rating of plus-23, 342 shots on goal and 12 game winning goals.

C – Ryan Getzlaf – Anaheim Ducks: The Anaheim Ducks had a disappointing season this year but still managed to make it into the playoffs and Ryan Getzlaf was a major reason why. In 81 games this year Getzlaf scored 25 goals and had 66 assists for 91 points with 37 of those points coming on the power play. Ryan also had 121 penalty minutes, a plus/minus rating of plus-5, 227 shots on goal and 2 game winning goals.

C – Marc Savard – Boston Bruins: The Boston Bruins surprised everybody this season by winning the Northeast Division and finishing 1st in the Eastern Conference and Marc Savard ‘s top notch playmaking abilities were a big reason why. In 82 games this year Savard scored 25 goals and had 63 assists for 88 points with 30 of those points coming on the power play. Marc also registered 70 penalty minutes, a plus/minus rating of plus-25, 213 shots on goal and 5 game winning goals.

RW/LW – Alexander Semin – Washington Capitals: The Washington Capitals finished 3rd for goals for with 268 and, aside from Ovechkin, Alexander Semin was a key factor in Washington’s offence. In 62 games this year Semin scored 34 goals and added 45 assists for 79 points with 30 of those points coming on the power play. Alexander also had 77 penalty minutes, a plus/minus rating of plus-25, 223 shots on goal and 8 game winning goals.

D – Mike Green – Washington Capitals: In what will surely be a Norris Trophy season for the offensive d-man, Mike Green played a big role in the Washington Capitals winning the Southeast Division and finishing 2nd in the Eastern Conference. In 68 games this year Green scored 31 goals and had 42 assists for 73 points with 38 of those points coming on the power play. Mike also registered 68 penalty minutes, a plus/minus rating of plus-24, 243 shots on goal, and 4 game winning goals.

D – Dan Boyle – San Jose Sharks: Definitely a big rebound year for Dan Boyle who was instrumental in the San Jose Sharks winning the Pacific Division, finishing 1st in the Western Conference and winning the Presidents Trophy as the league’s top team. In 77 games this year Boyle scored 16 goals and added 41 assists for 57 points with 32 of those points coming on the power play. Dan also registered 52 penalty minutes, a plus/minus rating of plus-6, 213 shots on goal and 4 game winning goals.

D – Shea Weber – Nashville Predators: The Nashville Predators weren’t quite able to make the playoffs this year but it was a great breakthrough year for their #1 d-man Shea Weber. In 81 games this year Weber scored 23 goals and added 30 assists for 53 points with 19 of those points coming on the power play. Shea also registered 80 penalty minutes, a plus/mius rating of plus-1, 251 shots on goal and 4 game winning goals.

G – Steve Mason – Columbus Blue Jackets: A terrific season for the Columbus Blue Jackets as they made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history and the shoe-in for the Calder Trophy goalie Steve Mason had a lot to do with it. In 61 games this year Mason recorded 33 wins while posting a 2.29 GAA, .916 SAV% and a league leading 10 shutouts. The future obviously looks bright for this young goaltender and is a must have for the 2009-10 fantasy season.

G – Niklas Backstrom – Minnesota Wild: A disappointing season for the Minnesota Wild as they failed to make the playoffs but it wasn’t from a lack of effort by their goaltender Niklas Backstrom. In 71 games this year Backstrom recorded 37 wins while posting a 2.33 GAA, .923 SAV% and 8 shutouts. Niklas also made a whopping 1900 saves during the season. Although things appear to be up in the air with the Wild right now, Backstrom is still a solid fantasy option and should be good for at least 30 wins again next season.

Remember to check back tomorrow to take a look at our 2008-09 NHL Fantasy Duds.

The high scoring affair was lead by Philadelphia Flyers forward Jeff Carter who scored his first career hat trick and added 1 assist on his 4 point night, making him “The Stat Line Of The Night” for Friday April 3rd, 2009.

Carter’s first NHL hat trick gave him 44 goals. Only Washington’s Alex Ovechkin has more this season.

“I’ve had a lot of two-goal games. I’m just happy to get it out of the way,” Carter said of his hat trick.

Hopefully he can continue on this hot pace and score 50 for the first time in his career.

Carter nets first career hat trick as Flyers drill Leafs for eight goals – [SportsLine]

Ovechkin picked the puck in the neutral zone, turned the OV jets on, passing one Lightning player and than snipping a wrist shot that would make Jeff Carter Jealous. Not much was talked about concerning the goal that reached the milestone, but the Celebration Ovechkin used to celebrate the goal made the most headlines. We really don’t understand what Alex Ovechkin is doing, but it looks like a little combination of praising his stick and telling the world his stick is on fire.

Watch for yourself and make your own conclusions, but Rick Tocchet and Bruce Boudreau were not pleased with it,

“We had a little talk,” he said. “I won’t say what we talked about, but we talked.”

After a pause, Boudreau added: “It’s the first and only time I’ve seen that happen in all the time I’ve been watching Alex. I’ve never seen him do a celebration like that. But I don’t expect it to happen again.”  [Capitals Insider]

I wonder what Don Cherry will have to say about OV’s celebration on Hockey Night in Canada tomorrow night?

Ending ( Jan 25th)

Total Pro Sports – This week’s NHL Power Rankings has very little movement as most teams only played one to two games before the All-Star Break.

NHL Power Rankings Movers And Shakers

The biggest Shakers in our NHL Power Rankings this week were the Anaheim Ducks falling a minisquel 2 spots to end up at unlucky #13.

The second biggest shaker was the Florida Panthers dropping 2 spots to land at #18 and the Minnesota Wild also dropping 2 spots to land at #19.

The biggest Movers in our NHL Power Rankings this week were the Carolina Hurricanes climbing up 3 spots to sit at #17.

Lets take a look at the rest of the league: NHL POWER RANKINGS for Week 16.

Rank	Team	Record	Change	Comment
1		34-6-5	-	Joe Thornton leads the team with 55 points and Evgeni Nabokov already has 25 wins with a 2.49 GAA and 2 shutouts.
2		34-8-5	-	Marc Savard leads the team with 56 points and Tim Thomas has 20 wins to go along with a 2.09 GAA, .934 SAV% and 3 shutouts.
3		31-9-6	-	Pavel Datsyuk leads the team with 56 points and Ty Conklin has registered 16 wins while posting a 2.33 GAA, .917 SAV% and 5 shutouts.
4		30-15-3	-	Alexander Ovechkin leads the team with 59 points and Jose Theodore has 17 wins with a 2.81 GAA, .898 SAV% and 1 shutout.
5		27-13-6	-	Andrei Markov leads the team with 37 points and Carey Price has 16 wins and a 2.35 GAA to go along with a .919 SAV% and 1 shutout.
6		28-16-4	-	Nikolai Zherdev leads the team with 39 points and Henrik Lundqvist has 24 wins to go along with a 2.53 GAA, .914 SAV% and 2 shutouts.
7		28-14-4	-	Jarome Iginla leads the team with 53 points and Miikka Kiprusoff has a massive 28 wins with a 2.82 GAA, .903 SAV% and 3 shutouts.
8		29-15-3	2	Zach Parise leads the team with 55 points and Scott Clemmensen has 19 wins with a 2.29 GAA, .922 SAV% and zero shutouts.
9		25-12-8	1	Patrick Kane leads the team with 42 points, Nikolai Khabibulin has 13 wins with a 2.37 GAA, .923 SAV% and 1 shutout and Cristobal Huet has 12 wins with a 2.30 GAA, .919 SAV% and 2 shutouts.
10		25-12-9	1	Jeff Carter leads the team with 51 points and Martin Biron has 15 wins with a 2.88 GAA, .906 SAV% and 1 shutout.
11		24-18-5	1	Derek Roy leads the team with 44 points and Ryan Miller has 22 wins while posting a 2.55 GAA, .916 SAV% and 3 shutouts.
12		24-19-5	1	Shane Doan leads the team with 46 points and Ilya Bryzgalov has 18 wins to go along with a 2.76 GAA, .913 SAV% and 2 shutouts.
13		23-21-5	2	Ryan Getzlaf leads the team with 56 points, Jean-Sebastien Giguere has 12 wins with a 3.08 GAA, .904 SAV% and 2 shutouts and Jonas Hiller has 11 wins with a 2.06 GAA, .930 SAV% and 4 shutouts.
14		23-21-4	-	Evgeni Malkin leads the team with a whopping 70 points and Marc-Andre Fleury has 15 wins with a 2.81 GAA, .910 SAV% and 2 shutouts.
15		22-19-7	-	Daniel Sedin leads the team with 48 points and Roberto Luongo has 11 wins with a 2.37 GAA, .921 SAV% and 5 shutouts in only 22 games.
16		24-19-3	2	Ales Hemsky leads the team with 41 points in 36 games and Dwayne Roloson has 15 wins while posting a 2.73 GAA, .913 SAV% and 1 shutout.
17		23-20-5	3	Ray Whitney leads the team with 39 points and Cam Ward has 18 wins with a 2.57 GAA, .911 SAV% and 2 shutouts.
18		21-17-8	2	David Booth leads the team with 31 points, Tomas Vokoun has 12 wins with a 2.68 GAA, .916 SAV% and 3 shutouts and Craig Anderson has 9 wins with a 2.47 GAA, .930 SAV% and 3 shutouts.
19		23-20-3	2	Mikko Koivu leads the team with 46 points and Niklas Backstrom has 22 wins to go along with a 2.22 GAA, .926 SAV% and 5 shutouts.
20		22-20-5	1	Rick Nash leads the team with 43 points and Steve Mason has 17 wins while posting a 2.05 GAA, .926 SAV% and 6 shutouts in just 30 games.
21		23-23-1	-	Ryan Smyth leads the team with 36 points, Peter Budaj has 14 wins with a 2.91 GAA, .899 SAV% and 1 shutout and Andrew Raycroft has 9 wins with a 2.77 GAA, .901 SAV% and zero shutouts.
22		20-18-7	1	Brad Richards & Mike Ribeiro are tied for the team lead with 39 points each and Marty Turco has 19 wins while posting a terrible 3.08 GAA, .885 SAV% and 1 shutout.
23		19-20-7	1	Anze Kopitar leads the team with 37 points, Erik Ersberg has 8 wins with a 2.44 GAA, .901 SAV% and zero shutouts and Jonathan Quick has 6 wins with a 2.45 GAA, .916 SAV% and 2 shutouts.
24		20-23-3	1	Jean-Pierre Dumont leads the team with 34 points, Pekka Rinne has 10 wins while posting a 2.33 GAA, .916 SAV% and 4 shutouts and Dan Ellis has 10 wins while posting a 2.92 GAA, .899 SAV% and 2 shutouts.
25		19-23-4	1	Brad Boyes leads the team with 37 points and Manny Legace has 13 wins with a 3.12 GAA, .888 SAV% and zero shutouts.
26		17-22-8	1	Nik Antropov leads the team with 35 points and Vesa Toskala has 15 wins while posting a horrible 3.29 GAA, .885 SAV% and 1 shutout.
27		16-21-10	-	Martin St.Louis leads the team with 46 points and Mike Smith has 13 wins with a 2.50 GAA, .919 SAV% and 2 shutouts.
28		17-26-5	-	Ilya Kovalchuk leads the team with 49 points and Kari Lehtonen has 8 wins with a 3.19 GAA, .904 SAV% and 1 shutout.
29		16-21-7	-	Dany Heatley leads the team with 43 points and Alex Auld has 9 wins with a 2.64 GAA, .907 SAV% and zero shutouts.
30		13-29-5	-	Mark Streit leads the team with 35 points and Joey MacDonald has 11 wins while posting a terrible 3.27 GAA, .900 SAV% and zero shutouts.

Be sure to check back next week with our NHL Power Rankings for Week 17.

This entry will take a look at some of the players, 10 to be exact, who either increased their value or surprised many of us. So, if you’re looking for Alexander Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin you wont find them on this list.

Lets take a look at the 2008-09 NHL First Half Fantasy Studs.

C – Ryan Getzlaf – Anaheim Ducks: It’s no surprise he’s one of the bright young players in the league, but no one expected him to do this well. He currently sits tied for 4th overall in the league for points with 56 (17 goals & 39 assists). He’s also managed to rack up 85 penalty minutes and 26 power play points.

C – Jeff Carter – Philadelphia Flyers: Carter had a promising rookie campaign back in 2005-06 but had troubles improving on it the last two seasons. That all changed this year as he’s currently 2nd overall in the league for goals scored with 30.  He’s also managed 21 assists for 51 points on the season so far.

LW – Zach Parise – New Jersey Devils: For being on a team not known for scoring, Parise is having himself one helluva season. Zach is tied for 5th overall in the league for points with 55 (28 goals & 27 assists). He also has a +/- rating of plus-20, 193 shots on goal and averaging 1.17 points per game.

C – David Krejci – Boston Bruins: Look up the word “surprising” in the dictionary and you’ll see a picture of this man right beside it, although most people probably don’t even know what he looks like. Krejci has played a big part in the Bruins success thus far and if you don’t believe me just look at his stats. He’s in the top 10 in the league for points with 52 (17 goals & 35 assists), has a +/- rating of plus-25 and has put up 15 power play points.

RW – Devin Setoguchi – San Jose Sharks: A team like the Sharks already stacked with players like Thornton, Marleau, Michalek and Boyle no one really expected anything out of sophmore Setoguchi. However, he’s already more than doubled his points from last season in the same amount of games, 44 points in 44 games, and has a +/- rating of plus-16.

D – Dennis Wideman – Boston Bruins: Just like Krejci, Wideman has played a big part in the turn around of the Boston Bruins this season. He’s tied for 6th amoung defencemen in the NHL for points with 31 (9 goals & 22 assists) and has a +/- rating of plus-26.

D – Shea Weber – Nashville Predators: On what has been an up and down season for the Predators they’ve been able to rely on one constant the whole season, Shea Weber. Weber is tied for 5th amoung defencemen in the NHL for points with 32 (14 goals & 18 assists). He’s also managed 11 points on the power play and has a +/- rating of plus-6, which is pretty good for being on a not so good team.

D – Rob Blake – San Jose Sharks: Just when it seemed like Blake was on the decline of his career he goes and proves everyone wrong. Blake currently has 29 points (7 goals & 22 assists) and a +/- rating of plus-13.

G – Steve Mason – Columbus Blue Jackets: Not even the Blue Jackets expected this one. He started out the season in the AHL but due to an injury to Pascal Leclaire he was called up and never looked back. Mason has collected 17 wins, and posted a league leading 2.05 GAA, .926 SAV% and also leads the league with 6 shutouts. Oh, and I forgot to mention he’s done all of that in just 30 games so far on a weak Columbus team who are fighting for 8th in the West because of his great play.

G – Scott Clemmensen – New Jersey Devils: When Martin Brodeur went down due to injury everyone thought the Devils season went down with it. However, a man by the last name of Clemmensen had something to say about that. In 30 games so far he’s collected 19 wins while posting a 2.29 GAA and a .922 SAV%.

Remember to check back tomorrow to take a look at our 2008-09 NHL First Half Fantasy Duds.

Ending ( Jan 18th)

Total Pro Sports – This week’s NHL Power Rankings has a tonne of movement due to the fact I was soaking up the sun in Miami and haven’t been able to do them since Week 10.

Despite all the movement, San Jose, Boston and Detroit remain the top 3 teams finishing 1,2 ,3 respectively.

NHL Power Rankings Movers And Shakers

The biggest Shakers in our NHL Power Rankings this week were the Nashville Predators falling a massive 8 spots to end up at #22.

The second biggest shaker was the Vancouver Canucks dropping 7 spots to land at #15.

The biggest Movers in our NHL Power Rankings this week were the Phoenix Coyotes climbing up 5 spots to sit at #13. The Calgary Flames also moved up 5 spots to find themselves at #7.

Lets take a look at the rest of the league: NHL POWER RANKINGS for Week 15.

Rank	Team	Record	Change	Comment
1		33-6-5	-	Even with their fantastic start they’ll need to get better efforts from guys like Milan Michalek, Jonathan Cheechoo and Christian Ehrhoff as both the Bruins and Red Wings are right on their tail.
2		33-8-5	-	Lead by Marc Savard and the surprising David Krejci the Bruins have rocketed up the standings and are now contending with the likes of San Jose and Detroit for the Presidents Trophy.
3		31-8-6	-	So far the Wings are loving January going 7-1-1.
4		30-14-3	1	Not to be Debbie Downer, but despite their success they’ll have to add some depth both up front and on the blueline if they want to be serious contenders come playoff time.
5		27-11-6	4	Thanks to the recent success of Robert Lang and Andrei Kostitsyn the Habs have enjoyed the month of January so far going 6-2-0.
6		27-16-4	2	They’ll need to get better efforts from veteran guys like Markus Naslund, Scott Gomez and Wade Redden if they want to have a good second half.
7		27-14-4	5	So far the additions of Mike Cammalleri, Todd Bertuzzi and Curtis Glencross have all been wise ones.
8		25-10-8	3	After a shaky start the Blackhawks have managed to turn things around thanks to a great month of December where they lost a total of two games.
9		24-12-9	3	Just like Chicago, Philly were able to turn their season around thanks to a great month of December as well. Plus it helps having the second highest goal scorer in the league with Jeff Carter.
10		27-15-3	3	Thanks to the solid play by Scott Clemmensen the Devils haven’t missed a beat with Martin Brodeur on the shelf.
11		23-19-5	4	Bobby Ryan has looked great collecting 28 points in 29 games so far. Jean-Sebastien Giguere will have to pick up his play greatly for the Ducks to make some noise in the second half.
12		23-17-5	3	After being reunited with Thomas Vanek, Derek Roy has caught fire and now leads the team in points with 42.
13		23-19-5	5	Peter Mueller has turned things around after a slow start collecting 4 points in his last 3 games.
14		23-20-4	4	Who would have guessed that a team with the league’s two top scorers would be struggling so much.
15		22-19-6	7	With Roberto Luongo back and a couple games under Mats Sundin‘s belt look for the Canucks to turn things around in the second half.
16		21-16-7	3	So far January has been a good month for the Panthers going 5-0-2. Question now is do they sell some of the future to try and make the playoffs for this year?
17		22-19-3	1	Mikko Koivu and Antti Miettinen have been two bright spots in what has been an up and down season for the Wild.
18		23-19-3	2	Despite being injured for a couple games Ales Hemsky still leads the team with 37 points. Erik Cole has improved his play lately and has 5 points in his last 5 games.
19		22-19-4	4	Steve Mason for MVP? He may not get many votes no matter how well he plays, but he’s definitely in contention for the Vezina.
20		21-20-5	3	Everyone who thought Ray Whitney would be leading the Hurricanes in points raise their hand…that’s what I thought.
21		23-22-1	1	So far Andrew Raycroft is enjoying some success in the limited playing time he’s gotten in the first half going 9-3.
22		20-22-3	8	Pekka Rinne has emerged late in the first half to become Nashville’s new #1 collecting 10 wins and 4 shutouts so far.
23		19-17-7	4	Are slowly trying to get back in the playoff hunt after a brutal start. Marty Turco will have to improve his play greatly for the Stars to gain any significant ground.
24		17-20-7	3	Good core group of young players but they need to start surrounding them with better veterans than Michal Handzus and Kyle Calder.
25		17-21-7	1	After a good start and a mini win streak in mid December the Leafs have come down to earth and will be sellers come the trade deadline.
26		18-23-4	1	They’ve been getting some fairly consistent scoring so far. Problem is their top two scorers Brad Boyes and Keith Tkachuk have a combined plus/minus of minus-36.
27		14-21-10	3	I don’t think they’d even have 10 wins yet if it weren’t for Mike Smith being between the pipes.
28		16-25-5	1	They recently named Ilya Kovalchuk the new team captain in an attempt to have him stay in Atlanta. Unless they surround him with more talent I don’t think it’ll work.
29		15-21-7	3	Who would have thought scoring would be the Sens problem this season. Will be interesting to see what Bryan Murray will get in return for Martin Gerber.
30		12-29-5	2	Mark Streit leads the team in points and everyone except Andy Sutton, who’s only played 23 games, and Kurtis McLean, who’s only played one game, are all minus players.

Be sure to check back next week with our NHL Power Rankings for Week 16.