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.

In town to face the Thrashers, the Panthers found themselves tied midway through the first period when Ilya Kovalchuk got behind Ballard and found himself alone on a break-away against Vokoun.  His initial shot was stopped, but Vokoun couldn’t find the rebound and Kovalchuk was able to recover in time to slip the puck into the net.

Ballard was visibly upset following the goal.  Attempting to break his stick on the goal post, Ballard’s swing unintentionally struck an unsuspecting Vokoun in the head, knocking him to the ground.  Ballard had successfully broken his stick, but he was unaware that Vokoun’s head was the cause.

The Panthers’ netminder remained on the ground in pain as blood dripped from his head.  The Trainers came out to attend to Vokoun for several minutes before he was stretchered off and taken to an Atlanta hospital to be treated for a deep cut to his ear.  Thankfully, he was “alert and responsive” on his way to the hospital.

It is great to hear that Vokoun will be alright, not only for his own health, but for the health of Keith Ballard as well.  You could see how shaken up Ballard was following the incident as he waited and watched from the bench (and at one moment had to retreat to the locker room area).

Ballard is often the one responsible for protecting Vokoun.  Unfortunately, this time he could not guard his goalie from his own stick.

The Full Replay

This week’s honorable mention goes to Mike Richards of the Philadelphia Flyers. Last week Richards scored 3 goals and added 5 assists for 8 points with one of those points coming on the power play. He also had 9 shots on goal, 2 penalty minutes and a plus/minus rating of plus-5. Mike has had a fantastic year so far totaling 23 goals and 37 assists for 60 points and a plus/minus rating of plus-23 in 54 games.

Lets take a look at the NHL Fantasy 3 Stars for Week 20.

3rd Star – Pavel Kubina (D), Toronto Maple Leafs

Pavel Kubina may not be waiving his no-trade clause for the Leafs but he sure is increasing his value with his strong play as of late. Last week Kubina scored 1 goal and had 5 helpers for 6 points with 4 of those points coming on the power play. Pavel also registered 10 shots on goal, 4 penalty minutes and a plus/minus rating of plus-2. I would be wherry of Kubina as he does have a nice amount of points but a bad plus/minus rating of minus-7 on the year.

2nd Star – Jonathan Toews (C), Chicago Blackhawks

Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane are becoming one the league’s most dynamic duos. Last week Toews collected 4 goals and 2 assists for 6 points with 2 of those points coming on the power play. He also registered 17 shots on goal, 8 penalty minutes and a plus/minus rating of plus-4. Jonathan has been coming on strong since his poor start and is definitely one of the top players when it comes to keeper leagues.

1st Star – Tomas Vokoun (G), Florida Panthers

For the second week in a row Tomas Vokoun makes the list, this time as the 1st Star. Last week Vokoun posted 2 wins while posting a 1.33 GAA, .975 SAV% and 2 shutouts. Tomas has managed to re-gain his All-Star form from a year ago and is the main reason why the Panthers are looking to make the playoffs for the first time since 2000 when Mike Vernon was their starting goaltender.

Remember to check back in next week to see who the NHL Fantasy 3 Stars will be for Week 21.

This week’s honorable mention goes to Dwayne Roloson of the Edmonton Oilers. Last week Roloson collected 3 wins while posting a 1.62 GAA, .954 SAV% and made 103 saves. After a shaky 2007-08 campaign Dwayne has been rock solid since taking over as the full-time starter this season refreshing people’s memories as to why the Oilers traded for him back in 2005-06.

Lets take a look at the NHL Fantasy 3 Stars for Week 19.

3rd Star – Ilya Kovalchuk (LW), Atlanta Thrashers

Looks like someone forgot to tell Ilya Kovalchuk that the Thrashers are out of the playoff hunt. Last week Kovalchuk scored 5 goals and had 1 helper for 6 points with 3 of those points coming on the power play. He also registered 14 shots on goal, a plus/minus rating of plus-1 and one game winning goal.

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

If the Panthers make the playoffs you can bet that Tomas Vokoun will be their MVP. Last week Vokoun had 3 wins with a 1.96 GAA, .946 SAV% and 1 shutout. He also stopped 140 pucks, 42 of which came in his shutout win over the Hurricanes. After a rough start briefly losing his starting job to Craig Anderson, Tomas has provided all-star calibre goaltending for Florida and is a lock fantasy wise for the rest of the season.

1st Star – Zach Parise (LW), New Jersey Devils

As one of the bright young stars in the league Zach Parise has “Fantasy Stud” written all over him. Last week Parise scored 4 goals while adding 4 assists for 8 points with 4 of those points coming on the power play. He also registered 15 shots on goal, a plus/minus rating of plus-2 and one game winning goal. With players such as Zach Parise, Patrik Elias, Jamie Langenbrunner and Travis Zajac the Devils are no longer seller dwellers fantasy wise. That standing would go to the Minnesota Wild.

Remember to check back in next week to see who the NHL Fantasy 3 Stars will be for Week 20.

4.  Florida Panthers Season Preview

Bit of a drop after finishing 3rd last year, but that has more to do with the improved Lightning than the moves made by the Panthers.

Florida will be leaning heavily on young guys Nathan Horton, Stephen Weiss and Rostislav Olesz to put the puck in the net for them this year. Cory Stillman, Radek Dvorak and Richard Zednik will also be relied upon to put up some points as the veterans up front. Anthony Stewart will look to make an impact this season and solidify himself as a top power forward in the making.

Their defence isn’t great, but it isn’t that bad either. Bryan Allen, Keith Ballard, Nick Boynton, Cory Murphy and Karlis Skrastins are all legitimate defenceman and decent options. Bryan McCabe and Jay Bouwmeester will be looked upon to lead the offensive charge from the blueline.

In net the Panthers are pretty well set with Tomas Vokoun and Craig Anderson.

They have great goaltending from Vokoun and have a good defence, but aside from Horton their young forwards aren’t ready to make that push towards contention yet.