Oh, the life of Daniel “Danny” Briere – it’s just one injury after another these days, isn’t it? If you’re a fantasy manager, you were stoked to see Briere finally back, then pissed to see him get hurt yet again. If you’re Flyer GM Paul Holmgren, you’re probably slapping your forehead after just clearing a whole buttload of cap space at the trade deadline. But wait, it’s not as bad as we thought. It’s just a lot grosser than we thought. From Canadian Press:

“Briere was examined Friday morning, and his surgeon told him the adhesions broke from his last groin surgery and there was some internal bleeding. Briere said his surgeon told him that was common and Briere could possibly play Tuesday against Buffalo.”

Common? I hope my groin adhesions never break. In any case, don’t shut down Briere from your lineup just yet.

As for that whole trade deadline issue, the big fantasy winner is Olli Jokinen, but you knew that, right? Jokinen popped in a pair of goals in his first game skating alongside Jarome Iginla (guess which guy got to wear No. 12?) and everything’s sunshine and rainbows in Calgary, or as sunshine and rainbows as Darryl “Bitter Beer Face” Sutter can be. However, the knock on Jokinen has constantly been great start, poor finish. Will this happen up in Calgary? One would hope that having the playoffs around the corner would actually motivate the dude, but when you have someone who occasionally wears a porn star ’stache during the regular season, you don’t know what to expect.

The New York Rangers revamped their lineup to go along with their revamped coaching staff. Derek Morris becomes the de facto power play point man on Broadway despite having just a handful of points. He’ll certainly get his opportunities, so if you need some help on defense, it’s worth a gamble.

Hey, remember Martin Gerber? He’s back in the NHL thanks to the wacky folks over in Toronto. No, he’s not just there to serve Brian Burke pizza; Gerber’s actually got a hold of the starting position because Vesa Toskala’s been shut down for the year. You need starts to finish out your fantasy season? Gerber’s your man. Just don’t expect a ton of wins.

Erik Cole returns to the scene of the crime in Carolina. If you’ll recall, Cole was on the cusp of being one of the league’s best power forwards when a broken neck — yes, a broken neck — got in the way. Since then, he hasn’t put up goals at the same pace, but now he’s reunited with regular linemate/BFF Eric Staal. We’ll see if there’s any magic left over from 2005.

The other component of the Cole deal finds oft-injured Justin Williams in Los Angeles and underachieving Patrick O’Sullivan in Edmonton. For O’Sullivan, the key will be how much ice time he gets skating with talented Ales Hemsky.

Sidney Crosby’s linemates in his first game back from injury: Chris Kunitz and Bill Guerin. It’s like Crosby woke up from a bad dream where he was surrounded by soft over-the-hill wingers (Miroslav Satan, say hello to the AHL). While Guerin’s numbers haven’t been anything to write home about this season, he still does love to shoot the puck and his aggressive style will work well with Crosby’s playmaking skills.

Brendan Morrison’s long strange journey across the NHL continues. Remember, at one point, this guy was a point-per-game player. Claimed off waivers by Dallas, he’ll be given every opportunity to thrive as the Stars remain depleted up front due to injury. Morrison probably won’t break up Mike Ribiero/Loui Eriksson, which means that he won’t have much scoring talent to work with. In other words, don’t look for a return to form from Morrison.

Antoine Vermette’s move to Columbus means that Ken Hitchcock has a few more offensive options, especially with Fredrick Modin coming back from injury soon. However, the combination of Rick Nash/Manny Malhotra/Kristian Huselius has found a pretty good groove, so don’t look for Hitch to tinker with things too much until it appears necessary. The Blue Jackets are filled with second liners like Vermette and R.J. Umberger that show first-line potential…whether they get there or not can make or break their playoff hopes.

And while this wasn’t a trade deadline move, the return of Martin Brodeur has provided the Devils an even bigger kick than making a big deal would. We sure hope you took our advice and picked him up if he was available, because good old Marty is 4-0 since returning from a 50-game absence and you can pretty well guarantee that he’s no longer on anyone’s wire. Brodeur is about to make history, currently sitting a mere four wins shy of passing Patrick Roy and becoming the NHL all-time leader in wins.

The Week Ahead

• How much can Jokinen ignite the Flame offense? We’ll find out as Calgary hits the road against Carolina (Friday), Atlanta (Sunday), New Jersey (Tuesday), and Detroit (Thursday).
• While a lot of Western teams are taking road trips out east, there are still key head-to-head match-ups for the playoff race: Minnesota at LA (Saturday), Minnesota at Anaheim (Sunday), Vancouver at LA (Monday), and Vancouver at Anaheim (Wednesday).
• Alexander Ovechkin is suffering from a bruised foot, but he should be in the lineup for the big game against Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday. Don’t forget that the last time these rivals clashed sparked a war of words between the stars, and now even Don Cherry’s weighing in. All eyes will be on Crosby and his new linemates Kunitz and Guerin.

It’s been a rough spell for Daniel Alfredsson, as first photos of him wearing a pink dress in Las Vegas find their way onto the inter-tubes, then his jaw goes boom. However, his Sens are still kicking since sending Craig Hartsburg into the abyss. Part of the reason for their semi-success? Antoine Vermette remembered he’s a pretty skilled hockey player and popped in seven points in his last five games.

In case you haven’t heard the latest news: Brad Richards = hurt (broken wrist, out up to two months), Mike Richards = awesome (five points against the Sabres on Thursday night), and Atlanta Thrashers = confused (scoring boatloads of goals when nothing matters…hell, even RotoRob noticed that one). Just wanted to get that out of the way.

The Pittsburgh Penguins got a shot in the arm (the return of Sergei Gonchar) and a kick in the ass (new coach Dan Bylsma), though they haven’t somehow reversed time to turn back into the 2007-08 world beaters they were last season. Gonchar’s return is significant though, as it should improve the woeful Pittsburgh power play and cause a trickle-down effect on the rest of the Penguin blueliners. As for Bylsma? He’s employing a more aggressive system than the ever-cautious Michel Therrien. We’ll see how long that sticks depending on performance, but right now that’s good news for whoever plays with Sidney what’s-his-name and Evgeni something-or-other. You know, those two franchise players that are supposed to make Pittsburgh the best team in the history of time.

In fantasy news that doesn’t really matter, Claude Lemieux — he of the glorious China-and-back return — scored his first point of the season. And it only took him 10 games. It’s a little different from Mario Lemieux’s return in 2000, ain’t it?

Vesa Toskala has transformed from starting goalie to walking sieve, so young Justin Pogge’s being given a chance (look for that Toskala robot in the new Transformers movie). Since nothing’s working in Toronto, it’s time to hand over the reins to the kids. Not that that’s always a good idea, but hey, you can’t live in the shadow of Mats Sundin forever, right?

Speaking of Mats, he teased us with thoughts of “He’s not just a poker player!” when the big Swede put up sevens points in three games. Since then? Two points in five games. Seven…three…two…five…hey, if he gets six points in his next four games, Sundin will have a straight! Of course, Mats endorses poker sites for entertainment purposes only, so he wouldn’t win any money.

Do you believe in the Florida Panthers? They just keep winning and winning despite not having a single guy over the 50-point plateau. The closest guy they have in this scoring-by-committee bunch is Stephen Weiss, but of his 41 points, only 10 are goals. That’s an acceptable ratio if you’re, say, Joe Thornton, but for the purposes of fantasy games that don’t involve Daniel Alfredsson in a pink dress, that’s thumbs down for a team leader. Want to ride the surge of the Panthers? Stick with the defense or Tomas Vokoun (according to Yahoo!, Vokoun’s still available in 22 per cent of its fantasy leagues).

The Week Ahead

• On Saturday afternoon, the struggling Habs (who are so desperate these days that they’ve sent Alexei Kovalev home to get his shit together) look to snap a three-game losing skid at home against Ottawa, which is making a bit of a push to try to get back in the race. On Thursday, Carey Price was again awful for Montreal, which is now free falling in the Eastern standings. Sacrebleu!
• Saturday night, the Bruins travel to Florida where they will eat dinner at 4 p.m. and then take on the surging Panthers in what could be a possible first round preview. As good as Florida has been at home this season (16-8-5), Boston is even better than that on the road (21-6-5). That’s pretty damn impressive.
• Speaking of afternoon hockey, on Sunday (on national TV, no less), we get the revitalized Penguins in Washington to take on the still red-hot Capitals. Pittsburgh is desperately trying to work its way back into the Eastern Conference playoff race, while Washington continues to chip away at Boston’s conference lead.

The Atlanta Thrashers, a team that’s mostly been a thrashee as opposed to a thrasher this season, have suddenly woken up, winning three of their past four including the first two games of their four-game Western road swing – their longest road trek of the season. Where has this been all season? And why the hell would it emerge during perhaps the toughest stretch the team faces all year long?

The Thrashers have really been in free fall since the 2006-07 season, when they approached 100 points, won their division and made the one and only playoff appearance in franchise history. Last season was a fiasco, as the team’s offense and defense where both near the bottom of the league. In fact, they finished tied for last in goals against average. This season, while the offense has bounced back, the goaltending has been even more horrific, and if it weren’t for the laughable Leafs, Atlanta would be dead last in GAA. Despite the improved scoring, the Thrashers have completely bottomed out, and currently have the second worst record in the entire NHL.

So now that the pressure of making the playoffs is a thing of the past – Atlanta has already started focusing on the future by dealing away veteran defenseman Mathieu Schneider to Montreal for a pair of draft picks – the team is putting up some Ws. The Thrashers are now closing in on Tampa Bay as they attempt to crawl out of the division cellar. And Thursday night, they could easily continue the roll as they face off against the NHL’s coldest team in Phoenix, losers of six straight at home.

However, expecting the club to continue winning the way they have this week – 8-4 over Anaheim and 7-6 in a shootout over LA – is a stretch. I mean, come on, the last time the Ducks gave up eight goals against anyone was March 21, 2001, the second longest current streak in the league. Atlanta better tighten up its lackluster defensive play if it hopes to continue to show improvements down the stretch. But one bright sign has been the play of rookie defensemen Zach Bogosian and Nathan Oystrick, who have been paired together since the Schneider deal. These two youngsters (well, Oystrick isn’t that much of a youngster, but he’s still a veritable NHL neophyte) have been drawing rave reviews, and Bogosian’s emergence is definitely something to watch. He logged three assists and went +2 in the win over LA, drawing some fantasy traction in the past couple of days. If you’re in a deep league, it may be time to consider last season’s No. 3 overall pick. He’s been rushed to the Show, but for a good reason. This 18-year-old has fans around the league buzzing.

With the trade deadline coming soon and Atlanta clearly falling under the seller umbrella, more house cleaning may be in order soon for the Thrashers. The most likely candidates to be moved now that Schneider has been dispatched are Ilya Kovalchuk and Colby Armstrong, the later of which is enjoying his finest season, and appears headed for his first 20-goal campaign. A move to a contender could definitely provide a nice boost for Armstrong, making him a waiver wire possibility. If your league is deep enough that you can stash him, now might be the time to consider it. Otherwise, wait and see how this situation plays out. One prominent rumour has the Leafs offering a package centred around Nik Antropov that will land both Kovalchuk and Armstrong in Toronto.

As we alluded to, expecting these kind of offensive fireworks from the Thrashers on a regular basis is unwise. Consider that they have potted 13 goals in the first two games of this road trip. Then consider that in the previous eight games, they had totaled just 12 goals. Can you say unsustainable? And even with the goal explosion, the Thrashers still almost found a way to blow it against the Kings on Monday. They frittered away a 6-3 lead, allowing LA to score three times over the final 12:30 to force overtime before the Thrashers pulled out the two points in the shootout.

After topping 50 goals for the second time in three seasons in 2007-08, Kovalchuk has been a major disappointment this year. In fact, he’s been so bad that he earned a not-so-coveted RotoRob Award as our 2008 Fantasy Dud of the Year. However, perhaps the thought of escaping Atlanta has him frothing at the mouth, because he sure looks like a different player lately. He’s scored goals in five straight games, totaling eight scores with three assists during this stretch. The team’s leading scorer (29 goals, 61 points) has five goals and two assists in the last two games alone. Can you can blazing? Kovalchuk is suddenly back on pace to nearly match last season’s point total and is definitely upping his trade value with each passing game. There’s talk he could wind up in Boston, although the Bruins aren’t known for bringing in high-priced talent, and at $7.5 million per year for this season and next, Kovalchuk is one of the top-paid players in the NHL.

Another tremendously hot Thrasher is Slava Kozlov. He potted a pair of assists Monday to run his point-scoring streak to five games, totaling two goals and five assists during this run. Kozlov was slumping for a while, but is clearly past that, and he’s someone we identified as a major target should Kovalchuk be sent packing. The 16-year veteran, who passed the 800 career point mark with his two helpers Monday, stands to be the stud in Atlanta once Kovalchuk is dealt, so if he’s still unowned in your league, you better add him now.

Centre Todd White’s finest NHL season has continued, as he’s got three points in the last two games. His goal Monday was his 15th of the season, already more than he scored all of last season. He has a good chance of recording his first ever 70-point season and you’ve got to figure this is another veteran who stands to gain more responsibility after the trade deadline. Given that he’s currently owned in just over a third of the leagues out there, White makes a great player to target.

While the NHL trade deadline is just under a month away, fantasy leagues all over are getting to the point where rosters have to be frozen. If you find you’re lacking in a specific category, we’re here to help — and not in a Christian Bale career-advice kind of way.

• Are you hurting when it comes to +/-? Boston Bruins players are the leaders in that category, and considering the B’s overall record, it’s not too surprising. However, the New Jersey Devils are a pretty good honorable mention, and some of their players might be available on the waiver wire. While Travis Zajac (43 points, +26) and Zach Parise (59 points, +21) are probably happily owned by fantasy GMs, Jamie Langenbrunner (42 points, +19), Mike Mottau (10 points, +18), and Colin White (11 points, +17) may be more under the radar.
• And if you need someone who’s essentially a bonus player at this point, Brendan Shanahan’s off to a good start with his new/old team.
• Power play points are always a tricky thing to look at because they come and go in waves depending on whether or not a team is hot or cold. While most key power play performers are notable players who are generally unavailable, a few guys are putting up special teams numbers despite mediocre regular seasons. Minnesota’s Marek Zidlicky hasn’t equaled his output from Nashville, but he’s still one of the top power play goalscoring defensemen in the league. Up front, seven of teammate Owen Nolan’s 12 goals are power play markers, and eight of Kyle Wellwood’s 14 goals have come on the man advantage.
• The league’s leaders in shorthanded points are mostly familiar names (Simon Gagne, Patrick Marleau, Mike Richards). However, a few surprises stand out, like Chicago rookie Kris Versteeg . You’ll notice that a bunch of players are tied around the 2-3 shorthanded point mark…the common denominator with a lot of those players? Obviously, they get a lot of PK time, but it’s also important to note that they’re all pretty fast skaters. After all, if you’re busting past the defense on a shorthanded scoring chance, you usually need good wheels to do it. While it’s hard to say that someone like Richard Park will outdo Shane Doan in this category, it’s important to look at traits like speed and PK ice time when trying to get some fantasy shorthanded points.
• I always like it when fantasy leagues count shots on goal as it’s pretty easy points and allows the wealth to be spread around outside of the usual suspects. We all know that Alexander Ovechkin and Vincent Lecavalier just love shooting the puck, but there are a few other players that put a lot of pucks on net (unfortunately, they have low shooting percentages). Check out players like Dustin Brown, Jason Blake, and Bill Guerin – players having OK seasons on mediocre teams, but who shoot the puck a lot.
• Finally, a quick injury report: Tomas Holmstrom’s groin is being repaired through the miracle of sports hernia surgery. The cost? Three-to-five weeks. Eric Staal left Carolina’s Thursday night victory against San Jose early with a lower body injury that has left him day-to-day while teammate Rod Brind’Amour is out at least a week to rest his ailing back. Paul Stastny should return to the Colorado lineup in about two weeks, and our favourite future Hall-of-Famer, Martin Brodeur, will be ready to steal the crease back from Scott Clemmenson in about 2-to-3 weeks. Do I hear a goalie controversy coming up?

The Week Ahead

• Just about every game matters now when it comes to Western Conference jockeying. Key four-point games include Edmonton at Minnesota (Sunday), Colorado at Columbus, and Phoenix at Dallas (Wednesday).
• In the Eastern Conference, fewer teams are in the playoff race. In the matchup that everyone can avoid, don’t tune in to Atlanta at Tampa Bay (Tuesday) unless you’ve got fantasy points involved.
• Saturday, the Kings, desperately trying to claw their way back into the playoff picture, head to the Swamplands to take on a scorching Devils squad. We’re talking about a poor road team that’s among the lowest scoring teams in the league going up against the hottest teams in the NHL, and one of the best defensive squads. But wait, the Kings have found their goal-scoring groove. After managing just four goals in four games, they’ve suddenly lit the lamp 25 times in past six games. Good sign No. 2 for the Kings: Anze Kopitar, who’s been a big disappointment this season, ripped two goals and an assist Thursday for his first three-point game since December 11. If he heats up, he’ll again be a must-own player, and will go a long way towards helping LA gain some ground in the tough Western Conference.
• Your main event for the week: No. 1 Western seed San Jose at No. 1 Eastern seed Boston, Tuesday night.