Phil Kessel has the balls to play in the NHL

Phil Kessel has been reminding people why he was such a high draft pick recently.

He has two goals, an assist and a shootout game winner in his last two games proving that he has the balls to play this game.

This is a very Lancesque type of story that I am watching with interest. I hope this guy takes his experience with cancer and turns it into a way to bring his game to the next level.

Phil, if you're listening, go balls to the wall and show us how to persevere.

Toivonen Shaky, Hurricane downgraded to Tropical Storm

Hannu Toivonen had a shaky first two periods letting in 4 goals on 21 shots but rebounded with a solid third to get his first win since Oct. 19th.

If you have Tim Thomas I wouldn't worry about Toivonen displacing him as the starter any time soon. (whew)

The Carolina Hurricanes have been somewhat disappointing lately after a hot start to the season. They are still producing points and are chasing Atlanta for first spot in the Southeast division but they have been doing it my small margins and low scores. The good news is that Eric Staal is starting to show signs of returning to form with 6 points in his last 6 games.

You might be wise to start selecting your matchups if you own Cam Ward or any of the Canes top forwards. In Blind Sight I should have sat Ward, Whitney and Brind'Amour last night.

Have a good day, and remember, In Crosby We Trust.

Red Wings smoking, Vokoun coughs one up

Datsyuk, Zetterberg and Holmstrom seem to be clicking lately.

Datsyuk had a four assist night last night and has 2 goals, 12 assists in his last 5 games while both Zetterberg and Holmstrom are on streaks of their own.

On the other side, Vokoun in his third game back from injury coughed up two weak goals on 8 shots and was replaced by Mason early in the second period. If you have the Vokoun/Mason tandem and were looking forward to dropping Mason now that Vokoun has returned... hold that thought and Mason. With Mason's stellar play during Vokoun's injury you can expect to see Mason starting a fair number of games for Nashville, it won't be a true timeshare between the pipes but Mason is no longer strictly a backup until Vokoun reseats himself as the outright number one goalie.

If either Datsyuk or Zetterberg are on your leagues waiver wire snap them up quick. While they are both hot they have been slightly dissapointing this season but seem to be playing up to expectations lately. See if you can swing a trade for a currently higher scoring player (Brind'Amour for Datsyuk or Ray Whitney for Zetterberg?) and ride them out the rest of the season. It seems likely that at least Datsyuk and Zetterberg will continue to produce.

As for Holmstrom, he may be worth a waiver wire pickup depending upon your roster depth. In my case he is not worth it but if you've got a spot to burn ride the streak while it lasts, he has 15 points in his last 11 games with 9 goals in that span.

Alfredsson is on fire

In case you haven't noticed the Senators are hot.

Smoking hot.

Thanks in large part to the play of Daniel Alfredsson. He had a goal and an assist in the Sen's 5-2 trouncing of the Washington Capitals last night extending his points streak to 5 games with a god-like 14 points in that stretch.

He has 9 goals and 15 assists since December 19th AND has 6 game winning goals in that span. To put that in context Sidney Crosby, the current NHL points leader, has 7 goals and 9 assists in that same span with 2 game winners.

Alfie offers up some interesting trade possibilities right now. 1 for 1 he is worth just about any player in the league (okay, maybe not Crosby or Brodeur). If your fantasy team is struggling in the middle of the pack it could be a good time to peddle Alfie's services to the highest bidder.

He is easily worth two productive players at any position (like two mid-level defensemen) while he is on this hot streak.

If Chris Kelly happens to be on the waiver wire in your league pick him up and offer the two as a package and look for some highend return at the positions you are weakest at.

Kelly is centering Alfie and Heatley right now and he has racked up 5 goals and 11 assists in the last 30 days.