Here we go again ladies and gentlemen!  Light schedules just mean less choices to pick for a Fantasy POTN.  This will be a curious column today so we apologize.  Our picks have daily fantasy importance as well and thanks to our friends from Daily Joust for their help.  The Program is here to throw it down on a Thursday and this is what we have today on the Fantasy Hockey ONE.  Let’s take a quick look back first.

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FANTASY POTN:

Craig Anderson, G, Ottawa Senators — Florida road trips are not always all vacation and relaxation.  They usually involve back to backs.  It was thought that the Anderson 4-0 shutout of Tampa Bay was good but the 2 GA, 42 save performance against Florida was even better in the 6-2 victory.  Ottawa right now seems poised to be on the upswing in their season long roller coaster.  This is exactly what is so good and so frustrating about Ottawa in the same breath is they can be so good and so bad in almost equal upswings and downswings.  Right now it is time to catch the wave while you can.

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A QUICK LOOK BACK:

Roberto Luongo, G, Vancouver Canucks — We expected a low scoring night and we sure got it.  Luongo had to be good early and late and his 1 GA, 29 save effort was worthy of our respect.  Luongo has now gotten his team at least a point in nine straight now and is playing better at the right time.  While he is far from that “Lundqvist Level”, Luongo is steering the team with solid goaltending play.  Fantasy wise the bottom line is you rack up wins, a low GAA, and a solid save percentage.  That is what Luongo has done mostly since early November very well.

Jason Spezza, C, Ottawa Senators — We did say Spezza would continue the hot streak and he did not disappoint with three assists last night.  The funny thing is he almost potted a few goals to top the night off but came up just short.  No matter, Spezza has nine points in his last three games now (5 G, 4 A).  Can he continue this upswing?  Well Spezza is a little over a point a game guy over the second half so it should not surprise anyone at all. 

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SCHEDULE TIME:

How about a nice, fun seven game night in the NHL?  Does that sound good fantasy owners?  It sure does, given some of the quality teams playing.  Also keep in mind that for example, Marty Biron is starting for the New York Rangers tonight.  Is that going to mean the Blackhawks will relax a bit?  Probably not.  Considering their current losing streak, they have to just win in anyway possible.  Are the Hawks playing a bit better?  Yes.  However, a bit better is not good enough in the NHL. 

The very fact that Pat Kane is involved in any trade rumors is flat out silly.  Kane will turn it around.  These types of long duration slumps can happen with players.  We have seen it all year fantasy wise.  People forget the slumps of guys like Nick Lidstrom through the years.  If a player of that caliber can struggle, no player is immune fantasy wise.  Even Jonathan Toews and Claude Giroux (Philly) have definitely not had an easy time of it in the last month or so.  This is the nature of the fantasy beast, whether its in a daily, season, or dynasty league.

One of the most curious matchups is the Islanders-Blues tilt.  Why?  It is not because David Perron of the Blues is on fire, it is because John Tavares of the Islanders is a bit cold.  Now the two points in seven games is bad enough but the no goals and -5 is even worse.  Both those assists were on the power play while other players are contributing.  This is crunch time for the Islanders where every game counts.  For some fantasy players, they need Tavares to play like he did in January and get involved even if it means getting physical.  Tavares only has two hits this month.  His near 200 pound frame could create a bit more space.

Even Phoenix and LA shapes up to be a curious game because of Mike Smith and Jonathan Quick.  The struggles of Quick are well documented not because he is playing badly but it just seems his goal support is never all that good.  Phoenix and Mike Smith have a bit of that problem as well but nowhere near as pronounced.  Ironically the Coyotes have 25 more goals than the Kings this year.  That was something not expected at the start of the year.  When Darryl Sutter said it was a 2-1 or 3-2 kind of league, he was kind of explaining just how it is for this Kings team.  It will come down to that one mistake in this game.  Which goalie makes it and when is the question.  Either way, they are good fantasy goalies for a reason, it comes down to system and ability.  These two goalies have both and are usually very good starts.

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Good luck everyone in fantasy tonight and again thanks for reading.  We will be on A Slice Of Ice tonight on the Sports City Chefs Network at 9pm ET.  Also, go check out DailyJoust.com ladies and gentlemen today and use my name “Chris Wassel” as a referral code.  Play fantasy and win some money while doing it.

Welcome to a Hump Day Edition of the Fantasy Hockey ONE here on The Program. So what is going on here is the basic question?  Well, it came time for a different way to get your hockey information served for breakfast. This is served differently than most columns out there.  We deliberately want this to be easy to digest so you can get the info and get out so to speak.  The beautiful Kylie Minogue as always shows us the way with her version of “The One”.

Now it is time to get started but first it may be time to look back a bit and see what was cooking yesterday.

A Look Back

1. Pekka Rinne (Nashville Predators) — It was almost unfair to see Nashville lose in overtime tonight more because of how Rinne played than anything else.  He was stellar in net stopping 48 of 50 shots in net.  Now it was not only the amount of saves but just the sheer volume of quality saves that he made last night against San Jose that caught our eye.  Look out world, Pekka Rinne really is the franchise player in Nashville, especially fantasy wise.  

2. James Van Riemsdyk (Philadelphia Flyers) — Any player that gets a Gordie Howe hat trick gets some major notice.  The “Grim Riemer” is no exception to the rule especally on a night where offensive performances were a bit uneven.  He had several chances to add to his scoring total on the night but nonetheless played the all around game that the Middletown, NJ native is capable of.  Going forward, if he is used right, he is a solid fantasy asset to have come stretch time for GM’s out there.

3. Phil Kessel (Toronto Maple Leafs) — Two goals scored does not sound like much to most but these two goals were so much significant for the Maple Leafs Forward who really has taken it on the chin in just about every way this season.  It is how he scored the two goals tonight that was symbolic of his potential fantasy future.  Now this may not seem like a watershed moment but at some point Phil Kessel has to score more consistently and maybe tonight is a springboard.  Considering what a rocket his second goal was, Keseel really does have something to build on.  The ever growing question for fantasy owners is can he follow this up?

Schedule Time

The schedule is a nice and polished one with eight games and just a good old fashioned game with heavy fantasy and playoff implications as New Jersey and Carolina do battle again at the Prudential Center.  With so much on the line, this gets our Fantasy Game Of The Night attention and fantasy GM’s should take note.

New Jersey and Carolina tussle again and again there is much more on the line for New Jersey as literally every single game is near life and death from here on out.  Johan Hedberg was very good against San Jose on Friday Night stopping 31 of 32 shots and though shaky at times, has looked every bit like he did last year for the Atlanta Thrashers.  One knows what to expect from Cam Ward so we could be in for another goaltending clinic and a tight one as these two teams face off again on Saturday as well.

Carolina comes in with a 27-22-8 and a respectable .500 record on the road.  Yes their -7 goal differential is a bit of a concern to fantasy owners especially for +/- purposes but more importantly they get the services of Jussi Jokinen back after missing two weeks with an injury.  Jokinen is notably streaky but can catch fire in a second.  His 7 power play goals are second on the team but his performances against New Jersey is what put him in the spotlight over even a guy like Eric Staal (who has 56 pts in 57 games),

New Jersey counters with an improved attack and timely goal scoring, both staples for every Devils team since the mid 1990’s.  Sure they have some pretty good defense and solid goaltending but this is not your mom and pop’s Los Diablos.  Their 12-1-2 stretch has only gotten them some respectability and saved some face.  In order to make the playoffs and become fantasy relevant for owners in the process, they have to keep on this roll.  If Ilya Kovalchuk (12 points in his last 9) keeps scoring, then look out.  Clearly Kovalchuk has figured it out again in New Jersey and he is not the only one.

Brian Rolston and Patrik Elias are both scoring along with timely contributions by Jason Arnott as well as the younger players.  Yes Carolina has rookie sensation Jeff Skinner (45 points in 57 games) but more importantly both teams have that secondary scoring ability.  The team that gets its scoring from that source is the team that you want to hitch your wagon on for players from the fantasy perspective.

New Jersey will be without the services of Anton Volchenkov who is still serving a three game suspension from a hit on Zach Boychuk last Wednesday.  The Devils will be forced to play a bit more wide open which is more to Carolina’s liking.  Expect a bit higher of a scoring game with the Hurricanes potentially coming out of this with a 4-3 win in OT or a SO.  Key fantasy performances by Jussi Jokinen and Eric Staal for the Canes while Patrik Elias and Mattias Tedenby will spearhead the attack from the Devils.  We spologize but do not expect quite as much from the goaltending in this one though Cam Ward will be clutch late in the game when he needs to be.

OUR BEST BETS

1. Mattias Tedenby (New Jersey) — When this kid learns how to play a bit better defensively, his hands and skill are very much like Michael Grabner’s.  He really has that kind of potential to surprise and amaze.  The two goals against the Hurricanes are no fluke and Tedenby has the wheels to drive that D nuts!

2. Jonas Hiller (Anaheim) — He had an easy performance against Edmonton but now will face a stern test against the Capitals.  Hiller will not only be up to the challenge but will surpass it at home ice where he is a nice 15-7-1 with a 2.46 GAA and .922 save percentage.  Toss in the three shutouts and add in that Hiller has a way of stoning Alexander Ovechkin and you have the makings for Washington to be below .500 in the new year when all is said and done on this one.

3. Tomas Vokoun (Florida)— Vokoun has had it tough as fantasy owners know with few wins lately and.  The 2,52 GAA and .922 save percentage with five shutouts is great but the guy only has 19 wins for a team which had higher hopes at the start of the season.  If Vokoun does have a weadkness is that the giving up of goals in bunches is alarming.  That being said, this netminder has the ability to know that

WHAT TO AVOID

1. David Booth — Something just screams stay away.   It sounds crazy and who knows if we are right here but the hunch says bad game tonight for San Jpse.

2. Martin Havlat — He did not do much last night and expect about the same even though this is against his forner team, I just think that Havlat is due for a few more games of struggling before he turns it around yet again.  That is the Havlat M.O.

3. Brad Ricahrds — Richards will likely be out again which means more fantasy scrambling for owners of Dallas players.  James Neal and Loui Eriksson have to step up without Richards but I just do not think that these two can deliver the goods enough unless Brad Richards is feeding them the puck. The swoon contines.

The ONE will keep it rocking every morning on The Program. We want people to keep asking the tough fantasy questions and yes Twitter will be used along with the blog to answer any and all of the craziest and profound nuts and bolts information out there.  Do not forget that Chris Kelly was traded to Boston for a 2011 2nd round pick.  It will be interesting to see what happens with Kelly in Boston.  He affs grit, and creates spacing on the Power Play.  Enjoy the Hump Day!