The Morning After:

My 3 stars from last night:

1. Bill Guerin (2 Goals)
Guerin scored a slick goal in the 2nd, and then slammed home the winner in overtime.

2. Roberto Luongo (30 Saves, Shutout)
What planet is Luongo on right now?? Mars? Pluto? Jupiter? The Blues have been stoned by the Canucks’ captain so far.

3. Cam Ward (33 Saves, 1 GA)
Ward played very well in Carolina’s OT win at New Jersey.

Best atmosphere: Pittsburgh

Pens fans have been in playoff mode in these first 2 games!
‘RLD Game-Changing Performance’ of the night:
Marc-Andre Fleury… If you haven’t …

Seems like just yesterday that Carey Price was robbing Detroit in the pre-season.
Many many games later, playoff matchups are set. So, to stick with the policy of this blog, here is, in a heartbeat, the matchups and what I think will happen. If you don’t agree, please do discuss, but don’t complain. Amount you pay to view my writing masterpiece: $0.00
Calgary Flames/Chicago Blackhawks:
This one is one of the most evenly matched confrontations of the first round. Mikke Kiprusoff? Nikolai Khabibulin? One has won the Stanley Cup, the other lost to …

A look at the odds to who will win the Stanley Cup this year.

Every team needs an unexpected hero in the playoffs if they wish to go far… and the 2 examples of recent memory are Fernando Pisani and Johan Franzen. Franzen was already a key cog for the Wings, but he definitely upped his game when it mattered most last spring. Pisani, on the other hand, was the opposite. He was just a 3rd line guy on the 8th-seeded Oilers in 2006. But he rattled off 14 goals in 24 games, and most of those goals were clutch as Edmonton went to …

If the most important thing in your life your league championship is coming down to the wire, you need to focus on the final day of games — Sunday, April 12 — and figure out which free agents can get points for your squad.
There are only four games April 12: Detroit at Chicago (2:00 ET), St. Louis at Colorado (3:00 ET), Boston at NY Islanders (5:00 ET), and NY Rangers at Philadelphia (5:00 ET). Here’s a list of one player in each game who might make the difference for your …

We’re big fans of ESPN.com’s Forecaster column, written by Tristan Cockcroft. But this week, we respectfully beg to differ with the Forecaster’s indifference to the Week 27 schedule of the Edmonton Oilers. (Of course, we also wish Oilers D Tom Gilbert would update his blog more frequently.)

Why we disagree with The Forecaster: the Oilers are fighting for their playoff lives. Their upcoming opponents — the Los Angeles Kings (vs. 4/6) and Calgary Flames (vs. 4/10, @ 4/11) have much less on the line, and have been playing like ass besides.

No time for conversation. There are six games left in the fantasy regular season and four under-owned players who can help you Friday night:
1. Colby Armstrong, RW, Atlanta Thrashers (96 percent available in Yahoo! leagues, 97 percent available in ESPN leagues). The former first-round pick has seven points (two goals, five assists) in his last five games. He’s a whopping +7 in that span. The Thrashers may not be playoff-bound but they they rank ninth in scoring (3.03 goals per game) and have been especially potent lately, tallying 24 goals …

I’m here to talk Phoenix Coyotes hockey.
Before you ask if I’m on crack click away in avoidance of boredom, consider the Yotes’ upcoming schedule: at the Colorado Avalanche (4/1), vs. the Los Angeles Kings (4/2), and at Los Angeles (4/4).
The Avalanche need no introduction: They rank 29th in goals allowed per game (3.22). The Kings (2.81) rank 14th, but lately they’ve been softer, losing four of their last five and surrendering four goals in three of those losses.
Phoenix, by contrast, has lit it up. Last night, the Coyotes went to …

I smell a breakout for the Calgary Flames at home vs. the San Jose Sharks on Monday night.
It seems like a strange prediction. After all, prior to last night’s 3-2 home win vs. the Minnesota Wild, the Flames had not scored in their two previous games at Columbus (a 5-0 loss on 3/26) and at Pittsburgh (a 2-0 loss on 3/25).
Moreover, despite last night’s victory, the Flames have not scored on their last 16 power play opportunities.
So why am I optimistic? For one thing, the Flames have kept the shots …

Fantasy owners, I feel your pain.
You have fewer than 10 games left, and you need help in net.
Your current goalies are not getting it done, either because they play for the Chicago Blackhawks (27 goals allowed in their last seven games) or because they can’t get it up for regular-season foreplay (see Calgary Flames netminder Miikka Kiprusoff, who has allowed 31 goals in his last nine games).
To whom can you turn?
The Genius recommends Florida Panthers goalie Craig Anderson (13-6-5, .925, 2.72, three shutouts), fresh off last night’s 40-save effort in …

New Jersey Devils center Travis Zajac’s last four games:
Zero goals, zero assists, a +/- of exactly zero, zero penalty minutes, and four shots on goal (one in each game).
So, like the headline says: So long, Travis. It’s been swell. You earned your money.
You might think it’s a hasty goodbye for a bona fide No. 2 center like Zajac, who ranks 17th among all centers and whose astonishing +36 ranks first.
You might also think it’s a hasty goodbye for a center who — in the four games prior to his recent …