We laughed. We frowned. We even shed some tears. You might not admit the latter, but many emotions were felt during the first half of the NHL season.
There were a lot of great storylines, and then some not so glamorous ones. But we are past the All-Star break and ready for the stretch run.
Before we start to look forward, we here at CBSSports.com felt this was the perfect time to look back at a chock full of first-half Fantasy highlights and lowlights.
Alexander the Great
Raise your hand if you were one of those Alex Ovechkin owners that panicked a month into the season after his slow start? Don't be afraid. There had to be cause for concern after his season got off to an ominous start because of a groin injury.
Ovechkin never missed a game due to the ailment, but for a guy that was drafted fifth on average in most Fantasy leagues, two goals and three assists in eight October games wasn't going to cut it.
Then the 2007-08 MVP had to unexpectedly take a leave of absence in late October to be with his ailing grandfather. He returned in early November a refreshed man and Fantasy owners are grateful.
Ovechkin scored 11 times and added 14 assists in 14 November games for a season-high 25 points. He has 54 points in his last 38 games and his MVP-production is back.
Why the change? Alexander Semin has been a good influence on his fellow Russian, but also Nicklas Backstrom snapping out of his early-season funk and getting the puck to Ovechkin has helped in his quest for a second straight Hart Trophy.
Boston Goal Party
No one could have predicted the first half the Boston Bruins put together. They are 34-8-5 and have a 13-point lead over the Montreal Canadiens, who were not only the overwhelming favorite to win the Northeast Division but also top candidate to walk away with Lord Stanley's Cup.
There were a ton of questions surrounding Boston coming into the season. Outside of bonafide All-Stars like Marc Savard and Zdeno Chara, who else would step up for the Bruins? Would it be Tim Thomas or Manny Fernandez, who was coming off an injury-riddled season, in net? Would Patrice Bergeron return to his pre-concussion form? Was Phil Kessel ready to live up to all the hype in his third NHL season?
Boston has answered all the critics and then some. In the process they have made Fantasy owners mucho happy.
Thomas has blossomed from a fringe No. 2/high-end No. 3 Fantasy goalie to a top five producer at his position. Fernandez, who has settled into a backup rule, is even among the top 30 Fantasy goalies.
Kessel started to gravitate toward the reputation of the U.S.'s version of Sidney Crosby before being sidelijned with mono in January. Bergeron has joined Kessel on injured reserve with a concussion suffered in December, but it wasn't as severe as the one that limited him to 10 games last season. Before the injury, he was providing Boston with a solid presence on the second line, although his goal scoring has been disappointing.
But since Bergeron has struggled to regain his top form, it has opened the door for David Krejci to emerge as a nice compliment to Savard. Krejci's presence has also been vital in the rebirth of 30-goal scorer Michael Ryder and the development of rookie Blake Wheeler.
We haven't even touched the blue line, where Dennis Wideman has developed into one of the best all-around defenseman in the NHL, and Matt Hunwick has been a surprise contributor since getting regular playing time.
All of these players have helped in Boston being the NHL's second best offensive team in the first half, behind only the mighty Red Wings.
Infirmary Report
Injuries are always part of the game with hockey being a physical sport. The first half of the 2008-09 season has seen its fair share of significant casualties.
Nobody has been a bigger injury disappointment in the first half than Marian Gaborik. Sure, I can make a case for Martin Brodeur, but he hurt his elbow in a fluke incident. Gaborik has been injury-prone for quite some time and has played just six games this season due to a hip problem. He had surgery in early January and we aren't expecting to see the former All-Star back until early March.
Gaborik is expected to play less than 20 games this season in a contract year. That's the main reason why his situation is so frustrating. Fantasy owners put a lot of stock into Gaborik on Draft Day hoping he would be motivated for a big season in hopes of laughing all the way to the bank. Instead, he robbed many folks of a No. 1 Fantasy option.
Here are a few other names that have missed a great deal of time due to injury or worse -- out for the season -- and have given Fantasy owners nightmares: Roberto Luongo (groin), Derick Brassard (shoulder), Daniel Briere (groin/abdominal), Marc-Andre Fleury (lower body), Sergei Gonchar (shoulder), Erik Johnson (knee), Paul Kariya (hip), Pascal Leclaire (ankle), Andy McDonald (ankle), Manny Legace (hip), Brenden Morrow (knee), Joe Sakic (back, fingers), Teemu Selanne (thigh), Paul Stastny (forearm), Saku Koivu (ankle), Alex Tanguay (shoulder), Carey Price (back, ankle), Kari Lehtonen (back) Chris Osgood (groin) and Sergei Zubov (hip).
Ricky, Ricky, Ricky ...
Rick DiPietro probably deserves his own column for the heartache he has caused Fantasy owners. We learned right before the All-Star break that DiPietro will miss the remainder of the season due to a nagging knee injury -- a problem many people thought he had resolved during offseason surgery. Not so fast.
The Islanders franchise goalie opened the season on IR and didn't make his season debut until late October. He played three games and then had more knee surgery. He made another comeback in late December and it lasted just two games. After New York realized they were out of the playoff hunt and in the running for the No. 1 pick in the 2009 draft -- which will likely be Canadian superstar John Tavares -- it was time to give the former Boston University standout the rest of the season off.
Everyone wants to know what the Islanders have in store for DiPietro, who has more than a decade left on his record-breaking 15-year deal. Well, we can't answer that, but we can speculate as far as DiPietro's future Fantasy value.
DiPietro is a sinking ship and long-term Fantasy owners need to get out before you start taking on water. DiPietro gave hope to a struggling franchise when he was selected first overall in 2000. Almost nine years later DiPietro is at best a .500 goalie. Even if he comes back at 100 percent in 2009-10, New York still won't likely be ready to contend and DiPietro will be at best a No. 2 Fantasy goalie.
It looks as though DiPietro is going to take the long walk down Bust Avenue.
Breakout Heros
Every year a handful of players come out of nowhere to have a breakout campaign and be among the elite players in the NHL and Fantasy. This season is no different.
We touched on a few breakouts earlier in the piece, but some other players that have taken the Fantasy world by storm in the first half are Zach Parise, Jeff Carter, Nicklas Backstrom, Devin Setoguchi, Ryane Clowe, Mikko Koivu, Travis Zajac, Jiri Hudler, Rene Bourque, David Booth, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Filip Kuba, Mike Commodore, Kyle Quincey, Alex Goligoski, Ryan Suter, Mike Smith, Ty Conklin, Scott Clemmensen and Bryan Little.
Time for the Blame Game
On the other end of the Fantasy spectrum are the major first-half disappointments. These are the players that failed to live up to their Draft Day status.
Leading the way are Tomas Vokoun, Dion Phaneuf, Braydon Coburn, Brent Burns, Wade Redden, Scott Gomez, Brian Rolston, Maxim Afinogenov, Cristobal Huet, Vesa Toskala, Daniel Alfredsson, Bryan McCabe, Jonathan Cheechoo, Olli Jokinen, Henrik Zetterberg and Marty Turco.
Battle for the Calder Trophy
Steven Stamkos, the No. 1 pick in 2008, came into the season as the favorite to take home the Calder Trophy, which is given to the NHL's top rookie. He was an elite prospect and Tampa Bay was immediately going to feature him a top-six forward.
But something happened on the way to Buckingham Palace and Stamkos will need a miraculous second half to thrust himself back into the race.
While Stamkos has been a huge black hole in Fantasy, other rookies have picked up the slack. Kris Versteeg leads the way with a rookie-high 36 points. Bobby Ryan, who missed the first 18 games while in the minors, is the top rookie scorer with 15 goals. Michael Frolik is another first-year standout who didn't receive regular playing time until November and is among the top 10 freshman producers. And how can we forget Patrik Berglund's success amid all the injury woes in St. Louis?
But the king of the Fantasy castle has to be Steve Mason. Brought in to help pass the time in November until Pascal Leclaire returned from injury, Mason finished the first half with a NHL-high six shutouts. He went 17-11-2 with a 2.05 GAA and .926 save percentage in 30 appearances. Mason heads into the second half as a legit No. 1 Fantasy goalie.
Fantasy All-Star Squad
Going along with All-Star Weekend, we opted to come up with our own list of Fantasy All-Stars. This is based on a standard CBSSports.com Fantasy starting lineup of six forwards, four defensemen and two goalies.
Forwards: Evgeni Malkin, Alex Ovechkin, Pavel Datsyuk, Marc Savard, Joe Thornton, Ryan Getzlaf
Defensemen: Dan Boyle,
Shea Weber, Dennis Wideman, Mike Green
Goalies:
Tim Thomas, Niklas Backstrom
Looking Ahead
The 2008-09 NHL season comes to an end April 12. Fantasy playoffs usually begin in early-to-mid-March. Therefore, February is as vital to playoff positioning as any month during the Fantasy season.
For those battling for their playoff lives, we wish you the best of luck.
For all those Fantasy owners that have seen their season slip away…as they say -- there is always next year.
Do you have a question for our Fantasy staff? You can e-mail us at DMFantasyPucks@cbs.com. Be sure to put Attn: Fantasy Pucks in the subject field. Please include your full name, hometown and state.