Each week during the season, we'll survey the Fantasy Hockey landscape and provide you with a list of players whose Fantasy value has increased or decreased over the course of the past week.
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| | Dustin Brown, RW, Los Angeles The Kings have done a great job stockpiling the cabinet with young talent, and we are finally seeing the fruits of their labor materialize. No better example than Brown, the Kings' first-round pick (13th overall) of the 2003 draft. He has found life easy on the first line playing alongside the likes of Anze Kopitar, Michael Cammalleri, Ladislav Nagy and Alexander Frolov. He wowed people with 46 points last season as a third-year player, but already has 19 goals and 15 assists in 39 games this season. He capped December with eight goals and seven assists. |
| | Dany Sabourin, G, Pittsburgh Talk about wasting a golden opportunity. Sabourin was named the Penguins' starting goalie on Dec. 12 after the team placed starter Marc-Andre Fleury on injured reserve with an ankle injury. It took Sabourin just four starts to lose the job to Ty Conklin. He went 1-3-0 and allowed 13 goals in that span. He hasn't been in net since Dec. 21 and has watched Conklin reel off five straight wins. Sabourin might not get his starting gig back anytime soon. |
| | Mark Streit, D, Montreal For 25 games, Streit sacrificed for the better of the team and played defense. Once a few injured souls returned to the lineup, Streit found himself back playing forward and loving life. Since Dec. 13, Streit has four goals and three assists. Not overwhelming stats, but the fact that he Fantasy eligible at defenseman makes him a hot commodity. |
| | Jamie Langenbrunner, RW, New Jersey The 13-year veteran missed the first month and a half of the season while recovering from hernia surgery. Once back in the lineup, he provided the Devils with a real jolt of energy. He scored twice in his debut Nov. 14 against the Rangers and finished the month with an assist in five straight games (nine total). We sure do miss that Langenbrunner. In 13 December games, he scored three goals and had two assists. He is now skating on the Devils' second line with the struggling Travis Zajac and Dainius Zubrus. |
| | Daniel Girardi, D, N.Y. Rangers The power play suits Girardi very well. He moved to the Rangers' top power-play unit back on Nov. 17 and hasn't looked back. He has scored four goals on the man advantage since the promotion and is firing at will. In his last 20 games, he has failed to take a shot just once. In the first 19 games, he failed to take a shot six times. The Rangers are starting to trust the second-year pro more and more, and since defensemen are such a valuable commodity in Fantasy, Girardi is worth a look in larger leagues. |
| | Sandis Ozolinsh, D, San Jose The Sharks landed a real coup by signing Ozolinsh in early November. The crafty veteran had been hit hard by injuries the previous three seasons and was limited to 21 games last season with the Rangers. San Jose gave him a rigorous, six-week tryout that included a stint in the AHL, and he passed with flying colors. He made his debut Nov. 2 and followed with one goal and four assists in 12 games. Once the calendar hit December, Ozolinsh's play went down the drain. He had just one goal and two assists. His horrible month was capped off by a healthy scratch New Year's Eve against Minnesota. |
| | Colby Armstrong, RW, Pittsburgh Playing alongside Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin has paid off for Armstrong. The third-year forward has been bumped to the Penguins' top line and is a major reason why they are 13-5-0 in their last 18 games. Armstrong has scored five of his six goals in that stretch and has lit the lamp in three straight from Dec. 27-Jan. 1. He has six assists in his last six games. He also has a little mean streak in him and the Penguins will definitely appreciate the hits to keep Crosby and Malkin safe. |
| | Bryan Berard, D, N.Y. Islanders Berard came into the 2007-08 season in a similar situation to Sandis Ozolinsh. The veteran defenseman has been hit hard by injuries in the previous three seasons and was limited to 11 games last season with the Blue Jackets because of a severe back injury. He signed with the Islanders in early October and made an immediate impact. He scored a goal in his first game and had four points in five games before a groin injury sidelined him for a few weeks. He hasn't been the same since. He returned Nov. 15 and has just two assists since then. He hasn't played since Dec. 27 and was a healthy scratch for the following two games. |
| | Niklas Backstrom, C, Washington Having Alex Ovechkin as a linemate is a good thing; just as Backstrom. Head coach Bruce Boudreau moved Backstrom to the top line Dec. 27 against the Penguins in place of Michael Nylander and the rookie out of Sweden has blown up. He is on a three-game points streak with one goal and five assists in that span. He wasn't doing too badly on the second line before his promotion as he tallied six goals and 17 assists, but the Capitals want to get a look at the future with Ovechkin and Backstrom manning the top scoring line. |
| | Daniel Carcillo, LW, Phoenix The rookie forward has wasted little time establishing himself as one of the NHL's top enforcers. He leads the league with 172 penalty minutes, has 10 major penalties to his name and six game misconducts. He also managed five goals and seven assists when he wasn't spending time in the penalty box. The Coyotes and Fantasy owners in leagues that reward heavily for PIM will miss his presence. The scrappy Canadian will miss 6-8 weeks with a sprained knee, which he suffered during a fight Dec. 20 against the Sharks. Well, at least he went down swinging. |
Do you have a trade you'd like reviewed by our experts, or feel that we're missing someone from our Stockwatch? 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. Be aware we do not guarantee personal responses to all questions.