First off, I just wanted to apologize to everyone for not having the usual Monday morning post this week, but after traveling this weekend, I wasn't able to carve out the time to do a proper summary of things around the NHL. The good news is I'm here now, and it's time to heap some more praise on the #1 goalie in fantasy right now, Logan Thompson. Thompson recorded his 100th win on Sunday, getting a 39 save shutout in the 2-0 win over Columbus. Thompson is sitting with an outrageous 1.96/.925 on the season, proving last season wasn't a fluke. There's just no way Hockey Canada keeps him off the Olympic team now, right? No matter how much politicking kept him off the Four Nations team because McPhee was butthurt about Thompson being mad he had to backup for Hill, he's clearly one of the three best Canadian goalies. Do I think he'll finish as the #1 overall goalie? Probably not, but I'd be stunned if he's not in the top 5. He's in elite form and the team in front of him is playing very well. Let's take a look at what else happened over the last couple of nights:
The Utah Mammoth have been struggling lately, with four consecutive losses and only two wins in their last ten. They snapped that streak in a big way on Wednesday, winning 7-0 in Anaheim. Leading the charge for Utah was J.J. Peterka, their big offeseason acquisition. Peterka scored two goals and two assists with six shots. It hasn't been the best start in Utah for Peterka, who was down on the third line for a couple weeks recently. Besides the obvious of it being a big game, this was notable for Peterka for a couple reasons. One, he was on the first line with Keller and Schmaltz. That's always a help. The other big boost is that Peterka was on the first power play unit. One of his goals came with the top unit. The Utah power play has been atrocious for the last few weeks, so it wouldn't surprise me if Peterka gets an extended look there. The goals have been there, but that's because of a high shooting percentage. The assists have also dried up significantly compared to where they were in Buffalo. My hope is this boost in role can cancel out the inevitable shooting regression, which can get Peterka back into clear hold territory. For now, Peterka belongs on the fringe, although I lean towards bottom end hold for the upside. Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights: