Fantasy Hockey 2011: The Good, the Bad and the Streaky

I'm back from my Christmas hiatus and now ready to impart more observations for Fantasy Hockey. Hope everyone had a safe and wonderful time during the Christmas weekend. If you don't catch me again in FakeTeams, I also would like to wish you a Happy New Year while I am at it. Anyhoo, here's positional players who are doing well for the past week and who are not doing so well and my observations for all the players.

HAWT

Michael Del Zotto, Rangers (1 G, 4 A, +8, 2 PIM, 1 PPP, 7 SOG) - I was fortunate enough to pick Del Zotto up a couple of weeks ago when my defensive corp was hurting/struggling. He has not disappointed by going 13 points in 14 games and has clearly put his slow start to the season behind him. He also has a league leading +25 which says alot about not only how he has done defensively but also how much he's meshed with his teammates recently. He's only 21 years old, has the capability of being a great offensive defenseman for the stacked Rangers and is well worth the investment if he's available.

More players after the jump...

Jordan Eberle, Oilers (3 G, 1 A, +1, 0 PIM, 2 PPP, 7 SOG) - When a team puts an investment on a 1st round pick, people expect great things quickly. Eberle took alittle time to round into form but he has been a man possessed on one thing: scoring and power play time. It's hard to believe that this guy is still available in some leagues but all one needs to do to see some proof is how he's performed in the past month and half. Those who bought low or picked him up off FA are certainly getting repaid in full for their patience.

Ondrej Pavelec, Jets (2 Wins, 1.67 GAA, .949 Save%) - Pavelec has had a great December aside from his 7 goal failure against the Red Wings (understandably). Considering how well he's rounded into form lately and he's going to play a great majority of the games, he's well worth the investment for those who are dealing with injuries or goalie controversies.

NAWT

Ryan Whitney, Oilers (0 G, 1 A, +/- 0, 0 PIM, 0 SOG) - The Oilers need to just get it done and over with and put him on the Injured Reserve for the rest of the season. He's still dealing with nagging injuries from his knee surgery earlier this season but even when he's on the ice, he's doing ok defensively but not doing much good offensively. From what we're told, it sounds like he's going to be dealing with this for the rest of the season so for those in shallower leagues, he's not worth the trouble so just dump him.

Niklas Backstrom, Wild (0 Wins, 4.02 GAA, .873 Save %) - The team as a whole is struggling mightily since they haven't won in 8 straight games. Josh Harding has done a great job as best as he can do but even he isn't immune to the scoring slump the team is going through. This has all the trappings to be another goalie controversy like earlier this year. If you own Backstrom and Harding is available, you best scoop him up and keep your ear close to who's starting each game.

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