Fantasy Hockey Team of the Week: Nov.9-15

What a time for Henrik Zetterberg to go on a tremendous tear. With all of the scepticism surrounding Detroit’s ability to cope with the losses of Marian Hossa and Jiri Hudler, the Wings slammed the door on it. Led by Zetterberg, they have won three straight outscoring their foes 19-6 since the embarrassing defeat in Toronto.

Hank the tank, Hank the tank. (Photo courtesy of Gosh@/ Flikr.)

Numbers: three games played, four goals, five assists, nine points, plus-five rating.

A true captain makes sacrifices for the guys around him. Ilya Kovalchuk has done that returning to action earlier than assumed with a foot injury that has still not fully healed. As usual, the Russian didn’t hold back in picking corners or firing one-timers continuing where he left off. All of a sudden, Atlanta has won three in a row to get a ninth place position in the East and have a few games in hand.

Numbers: three games played, three goals, five assists, eight points, plus-four rating.

It’s important to be happy at both work and home. Right now, you won’t find a more cheerful person than Maxim Afinogenov who has been smiling ear to ear. Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff mistreated him those last two seasons while he was with the Sabres and that’s ok. Max has been re-born in Atlanta as have his offensive moments that require no words.

Numbers: three games played, four goals, two assists, six points, plus-four rating.

When Niklas Kronwall isn’t pre-occupied with ramming skaters down, he’s willing to jump in from the blue line to assist the attack. While the career of Swedish legend Nicklas Lidstrom is seeing its crowning moments, Kronwall’s is just under way. This defender is going to be a stud for years to come.

Numbers: three games played, three goals, four assists, seven points, plus-five rating.

Frankly, you can give credit to a lot of Chicago Blackhawks with their efforts last week. Our choice is Duncan Keith who kept his composure on both sides of the rink. He’s really making Brian Campbell look like the lesser of two talents and doing so at over a cool $5 million dollars less in salary.

Numbers: four games played, one goal, five assists, six points, plus-two rating.

Pucks haven't seen much mesh with Miller in front of the goal. (Photo courtesy of mark6mauno/ Flikr.)

Ryan Miller has out-duelled every goaltender he’s faced head-to-head for the most part. He’s lost twice although his second stab against the two teams, Philadelphia Flyers and the New York Islanders, evened the series. And Carey Price holds an overtime win against the Sabres but the way his squad is playing in front of him, I don’t like his chances when they see Buffalo again.

Numbers: three games played, three wins, .953 save percentage, 1.33 GAA.

Team of the Week

Center: Henrik Zetterberg
Left Wing: Ilya Kovalchuk
Right Wing: Maxim Afinogenov
Defenseman: Niklas Kronwall
Defenseman: Duncan Keith
Goaltender: Ryan Miller

Grey bearded and all, Owen Nolan refuses to call it a career and why shouldn’t he? The 37-year-old deserves a pat on the back for his handy work in Tampa Bay. Entering the Lightning zone on the left side, he floated the puck over David Hale’s stick, cut to the inside and released a fantastic shot while falling to the ice. All you could hear is the sound of the post being hit before the goal light flashed and Hale’s disgust with himself.

We started our post with a Swede and we’ll end it identically. A big ovation goes out to Niclas Bergfors for his explosive and unexpected play in New Jersey. They’ve had no problems supporting Martin Brodeur with sufficient scoring and the kid has created massive space between himself and the AHL.