Thomas allowed three goals on 30 shots in a 3-2 shootout loss to the Flames on Friday. In his first two starts with the Stars he has a 2.33 GAA and .917 SV% and should continue his strong play tonight in Winnipeg. After catching fire before the Olympics, the Jets have played very poorly as of late.

Philadelphia and Pittsburgh will start things off today with a 12:30 match. The Flyers will (LIKELY) start Steve Mason in goal. Mason has played well this year as he has a 27-16-6 record with a 2.56 GAA and a .915 SP.   He is 3-2 in his last 5 games. Marc-Andre Fleury is (LIKELY) for the Penguins. He is having a great year with 34 wins and a 2.28 GAA.  Go with Fleury in this one. Ben Scrivens has been (CONFIRMED) for the Oilers against Carolina. Scrivens has played pretty well this year with a 2.24 GAA and a .930 SP, but he has lost his last 2 games. Anton Khudobin is (LIKELY) for Carolina after Cam Ward played the last game. Khudobin had a good start to the season, but he has gotten leky with losses in 4 of his last 5 games.  Like Scrivens in this game.  Toronto is at Washington, and James Reimer is (LIKELY) for the Leafs. He did shutout the Kings in his last game, but his numbers are not great with a 3.23 GAA and a .914 SP. Jaroslav Halak is (LIKELY) for the Capitals and he is 2-2 in his last 4 games. The Canucks will visit Florida today, and Eddie Lack has been (CONFIRMED) for Vancouver. Lack has gone 2-3 in his last 5 games, allowing 18 goals during that period. Roberto Luongo (CONFIRMED) has also gone 2-3 in his last 5 games, but only allowing 13 goals. Still we like Lack in this game.   The Sharks will visit the Rangers in a 4:00 meeting. San Jose goaltender Antti Niemi (LIKELY) has been hot lately with 4 straight wins. He should face Henrik Lundqvist (LIKELY) for New York  Lundqvist has won 3 of his last 4 games allowing only 7 goals.  This is a tough one, but go with Niemi.  The Avalanche will face the Senators in Ottawa today.  Semyon Varlamov has been (CONFIRMED) for Colorado. He has had a great year with 33 wins, but he got lit up by Anaheim in his last game allowing 5 goals.  He is 4-2 in his lat 6 games though.  Craig Anderson is (LIKELY) for Ottawa despite his collison last game with Milan Michalek which knocked him out of the game. Anderson's 3.10 GAA is not good so we would go with Varlamov.  With Carey Price injured, Peter Budaj (CONFIRMED) will start today for Montreal against Buffalo. Budaj is only 8-8-2 on the year, and he has lost his last 4 games. Michal Neuvirth will (LIKELY) start for the Sabres, and he is only 4-8-2 on the year with a 2.78 GA. Like Montreal in this one.  Detroit is at Chicago this afternoon and Jimmy Howard is (LIKELY) for the Red Wings. He has a losing 14-15-10 record, and has lost 3 of his last 4 games. Corey ...

Thomas stopped 28 of 30 shots in a 3-2 OT win over the Blues on Tuesday. He has stopped 34 of 36 shots in his first two appearances in Dallas, winning both. Tonight he should make for another strong start with the Flames in town. Kari Lehtonen is close to returning, but Thomas will start for the Stars until he is 100 per cent.

ALL GOALIES ARE CONFIRMED UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED AT THE TIME OF PRINT Evgeni Nabokov will be facing his former team in the San Jose Sharks tonight on the Island.  Expect Antti Niemi in net after Stalock got the nod last night. Nabby should be pumped to be facing his former team but will have difficulty against the Sharks offense that has a lot of punch.....Eddie Lack (LIKELY) and the Vancouver Canucks will try and carry forward their fine performance against the Winnipeg Jets tonight against Jaroslav Halak and the Washington Capitals who are coming off a 2-0 shutout by the Pittsburgh Penguins. Halak is just 1-2 since coming over via trade as the Caps offense has been quieted lately.  Two goalies in need of a win to boost their confidence....Jimmy Howard is back in net for the Detroit Red Wings who are in desperate need of some wins as they battle for a playoff spot. The Edmonton Oilers come into town after losing to St. Louis last night.  Viktor Fasth (LIKELY) should be making his second start for the Oil. Fasth gives the Oilers a reasonable chance at a win here against a struggling Red Wing team...Cory Schneider looks to turn around his recent play against new Florida Panther and ex-teammate Roberto Luongo. The Cats showed some fight last night battling back from 1 5-2 deficit before falling short in a 5-4 loss to Tampa. A classic ‘pitcher's duel' could be in order...Pekka Rinne needs to steal this one for the Nashville Predators as they try to keep close in the playoff race.  Chicago will be looking to get back on track after losing to Colorado on Wednesday.  Corey Crawford gets the call after Antti Raanta spelled him last game out. Rinne seems to be getting stronger and the Hawks have been around .500 lately....Henrik Lundqvist returns to the net for the New York Rangers in hopes of reversing his team's 2-game losing streak. Ondrej Pavelec and the Winnipeg Jets are fighting for their playoff lives so expect a heated battle.....There has been word that Dallas Stars' G Kari Lehtonen is close to returning after suffering a concussion 2 games ago. Tim Thomas will get the nod so Lehtonen can recover fully. He will be facing Joey MacDonald of the Calgary Flames who will be making his first start since November 1st. The Stars have been on fire lately.  I wouldn't go against them....The final match of the night pits Jonas Hiller and the Anaheim Ducks against Semyon Varlamov and the Colorado Avalanche. The Ducks have fallen from their lofty perch atop the ...

Tim Thomas, making his first start for the Dallas Stars, stifled the mighty St. Louis Blues by turning aside 28 of 30 shots in the 3-2 OT win. I told you guys to grab him a few days back as the former Stanley Cup winner should be rejuvenated for another possible playoff hunt with Kari Lehtonen out with a concussion. He should get the bulk of the starts moving forward in Lehtonen's absence. However, there is one caveat to consider: Thomas is proven and playoff-tested, while Lehtonen is not. If he can pull together a string of impressive wins like the one last night in St. Louis, it won't be easy for Lehtonen to reclaim his job upon his return. Mark that down. Our fantasy star performer of the night was Joe Pavelski, who helped the Sharks batter the Toronto Maple Leafs with a 2-goal,one-assist performance. With 34 goals and 65 points in 66 games, he has consistently been one of the upper-tier fantasy options amongst the forwards throughout the season. Don't expect much of a dropoff over the final stretch of games, as "Little Joe" has been the biggest Shark of all. Recently-acquired Tuomo Ruutu for New Jersey had a hand in both goals with 2 assists in their 2-1 win over Philadelphia. Since being united on a line with Jaromir Jagr (who continues to defy Father Time with another game-winning goal) and Travis Zajac(he's looking good too!), the 31-year old has collected 5 points in 2 games. I am loving this guy for a short-term sneaky pickup, as he has been notoriously streaky throught his NHL career and his recent trade could have re-invigorated him. Another interesting situation is playing out in Jersey as Cory Schneider has been struggling in the crease, while future HOFer Martin Brodeur has been the more effective Devil's goaltender since the Olympic break. Yesterday, Brodeur was called upon for the start in a critical matchup with the Flyers and responded with 30 saves on 32 shots in the huge 2-1 road victory. Fantasy owners could safely roll with the proven Stanley Cup winner while he keeps the Devils in playoff contention. Who would have thought Brodeur and Thomas could possibly have huge fantasy value during the final quarter of the season? So which Staal should be starting in all fantasy lineups at this moment? The numbers say Jordan, as he clicked big-time with Alex Semin and Jiri Tlusty on Carolina's supposed second line, collecting 5 points in the last three games. All he did in the Hurricane's upset win over the Blueshirts is score 2 huge goals. ...

Thomas started against the Blue Jackets on Monday, however the game was postponed because Rich Peverley collapsed on the Stars' bench. Expect him to be in goal tonight when the Stars take on the Blue in St. Louis. It is a really difficult matchup and could be a difficult game for the Stars after last night's incident.

Thomas stopped all six shots he faced after replacing the injured Kari Lehtonen on Saturday. He entered the game while it was 3-3 and the Stars took the lead with under five minutes in the third, earning Thomas his firs win with Dallas. With Lehtonen battling a head injury, Thomas looks to be in line to start vs. the Blue Jackets.

ALL GOALIES ARE CONFIRMED UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED AT THE TIME OF PRINTING Jeff Zatkoff and the Pittsburgh Penguins take a class trip to Washington D.C. to play against the Capitals. Jaroslav Halak is back in net after his impressive start against the Phoenix Coyotes in his debut for the Caps on Saturday. The Pens bring a little more firepower than the Desert Dogs so beware....Pekka Rinne has been his usual stingy self since returning from his hip infection that kept him out nearly all of the season. With a few games under his belt now, you can expect a return to elite status.  He will lead the Nashville Predators against Craig Anderson and the Ottawa Senators with both teams fighting to get into playoff positions. The time is now for the Preds as they cannot afford to fall back any farther.  Desperate teams take desperate measures...A revitalized Mike Smith will get eth nod for the Phoenix Coyotes as they travel to Tampa Bay to take on Ben Bishop and the Lightning who have lost 4 straight. Bishop may be showing some weariness as he is not used to the grind of an 82-game schedule.  Smith is hotter, go with the Yotes....Tim Thomas slots in for the concussed Kari Lethonen for the Dallas Stars as they go up against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Both teams battling for playoff positions so this should be a doozy.  Curtis McElhinney gives Bobrovsky a night off but it will be Thomas that rises to the occasion....Ondrej Pavelec and the Winnipeg Jets have slipped of late after an impressive run when Head Coach Paul Maurice took over. Al Montoya will get the start as he has played well in his previous two starts againt the Avs. Semyon Varlamov has won 3 of his last four and the Colorado Avalanche have been lighting the lamp of late. Varlamov it is.....Martin Jones (LIKELY) will most likely give LA starter Jonathan Quick a breather tonight against the Calgary Flames. Joni Ortio (LIKELY) will get his fourth straight start in hope of raising his record to 3-1. It appears LA has found their offense and Ortio will be up against a more formidable opponent then his previous 3 starts (VAN, NYI, OTT).  Me, and, and, and,.... Mr., Mr. Jones, Mr. Jones, Mr. Jones....Evgeni Nabokov (LIKELY) and the New York Islanders continue their road trip with a sop in Vancouver to take on Eddie Lack (LIKELY) and the Canucks. Lack should continue his fine play in net as the depleted Islanders play their 4th game in 7 nights....Jonathan Bernier (LIKELY) and the Toronto Maple Leafs visit ...

While there were a few games played yesterday, the news with the most fantasy implications revolves around the Dallas Star's Kari Lehtonen who sustained an apparent concussion on Saturday and could not finish the game. The comments from Dallas coach Lindsey Ruff seems to suggest that the goaltender could miss some time, opening the door for recently acquired Tim Thomas to make his first start for the Stars tonight. More importantly, the two-time Vezina winner could make a serious fantasy splash as the Stars are holding on to the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Thomas was 16-20-3 with a 2.87 GAA with Florida, but self-admittedly that "money" goalies perform at a higher level when the post-season is at stake. With the Panthers, he was playing out the season. Now all of the sudden, he is thrown back on the big stage. Given Dallas has 4 games this week, Thomas makes for a great start, but his dividends can pay off the rest of the season if Lehtonen's head injury turns out to be serious. Monitor this situation closely as this new Star is about to get a huge boost in fantasy value. The Ranger's Henrik Lundqvist seems back on track with his second straight quality start, a 30-save blanking of the Red Wings. Not entirely on his game since arriving from the Olympics, his overall pedestrian numbers so far- 24 wins, 2.50 GAA and .916 SP- suggest that there is huge room for improvement. With playoff momentum on the line, look for Lundqvist's numbers to drastically pick up moving forward. With the arrival of Marian Gaborik in Los Angeles, the King who has clicked the most is Jeff Carter. The 29-year old had a heck of a night in the 4-2 win over Edmonton, generating most of the offense with two goals and an assist. His move to the second line will help his even-strength production, while he still holds a spot on the top power play. Until Gaborik proves something, Carter is the most valuable fantasy forward asset on the Kings outside of Anze Kopitar.