Vancouver's best player finally is Vancouver's best player.
Take a bow, Roberto Luongo.
Two shutouts in a row, against Anaheim and Chicago, make him Hockey.com's Player of the Week.
Until recently, Luongo was giving his multitude of fantasy owners cause to bench the all-star puckstopper.
Vancouver got off to a horrible 6-8 start (Luongo was 4-8) but since then the team and Roberto are 7-1-2 and atop the Northwest Division standings.
He has improved his stats to the point they are at or near the top 10 in all major categories.
Wins - 11 (Tie for third)
Shutouts - 3 (Third)
Save percentage - .919 (10th)
Of note is that he allowed an un-Roberto-like 33 goals in his first 12 games. In the last 10-game stretch, he has given up just 16.
Hot and not players are listed below, with our notes on their fantasy value.
Hot
Evgeni Nabokov, San Jose — Sure, Nabokov has absorbed two losses in consecutive games, but they weren't his fault. He let in just three goals. Prior to that, this fantasy starter had four straight wins, two by shutout.
Daniel Briere, Philadelphia — Five goals and nine points in his last four games (after just nine in the previous 12 contests) quiets fantasy detractors.
Markus Naslund, Vancouver — Naslund has been huge during the Canucks' recent surge, potting seven goals in the last seven games. Good thing, as he was fantasy waiver fodder early on.
Zach Parise, New Jersey — The Devils' star has sparked a 4-0 run with seven points. Fantasy GMs looking for depth should note that he scored both goals - on the power play, no less - in a 2-1 triumph against Pittsburgh.
Jason Spezza, Ottawa Senators — The Sens have had their troubles of late, but Spezza has kept roto owners happy, recording eight points in four games.
Not
Vesa Toskala and Andrew Raycroft, Toronto — The Leafs' defense has been porous, but Toskala and Raycroft have been awful. Drop ‘em if you've got ‘em.
Alexei Zhitnik, Atlanta — Once a credible fantasy third or fourth defenseman, Zhitnik's scoring has gone farther south than Atlanta, with just two assists so far.
Sergei Samsonov, Chicago — The Samsonov Experiment should soon be over. Three assists are all Chicago received for picking up his US $3.5-million salary. Ugh.
Michal Handzus, Los Angeles — What does US $4 million buy you these days? In Handzus' case, one goal, four points and a minus-9. A candidate for the fantasy scrap heap.