When a topic doesn’t come to me quickly enough, there is nothing I love more than to ramble on about a lot of different things in the fantasy hockey world. So here goes…

(Originally published by The Hockey News January 18)

The injury to Michael Nylander (rotator cuff, out for the season) has the Washington Capitals trying Boyd Gordon as the pivot on the second line. I don’t put a lot of stock in him offensively. In fact, under normal circumstances I would say 40 points is as high as you can expect the 24-year-old to go. However, in the two games since the surgery, Gordon and his wingers (Tomas Fleischmann and Alexander Semin) have been extremely hot. This is probably just a temporary blip, but in roto leagues that is just what you want from a depth centerman…

Heading into Friday’s action, Carolina rearguard Mike Commodore had five assists and 42 penalty minutes in his last 11 games. That’s great for a depth defenseman in roto leagues that include PIMs as a stat. He started slowly and struggled with injuries, so his overall numbers have kept him under the radar…

Chicago forward Patrick Sharp signed a big four-year contract extension Thursday. He is on pace for 65 points this campaign and I think that is where he will end up. I also think he will peak there in his career, give or take. That being said, this contract showed me the Hawks' confidence in him and therefore I would expect he would be pretty steady at 60 to 70 points throughout the contract. He’ll keep getting the ice and we’ve already seen him click with Jonathan Toews…

After eight points in 32 games to start the season, Florida rearguard Jay Bouwmeester has 10 points in his last 15. He is becoming somewhat of a legend for his huge second halves…

Phoenix freshman Peter Mueller is on a five-game point streak, with eight points in that span. He has 25 points in his last 34 games and is regularly seeing more ice time these days. Had he been scoring at that pace all season (25 in 34), he would be second in rookie scoring right now. Then again, if Nicklas Backstrom had been scoring at his current pace (18 points in 20 games) all season, he would be right up there with Patrick Kane… but I thought it was interesting to note…

Brandon Bochenski has four points in his last four games (four in six as a Duck). He is a streaky player and this is another one of his streaks. By no means does this mean his career has turned around, but it does mean he makes a great temporary pickup in roto leagues…

Injuries, from a fantasy league perspective: Paul Stastny underwent an appendectomy Thursday and will be on the shelf for two to three weeks. With Joe Sakic and now Stastny, Colorado’s top two centermen, both injured, the Avs have no other option but to turn to Tyler Arnason and T.J. Hensick (who was recalled after the Stastny news). These two players have the ability to put decent points up on the board if given the opportunity – and now they will get that. A two-week pickup for either of them would be a decent move to make.