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The puck will be dropped on men’s hockey at the 2010 Olympics in a little over 24 hours from now. The city of Vancouver is abuzz with Team Canada talk. Who will be the starting goalie? Who will Sidney Crosby play with? Where is Mike Green? These questions, along with countless more, have been filling local radio shows, the local newspapers, and the mouths of hockey fans everywhere. These kinds of questions are not exclusively Canadian, as I am sure there are Swedish hockey fans wondering how Peter Forsberg will hold up, and Russian hockey fans wondering who will get to play with Alex Ovechkin. I have a few questions and thoughts of my own, so read on to find out my list of the top 10 things to watch for during the 2010 Olympics!

Welcome once again to “An Expert’s Audit.” This audit will be posted here as well as on my fantasy hockey blog at www.fantasyhockey.hockeyanalysis.com . I also do weekly reviews of teams for people who email in to me for a look-see. These audits will continue to appear here monthly and if you’re interested in having your keeper team “worked over” then you can begin by emailing Dobber (contact link at bottom of website) about it. But send it in by the 15th, as I will be starting on my next one at that point.

Anthony Furino is an Isles fan who contacted for a little advice on his fantasy team. He’s built his team to win now and wanted a little nudge to put him over the top. He plays in a 20 team dynasty H2H where he’s solidly positioned for the playoffs and anxious to make a run. The stat categories are G, A, P, +/-, PPP, SHP, and GWG for skaters and W, GAA, SV, SV% and SHO for goalies. My advice in a league like this is to target goal scorers since that’ll count in several categories, and to target goalies who get lots of saves.

Well let’s take a look at the Manhattan Supermen.

The Colorado Avalanche, expected to be out of playoff contention this season in the Western Conference, have surprised even the wildest of optimists with their play to date. They were entering 2009-10 with an unproven starting goaltender in Craig Anderson, and a roster which featured a potentially disjointed mix of old and young players. However, first year Coach Joe Sacco has brought the mixture together and made it work in a big way. Thanks in large part to the strong goaltending from Anderson, The Avalanche are currently leading the Northwest Division.

Colorado’s young talent has impressively stepped in seamlessly and contributed to the team’s success. First year forward Matt Duchene is the cream of the crop, but he has been joined by the likes of Chris Stewart, TJ Galiardi, Ryan O’Reilly, Brandon Yip, and Kyle Cumiskey.

In sports, numbers rarely tell the entire story. In hockey, this is especially true. It is hard to quantify some aspects of such a fast-paced, fluid game. In fantasy sports, numbers ARE the story. Unless a formula to quantify things like heart and determination is developed, don’t expect this to change. In fantasy hockey, a 50-point player is superior to a 40-point player by exactly 10 points. In real hockey, the 50-point player may be lazy, overpaid, short, tall, fat, thin, weak, and strong… I think you get the picture. However, there are often reasons why that player is scoring 50 points as opposed to 40. How much ice time is he getting? Who are his linemates? What kind of role is he playing on his team? These are some of the questions I will answer.

While looking over this week’s NHL schedule, I couldn’t help but wonder about the different goalie stories and surprises that will pop up before the Olympic break. The fate of a fantasy manager is much more sinister than it is serene, so taking a risk or two could go a long way in getting your pound of flesh before the two week NHL hiatus.

In sports, numbers rarely tell the entire story. In hockey, this is especially true. It is hard to quantify some aspects of such a fast-paced, fluid game. In fantasy sports, numbers ARE the story. Unless a formula to quantify things like heart and determination is developed, don’t expect this to change. In fantasy hockey, a 50-point player is superior to a 40-point player by exactly 10 points. In real hockey, the 50-point player may be lazy, overpaid, short, tall, fat, thin, weak, and strong… I think you get the picture.

However, there are often reasons why that player is scoring 50 points as opposed to 40. How much ice time is he getting? Who are his linemates? What kind of role is he playing on his team? These are some of the questions I will hopefully answer with regards to four players performing below expectations (some more than others): Patrick O’Sullivan, Patrik Berglund, Claude Giroux, and Bryan Little.

With apologies to the New Jersey Devils, the Detroit Red Wings represent the clearest facsimile of a NHL dynasty since the glory days of the Edmonton Oilers.  But things have plainly broken down this season.  With injuries piled up like rush-hour commuters in the season’s first snowstorm, the Red Wings are currently fighting for their playoff lives.  But now their injured players are returning, what will this mean for you?

The big moves in goal between Toronto and Anaheim may come as no surprise, but the impact will still send shockwaves through both systems. On the heels of Jonas Hiller’s new four-year deal, the Ducks finally found a way to reunite J-S Giguere with Francois Allaire and Brian Burke. All is well that ends well I guess, as the fan’s favorite scapegoat, Vesa Toskala, was released from Leafs prison and will now probably end up as a free agent this summer.

There are a few certainties as we head towards deadline day on March 3rd. Atlanta is going to move Ilya Kovalchuk. The Edmonton Oilers and Carolina Hurricanes are going to be sellers, and as much as Brian Burke says otherwise, the Leafs will be joining them. However, like every over deadline, there will be some surprises and deals that come out of leftfield. In addition to the usual veterans and impending free agents on the move, there are a few younger players who may find new homes on March 3rd.