Some hockey hints

I've never played fantasy hockey.
However, I have covered an NHL game in two of the last three nights, and I've liked what I have seen from some players.
The Stars' top line features Brad Richards, a supremely talented offensive player who is making linemates Loui Eriksson and James Neal look even better than they are. Dallas doesn't have three lines of scorers -- Brenden Morrow and Mike Ribeiro seem to be the only other forwards capable of scoring -- so Eriksson and Neal might not maintain the benefit of playing with Richards for the whole season. But they would seem to be good short-term pickups at the very least.
Another surprise is goalie Kari Lehtonen. The Finn is a dude, even though he has what would be considered a girl's name in this country. He had 41 saves in Saturday's overtime game, but he might have had more good stops with maybe 25 saves Thursday night. Lehtonen is a big reason the Stars are 4-0 (don't expect that success to last either).
Perhaps the Stars are trying to emulate the Rangers. When last hockey season ended and the current baseball season was beginning, both teams were owned by impecunious ex-millionnaire Tom Hicks. Therefore, almost no money was spent on increasing salaries. Mike Modano and Marty Turco were the highest-profile free-agencydepartures. The Rangers, developing a core of young stars in their farm system, played well despite turmoil to the point where the team has gone the farthest in the franchise's 50 seasons. Don't expect the Stars to do that, which would require winning another Stanley Cup. There's a good chance they might not even reach the playoffs -- especially if the NHL can't find a buyer and players such as Richards have to be unloaded at the trade deadline. I also don't expect that coach Marc Crawrod will do cocaine and have his team rally around him.