The Carolina Hurricanes may be in a battle all season for a playoff spot, so they arent the most appealing team when it comes to fantasy, yet there are enough quality performers and intriguing youngsters to keep them interesting. The tried and true on the Hurricanes roster is centre Eric Staal who, at 26-year-old, is in the prime of his career. Hes scored at least 29 goals and 70 points in each of the last six seasons and, as an added sweetener, he has at least 68 penalty minutes in four of those six seasons. Last years rookie sensation, Jeff Skinner, was only the eighth rookie aged 20 or under since 1990 to score at least 30 goals and 60 points. The others? Alexander Ovechkin, Eric Lindros, Sidney Crosby, Pavel Bure, Jason Arnott, Evgeni Malkin and Alexei Yashin. Of those seven others, five scored better than a point-per-game as sophomores while Arnott (37 points in 42 games) and Yashin (44 points in 47 games) had their second seasons shortened by the lockout in 1994-1995. By no means does this guarantee that Skinner is on his way to a point-per-game aleady, but that possibility shouldnt be discounted either. He figures to get more ice time and could spend more time playing with Staal, which should increase his scoring chances. Beyond their marquee scorers, goaltender Cam Ward likely holds the most appeal among Hurricanes. An established number one goaltender who played a career-high 74 games last year, Ward has played at least 68 games, winning at least 37, in three of the last four seasons. In fantasy circles, he figures to be a strong number two option in most leagues. On defence, the Hurricanes have Tomas Kaberle and Joni Pitkanen, both of whom have some shortcomings to go along with consistent point production. Kaberles lack of goal-scoring and low penalty minute totals offset the production of a blueliner who has scored at least 45 points in six of the last eight seasons. In Pitkanens case, he has declining goal totals and has some plus-minus problems -- hes a combined minus-32 over the last five seasons -- that undercut his appeal. Hes still worthwhile, having scored at least 33 points in five of the last six seasons, while playing more than 24 minutes a game in each of the last five seasons, but is a depth option in most leagues. So long as Kaberle and Pitkanen are ahead of him on the depth chart, Jamie McBain remains a sleeper. After an impressive showing in the final 14 games of the 2009-2010 season, McBains role was reduced last season and his production suffered. Two Finns have more value with wing eligibility. Jussi Jokinens last two season have been the most productive of his career (on a per-game basis) so hes a nice fit as a number three left winger in most fantasy leagues. Tuomo Ruutu scored a career-high 57 points while playing in all 82 games last season. Its difficult to project that success -- and health -- for him again, so hes a better fit as a depth winger with some offensive upside. There are some openings among the Hurricanes top six forwards and while journeymen veterans like Alexei Ponikarovsky and/or Anthony Stewart could get a crack, it would be much more interesting if top prospects Zac Dalpe and/or Zach Boychuk are given sufficent opportunities to play in scoring roles. Dalpe registered 57 points in 61 AHL games as a rookie pro last season, while Boychuk tallied 65 points in 60 games. They may not score enough in the NHL to be fantasy performers this season, but keep them in mind as late-round fliers, particularly in deep leagues. If the Hurricanes are going to be a playoff team in 2011-2012, theyre going to need some players to play above and beyond expectations, but that is part of what makes Carolinas depth players and prospects so intriguing. Depth Chart - Carolina Hurricanes LW C RW Jussi Jokinen Eric Staal Jeff Skinner Zach Boychuk Tuomo Ruutu Zac Dalpe Alexei Ponikarovsky Brandon Sutter Chad LaRose Jiri Tlusty Tim Brent Patrick Dwyer Drayson Bowman Jonathan Matsumoto Anthony Stewart Chris Terry Riley Nash Jerome Samson D D G Tomas Kaberle Joni Pitkanen Cam Ward Jamie McBain Tim Gleason Brian Boucher Bryan Allen Derek Joslin Justin Peters Jay Harrison Justin Faulk Bobby Sanguinetti Michal Jordan Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy Sports on Facebook. http:/... . Head coach Scott Milanovich was optimistic that his starting quarterback could go but added the team wont make an announcement until Thursday. Ray is recuperating from a strained MCL that he suffered in the first quarter of a loss in Montreal on Sept. [url=http://www.airmax2015gr.eu/nike-air-max-2015/nike-air-max-2019.html]nike air max 2015 γυναικεια . The Hall of Fame defenceman told Landsberg that he believes fighting still has a place in todays game, but thinks staged fighting needs be outlawed. http:/... . -- There were no late-game heroics for the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday. [url=http://www.airmax2015gr.eu/air-force-1-high.html]air force 1 high . Maxwell, 24, posted one goal and four assists in nine games with the Jets last season. He spent most of the campaign with the teams American Hockey League affiliate, the St. http://www.a... . Despite having a 1-0 lead was washed away after two innings and waiting two hours 55 minutes for umpires to call it, Cleveland moved within 2 1-2 games of first-place Detroit when the Tigers lost in Baltimore 8-5. GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- No. 3 Florida has won with defence most of the season. The Gators showed Saturday they can pull out games on the other end of the court, too. Scottie Wilbekin scored 16 points, leading all five starters in double figures, and Florida beat Alabama 78-69 for its 15th straight victory. The Gators handled the Tide for the second time in 16 days and extended a school record for consecutive home wins to 29. "If you play defence the way we did tonight, youre not going to win," coach Billy Donovan said. "Thank God we had some offence today that helped us." Florida (21-2, 10-0 Southeastern Conference) shot a blistering 62 per cent from the field and finished with a season-high 22 assists. The Gators trailed by seven late in the first half before taking over the game in the paint and in transition. That opened things up on the perimeter for Wilbekin and Michael Frazier II. Wilbekin was 3-for-5 shooting from behind the arc, making all three in the second half. Frazier was 3 for 8 from the 3-point range. Frazier finished with 14 points, joining Wilbekin, Casey Prather (15), Will Yeguete (12) and Patric Young (11) in double figures. It was the first time all five of Floridas starters topped 10 points since Nov. 21 against Middle Tennessee. "We have a balanced team, and anyone can beat you on any given night," Prather said. Prather, the teams leading scorer, failed to reach double figures the last two games while dealing with a sprained left ankle. He returned to form against Alabama even though Donovan wasnt sure he would play a few hours before the tip. Donovan gave Prather the option of playing or resting, and he chose to give it a go. "Its got nothing to do with him not being a tough kid or he cant play through pain," Donovan said. "It gets more into the fact that he doesnt feel confidence-wise that hes capable of doing the things he knows he can do. When he gets to that place, he really gets mentally taken out because he knows he cant do certain things. "When he knows he can do things physically, it adds to his confidence.dddddddddddd When he cant move like he wants to move, I think he knows hes putting our team in jeopardy, and that eats him alive and kills him." Trevor Releford led the Tide (9-14, 3-7) with 25 points on 7-for-10 shooting. He was 4 for 6 from behind the 3-point line and perfect on seven free throws. Releford scored 16 points in the first half, carrying Alabama for much of the afternoon. His 3-pointer put the Tide up 28-21, silencing the sold-out OConnell Center. Alabama shot 61 per cent in the opening half and went 5 for 7 from behind the arc, giving the defensive-minded Donovan plenty to talk about at halftime. The Gators responded with an effective press, made 3-pointers and a heavy dose of post play that seemingly wore down the Tide. "Theyre at their best when theyre in transition," Tide coach Anthony Grant said. "From an offensive standpoint, they took us out of some things that we were able to get there in the first half." Florida went on a 25-8 run that turned a deficit into a double-digit lead. The Tide ended up losing its four straight and sixth in the last seven games. "This program cant do anything but go up," Releford said. "Its just a process. Right now were losing a game, but I feel as a team were getting better and Coach is helping us with that." Chris Walker, Floridas highly touted freshman who became eligible this week, played just 4 minutes in his second collegiate game. He finished with four points, two fouls and a rebound. Donovan said he hopes to get Walker more playing time. For as dominant as Florida has been recently, the teams toughest test comes next week. The Gators play at Tennessee on Tuesday night and then at No. 18 Kentucky on Saturday. Those games could go a long way to determining how Florida finishes in the conference and what kind of seed it gets in next months NCAA tournament. "I dont think we played great," Yeguete said. "We got it done, but we didnt play great. We know weve got to do a better job if we want to win in Knoxville on Tuesday." [url=http://www.cheapnfljerseysauthentic.us.com/]cheap nfl jerseys cheap soccer jerseys ' ' '