Rumors, moves, injuries and newsmakers...

Are San Jose's scorers waking up?; McCabe shows signs of life; Price is still very right; Theodore looks great again; Weiss heats up; Anderson stays superb; Ersberg takes over for Kings; and more...

SLEEPING SHARKS 
On paper, the San Jose Sharks have one of the most exciting and talented lineups in the NHL. So why haven't they played that way on the ice?

There are plenty of reasons, but the most important one may be the simplest: many of their key players are traditionally slow starters. Star winger Jonathan Cheechoo, for example, is renowned for being a different player in the second half of seasons. When franchise center Joe Thornton won the scoring title in 2006, he finished the season with an incredible March and April. And star center Patrick Marleau, who has had mostly dismal campaign so far, is finally waking up with six points in his past five outings.

As a result of their sudden surge, the Sharks are 7-3-0 in their past 10 games, and are threatening to make a run at the top teams in the Western conference. As they visit the equally-hot Blackhawks Friday, are the slumbering Sharks starting to finally wake up?

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LIFE IN BRYAN 
After a season of slumps, injuries, and disappointments, is Bryan McCabe finally coming around? Maybe. Along with several other suddenly-surging Leafs vets, the high-scoring defenseman has been excellent of late. He had four points (three assists and a goal) in Thursday's 8-2 pasting of the Bruins. INTEL: The outing gives McCabe six points in his past three, and considering his heavy ice time and role on the power play, he becomes a great pickup in most fantasy formats. His plus-minus is even healthy lately, at plus-4 over four games.

CAREY CARRYIN' THE HABS 
Montreal boss Bob Gainey took some heat for trading away Cristobal Huet recently, because of concerns that it would put too much pressure on young netminder Carey Price. So was Gainey justified? Looks like it. Thursday the rookie goalie continued his hot-streak, stopping 37 of 39 shots for his fourth win in five games. INTEL: As 20 years old, Price is starting to live up to his reputation as the next Patrick Roy. In 30 games he has 15 wins and 10 losses, along with a solid .911 save percentage and a 2.78 GAA. Don't expect him to lose his starting gig anytime soon.

JOSE SHOWING OLD HART 
Is Jose Theodore really back to his old self? It's starting to look like it. After a dismal season last year in Colorado that saw him lose his starting job to Peter Budaj, the former Hart Trophy winner has been superb lately. Thursday night he posted his fifth straight win, shutting out the Ducks 1-0 by stopping 27 shots. INTEL: The talent has always been there, and now it looks like Theodore has his mojo back too. Over his five-game win-streak he hasn't allowed more than two goals in a single start. He is now the clear-cut starter over Budaj, and a great play the rest of the way.

THE WEISS STUFF? 
Will Stephen Weiss ever live up to the promise of being the fourth-overall pick of the 2001 Draft? Maybe he's starting to do that now. The speedy but somewhat injury-prone center has quietly been playing very well lately, and Thursday he had two points against the Penguins (a goal and an assist) in Florida's 5-2 win. INTEL: That gives Weiss eight points in the past seven games. He is also plus-6 over that span, so he is certainly playing up to his potential. The rise of young winger David Booth is also helping his cause, and the fact Olli Jokinen is still in Florida is good for Weiss too.

COOL CAT: ANDERSON WINS AGAIN 
The unexpected excellence of Craig Anderson. On Thursday the Panthers' backup posted his fourth straight win for the Panthers. The two goals he allowed were the first two in his past three starts, as he turned back 25 of 27 attempts in the Panthers' 5-2 victory over Pittsburgh. INTEL: Is Anderson for real? He certainly has the talent, and at 26 he also has youth on his side. Expect him to keep getting the starts as long as the team is hot, but keep in mind that the Panthers allow the most shots on goal in the NHL (almost 34 per game).

ERSBERG TAKES OVER 
He got off to a solid start to this season for the Kings, but Jason LaBarbera's 2007-08 is over. The underrated goalie had hernia surgery on Wednesday and will miss the rest of the season. With LaBarbera out, rookie Erik Ersberg looks to be in line for most of the starts the rest of the way for the rebuilding Kings. He has been in the nets for the team's past three contests. INTEL: Ersberg has been surprisingly good for the Kings in his brief debut, but with uber-prospect Jonathan Bernier in the system, Ersberg's time to shine may be brief in general. Look for Bernier to be the main man starting next season.

DANGLING CHAD GETS SUSPENDED 
It wasn't a major trade, but the Panthers were hoping to add a gritty and experienced two-way player when the dealt for Chad Kilger at the trade deadline. The former Maple Leaf asked the team for a leave of absence (which he got) but since then hasn't been in touch. On Wednesday, the Panthers suspended Kilger without pay. INTEL: Clearly Kilger isn't thrilled about his new assignment in Florida, and clearly the Panthers aren't thrilled with him either at this point. It's too bad, because the team is doing surprisingly well and could use Kilger's underrated game and penalty-killing prowess.

ANOTHER START, BUT WADE-ING OUT? 
Last season the Islanders were led down the stretch by backup goalie Wade Dubielewicz, who single-handedly almost carried them into the playoffs. Now Dubielewicz is stepping up again, as Thursday he started his third straight contest for the Isles. Usual starter Rick DiPietro sat out again after missing two games grieving the death of his grandmother. INTEL: Dubielewicz allowed three goals and the Islanders lost 4-1 to the Rangers in the Thurday game. That means DiPietro should be back soon.