("Sleepers, Keepers , Bench'em or Drop'em" is a weekly fantasy hockey column written by Darryl "Dobber" Dobbs, an honest-to-goodness expert on such matters and founder of DobberHockey.com. His column will run on Puck Daddy every Thursday.)

Milan Lucic(notes), Marc Savard(notes) and Sergei Gonchar(notes) join the swelling ranks of the injured ... and their fantasy owners are starting to feel the same sense of panic welling up inside them that I feel when my wife gets a hold of the remote. Problem solved - I just keep the remote on my lap. The wife will never go near that area. I'll help those panicking poolies solve their problems, too.

Injury replacement of the week: Kris Letang(notes)

Alex Goligoski(notes) would also make a fine replacement - but he's doing so well right now that he's bound to be owned in most leagues. Letang is also doing fine, with five points in nine contests - but he'll still improve upon that with the added power-play time.

Are you drunk? Yes. But that doesn't take away from this obvious fact - the Penguins score a ton of goals (third in the league) and now instead of three awesome puck-moving rearguards getting the points, it's down to two.

The Keepers

Simeon Semyon Semen Varlamov, Washington Capitals: A goaltender so nice they named him thrice. It was a rocky beginning for Varlamov but he has won his last two starts and knocked his goals against back down to three and his SP up close to 90. There is stability now, with Jose Theodore(notes) hurt, so Varlamov is free to focus on winning. On this high-scoring team, that just means not letting in more than four goals. He'll be a stud for years to come.

Joe Thornton(notes), San Jose Sharks: Of course he's a keeper, but he's not the keeper you thought he was. Oh no, this guy's a Top 5 keeper forward. His points have declined the last two seasons, but he's a 90-point guy no longer. He's not even a 100-point guy. No, Big Joe is a 120-point player. With the most talented winger that he's ever played with, Thornton will flirt with his career high of 125 points. Mark it.

Rich Peverley(notes), Atlanta Thrashers: Since joining Atlanta, Peverley has 43 points in 45 games, including eight points this campaign. So far he has seen just over three percent of his shifts on a line with Ilya Kovalchuk(notes), but over 55 percent on a line with Colby Armstrong(notes) and Evander Kane(notes). As the top six in Atlanta filled out in the summer, Peverley had his doubters. But he continues producing and his ice time is rising. Don't forget - Nashville waived this guy, who now has more points than anyone on their team. Then again, the stick boy has as many points as a dozen Nashville regulars.

Denis Grebeshkov(notes), Edmonton Oilers: He's the real deal and I believe he'll consistently post in that 45 to 55-point range. Granted, the Oilers have several puck-moving defensemen, but two of them are Certified Band-Aid Boys.

The Sleepers

Gilbert Brule(notes), Edmonton Oilers: Pat Quinn has been to Gilbert Brule what Quentin Tarantino was to John Travolta. Instead of coming out with Look Who's Talking 5, Brule is crafting Pulp Fiction. While he won't keep up his 80-point pace, he should continue his 100-PIM pace and post at least 40 to 45 points. He's a sleeper for 60.

David Jones(notes), Colorado Avalanche: If he can stay out of the hospital ward long enough, Jones has solid second-line potential. Since his return, he has five points in five games playing on the third line. When the Avs start to really stumble, they'll juggle their lines around and he'll be in the top six.

Ryan Vesce(notes), San Jose Sharks: Okay, this one's a real long shot and it will only last about as long as Joe Pavelski(notes) is on the sidelines. Vesce is an AHL star who is too small to plug away on the third line. Finally, the Sharks have called him up to play on the - wait for it - first line. It's only spot shifts, but at least he is seeing time with skill players (and Dany Heatley(notes) and Thornton are towards the top of that list). He has two goals in two games and should continue to do okay until a Pavelski return forces him back to the ‘A.

Curtis Glencross(notes), Calgary Flames: After a strong preseason, it took Glencross a few games to get going, but once he did Coach Sutter tossed him on a line with Jarome Iginla(notes). He'll build on last year's 40 points and he's also great in the shots category and adequate for PIM.

Bench'em or Drop'em

Shawn Horcoff(notes), Edmonton Oilers: Surprisingly, he's averaged six minutes a game more than any one of Mike Comrie(notes), Sam Gagner(notes), Andrew Cogliano(notes) and Gilbert Brule. Surprising, because he doesn't even have half of their points. Also surprising because other than when he is killing penalties, his linemate is always Ales Hemsky(notes). The drought looks to be a long one, but when Hemsky gets rolling he should too. Bench him.

Christopher Higgins(notes), New York Rangers: At just 26 years of age, do not yet write him off in keeper leagues, although a 65-point season is looking less likely with each passing crap (offensive) year. His ice time is declining along with his production so he's not worth a roster spot in one-year leagues at this point. Not even on the bench. His 27-goal season is as distant a memory as a good U2 song. Drop him.

David Perron(notes), St. Louis Blues: After a great step forward in 2008-09, he has taken two steps the other way. Looking back, however, this should be about as surprising as an NHLPA screw-up. Think about it - last season Paul Kariya(notes) and Andy McDonald(notes) were on the shelf. Those guys are back now and Perron's seen a 35 percent drop in power-play time versus last year. He's still a great keeper option, but for this year, unless injury strikes a big player on the Blues: Drop him.

Carey Price(notes), Montreal Canadiens: I figured he would bounce back this year. After all, last season's poor numbers came after his high ankle sprain. Prior to the injury, his numbers were quite good. After two games to open the campaign, things looked promising. After six games - they were dismal. And now Jaroslav Halak(notes) has started to play better. It's looking like this won't be Price's year. Bench him.

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Darryl Dobbs is the founder of dobberhockey.com, a fantasy hockey community with over a dozen columnists, a daily blog and in-depth fantasy player rankings. His always accurate opinions can also be found over at The Hockey News in their fantasy section.

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