As the excitement over the NHL playoff chase and fantasy hockey playoffs increases exponentially every second, I have done my best to give you this week's edition of "Start 'Em, Sit 'Em."  To start, I found two young players you may not have heard of, unless you are an uber-cool NHL geek; and to sit I have a couple of players colder than the cadavers of your future fantasy hockey victims. 

Kyle Okposo | RW
New York Islanders

Usually players with no prior NHL experience do not find their way into fantasy columns, especially with barely three weeks left to go in the season.

Nevertheless, pinpointing a diamond in the rough at this point of the year is harder than pinpointing exactly how high Bob Dylan is every time he does an interview.  

Slated to make his NHL debut on Tuesday night against the Leafs, Okposo has a Curriculum Vitae that smacks of future fantasy stardom.  As an eighteen year old in the USHL he won the league's Rookie of the Year award with 58 points in 50 games.

The next season, as a freshman at one of college hockey's premier programs, he scored 17 goals and dished out 20 assists in 33 games for the Golden Gophers.  His potential was high enough that the Islanders selected him 7th overall in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft.

Ted Nolan sees a bright future for the young Minnesotan,

"He's an exceptional player that we're looking forward to see play at the NHL level," Islanders coach Ted Nolan said. "There are certain players who have that instinct. He doesn't just skate and shoot the puck well; he also has that great hockey sense."

I will not promise he will score a hundred goals his first game, but he is definitely someone worth picking up if you are looking for a spark down the stretch. 

Start 'Em

Jaroslav Halak | G
Montreal Canadiens

Following the controversial Cristobal Huet trade to the Washington Capitols, all the attention of Hab fans focused squarely on rookie goaltender Carey Price.  Price has played well since the trade, but so has the man filling his old backup role, Jaroslav Halak.  

His GAA of 1.13 and save percentage of .965 are actually better than Price's 2.69 and .915 numbers.  Of course, Halak's only started two games to Price's 33, but that is frankly beside the point.  

Following an impressive shutout of the Islanders last Sunday, Halak certainly deserves to get more playing time down the stretch.  Especially considering the Canadiens need to ensure Price gets at least a little rest before his hopefully long playoff run.  

Sit 'Em

Edmonton Oilers | LW
Dustin Penner

Maybe he had one too many kamikaze shots sitting at home over the All-Star break, but whatever the reason, he's not the same player he was to start the year.  

After starting the year playing the best hockey of his career with 32 points in 52 games prior to All-Star weeknd; the 6'-4" 245 lb power forward's only had 9 points since.  His points per game has dropped materially from .62 PPG to .43.

He really should not be on your roster at this point, but for some reason is still owned in nearly half the ESPN.com leagues.  Make sure he firmly rides the pine for your squad this week.

Pascal Leclaire | G
Columbus Blue Jackets

Despite my pick for him to win this year's Vezina trophy and leading the Blue Jackets to the best season in franchise history, Pascal strangely finds himself on this week's Sit 'Em list.

Why?  You ask.

As is usual with people I like, brain damage is to brain.  

Before Sunday's tilt with the Phoenix Coyotes, Leclaire was a victim of friendly fire, drilled by a teammate in the head.  Goalies get hit in the head all the time, it is part of what makes them so weird, but to go down for the count from such a blow is very strange.  

Leclaire is expected to miss at least two games, but if the damage was bad enough for him to miss any game time at all I would expect it to be a while before he returns to his former self.  

For any of you playing in leagues where you have to set your roster for the week in advance, I would be quite wary of Mr. Leclaire for at least the next two weeks.