The first month of the NHL season produced plenty of surprises – both pleasant and unpleasant – in the nets across North America.

The most jarring start, good or bad, was produced by new Avalanche goaltender Craig Anderson. After backing up in Chicago and Florida, he went to Colorado with a clear shot at starting.

He is 10-3-2 with a 2.11 goals-against average and a .911 save percentage for a team widely expected to miss the playoffs. His 10 victories in October tied the NHL record for most victories in that month and he was named the league’s “first star” for the month.

Say, it’s great to have Chargers RB LaDainian Tomlinson back on the board. The yesteryear fantasy MVP finally scored a couple of touchdowns as San Diego handled the Raiders Sunday.

His first TD in this game – and his first since Week 1 of the NFL season – came out of the “Wildcat” formation. Perhaps this scheme could get him on a more productive track.

Fantasy football GMs owning RB Brian Westbrook are stuck this week. The concussion he suffered Monday night has knocked him out of practice this week. The Eagles regard his availability as a “game-time decision.” Those are the words we all hate to hear, since such uncertainty makes it difficult to set our lineup.

Penguins center Evgeni Malkin is one of the top three offensive players in the National Hockey League, joining Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin in that select group.

Malkin scored 219 points the previous two seasons and scored 14 points in his first 12 games this season. But now he will miss the next two to three weeks with a shoulder injury. He joins offensive defenseman Sergei Gonchar and winger Tyler Kennedy (five goals so far) on Pittsburgh's injured list.

For a mid- to late-round pick, Bengals RB Cedric Benson is delivering an awesome payoff for fantasy general managers.He sought to punish his old team, the Bears, for cutting him lose and sticking him with the “draft bust” stigma. Benson did some talking before Cincinnati played Chicago.
Then he backed it up by plowing for 189 yards and a touchdown on 37 carries. “There had been some business out there I had wanted to take care of and I think I wiped the slate clean,” he told the Dayton Daily News.

This has been a hit-or-miss season for fantasy general managers relying on Cowboys players for production.

This team is piling up yardage -- 420 per game -- but struggling to finish off scoring drives. “To be the (No. 2) offense and not have the points to show for it . . . that’s an area we’ve worked on,” TE Jason Witten told reporters this week. “You have to get there first, but when we do, we have to take advantage of those.”

An assortment of injuries forced offensive coordinator Jason Garrett to shuffle his depth chart the past three games. So how are we to utilize these guys in Week 7 and beyond?

The NHL season is less than 10 games old, but already major injuries are reshaping some teams.

Blues power forward David Backes knocked Penguins defenseman Sergei Gonchar out of action for at least four to six weeks with a broken wrist. Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma didn’t notice the hit during the game, but was able to detect it on tape.

If you had RB DeAngelo Williams and/or RB Jonathan Stewart in your lineup Sunday, you had to admire the “all in” Carolina commitment to its ground game.
Panthers coach John Fox wisely asked QB Jake Dehomme to hand off again and again and again against the porous Tampa Bay defense. The results for fantasy GMs starting Williams and Stewart were favorable.

Patriots QB Tom Brady knows he has a job to do. “Everyone counts on me to perform at a certain level,” Brady said this week, speaking of both his teammates and fantasy general managers around the world. “When you’re not doing it, it’s very frustrating.”
Tell us about it. Fantasy GMs who spent high picks on him and/or WR Randy Moss are wondering if he can make it all the way back from knee surgery.

With Cowboys WR Roy Williams on the shelf, speedy Dallas WR Miles Austin enjoyed his big breakout game. He caught 10 passes against the Chiefs for 250 yards and two touchdowns, breaking Bob Hayes’ team record for receiving yards.

So, sure, Austin has arrived as a full-time player. He will see lots of action against Atlanta.

If you own Braylon Edwards, you are walking a little taller these days. One of your dilemmas for Week 5 of this season has been eliminated. It will be safe to start Edwards again. He ought to be a good WR-2 this season, with some hope of becoming a WR-1.

There were a lot of reasons to doubt the Colts offense this season. Although the system remained the same, Indy underwent a coaching shuffle. Veteran WR Marvin Harrison moved on. WR Anthony Gonzalez went down with a knee injury in Week 1.
And yet QB Peyton Manning just delivered his fourth 300-yard game in four weeks – something he had never done before. He was 31 for 41 for 353 yards. Overall, he has completed 70.8 percent of his passes this season. He has thrown nine touchdown passes and been picked off just three times.