Here's a look at five of the hottest topics in fantasy hockey right now.

1. Is the buy-low window gone for some Blues forwards?

The St. Louis Blues players this question refers to are T.J. Oshie, David Backes, Alexander Steen and Paul Stastny. And yes, that window of opportunity is long gone. If you're trying to acquire any of them via trade, you'll have to pay a premium for them. It still might be worth it, but they won't be on the cheap any longer.

Coming into the season fantasy owners had to spend a pretty decent draft pick to land any of these players. Backes (drafted on average with the 50th pick), Steen (75th) and Oshie (82nd) each were drafted before the end of the eighth round. Stastny was selected on average with the 129th pick, late in the 11th round. They all got off to slow starts this season, leaving many fantasy owners in doubt about how best to utilize them. Should they drop them? Trade them? Bench them? Hopefully you stuck with each of them, because as of now all four are ranked as top-30 forwards in Yahoo fantasy leagues during the past 30 days (No. 5 Steen, No. 6 Backes, No. 14 Oshie, No. 27 Stastny).

They likely won't all remain top-30 players for the rest of the season, but it's safe to say they've returned to their expected, high-producing ways.

Every Thursday during the season, NHL.com's Evan Sporer will provide you with in-depth analysis of goaltenders. From updated weekly top-30 rankings to trending players and more, Sporer will be your go-to guy for advice on fantasy goalies all season long.

Quality of competition is a concept in hockey mostly applied to skaters.

It's easier to isolate the events of a skater's game every night than a goalie. We can look at what kind of forwards a defenseman is deployed against, and which forwards a coach matches up against their counterparts. Those are discernible segments of the game that we can analyze, and it gives us a glimpse into who is really playing the so-called tough minutes and how they fare in said instances.

For goalies, this kind of observation is a bit trickier.

Every Wednesday during the season, NHL.com fantasy hockey correspondent Brian Metzer will provide you with in-depth defensemen analysis. From updated weekly top 60 rankings to trending players and more, Metzer will be your go-to guy for fantasy blue line advice all season long.

Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Mark Streit had a career-high 62 points during the 2007-08 season with the Montreal Canadiens. He had 54.8 percent of those points while his team was on the power play. That production was good enough to place him third among all defensemen in scoring and earned him a five-year, $20.5 million contract with the New York Islanders after that season.

He had 179 points in 286 games with the Islanders, with 85 of them coming on the power play.

Streit's history prior to joining the Flyers last season is important because it shows just how effective he has been on the power play. He has scored 47.4 percent of his career points while his teams have been on the man-advantage, and that production is making Streit a standout performer for the Flyers this season.

Every Tuesday during the season, NHL.com fantasy hockey insider Pete Jensen will provide you with in-depth forward analysis. From updated weekly top 100 rankings to trending players and more, Jensen will be your go-to guy for fantasy forward advice all season long.

How much more will it take for fantasy hockey owners to realize that New York Rangers center Derick Brassard has reached must-own territory?

News flash: arguably the most undervalued fantasy forward in the game right now is there for the taking in over half of Yahoo leagues.

Every Monday, NHL.com contributor Matt Sitkoff identifies waiver wire pickups, roster trends, schedule notes and a prospect to watch in fantasy hockey.

The New York Rangers have won 13 of their past 14 games, their best 14-game stretch since 1973, and the red-hot play has led to some fantasy performers.

Leading the Rangers is All-Star forward Rick Nash, who has nine goals and 14 points during the streak. Behind him is center Derek Stepan, with 10 assists and 14 points in the past 14 games. Two players who have seen their fantasy stock rise during the streak are forwards Mats Zuccarello (12 points) and J.T. Miller (8).

With the first half of the 2014-15 season now in our rearview mirror, it's time for our team of NHL.com Fantasy Hockey insiders to reflect on the performers and storylines that have defined the fantasy landscape.

Our regular fantasy contributors -- Matt Cubeta (@NHLQubes), Pete Jensen (@NHLJensen), Matt Sitkoff (@MSitkoffNHL), Brian Metzer (@Brian_Metzer), Evan Sporer (@ev_sporer), Sebastien Deschambault, David Satriano (@davidsatriano), Eric Goodman (@ericgoodman4) and Mike Battaglino -- have cast their votes, outlining the best fantasy players at each position based on eligibility and standard-league categories in Yahoo leagues.

These picks have been made based on the players' performances during the first half of the 2014-15 NHL season and not with further production in mind.

Every Thursday during the season, NHL.com's Evan Sporer will provide you with in-depth analysis of goaltenders. From updated weekly top 30 rankings to trending players and more, Sporer will be your go-to guy for advice on fantasy goalies all season long.

In standard fantasy hockey leagues, two goalies can be started on any given night. With a bench to fill out, most fantasy owners will carry three goalies on their roster. And that means, if you play in a league with at least 10 teams, in theory every No. 1 goalie -- by definition -- could be owned.

The question, though, is whether it's worth owning every No. 1 goalie out there, or if there are other options that could add more value to your roster?

Every Wednesday during the season, NHL.com fantasy hockey correspondent Brian Metzer will provide you with in-depth defensemen analysis. From updated weekly top 60 rankings to trending players and more, Metzer will be your go-to guy for fantasy blue line advice all season long.

Patrick Roy returned to the Colorado Avalanche last season and coached them to the third-best record in the NHL and their first berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs in three seasons. Many players contributed to that success, including Calder Trophy winner Nathan MacKinnon, but defensemen Tyson Barrie might have been an even bigger surprise.

Barrie, selected in the third round (No. 64) of the 2009 NHL Draft, took a few years to develop, making his debut on Feb. 7, 2012. He played 42 games over his first two seasons in the League, scoring 13 points (two goals).

Every Tuesday during the season, NHL.com fantasy hockey insider Pete Jensen will provide you with in-depth forward analysis. From updated weekly top 100 rankings to trending players and more, Jensen will be your go-to guy for fantasy forward advice all season long.

This fantasy season has been a big surprise party. Late-round draft picks and waiver-wire pickups have run rampant and turned out to be elite-level forwards.

No exaggeration.

In my top 20 fantasy forward rankings alone, three players (Vladimir Tarasenko, Tyler Johnson, Filip Forsberg) were drafted on average in the 10th round or later in Yahoo leagues.

But one player who has especially mystified fantasy owners (in a good way, if he's on your team) is Nick Foligno of the Columbus Blue Jackets. All of a sudden, he's one of the most well-rounded offensive players in the game.

The Pittsburgh Penguins made a big move to acquire left wing David Perron, who scored a goal in his first game while playing on a line with Sidney Crosby and Steve Downie. We already broke down that he is a must-own in all formats, but will this move open up more trades as we inch closer to the NHL Trade Deadline on March 2?

The Bruins could be the next team to trade for a forward as they have not replaced Jarome Iginla on David Krejci's line. Whoever fills in that role will see his fantasy value rise and also could boost Krejci's numbers.

Keep an eye on potential sellers like the Carolina Hurricanes, Edmonton Oilers and Arizona Coyotes. As they move players it could open spots for new fantasy options.