Sleepers awake

Back on April 14, my Tuesday Top Five consisted of potential playoff sleepers. So far, there is one big winner (Washington goalie Simeon Varlamov) to go with a couple solid picks.

Jussi Jokinen, sadly, was not among them.

Here's the original list (and comments) with updated stats (and comments):

5. Jason Williams, Columbus — The one-time Red Wings forward had four points in five games against his former team this year. If the Blue Jackets are going to pull the upset, they’ll need someone like Williams to step forward.

He didn't (one assist, minus-2) and they didn't (the Red Wings swept the Blue Jackets).

4. Milan Lucic, Boston — A four-category player: goals (17), assists (25), points (42) and penalty minutes (136). A throwback to the days of the big, bad Bs, Lucic is more than just a bully.

Lucic has been hit more often than he has hit the Hurricanes in the second round, but he has five points (one goal, four assists) in seven games (and 31 penalty minutes).

3. Simeon Varlamov, Washington — The notoriously hot-or-cold Jose Theodore is the Capitals’ weakest link. If he falters, Washington may turn to 21-year-old rookie Varlamov to take over. Worked well for Carolina in 2006, anyway. A month later, the Caps drafted Varlamov in the first round.

Theodore collapsed even earlier than expected, and Varlamov stepped in to outduel Henrik Lundqvist and defeat the Rangers in the first round. He's in tough against the Penguins, though.

2. Claude Lemieux, San Jose – Bidding to become the second player to win the Stanley Cup with four different teams, Lemieux is always at his irritating best in the postseason. But how much does he have left in the tank?

Lemieux never got much of a chance as the Sharks choked their way out in the first round and he played in only one game, taking one shot on goal in five minutes of ice time.

1. Ruslan Fedotenko, Pittsburgh — Fedotenko scored the Cup-winning goal for Tampa Bay in 2004. With the Penguins looking for secondary scoring behind Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby, Fedotenko could end up the offensive hero of the playoffs. He only scored 16 goals this season, but he’s been there before.

Fedotenko has three goals and three assists and is plus-2 in 10 playoff games, taking 22 shots on goal.