SMC: A WHOLE NEW WORLD...AGAIN Good day fanatics! Back to a normal NHL schedule after two Covid-shortened seasons. Plus we have another new team in the Seattle Kraken who appear to be very tough to play against so far this season. It's only been a few days I know but I'm back to give you my early Sunday morning thoughts on what has happened so far. Already I'm a big hater of the not-so-specific injury status of the higher end players who make up most of our fantasy squads. I have missed out on Ovechkin's huge first night against the NY Rangers because he was doubtful but then plays and puts up a boatload of points. Thank goodness I had Max Pacioretty in my lineup. Oh wait! He was good for one night and now is out for 6 weeks. Plus Matthews didn't play at all this week but I didn't have him in my lineup. I keep reminding myself it's not how you start but how you finish. Anze Kopitar with a hat trick! Surprising to me. Sam Bennett with a hat trick also. Not that surprising. Big year for Bennett coming! You too Anze. That was a real afternoon snooze-fest Coyotes vs. Sabres. Sabres won in snooze-out 2-1, Looks like the Islanders need Varlamov back sooner than later with Sorokin struggling giving up 11 goals. Not to worry Isles fans. Sorokin and the team will turn it around. Pittsburgh fans, this is what your team is going to look like from now on especially with Crosby and Malkin getting up there. It will all come down to their goaltending. I hate when there is a huge slate of games on a Saturday and you hardly get any fantasy points. So deflating. The way Ovechkin is playing he may have a shot at Gretzky's goal record this season. LOL Not happening. If anyone wants a free version of the 2021-2022 PrimePucks(tm) Fantasy Hockey Draft Guide just shoot me an email I think the Columbus Blue Jackets will surprise a lot of people this year. The Jets lost to the Sharks and I'm not talking about West Side Story folks. Shame on you Winnipeg. Viktor Arvidsson has found renewed energy out in California...along with bean sprouts, alfalfa, Pink's Hot Dogs, etc. Do all these holdouts just wait to sign their contract on the eve of the season just so they don't have to attend training camp? Zibanejad looks like he is just off his timing a touch but he is close my fanatics. Real close! Islanders play first 13 games of the season on the road as they finish up with the UBS Arena. That's all for this week. Hope all your fantasies come true! Ray

SMC 10/13/2019 GUSHING OIL! Edmonton, at 5-0-0, will come down to Earth a little but don’t discount the Dave Tippett magic as he has this team starting to believe in themselves. Lots of enthusiasm for James Neal so far as he has 7 goals in those 5 games (4 of those in 1 game), getting excellent power play time with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Not surprising that McDavid and Draisaitl sit atop the leading board in points at 12 and 11 respectively. Surprising to some that Patrik Laine sits at #3.  I knew he was keyed in for a rebound but I’m sure the holdout just prior to the start of the season made people shy away especially after last season’s efforts.  Edmonton G Mike Smith is off to a 3-0-0 start but his SP is just above .900, so beware. Not a bad #2 for your fantasy squad though. And goalies usually flourish under Tippett’s system. Anthony Cirelli was one of my sleeper picks for this year.  Playing with that potent lineup in Tampa Bay will surely do wonders for your stat line.  3 assists in Thursday night’s game vs. Toronto. Nikolaj Ehlers is my favorite since the middle of the summer to be the best breakout player this season. Poolies I’ve helped have known how much I push for him throughout their drafts. Congratulations to NY Ranger rookie Kaapo Kakko on his 1st NHL goal on Saturday versus Edmonton. Will you remember where you were when KK scored his first NHL goal? I’ve said it before in last week’s SMC that Leon Draisaitl is in beast mode already with another 2 G and A in Saturday’s contest in New York. I still look at he box score to make sure that I am reading it correctly when I see the Ottawa Senators beating the Tampa Bay Lightning by a score of 4-2.  Like they say, “On any given Sunday”, or in this case, Saturday. Cirelli only had 22 seconds of PP time in that matchup.  Hmmmm, that’s probably why the Bolts didn’t win. The New Jersey Devils are off to a rough start. Not what I, nor others were expecting.  Is John Hynes’ head on the chopping block? Looking for Goals off the waiver wire? Anthony Duclair is getting decent ice time and top PP time so if he’s available and you need depth… Patrick Marleau has returned to the San Jose Sharks where he always belonged.  And he scored twice in his debut the other day.  Class act. Vlad Namestnikov, in just his 2nd Ottawa game after being traded from the Rangers, had 2 G and A in their win over his other former team, the TB Lightning, now has 4 points in 2 games.  Another one of those running ...

AIM HIGH, BUY LOW  SHOOT HIGH, AIM LOW by YES  https://youtu.be/CNnKau1OLp4 As we reach the 10-game mark or thereabouts, time to take a look at the slow-starters.  For those poolies who drafted the players mentioned in this article, its decision time as to whether you want to drop, trade or stick with the underperforming.  I’ve separated the defensemen from the forwards into different tables but here are my BUY LOW candidates on the blue line, which I hope will help you make your decision easier; DEFENSEMEN  GAMES POINTS SOG +/- HITS Pietrangelo-STL 9 1 12 -6 19 Leddy-NYI 8 0 4 -4 13 Goligoski-ARZ 9 1 12 -6 3 Shattenkirk-NYR 9 2 21 -4 4 Hamilton-CAR 10 4 44 0 17 Theodore-LVS 10 2 30 -6 9 Miller,C-LVS 10 1 19 -2 13   Phaneuf-LAK 10 0 9 -7 19   Pulock,R-NYI 8 1 17 -3 9     As you can see form the table above, most of these defensemen are producing at less than career averages, so you should see a return to normal levels as the season progresses.  Especially when you look at players like Alex Pietrangelo and Nick Leddy where they play a prominent role in terms of minutes played plus playing on the top PP units.  Both players should get you at least 40 points over the remainder of the season (approx. 70 gms.).  Those would be my top 2 targets. The rest may be on your waiver wire because of their slow starts.  Most are depth defensemen at best but are consistent and are good in case of an injury to one of your top defensemen. I would put the likes of Kevin Shattenkirk & Dougie Hamilton above the remaining players as they have scoring pedigree and it looks like the NY Rangers are starting to score more and their power play is starting to gel, while the Carolina Hurricanes are scoring and winning, it is just taking the newcomer time to adjust to his new team. Rounding out the leftovers, Shea Theodore of the Las Vegas Golden Knights is a great selection especially for those in dynasty/keeper leagues as he is young and has been quite active but hasn’t been hitting the score sheet with just 2 points in 10 games played.  Another in the same category of Theodore is Ryan Pulock of the Islanders.  Both have potential but Theodore has more of a chance to contribute because of the presence of Leddy in New York sharing time with Pulock.  Along with Theodore’s team mate Colin Miller, Arizona Coyote Alex Goligoski and LA King Dion Phaneuf, these players should net you around 30-35 points over the next 70+ games.  Keep them on your list and maybe you can pry them away ...

AIM HIGH, BUY LOW https://youtu.be/CNnKau1OLp4 As we reach the 10-game mark or thereabouts, time to take a look at the slow-starters.  For those poolies who drafted the players mentioned in this article, its decision time as to whether you want to drop, trade or stick with the underperforming.  I’ve separated the defensemen from the forwards into different tables but here are my BUY LOW candidates on the blue line, which I hope will help you make your decision easier; DEFENSEMEN  GAMES POINTS SOG +/- HITS Pietrangelo-STL 9 1 12 -6 19 Leddy-NYI 8 0 4 -4 13 Goligoski-ARZ 9 1 12 -6 3 Shattenkirk-NYR 9 2 21 -4 4 Hamilton-CAR 10 4 44 0 17 Theodore-LVS 10 2 30 -6 9 Miller,C-LVS 10 1 19 -2 13   Phaneuf-LAK 10 0 9 -7 19   Pulock,R-NYI 8 1 17 -3 9     As you can see form the table above, most of these defensemen are producing at less than career averages, so you should see a return to normal levels as the season progresses.  Especially when you look at players like Alex Pietrangelo and Nick Leddy where they play a prominent role in terms of minutes played plus playing on the top PP units.  Both players should get you at least 40 points over the remainder of the season (approx. 70 gms.).  Those would be my top 2 targets. The rest may be on your waiver wire because of their slow starts.  Most are depth defensemen at best but are consistent and are good in case of an injury to one of your top defensemen. I would put the likes of Kevin Shattenkirk & Dougie Hamilton above the remaining players as they have scoring pedigree and it looks like the NY Rangers are starting to score more and their power play is starting to gel, while the Carolina Hurricanes are scoring and winning, it is just taking the newcomer time to adjust to his new team. Rounding out the leftovers, Shea Theodore of the Las Vegas Golden Knights is a great selection especially for those in dynasty/keeper leagues as he is young and has been quite active but hasn’t been hitting the score sheet with just 2 points in 10 games played.  Another in the same category of Theodore is Ryan Pulock of the Islanders.  Both have potential but Theodore has more of a chance to contribute because of the presence of Leddy in New York sharing time with Pulock.  Along with Theodore’s team mate Colin Miller, Arizona Coyote Alex Goligoski and LA King Dion Phaneuf, these players should net you around 30-35 points over the next 70+ games.  Keep them on your list and maybe you can pry them away cheap.   On to the forwards.  ...

SMC 1/15/2017 HEATING UP! Lazing on a cold Sunday morning in January with my hot cup of coffee and lots of hockey to talk about! Hottest teams right now in the coldest part of the season; Washington, Minnesota and Toronto.  Didn’t think TO would be this competitive this quickly. The Matthews Effect! You know, the Islanders can still make a run of this for a playoff spot.  Remember the Ottawa Senators from a few years back?  But it looks almost impossible, but it will be fun to watch if it happens. Boston has played a lot of games and are sitting in a playoff spot right now but…. Patrice Bergeron is starting to put it together with 6 points in last 6 games and 8 in 9.  I hope you followed my advice from a few weeks ago. Philly is spiraling out of playoff position going 2-6-2 in last ten.  This is usually the time of year that the team starts to excel.  Oh well. After that horrific start to the season, Torey Krug is heating up. This Pastrnak kid is having a season, isn’t he? The PrimePucks™ Draft Guide had him for 58 points….might have been a little conservative with that number, but maybe not. Nashville squeaked one out versus Colorado on Saturday afternoon.  Don’t know what that says about either team.  Are the Predators that bad or are the Avalanche improving? I think one can never expect Ryan Johansen to be the beast that we all expected him to be.  He has only had that one good year and that was a year when everyone gave up hope that he would develop into an NHL star. The Rangers and Canadiens showed their explosive offenses in the 5-4 Hab win on Saturday.  I was happy to see Alex Galchenyuk back in the lineup.  He’s hitting his prime! Is the King losing some sparkle on his crown?  Henrik Lundqvist doesn’t seem to have that mystique anymore. Curtis McElhinney won his first start in Toronto after being picked up on waivers the other day.  He turned in a stellar performance with 35 saves and A .946 SP.  I don’t think Frederik Andersen has anything to worry about though. Detroit returned from that 7-game road trip and rocked the Joe beating the tired Pittsburgh Penguins 6-3.  The Pens were playing their fifth game in 8 nights, but the Red Wings will take a boost of confidence being back home. Poor Kris Letang just can’t stay relatively injury-free. Sidney Crosby hasn’t had a goal in 5 games.  What is going on Sid?  Just kidding.  He does have 4 assists in that span. Six different scorers in that PIT-DET game for the Red Wings.  Are the Florida Panthers ...

SMC 1-10-2016 Welcome to the New Year!  May you be blessed with health and happiness in the coming year! I believe Sidney Crosby has made the PrimePucks™  Who’s Hot list for the first time this season! Don’t look now but the Philadelphia Flyers are beginning to wake up and get into playoff contention. That Capitals-Rangers game on Saturday afternoon was an exciting one!  I hope they play against one another this playoff season again! Ovechkin is a beast! Erik Karlsson is amazing but right behind him is Brent Burns, if not with him. Johansen for Jones is going to work out well for both teams. Holtby, Price and Allen are the top three fantasy NHL goaltenders from here on out.  Maybe add Rask to that group. Is Sean Couturier finally realizing his potential that the Flyers have been waiting for all these years? The Habs need Carey Price back. The Maple Leafs got shellacked in San Jose on Saturday night!  The Sharks put a Hert-ling on them!  I couldn’t resist. I had such high hopes for Tomas Hertl this year but has been a disappointment.  The year’s not over yet. The Pens are glad to have the real Kris Letang back I bet. Those Florida Panthers are on such a roll that if they continue they just may be a surprise come playoff time because of Roberto Luongo in net. I see that Anaheim has climbed back into playoff contention after a disastrous start to the season. Gotta give credit to Carolina and New Jersey hanging in there this season.  The St. Louis Blues don’t miss a beat by losing Jake Allen for any period of time because they have Brian Elliott to plug in when he does. These Arizona Coyotes are like the Florida Panthers of the Western Conference.  They are not going away. Perhaps Mike Smith should let Louis Domingue have his day as the team seems to be gelling with him in net. There will be some very disappointing teams come April as they will miss out on a playoff spot even though they played hard and deserved one. Can we please get some 100-point scorers in the NHL? Jonathan Drouin just needs to get out of Tampa Bay and get someplace north where its cold and hockey will cherish what he can bring to the game. Sidney Crosby is not even in the top 40 of NHL scorers. He should be one of the second half monsters along with Anze Kopitar, Rick Nash, Claude Giroux and I want to say Ryan Johansen but I just can’t. Enjoy the week and may all your fantasies come true!

SMC 11-8-2015 If anyone hasn’t noticed yet, the Buffalo Sabres are going to be a tough opponent this year. Especially once Robin Lehner returns and gets into mid-season form. Rasmus Ristolainen is going to be a force for the Sabres power play someday soon. Along with Jake Eichel and Sam Reinhart amongst others, this team will be quite competitive for some time. The LA Kings seem to be on a mission this year which doesn’t bode well for the Western Conference. The window of opportunity of getting any Anaheim Duck player on the cheap is quickly closing with the 4-game winning streak.  They dug themselves a bit of a hole but they are the team who can overcome that in a hurry. Anze Kopitar is going for the CY Young award this season with 5 goals and an assist at this point in the season. Panther fans are still waiting for that late season magic displayed last year with the arrival of Jaromir Jagr.  Growing pains with young talent will always be the case no matter what. Tyler Toffoli with 7 points in past 6 games has arrived.  Mike Condon is almost a splitting image of Carey Price, but not really. Who would’ve thought that the Philadelphia Flyers were going to shut out the mighty Winnipeg Jets?  And can Michal Neuvirth get a win without shutting out the other team?  All three of his wins have come by shutout. Toronto keeps losing but they are playing better.  Just looks bad seeing all those red ‘L’s in a row. Nazem Kadri with 7 SOG still couldn’t beat out Mr. SOG Alex Ovechkin who had 8. Kris Versteeg is leading the Carolina Hurricanes in points with 10.  Shame on you Eric Staal. St. Louis has started Jake Allen 6 games in a row and he has won 5 of those.  Looks like he is ready for full-time #1 duties. Remember Magnus Paajarvi?  He played last night for the Blues.  That’s the second game he has played this season. This Colton Parayko is something else.  Scored on the PP even though Kevin Shattenkirk returned to the lineup last night. Since Filip Forsberg isn’t grabbing the headlines like he did last year, some owners may think he doesn’t have it this season, but he still has 8 points in 13 games.  One good streak and he is on his way.  Buy low? No Parise?  No Problem says Devan Dubnyk.  Just let me go back in time to a year ago and play like I know I can; a 1-0 shutout of the Tampa Bay Lightning. No small feat. I think Tampa’s Nikita Kucherov is ready to break out. The NY Rangers know what they had in their grasps last year and are determined to get back ...

SMC 11-1-2015 Typical cloudy, cool November day as the hockey season shifts into the second month.  Nice to be inside with a hot cup of joe while thousands of people are running all through the 5 boroughs of NYC. It looks like Detroit’s Gustav Nyquist is coming to life after a somewhat disappointing second season.  It’s November and that means that Pavel Datsyuk is close to returning for the struggling Red Wings.  I looked and saw that the Dallas Stars are atop the Western Conference.  Getting Antti Niemi might be the most underrated off-season move. The Sharks started off hot and now are just floundering.  Didn’t mean to use the bad pun there. NY Islanders Frans Nielsen is a beast so far this season.  Let’s see if the change from October to November affects him much. If Alain Vigneault breaks up the Nash-Brassard-Zuccarello line ever again, he should be interrogated intensely. Happy to see Zuccs fully recovered from that scary incident that happened during practice in last year’s playoffs. The Devils are serving notice that they will be competitive.  Well, that’s until the injuries start taking hold. Los Angeles is for real after that extremely slow start.  And they are doing it without Anze Kopitar being involved much. Devils’ Lee Stempniak is usually a streaky scorer but he seems to be more aware of his surroundings with 6 of his 8 points assists. Stars D John Klingberg is not having any effects of the sophomore jinx as he leads all NHL defenseman in points with 11.  Well, actually tied with those two guys in Montreal and Erik Karlsson.  Some pretty decent company, no? I expected Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin to be atop the league leaders in scoring but a bit surprised to see Boston’s David Krejci up there at number 3. I didn’t realize that Nashville is 7-1-2 on the season.  They certainly have been quiet about it. Toffoli, Carter and Lucic oh my! Jake Muzzin should see his production increase with Christian Ehrhoff now sidelined for a bit. Pittsburgh’s offense has finally erupted with two straight 4 goal games.  Oh wait!  They played Buffalo and Toronto back to back. This is not the Tampa team everyone was expecting to see this season at 5-5-2.  Will Andrej Vasilevskiy cut into Ben Bishop’s playing time this season?  Brad Marchand is having himself a season with 5-4-9 in 8 games. Everyone, well mostly everyone, is expecting the Montreal Canadiens will win the President’s Trophy but the Washington Capitals will give them a good run along with the NY ...

Winnipeg @ New Jersey                                 NY Rangers @ Columbus Chicago @ NY Islanders                                 Toronto @ Detroit Arizona @ Los Angeles Some interesting matchups this evening with the Winnipeg Jets trying to carry their offensive display they had against Boston over to New Jersey.  The Devils appear to be in a rebuilding stage......The Rangers try to make it to 2-0-0 to start the season with a match against Columbus.  Both teams sport players who once played on the other squad so this carries a bit more sentiment than usual.  The Rangers held on against Chicago on Wednesday, but we will see what the Blue Jackets have in their season opener.....The Isles begin their life at the Barclay Center with the front end of a home-and-home with the Chicago Blackhwaks who will be looking to exact some punishment against their opponent after losing their banner-raising season opener on Wednesday...Toronto-Detroit looks to be a doozy as ex-Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock returns with his humongous Toronto contract to face his ex-team.  Jeff Bashill makes his debut behind the bench for the Red Wings, equipped with many of the players he coached in Grand Rapids.  The Leafs have some learning to do while the Wings will look to impress their old boss.....The nightcap pits the Arizona Coyotes against the Los Angeles Kings.  The Kings look to take out some hosttlity for losing to San Jose in their season opener and this year's NHL doormat, the Coyotes, are just what the doctor ordered to take it out on. RAY'S PICKS G: Jonathan Quick D: Alex Martinez D: Mike Green C: Anze Kopitar C: Jeff Carter LW: Justin Abdelkader LW: Brandon Saad RW: Marian Hossa RW: Patrick Kane

Well, here we are, opening night!  The few short months without any NHL action has come to an end and it's also Rivalry Night!  We have the Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks raising the banner in front of, I'm sure, a jealous New York Rangers team. The Hawks will come out flying but I believe the Blueshirts will prevail in the end. Montreal/Toronto always seems to turn into something spectacular.  Can LA start their, what they hope is a run for the Cup, season off with a win against something-to-prove San Jose team?  Vancouver heads over to Calgary in what could be the start of a season long battle for one of the last playoff slots.  Whatever it is, hockey is back!   Montreal @ Toronto NY Rangers @ Chicago Vancouver @ Calgary San Jose @ Los Angeles These are my picks for tonight's starting lineup; RAY'S PICKS G: Henrik Lundqvist D: Mark Giordano D: Brent Burns C: Jonathan Toews C: Anze Kopitar LW: Milan Lucic LW: Johnny Gaudreau RW: Joel Ward RW: Tomas Hertl