SUNDAY MORNING COFFEE 10/21/2018 We are finally getting settled into the beginning of the NHL season and with that I bring you the first SMC of the year.   It looks like the Nashville Predators are on a mission and headed straight for the Stanley Cup final starting out 7-1-0.  Shutting out the Oilers and McDavid on their home ice is impressive. Auston Matthews is determined to prove he belongs right up when talking about Connor McDavid. Is it safe to say now that Nathan MacKinnon has arrived and that last year’s dominant season was not an aberration?  Of course, he’s got Mikko Rantanen as his line mate. So happy to see Patrice Bergeron return from his injury to start the season the way he played last year.  Would love to see career highs in points as he well deserves it.  Especially at his age, being 33 or thereabouts and all. Tampa Bay’s JT Miller looks to me like last year’s short stint with the Bolts after being traded wasn’t a fluke.  With the talent on that team I wouldn’t be surprised if every forward didn’t score 60 points this season.  We know it’s not going to happen but geez. Don’t believe for a second that Jaroslav Halak will be taking over #1 duties on the Boston Bruins from Tuukka Rask. It’s a long season. I love seeing the Vancouver Canucks be successful so early on in their post-Sedins era. What’s going on with the Panthers?  The Red Wings beat them for Pete’s sake. They need a goaltender.   Cory Schneider anyone?  Not going to happen.  Devils won’t trade him there that could possibly come back and bite them in their behinds. You know by the end of the season Sidney Crosby will be in the top 5-10 in league scoring. Alex DeBrincat is going to be a beast for years to come. When Brock Nelson is your most prolific shot-getter, you know you are in trouble.  Isles lost 4-1 to Sharks last night. Coach Phil Housley shakes up his lineup and Jeff Skinner gets a hattie on his return to Jack Eichel’s line.  Have to keep up with early season line changes, it helps. Took Alex Pietrangelo seven games to get his first point.  There may be an owner who has him that may want to cut bait.  Try to grab him. He’s so steady. Glad to see G Corey Crawford return to the Blackhawks lineup.  He is so important to their cause. And so underrated. Ottawa and Montreal aren’t playing too shabby so far this young NHL season.  Let’s give them another 10 games and re-evaluate. NY Rangers aren’t playing too badly.  Once they all get a good grasp of Coach Quinn’s style, and...

SMC- MARCHING IN! 3/4/2018 Good morning everyone!  Hope you chillaxing with a hot cup of coffee to get your day started. Tampa Bay, Pittsburgh and the NY rangers did quite well for themselves.  Two for their Stanley Cup playoff runs this year, and the Rangers looking to strengthen their team for their next run. There are going to be a few good races for the playoffs in the next few weeks.  Watch out for Florida as they seem to be peaking at the right time. And Pittsburgh got their 3rd line center, so they could be going for the Dynasty label. If Henrik Lundqvist continues to see 50+ shots on goal every game, he will reach the age of 50 much faster. What a year for the Las Vegas Golden Knights huh? Does anyone know where John Tavares has gone?  Maybe he is already on his new team that is in his head. Who would’ve thought that the Nashville Predators would be this dangerous after changing styles from Barry Trotz to Peter Laviolette? They are legitimate contenders for the Cup. Two teams happy to see making the playoffs this year are the Winnipeg Jets and the Philadelphia Flyers.  Both could be interesting to go pretty far. The Arizona Coyotes have finally got the hang of their new system under Rick Tocchet.  Maybe next year they’ll be good.  Hmmmmm. The Islanders are fading fast…following their rivals to the West, the NY Rangers.  Gonna be a quiet spring in NY.  Not even the Buffalo Sabres will make it. The Yankees and Mets may be exciting to watch.  Well, the Yankees at least. I can’t believe we are in the final 5 weeks of the regular season. With the trade deadline passing, I don’t want to rush for the playoffs to start and miss out on the excitement of the playoff races.  Gonna sit myself down and watch it all! The NJ Devils were a big surprise this year.  But not as much at the Golden Knights were. Sorry for the short SMC, I have to prepare for company. Have a great week and may all your fantasies come true!

I am still alive and well and living in NYC.  Sorry for the lack of SMC the last few weeks but I’m back and rarin’ to go with my hot cup of coffee! Love and hate this time of year.  Lots of trade rumors which is cool.  But then not enough trades, which I love. A lot of 5’s and 4’s in yesterday’s scores.  There’s the poet in me! With all these rumors of the Rangers trading what were once core members had me, for a fleeting moment, ponder if the NYR would trade Henrik Lundqvist.  Then the next day I see a rumor on HockeyBuzz that there just might be. I can see it.  The Ranger loyal won’t like it but it could be for the best interests of the organization. This kid Georgiev actually looked good in his 2-game stint as Ranger goalie.  Unfortunately he had no support with lots of key players out with injury or kept out for safety/health reasons for trading. The Islanders, if they make the playoffs, are a one and down playoff team by the way they are playing lately. The Panthers can get on a roll and then storm through the playoffs making a lot of noise.  That’s how I see it. I’m happy for Jets’ fans.  Not the New York Jets, the Winnipeg Jets. My fantasy playoffs start tomorrow.  Hopefully I get some favorable scheduling. The Arizona Coyotes are starting to play hockey.  What took you guys so long? I’ve kinda liked all the trades so far.  Pretty much benefitting every team and no particular team getting raked over. I’m excited for the Ranger rebuild.  And Ottawa’s. I’m thinking wither Boston or Tampa Bay comes out of the East, but you can’t count the Penguins out. Washington beat Buffalo 5-1.  Don’t get too excited. Love the Ranger deal.  Happy for Rick Nash.  Now we have both Nash’s on one team.  Can we get al lthe Staal’s on one team next? Perhaps with his trade to Montreal, Kerby Rychel may get his chance.  He needs to take full advantage of any opportunity unless he becomes like Yakupov, or Daigle for you old-timers. Letestu traded to Columbus.  I thought he was on that team already, lol.  Oh yeah he was once before not too long ago. Plekanec to Toronto.  Doesn’t have to move far. What has happened to Jake Allen?  (Cursing under my breath). Big Buf is getting hot!  Don’t get in the way of that freight train! The Rangers might win a game this afternoon.  Playing Detroit after the Red Wings played last night. Enjoy the rest of the Trade Deadline and hope all your fantasies come true this week!      

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 ...

Henrik Lundqvist gets a home matchup against the Carolina Hurricanes, who have the second-lowest implied total on tonight's slate. Which other players should we be checking out?

BTP: OUT WITH THE NEW AND IN WITH THE OLD? Looking over the top goalies in the NHL this season and what immediately comes to mind is; where are the elite names like Lundqvist, Rask and Price?   The top 10 is populated with names such as John Gibson of the Anaheim Ducks and Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets, both of whom started the season in the minors with thoughts they would be gaining a valuable year of seasoning before plying their wares in the NHL.  In fact, they are #’s 1 and 3 in GAA so not too shabby for rookies.  Then there is Petr Mrazek of Detroit and Philadelphia’s Michal Neuvirth having GAAs of just over 2.00.  So where do the recent elite goaltenders stand in this year’s NHL? Well, we all know Montreal’s Carey Price is out with an injury and will be back in another month or so.  This scenario is eerily similar to what happened with the NY Rangers last season when Henrik Lundqvist went down for a chunk of the season and was fresh for a long playoff run that ended just shy of a 2nd straight Stanley Cup appearance. Will the same thing happen with the Canadiens this spring? Speaking of Lundvist, we all know what he’s capable of bringing so it is no surprise that the Rangers are in the top three of the Metropolitan Division and should make another playoff appearance.  Will Lundqvist have enough to get through the long and tough playoff schedule in hopes of raising the coveted Cup after appearing in 38 games already?  The Rangers know what it takes to get to the dance and stay, perhaps they are just saving themselves for the second season. Boston Bruin goaltender Tuukka Rask has been nothing short of brilliant the past few seasons posting 30+ win seasons with better than average metrics.  This year’s team was expected to be a transitional club but they seemed to have turned the corner earlier than expected but Rask’s numbers have suffered as his record stands at 16-13-3 with a 2.45 GAA and a .918 SP which are sub-standard in for T-Rask. You know all three have the pedigree to go long stretches bringing dominance to the crease, plus they know how to turn up their game when they need to, so if you get a chance to grab one of them while they are muddling along in mid-season, now is your chance because when it comes to fantasy hockey, you just need the right players at the right time and you can make up a lot of ground in a hurry and what better way to slot in some elite goalies into your lineup.

Look for a BETWEEN THE PIPES article every week on PrimePucks™! BTP: THE TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGIN Last week we looked at a few teams that needed to have a plan in place because of their different goaltending situations.  This week we will take a look at what young, talented goaltenders are already getting their foot in the door a little deeper with each solid performance by them and a few poor starts from the incumbents.  If you look at the past 6 Stanley Cup winners, 5 of which have been shared by the Chicago Blackhawks and Los Angeles Kings and the other by the Boston Bruins, the one thing that you will notice that they have in common is that the repeat winners have the same goaltender throughout their championship runs. A few teams need to make a decision in regards to their future and the future is approaching quickly. TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING:  This team surprised a few teams in the Eastern Conference last season with a few upsets in getting to the Stanley Cup finals only to fall to the Chicago Blackhawks.  The Bolts are set in net for the time being with Ben Bishop being their #1 but with his short history of injuries and a uber-talented young net minder breathing down his neck in Andrei Vasilevskiy, Bishop’s time may have come and gone, especially if Vasilevskiy can lock down the #1 job with a few more solid starts.  Now the regular season is a totally different animal than the post-season but what could work for the Lightning to get back to the dance in June is perhaps have Vasilevskiy play somewhere between 50-75% of the remaining games and let Bishop rest-up and heal and get himself prepared for the rigors of the Stanley Cup playoffs.  It seemed to work wonders for the New York Rangers and Henrik Lundqvist last season when the King missed a few months of the regular season.  There is no doubt that Vasilevskiy has what it takes to be a #1 NHL goaltender, but he is still young and will someday soon be the undisputed #1 in Tampa, but having a big, hulking net minder in Bishop who got you to the Finals last year only provides you with a good formula for success if used the right way.  Get Vasilevskiy the experience and have a healthy Bishop for the playoffs.  DETROIT RED WINGS: The Detroit Red Wings are a perennial threat to make the playoffs given their history but the team is a transition period now not only with a new head coach in Jeff Blashill but possibly the unseating of goaltender Jimmy Howard by Petr Mrazek.  Howard’s numbers have suffered a ...

STEVES PICKS- DRAFT KINGS( Writeup coming later) C Derick Brassard, NYR C Evgeni Kuznetsov, Was W Mike Hoffman, Ott W Patrick Kane, Chi W James Neal, Nas D Keith Yandle, NYR D Viktor Svedberg, Chi G Henrik Lundqvist, NYR U TJ Oshie, Was

SMC-10/11/2015 Always love this time of year when the leaves start turning colors, Mallomars hit the grocery store shelves and NHL hockey comes back for another season! We at PrimePucks™ expected a big bounce back season from Nathan MacKinnon (77 pts.) and he sure hasn’t disappointed so far in the early going with 5 points in the first two games. Ranger rookie C Oscar Lindberg is surely fitting in just nicely with 3 goals and 4 points in the first three games of the season.  May be too early to go out and grab this kid, but you never know. The PrimePucks™ Rankings are up for your perusal.  The first BETWEEN THE PIPES article is up a few days early as we couldn’t wait to pour it on you.  Our DAILY ROTO LINEUPS have been up since Day 1 and last night was a successful one for yours truly. I didn’t expect Columbus to start out 0-2-0 but they did face the unbeaten NY Rangers in those 2 matches.  They have company in Pittsburgh who started their two games on the road.  Buy low people!  LOL! If Jaroslav Halak battles injuries this season, the Isles will be hard-pressed to repeat last season’s effort. No hangover for these Chicago Blackhawks.  They, instead of the Rangers, could be 3-0 if not for the heroics of Henrik Lundqvist on opening night. The Flyers look just like last year’s version.  Didn’t they get a new coach and new attitude for this season? Detroit may be winning because of other teams being in shock that they have so many young players in pertinent roles which was never the case before.  Or they are just that good of an organization.  I’ll go with the latter. Edmonton played two tough teams to open the season and the schedule doesn’t get any easier any time soon. Artemi Panarin looks like he’s been playing in the NHL for years with the poise he has displayed.  I’d take a chance on him if he’s still available, but I doubt he is. If you are looking for action-packed, high-scoring and any other hyphenated descriptions, watch any Colorado Avalanche game this season.  10 goals in 2 games….Who says global warming is here? Did you know that Buffalo is outscoring Pittsburgh, Anaheim & Edmonton so far?  Useless stat I know, but fun for the moment. Antti Niemi comes in to start his first game for Dallas as part of a so-called platoon and shuts out the Mighty Pittsburgh Penguins.  Then let’s in 6 goals against Colorado in the next start.  Oh boy. Happy for Jimmy Howard to get a shutout in Detroit’s opener.  Been hit with injuries the past two seasons so to ...

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