ADD’EM: Mikhail Sergachev-D-TBL (20.6% owned in ESPN), Jake Muzzin-D-LAK (67.8), Mike Cammalleri-LW/RW-LAK (3.1), Dustin Brown-RW/LW-LAK (58.6), Jordan Staal-C-CAR (11.1), Justin Williams-RW-CAR (27.6), Derick Brassard-C-OTT (46.4), Sam Reinhart-RW-BUF (35.7), arcy Kuemper-G-LAK (0.7) 10/22/2017 Looking for help this week?  Take a look at what’s on the table for you to pick from.  The goaltending looks pretty thin but if you are desperate and in need of a fill-in goalie, perhaps you take a chance on LA’s Darcy Kuemper who is hardly owned and rightfully so, but with 4 games on the slate this week and 1 back-to-back set in the beginning of the week, perhaps you can get two starts out of the backup to Jonathan Quick. Up on defense you have two choices; veteran Jake Muzzin or rookie Mikhail Sergachev, both of which have gotten off to solid starts.  Muzzin is having a rebound season after last year’s disappointment. With 5 points in past 3 games and 8 in all 7 games, and only owned in 67.8% of ESPN leagues, there is a chance he is still available in your league. Jump on that quickly.  For those in dynasty leagues in particular, and even straight up points only leagues, Sergachev proves to be an interesting addition as the Lightning seem to be an offensive juggernaut and with Sergachev’s limited ice time (13:00 mins/gm) he still has managed 6 points in past 3 games and 8 in 9 games total.  Owned in just 20.6 percent of leagues. We are sticking with our Kings theme for the forwards because of the 4 game schedule against somewhat loose defensive teams in Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Boston even though they are all on the road.  Mike Cammalleri (3.1) and Dustin Brown (58.6) are capable candidates for a starting slot on your fantasy squad.  Cammalleri has been a consistent point-getter but injuries always seem to derail him when the going gets good.  Brown on the other hand has not been on many fantasy team’s radar the past few seasons with his lack of contribution but this year he seems to have found the fountain of youth with a 5-6-11 line in 7 games, a +11 rating and 30 SOG.  Both worthy of a starting slot. Two Carolina forwards make the cut this week with a 4-game schedule also with 3 at home.  Justin Williams and Jordan Staal are solid veterans who can produce somewhat consistently.  Williams has 3 points in past 3 while Staal has 5 in past 3 with 2 points coming on the pp. Sam Reinhart had gotten off to a bad start in the first 5 games of the season with ...

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 ...

If you didn't happen to catch the latest UNDER THE RAYDAR piece on Tuesday, you may have missed the part about Sean Couturier starting to heat up. Against the Devils, all the young Flyer did was score an early goal and add an assist In the 4-1 Philadelphia win over New Jersey.  It was all Couturier in the first period and then the Flyers sealed the deal with 2 late goals in the third period with Claude Giroux and Mark Streit getting assists on both goals. We all know Giroux and Streit are must-starts, and it looks like Couturier is inching his way into that category as well..... Chicago Blackhawk G Scott Darling is quickly becoming Chicago's darling as he won for the second straight filling in for the injured Corey Crawford. Darling was able to withstand a late-charging Boston Bruin team and turned aside 32 SOG for the 2-2 win in Boston....Jonathan Toews left the game with an apparent upper-body injury when he was checked hard into the end boards. We will keep you posted as we learn more about the extent of Toews' injury.... If you haven't noticed, the Buffalo Sabres have won 5 of their last 7 games as Jhonas Enroth has picked up his game of late, this time with a 4-3 win over the Calgary Flames. Enroth is 7-2-0 in last 9 starts, so if you are need for goaltending help, grab Enroth as he has remained hot for a surging Sabres team....Matt Moulson had 2 goals including the game-winner giving him just 6 goals to go along with 8 assists on the season. Moulson has seen better days since he was traded away from Long Island....Tyler Ennis, with 3 assists, has always shown flashes of offensive brilliance but has never been able to offer that consistently for fantasy purposes. If there is any Sabre player you would pick up for fantasy, Ennis would be the guy... The Columbus Blue Jackets continue their resurgence in the Eastern Conference with a 3-2 OT victory over the Washington Capitals. Sergei Bobrovsky turned aside 39 SOG for his, and the team's, fifth straight win. We had mentioned in the December 2ndBETWEEN THE PIPES article that the time to ‘buy-low" on Bobrovsky was coming to a close and with this win, that window of opportunity has been shut. Perhaps it's not too late to pick up some of the more talented skaters on the team as I'm sure they will start to get hot knowing they have a red-hot Bobber backing them up.... So how does a team usually respond to their coach getting fired? The Ottawa Senators fell victim the Los Angeles Kings 5-3 as the post-Paul ...

Jonathan Huberdeau LW, Florida After a mediocre sophomore campaign , the talented winger is showing signs of a breakout after a slow start. He has been clicking with Nick Bujgstad on the second line, and now collected four points in his last four games. Always long on potential but short on delivering, it's a prudent move to take a shot on the 21-year old, as Year 3 could be his long-awaited breakout. John Klingberg D, Dallas- The 22-year old is making quite the splash in the NHL as he collected 6 points in his first 7 games. Successful stints in the SEL and the AHL provide evidence of his scoring pedigree but it still early to recommend him as a long term answer. However, he is definitely worth stashing away or even starting while he keeps getting quality minutes in Dallas..  Devan Dubnyk G, Arizona- with Mike Smith completely off his game for the Coyotes, Dave Tippett has turned to Dubnyk for some extended time in goal and he has responded with four straight wins. While it's seems unlikely he could steal the top job, just remember that it's all about wins and losses.. and for now, Dubnyk gives them the best chance to win. If you need goalie helo, he is defintely worth a waiver grab and stash. Jake Muzzin D, Los Angeles- The window to scoop him up is quickly closing, as the defender has heated up in the absence of key defensemen Slava Voynov and Alec Martinez. In fantasy, it's all about opportunity and Muzzin is defintely taking advanyage of his. He is worth starting while he is "smoking hot".

*The Boston Bruins bounced back after two straight humiliating defeats North of the border, holding off the resilient Hurricanes by a 2-1 score. Tuukka Rask was at his best in the crease, turning aside 33 of 34 shots to secure the must-win for the "B's"... With the game-winning goal, Patrice Bergeron has heated up with points in 6 of his last 7 games. It's always near the end of the calendar year when the brilliant two-way pivot cranks up the scoring, so make you are starting him. *Darcy Kuemper temporarily staves off talk of him losing his hold on the Minnesota Wild starting job with a super effort in the 2-1 road win in Dallas. He stopped 27 of 28 shots, while counterpart Kari Lehtonen couldn't turn a decent performance into a win for the Stars. Dallas has struggled heavily at home, winning only once in six games.. *Jarrett Stoll banged home the overtime game-winner for the Kings in this latest version of this heated Southern California rivalry. Jonathan Quick was the fantasy star of the game, stopping 27 of 29 shots to improve his record to 3-0-2 in his last five starts. Nothing less than elite reserved for this guy.. Ryan Kesler kept the Ducks close with his second-period goal and now is currently riding a six-game point streak. Start him next week as he has been picking up the offensive slack while Corey Perry recovers from the mumps. *Sergei Bobrovsky made a triumphant return to the Columbus crease, turning aside 36 of 37 shots in the 2-1 win over San Jose. Expect "Super Bob" to swiftly make his way up to fantasy elite status as the Blue Jackets continue to get healthier. "Buy low" on him if you can, as a huge second half is looming for the talented Russian.. * I almost forgot.. Jake Muzzin is looking real good for LA with two more assists, giving him seven points in his last five games. If you need help on defense, grab him if he is still available. *A couple of significant line developments for the Washington Capitals: Andre Burakovsky has been moved up to the top line, while Evgeni Kuznetsov is playing alongside Marcus Johansson on the 2nd unit. It didnt make much of a difference in their 4-1 loss to St. Louis, but they could have fantasy implications. *Montreal LW Max Pacioretty is getting on one of those scoring streaks, picking up two assists to give him six points over the last four games. Ride him while he is hot, but when he gets cold.. *Whats up with PK Subban lately? The elite offensive blueliner has been struggling and as a result, ...

Mike Hoffman LW, Ottawa: Let's begin with a true "dark-horse" pick that has lit up opposing goalies lately with six goals in the last five games. I am high on this kid given that he has displayed big-time offensive talent in the juniors, but the question remains whether it could translate full-time in the NHL. So far so good for the 24-year old, who is starting to earn more minutes because of his recent production. It's hard to predict whether Hoffman will permanently jump into the Senator's top-six, but ask yourself who is his biggest competition- Clarke MacArthur? I would keep an eye on this guy. Jori Lehtera C, St Louis: I repeat: Pick him up ASAP! The 27 year old was an unknown commodity before his recent hot streak upon his NHL arrival. What was known is that he had exhibited huge chemistry in KHL with Vladimir Tarasenko, so the duo have continued where they have left off. Don't wait much longer, as the window of opportunity is almost shut. Nick Foligno W, Columbus:- Here is a perfect example of riding the "hot hand" while a player is streaky but being prepared to release him when the scoring comes to halt. The winger is tearing it up for a struggling Columbus squad, collecting 9 goals and 18 points in 15 games. However, before you consider him a long term savior, take note that his career high is 49 pts and 18 goals. Tread with caution but enjoy the immediate rewards. Jared Spurgeon D, Minnesota: The talented d-man is back after missing 5 games due to injury, responding immediately with a goal against Buffalo. With 7 points in 10 games, the youngster is emerging offensively at the right time for a depleted Minny squad. He gave fantasy owners a taste last season with 26 pts in 67 games but he is now ready to put up career numbers in 14-15. Jake Muzzin D, Los Angeles: If there was ever a time to use Muzzin, it's definitely now with Alec Martinez and Slave Voynov out of the immediate picture. The overload of offensive defensemen in LA makes it difficult to gauge future performance, but Muzzin is the clear no 2 after Drew Doughty for the near future. His 5 points in last 4 games is a good sign for the normally streaky defender. Don't think this pace will last very long, but he should be an adequate lower end starting option while getting a boost in quality minutes.

Muzzin said that he would be ready to go tonight and he was skating with Drew Doughty again this morning, so he will make his season debut against the Sabres---an early opportunity to produce.

This is great news for the Kings' and perfect timing following the indefinite suspension of Slava Voynov. Muzzin is the 'cross darling' and will be back on the top-pair with Drew Doughty and should be a rock solid fantasy defenseman this season.

Muzzin has yet to play this season, but is nearing a return. He said he will not rush back just because of Slava Voynov's arrest, but he still feels like he is ready to make his season debut on Thursday.

The Kings could really use Muzzin back after Slava Voynov was suspended indefinitely on Monday. The Kings don't play until Thursday, so there is a good chance that Muzzin will be ready to go.