Blue Jackets showcasing for next season, Bruins put down Cats, OV gets 50 Two teams trying to finish out the season on high notes, the New Jersey Devils and Columbus Blue Jackets battled to a 3-2 Columbus win.  Players like Mike Cammalleri and Nick Foligno improved on their goal scoring with both reaching 27 on the season so far.  Cammalleri showed what he is capable of when healthy and Foligno displayed that he has arrived in the NHL.  Ryan Johansen had 2 assists on the night and with the Jackets starting to gain some experience, they should be better off next year as long as they don’t get hit with so many injuries like this year…. Alex Ovechkin reached 50 goals for the 6th time in his career and is in contention for the scoring title as well as the goal-scoring trophy with 77 points, just 2 points behind leader Sidney Crosby.  Oh, and the Capitals beat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-2, not only solidifying their hold on one of the wild card slots, but also chasing the NY Islanders for third place in the division…. The Florida Panthers gave it their best shot but the Boston Bruins came away with a 3-2 regulation win, putting the Cats 6 points behind the Bruins for that last wild card slot.  As impressive as the young Panthers have been this year, it was the young talent of the Bruins that provided the spark in the 3rd period as David Pastrnak (G, A) and Ryan Spooner (2A) showed what is to come in their NHL careers in this pressure-packed game…. The King is Back! Henrik Lundqvist turned aside 32 of 34 shots to gain his first victory since returning from injury, helping down the Winnipeg Jets 3-2. Cam Talbot had quite the fantasy run but his starts will be limited over the last two weeks as Lundqvist gets back to elite level... The struggling Toronto Maple Leafs win their second straight contest, prevailing 3-1 over a Tampa Bay squad coming off a huge win of their own over Montreal. Nazem Kadri led the way with a goal and an assist while goalie James Reimer saved 40 shots for the Leafs. Of fantasy consequence, Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman and forward Tyler Johnson missed the game due to injuries.. Albeit a light night in terms of shot faced, Ottawa's Andrew Hammond was back in fine form after saving 16 of 17 shots to preserve the 2-1 SO win over Detroit. The rookie looks good to go for his fantasy owners as Craig Anderson has not delivered in the clutch thus far. For Detroit, Petr Mrazek was solid again and will be getting the next start against Boston...

Mike Fisher C, Nashville:Fisher has been scoring quite regularly with the Nashville Predators, but is somehow available in most fantasy leagues. With 21 points over his last 27 games, the center has taken advantage of playing with James Neal and Colin Wilson even-strength while also skating on the top power-play unit. Use him in the short-term, but just know that he could get "cold" in a hurry. Aleksander Barkov C, Florida: Heavy-duty expectations await the talented Barkov, but a slow start had him heading on the sophomore jinx path. However, the 19-year old has surged ahead over the month of January with nine points in his last 10 games. Expect more of the same moving forward as Barkov could add 30-45 points to his totals by season's end. Michael Del Zotto D, Philadelphia: Del Zotto has been regressing over the past few seasons but has begun to show good form for the Flyers. On a current 6-game point streak, the 24-year old has been logging huge minutes. Only drawback has been his minimal power-play time but he could start carving up a bigger role while getting his confidence back. Well worth a flier if you need help on "D". John Klingberg D, Dallas- The 22 year old had racked up six points over last two games, including a four-point outburst in Winnipeg on Saturday. The youngster has driven up to the top of the Star's offensive depth chart on the blue-line, ahead of Alex Goligoski and Trevor Daley. He is definitely starteable while anchoring a potentially explosive Dallas power-play unit. Devan Dubnyk G, Minnesota- All Devan Dubnyk did over the last week for Minnesota was secure a three game road sweep of Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver. He will see the bulk of the workload in the crease as suddenly the Wild have life in the playoff chase. The signs were there as "Dubie" played well early for lowly Arizona, but now the games matter more for the surging Wild. Grab him ASAP if you can.

WHAT STOOD OUT The goaltending was in high gear last night between Carey Price and Henrik Lundqvist as Price continued his mastery over the Rangers with the 1-0 shutout over the Blueshirts. Look for more performances like this for the remainder of the season from both goaltenders as both teams are favorites to go far in the playoffs.... If you haven't noticed, the Boston Bruins are streaking up the standings of late, winning 7 of their last 9 as Tuukka Rask is rounding into form. Good idea to get Milan Lucic, Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci in your starting lineups as they will provide most of the offense. Perhaps you can take a chance on Reilly Smith who had a goal and 2 assists in the win and now has a 3-game scoring streak.... In a losing effort against Philadelphia, Winnipeg Center Mathieu Perreault had 2 goals to continue his magical season for the Jets. Since the beginning of November, all Perreault has done is go 13-10-23 in 22 games.  The injury right before the All-Star hasn't slowed him down.  Grab him if he's still available on the waiver wire. Tampa Bay Center Cedric Paquette was a Red Wing killer with a hat trick last night. The Lightning have all sorts of talent to choose from when it comes to scoring but Paquette shouldn't be considered one of them at the moment unless the team sustains some injuries....Also of note was rookie Jonathan Drouin chipping in with 2 assists in the victory. That's 3 points in last 2 games and 7 points in 10 January games. Perhaps he is starting to feel comfortable at the NHL level.  Great things lie ahead for Drouin but it may not come until next season.... Another big night for the Dallas "D" as John Kingberg(1G/1A) and Trevor Daley(1G/2A) combined for five points in the road triumph over Ottawa. While held off the scoreboard, Alex Goligoski rang up five SOG. It's become apparent that the rookie Klingberg has surpassed both on the power-play depth chart but their point totals are almost flat-out even during the month of January.(7 for Klingberg/Daley, 6 for Goligoski). All three share modest fantasy value moving forward, but I would expect for the 22-year old Swede to be the superior offensive contributor amongst the Star's blueline during the second half... Zach Parise's game-winning goal in the 1-0 Minny win over Calgary was his 6th in his last sixth games. After coming up empty in three contests after returning to the Wild line-up, the American sniper is looking fully loaded for a strong finish. Not many ...

The biggest storyline of the night revolves around Pekka Rinne, arguably the best fantasy goaltender, who left the game in the 3rd period after colliding with Vancouver's Chris Higgins. He is listed as day-to-day and will be re-evaluated before the team's next practice on Thursday. In such a situation where losing Rinne long-term would be a massive blow to my fantasy squad, I rather err on the side of caution and snag Carter Hutton off the waiver wire just in case. Nashville has been the leagues' best team, so securing their starting goalie should be of primary concern.. Lost in the shuffle of this 5-1 blowout for the home team was the continued excellence of young Colin Wilson who has thrived under the more up-tempo system of Peter Laviolette. His four-point explosion gives him 15 points over the last ten games, so you know what to do while he is streaking. The 25-year old has clicked on the second line with Mike Fisher and James Neal, who returned from injury with a nice two-assist effort. Own these Preds down the stretch because they can flat-out score... I am leaving the title of today's piece given our very own Ray was impressed with all the Czech fantasy standout performances, but Winnipeg's Matthew Perreault probably deserves the headline after his four goals fueled a 8-2 romp over visiting Florida. The forward is enjoying his most productive stretch of the season, extending his point-game streak to four while collecting eight points during that span. With all the top-line and power-play duties one man can handle, Perreault should be starting in most formats.. In case you haven't noticed, Dustin Byfuglien has been a beast since returning to the blue-line. Two more goals last night and a probable one-way ticket to top-five fantasy status in the near future... In three games back, d-man Tobias Enstrom has racked up four points. Cmon fellas, I told you to snag him ASAP. Potential 40+ point defenders are hard to come by... The New York Islanders continue their rise up the Eastern Conference ladder and with their 3-0 win over the red-hot New York Rangers, coupled with Tampa Bay's loss to the surging Boston Bruins, sit alone atop the Conference. Jaroslav Halak turned aside all 26 SOG for his 4th shutout and 23rd win on the season. The Islanders outplayed the Rangers who didn't seem to have their legs under them after their West Coast trip.... The Pittsburgh Penguins exploded against the Minnesota Wild with a 7-goal outburst led by newly acquired David ...

This is the first time that Fisher has skated with his teammates since rupturing his Achilles in a training session this summer. He was expected to miss 4-6 months and mid-November will mark the four month point, so it looks like he is on track to return at the front end of that timetable.

Fisher ruptured his Achillies in a training session this Summer. His original timetable was four-to-six months and next month will mark the four month mark. The Predators added a lot of veteran help at centre, so don't expect Fisher to rush back.

Fisher is expected to miss at least the first two months of the regular season. Fisher finished fourth on the Predators with 49 points (20G / 29A) in 75 games last season. With Fisher out, the Predators went out and singed Mike Ribeiro and Derek Roy each to one-year contracts on Tuesday.

NHL Current Events....Questions #4 and #19 We would like to extend our prayers and well wishes to Ottawa Senators General manager Bryan Murray and his family for a speedy and complete recovery in their battle against cancer. PHILADELPHIA FREEDOM?............There has been so much speculation that Center Vinny Lecavalier is supposedly headed to Nashville if a deal can be struck with the Predators, who look to go in a different direction under new Head Coach Peter Laviolette. With Mike Fisher going down to an Achilles injury which will sideline him for months, perhaps there is more to this rumor than meets the eye.  The one thing that always steered me clear of Lecavalier was his work ethic, especially when it related to fantasy hockey.  With so much promise early on in his career, he just never fulfilled such lofty expectations.  I don't know how that will change going to Music City.  Remember he was playing on Philly's fourth line near the end of the season. WOTTAWA DOING?.........I'm surprised there wasn't much said about Ottawa trading C Jason Spezza to the Dallas Stars for RW Alex Chiasson, prospects Alexander Guptill and Nicholas Paul along with a 2nd round draft pick in 2015. Really?  Is that the best they could do?  Guptill and Paul are no more than average prospects according to www.hockeysfuture.com and the 2nd round draft pick will probably be in the lower third of that round as Dallas should improve with Seguin, Benn and now Spezza forming a very talented top trio. Chiasson will be entering his second season and has shown the ability to play and score at the NHL Level and could possibly turn out to be a more than average power forward for the Sens, but power forwards usually take a little longer to reach their potential. In the end, Spezza for Chiasson doesn't sound like a good deal to me. HOW ABOUT THAT NHL DRAFT, HUH?........Watching the 2014 NHL Entry Draft was as exciting as watching NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman trying to smooth over the hostile Philadelphia crowd. Wait a minute!  That was a bit amusing watching the Commish trying so hard, but to no avail.   Ekblad, Reinhart, Draisaitl, Bennett, DalColle, blah, blah blah....  There were no real surprises during the draft, except maybe the James Neal trade to Nashville for Patric Hornqvist, but that was it.  Even that deal wasn't a "jump-out-of-my-seat-and-swear-out-loud-repeatedly" type of deal like the Vancouver Canucks trading G Cory Schneider to the New Jersey Devils for just the #9 ...

Trades galores during the time leading up to the 2014 NHL Entry Draft with plenty of fantasy implications, so let's Vancouver traded away arguably the most overhyped fantasy d-man in Jason Garrison as part of a package deal to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for the 2014 50th overall pick. All in all, great pickup for the Bolts' but the man with the big shot should not be expected to be a huge fantasy upgrade over Matt Carle and obviously not on the same level as rising star Victor Hedman. He matched a career high of 33 points last season, so we see him again in the 30-35 pt. range provided he stays healthy."Heart and Soul" guy Ryan Kesler has many intangibles to his game, but the oft-injured center has plenty of offensive punch. His trade to Anaheim fetched Nick Bonino, Luca Sbisa, 24th overall pick in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, and a 3rd round selection for the Vancouver Canucks. Finally, Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry will have another scoring trio that can take some offensive pressure off them, as Kesler should be the second-line center. Expect him to possibly replace Bonino on the top power-play unit, further enhancing his fantasy value. Only three full seasons removed from back-to-back 70+ point campaigns and 40 goals in 10-11', Kesler should be viewed as a solid fantasy rebound candidate in 14-15'. Recent injury woes could keep him from being drafted too high, which could work in your favor if he is still laying around in the middle rounds of your drafts.Big trade out of Pittsburgh, as new GM Jim Rutherford moved former 40-goal scorer James Neal to Nashville for Patric Hornqvist and Nick Spaling. From a fantasy perspective, Neal takes a huge hit in fantasy value as he just wnt from playing with either Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby to either Colin Wilson or Mike Fisher. Geez! Not known for creating his own offense, Neal will have a tough time getting back to point-per-game scoring status. On the other hand, Hornqvist has done a nice job scoring for the Preds despite the lack of high-end talent around him, recording goal totals of 30 and 27 over the last three seasons. He should be more consistent playing with elite forwards in Pittsburgh, so 30-35 goals should be a lock with 40-goal upside if he can stay in the top six. Intriguing fantasy upside with Hornqvist, so keep him on your radar.As expected, defenseman Aaron Ekblad was drafted first by the Florida Panthers making him the first d-man taken with the first overall pick since Erik Johnson ...

Good morning all! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas & Boxing Day and that Santa brought you everything that you wanted. I can see Patrice Bergeron having a much better second half. The Senators got a much needed win over the Bruins. Jarome Iginla is heating up with 11 points in past 12 games. What a great matchup between Bishop and Price last night! Now that both Zetterberg and Datsyuk are back in the Detroit lineup, things should return to normal for the Red Wings. Every Panther had a shot on goal except Scott Gomez and Mike Weaver. It's been a long road for Gomez since his glory days with the Devils. New Jersey is beginning to win close low-scoring games and some with 4 or 5 goals scored. Interesting. It just goes to show you that you need more than 1 or 2 high-level players on your team to truly compete in the NHL. Look at the Islanders, who have been on such a downward spiral their last 25 games. Huge battle in St. Louis last night with the Blues and Blackhawks. 6-5 Blues win in a shootout.  10 different goal scorers in regulation.  Amazing. Exciting finish to last night's LA-Nashville tilt.   Kings tied it with 37 seconds remaining but Preds win just 10 seconds later.  Mike Fisher had a night to sing about with 2 goals, the game winner, and an assist. Colonel Klinkhammer didn't get on the board last night. What do you expect when you only get 6 seconds of power play time? Claude Giroux rescued the Flyers last night against former team mate Ilya Bryzgalov and the Edmonton Oilers. Justin Schultz had an assist and could be poised for a huge second half. Get him while he's cheap. Wishing everyone a happy, healthy and exciting New Year! Be careful out there!