The Edmonton Oilers seem to have gotten out of the habit of long losing streaks of late, but they are still a bad team. Milan Michalek put on a nice audition with 2 goals, an assist and 6 SOG, or was it because the Ottawa Senators were playing the Edmonton Oilers? Bobby Ryan is becoming a force for the second half. Ryan Hamilton, at age 29, is finally getting some NHL time after a prolific minor league career.  Three games so far this season with Edmonton after playing parts of 3 seasons (14 games) with Toronto & Edmonton. It's nice to see a few teams like the NY Islanders and Winnipeg Jets remain competitive throughout the season after years of futility. The Jets just might have to stick with Michael Hutchinson in net the rest of the way for playoff’s sake. Pavel Datsyuk had a spirited game (2G, A, 7 SOG) after a few weeks of mediocrity for him. Byfuglien & new Jet, Tyler Myers had 2 assists in the win over Detroit.  The Winnipeg defensive core is looking pretty good, but it did so before. It’s a wonderful life, huh Mr. Bailey (2G, A)?  It must be playing alongside John Tavares. Andres Lee, pick him up ASAP!  4 more assists in last night’s game giving him 6 points in last 2 games and 8 in last 4.  Not much PP time but he’s on fire! It seems like the Nashville Predators have it all going for them this season. Cory Schneider deserves a better fate than his record shows with the performance he has put on this year. NY Rangers are firing on all cylinders lately.  Except for Marty St. Louis that is.   The Rangers will be just fine with Cam Talbot in net for a while. You never could have predicted that Devan Dubnyk would be the savior of the Minnesota Wild’s season. I love Jeff Skinner but he disappears in long stretches at a time which is so very frustrating. There was a Nathan MacKinnon sighting last night.  Jarome Iginla and Alex Tanguay defy the test of time. I'm just loving the Calgary Flames the past 2 years!  Why is it taking the Oilers so long? Skiing with the family this weekend so my apologies for the shortened SMC. Have a great week and may all your fantasies come true!      

Got my coffee and ready to roll, but no roll with my coffee this morning. Not only did the San Jose Sharks lose to the Buffalo Sabres 2-1 Saturday, they have now lost 4 in a row. I thought Buffalo was the sort of team that you stopped losing streaks with? The Sabres scored twice on 15 SOG. Just think, if they took more shots they'd score more goals.  If only it worked like that. You just know that the Bruins are going to be strong once again in the Eastern Conference when they lose their top d-man for at least 4-6 weeks and can slide a Dougie Hamilton in and he gets 3 points in Chara's place. When will Jonathan Bernier show up because Toronto is counting on him? The Leafs need Phil Kessel to be more consistent if he is going to be their true leader. Carey Price is quietly 6-1-0. A lot of goalies that had troubles last year seem to have gotten off to good starts this year. Players like Jimmy Howard, Braden Holtby and Robin Lehner to name a few. That line of Plekanec, Parenteau and Galchenyuk seemed to be buzzing all night long. All 3 could be in for solid years. Cory Schneider is going to start every game for the New Jersey Devils this year. Not really. This Damon Severson kid is soooo good. He out-scored Erik Karlsson 2-1 and Karlsson is only known for being the best offensive defenseman in the league. Milan Michalek decided to show up last night with a 2 assist night. A lot of people don't have Philly making eh playoffs, but I think otherwise. Once Steve Mason gets straightened out, the Flyers will be tough. Michael Del Zotto has 5 points in 8 games but is not getting a lot of power play time at the moment. Pair of sevens last night as the islanders and the Wild laid a lot of hurt on their visitors, although the Dallas Stars put up 5 themselves. Thank goodness for Frans Nielsen and his 3rd period hat trick. After his blazing start since being acquired from Boston, Islanders d-man Johnny Boychuk has really quieted down on the score sheet although he is still getting lots of ice time. Can you believe Darcy Kuemper is 4-1-0 with 3 shutouts already for Minnesota? Smells like a Brian Elliott career year. I think it's safe to say that Tampa Bay's Jonathan Drouin has had a successful first week in the NHL. Arizona defenseman Keith Yandle doesn't get the credit he deserves. Playing out in the desert doesn't help. With an n 0-5-2 record to start the season, you now know how much Eric Staal means to the Carolina Hurricanes. Have a great week and good luck in ...

Michalek scored 17 goals with 22 assists (39 points) in 82 games in his fifth season with the Senators. Michalek is now signed through 2016-17, but lost his centre Jason Spezza this morning. The loss of Spezza could hurt Michalek's numbers in 2014-15.

To our dear faithful, I am struggling with the flu so here are some random fantasy thoughts from last night's games: In his second straight start for Minnesota, Ilya Bryzgalov turned out an expected "stinker" against the New Jersey Devils. For those fantasy owners who actually scooped him up, he will break your hearts. The Wild will go back to Darcy Kuemper for their next game. In his first game back to Jersey since his trade to the Wild, Zach Parise notched a goal and fired 6 shots. With 9 points in the last 10 games, he is playing inspired hockey right now. You gotta love Adam Henrique, who has come back to life for the Devils with three more assists last night, giving him 14 points in the last 11 games. Plenty of fantasy value at the moment. Buffalo's Tyler Ennis and Drew Stafford are not going away quietly. They each picked up a point last night in Buffalo's 3-1 road win over Edmonton, giving them close to point-per-game numbers over the last 20 or so games. Pretty decent sample size, so why are both available in my Super Terrific fantasy hockey league? Gustav Nyquist won't quit scoring for Detroit, piling up more points last night with a goal and an assist. With 37 points in 44 games, the talented Swede should be breaking out in a big way next season. Don't let him slip too far in your drafts. Where have you been Ales Hemsky?? Invisible for several years in Edmonton, the talented winger is making quite a mark in Ottawa with 8 points in 7 games. His line-mates are also clicking, as Jason Spezza has 11 and Milan Michalek has 6 over that span. Poor "Timmy T".. After a promising start, goaltender Tim Thomas has lost three straight starts for Dallas. The Stars need Kari Lehtonen back to stellar form in a big way. Keep a "look-out" for Washington's Evgeni Kuznetsov, who has been playing on a second line with Nicklas Backstrom and has accrued 5 assists in 6 games. Minimal power-play time for now, but we see this kid's fantasy stock ready to explode if he clicks with his countryman Alex Ovechkin. Fantasy gold in keeper leagues Two helpers for Pittsburgh's James Neal, which is more of what we expect from the high-scoring left winger. He looks fully recovered from his concussion, so make sure he is starting ASAP.

To our dear faithful, I am struggling with the flu so here are some random fantasy thoughts from last night's games: In his second straight start for Minnesota, Ilya Bryzgalov turned out an expected "stinker" against the New Jersey Devils. For those fantasy owners who actually scooped him up, he will break your hearts. The Wild will go back to Darcy Kuemper for their next game. In his first game back to Jersey since his trade to the Wild, Zach Parise notched a goal and fired 6 shots. With 9 points in the last 10 games, he is playing inspired hockey right now. You gotta love Adam Henrique, who has come back to life for the Devils with three more assists last night, giving him 14 points in the last 11 games. Plenty of fantasy value at the moment. Buffalo's Tyler Ennis and Drew Stafford are not going away quietly. They each picked up a point last night in Buffalo's 3-1 road win over Edmonton, giving them close to point-per-game numbers over the last 20 or so games. Pretty decent sample size, so why are both available in my Super Terrific fantasy hockey league? Gustav Nyquist won't quit scoring for Detroit, piling up more points last night with a goal and an assist. With 37 points in 44 games, the talented Swede should be breaking out in a big way next season. Don't let him slip too far in your drafts. Where have you been Ales Hemsky?? Invisible for several years in Edmonton, the talented winger is making quite a mark in Ottawa with 8 points in 7 games. His line-mates are also clicking, as Jason Spezza has 11 and Milan Michalek has 6 over that span. Poor "Timmy T".. After a promising start, goaltender Tim Thomas has lost three straight starts for Dallas. The Stars need Kari Lehtonen back to stellar form in a big way. Keep a "look-out" for Washington's Evgeni Kuznetsov, who has been playing on a second line with Nicklas Backstrom and has accrued 5 assists in 6 games. Minimal power-play time for now, but we see this kid's fantasy stock ready to explode if he clicks with his countryman Alex Ovechkin. Fantasy gold in keeper leagues Two helpers for Pittsburgh's James Neal, which is more of what we expect from the high-scoring left winger. He looks fully recovered from his concussion, so make sure he is starting ASAP.

Philadelphia and Pittsburgh will start things off today with a 12:30 match. The Flyers will (LIKELY) start Steve Mason in goal. Mason has played well this year as he has a 27-16-6 record with a 2.56 GAA and a .915 SP.   He is 3-2 in his last 5 games. Marc-Andre Fleury is (LIKELY) for the Penguins. He is having a great year with 34 wins and a 2.28 GAA.  Go with Fleury in this one. Ben Scrivens has been (CONFIRMED) for the Oilers against Carolina. Scrivens has played pretty well this year with a 2.24 GAA and a .930 SP, but he has lost his last 2 games. Anton Khudobin is (LIKELY) for Carolina after Cam Ward played the last game. Khudobin had a good start to the season, but he has gotten leky with losses in 4 of his last 5 games.  Like Scrivens in this game.  Toronto is at Washington, and James Reimer is (LIKELY) for the Leafs. He did shutout the Kings in his last game, but his numbers are not great with a 3.23 GAA and a .914 SP. Jaroslav Halak is (LIKELY) for the Capitals and he is 2-2 in his last 4 games. The Canucks will visit Florida today, and Eddie Lack has been (CONFIRMED) for Vancouver. Lack has gone 2-3 in his last 5 games, allowing 18 goals during that period. Roberto Luongo (CONFIRMED) has also gone 2-3 in his last 5 games, but only allowing 13 goals. Still we like Lack in this game.   The Sharks will visit the Rangers in a 4:00 meeting. San Jose goaltender Antti Niemi (LIKELY) has been hot lately with 4 straight wins. He should face Henrik Lundqvist (LIKELY) for New York  Lundqvist has won 3 of his last 4 games allowing only 7 goals.  This is a tough one, but go with Niemi.  The Avalanche will face the Senators in Ottawa today.  Semyon Varlamov has been (CONFIRMED) for Colorado. He has had a great year with 33 wins, but he got lit up by Anaheim in his last game allowing 5 goals.  He is 4-2 in his lat 6 games though.  Craig Anderson is (LIKELY) for Ottawa despite his collison last game with Milan Michalek which knocked him out of the game. Anderson's 3.10 GAA is not good so we would go with Varlamov.  With Carey Price injured, Peter Budaj (CONFIRMED) will start today for Montreal against Buffalo. Budaj is only 8-8-2 on the year, and he has lost his last 4 games. Michal Neuvirth will (LIKELY) start for the Sabres, and he is only 4-8-2 on the year with a 2.78 GA. Like Montreal in this one.  Detroit is at Chicago this afternoon and Jimmy Howard is (LIKELY) for the Red Wings. He has a losing 14-15-10 record, and has lost 3 of his last 4 games. Corey ...

***UPDATE: According to the Pittsburgh-Tribune Review, Penguin D Kris Letang suffered a stroke last week and will miss at least 6 weeks. Our well wishes for a speedy and complete recovery for Kris and his family. As we head into the Olympic break, I wish to pass on a few fantasy thoughts as they directly tie in to last night's statistical performances. Can there possibly be a more tantalizing fantasy forward to own than Montreal's Max Pacioretty? The winger had another dominant performance last night, scoring three goals against Vancouver while firing 6 shots on goal. I love the guy's potential, but I rather somebody else deal with his extreme inconsistencies in the scoring department. Check this out. Out of his 37 points in 49 games, 22 of them have come in just 8 games. That leaves him with 15 points in the remaining 41 games. Yeah, I'll pass on him.Shame on us for not making a bigger deal about the trade that sent defenseman Raphael Diaz to Vancouver a few days ago, because it does have decent fantasy implications. The Swiss defender has collected 2 points in 2 games for his new team, including being promoted on the top power-play unit over the streaky Jason Garrison. Let's not forget that before Montreal's PK Subban signed last season, Diaz flourished alongside Andrei Markov and picked up 8 points in the first 6 games, including 6 on the power-play. Watch him, as Coach Torts might ride him with the man-advantage.With 2 goals against Buffalo, Ottawa winger Milan Michalek has three goals in the last two games and showing plenty of chemistry with Jason Spezza. It might be worth taking a flier on Michalek who can put up points in a hurry and will benefit from Spezza's traditional second half scoring splurges. Speaking of the Sen's captain, he has 12 points (3G/9A) in the last 9 games so start him with extreme confidence. If he can stay healthy, he will be an absolute fantasy difference-maker for sure. I did my best to acquire him in a few leagues while his production was down, but my competition was keen to my intentions. (A shout out to Kevin!)Hey, maybe Ben Scriven's numbers won't be so bad for his new team Edmonton.. After stopping 35 of 36 shots in the 2-1 win over the New York Rangers, the Oiler's goalie of the future has only allowed 8 goals in his last 5 starts and posting a .960 save percentage over that span. More importantly, he won 3 of those games as the Oilers are starting to get better results in tightly contested affairs. This guy might ...

As we head into the Olympic break, I wish to pass on a few fantasy thoughts as they directly tie in to last night's statistical performances. Can there possibly be a more tantalizing fantasy forward to own than Montreal's Max Pacioretty? The winger had another dominant performance last night, scoring three goals against Vancouver while firing 6 shots on goal. I love the guy's potential, but I rather somebody else deal with his extreme inconsistencies in the scoring department. Check this out. Out of his 37 points in 49 games, 22 of them have come in just 8 games. That leaves him with 15 points in the remaining 41 games. Yeah, I'll pass on him.Shame on us for not making a bigger deal about the trade that sent defenseman Raphael Diaz to Vancouver a few days ago, because it does have decent fantasy implications. The Swiss defender has collected 2 points in 2 games for his new team, including being promoted on the top power-play unit over the streaky Jason Garrison. Let's not forget that before Montreal's PK Subban signed last season, Diaz flourished alongside Andrei Markov and picked up 8 points in the first 6 games, including 6 on the power-play. Watch him, as Coach Torts might ride him with the man-advantage.With 2 goals against Buffalo, Ottawa winger Milan Michalek has three goals in the last two games and showing plenty of chemistry with Jason Spezza. It might be worth taking a flier on Michalek who can put up points in a hurry and will benefit from Spezza's traditional second half scoring splurges. Speaking of the Sen's captain, he has 12 points (3G/9A) in the last 9 games so start him with extreme confidence. If he can stay healthy, he will be an absolute fantasy difference-maker for sure. I did my best to acquire him in a few leagues while his production was down, but my competition was keen to my intentions. (A shout out to Kevin!)Hey, maybe Ben Scriven's numbers won't be so bad for his new team Edmonton.. After stopping 35 of 36 shots in the 2-1 win over the New York Rangers, the Oiler's goalie of the future has only allowed 8 goals in his last 5 starts and posting a .960 save percentage over that span. More importantly, he won 3 of those games as the Oilers are starting to get better results in tightly contested affairs. This guy might not be so far off from a bordeline no. 2 starting goalie option in most fantasy formats. Watch him.My last thought is on the supposedly "washed up" Jarome Iginla, who has been tearing it up for Boston lately with ...

ATTENTION EXCEL STAT SHEET SUBSCRIBERS-The Excel Spreadsheet has been updated. Go to "MY ACCOUNT" and click on the FILES tab to access the updated Excel spreadsheet. More Tryouts: G Tim Thomas and RW Damien Brunner have signed tryout agreements with the Florida Panthers and New Jersey Devils,respectively. Both team can use their talents but I don't see why the players chose these teams unless there was very little interest elsewhere.  Keep an eye on both situations as both could be decent contributors on needy teams. Preseason Fantasy Bits:Milan Michalek collected a goal and an assist in Ottawa's 3-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets. With all the talk centered on the arrival of Bobby Ryan, the 28-year old Michalek has definitely fallen under the fantasy radar, but he should be remembered come draft day. Although he missed 25 games last season, he did put up 35 goals and 60 points in '11-12. Its looking like he will be lining up with Jason Spezza and Ryan, so this Senator trio could be dynamite in fantasy leagues... Another guy who just needs to stay healthy is defenseman James Wisniewski, who had a nice night for the Blue Jackets with a goal and an assist against Pittsburgh. With the added firepower in Columbus, the hard-shooting blueliner could make a serious push for 45-50 points, but he will come in undervalued in most drafts. He could be a huge bargain, so keep your eye on how he performs in camp. Training Camp Update: Anaheim's second line in the early going consists of Nick Bonino centering Teemu Selanne and Jakub Silfverberg. For now Dustin Penner stays on the top line.. Erik Cole has been a scoring dud in his short time in Dallas, but he will reportedly get a shot on the top line with Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn. Interesting. If that doesn't get him back to 30+ goals, nothing will... Cory Schneider will be getting the first start for the New Jersey Devils in pre-season action. Don't read too much into this, but if you are to be banking heavily on Jersey goaltending this season, you probably need to own both him and the future HOFer Marty Brodeur. PrimePucks continues to bring you the NHL IN 30 every day in the month of September, bringing you in-depth team analysis for the upcoming season. Today we focus on the Minnesota Wild!  Don't forget to check back each and every day for the latest featured team! ***ATTENTION FANTASY HOCKEY LEAGUE COMMISSIONERS*** If you are the commissioner of an upcoming fantasy hockey league and will be holding a draft ...

ATTENTION EXCEL STAT SHEET SUBSCRIBERS-The Excel Spreadsheet has been updated. Go to "MY ACCOUNT" and click on the FILES tab to access the updated Excel spreadsheet. More Tryouts: G Tim Thomas and RW Damien Brunner have signed tryout agreements with the Florida Panthers and New Jersey Devils,respectively. Both team can use their talents but I don't see why the players chose these teams unless there was very little interest elsewhere.  Keep an eye on both situations as both could be decent contributors on needy teams. Preseason Fantasy Bits:Milan Michalek collected a goal and an assist in Ottawa's 3-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets. With all the talk centered on the arrival of Bobby Ryan, the 28-year old Michalek has definitely fallen under the fantasy radar, but he should be remembered come draft day. Although he missed 25 games last season, he did put up 35 goals and 60 points in '11-12. Its looking like he will be lining up with Jason Spezza and Ryan, so this Senator trio could be dynamite in fantasy leagues... Another guy who just needs to stay healthy is defenseman James Wisniewski, who had a nice night for the Blue Jackets with a goal and an assist against Pittsburgh. With the added firepower in Columbus, the hard-shooting blueliner could make a serious push for 45-50 points, but he will come in undervalued in most drafts. He could be a huge bargain, so keep your eye on how he performs in camp. Training Camp Update: Anaheim's second line in the early going consists of Nick Bonino centering Teemu Selanne and Jakub Silfverberg. For now Dustin Penner stays on the top line.. Erik Cole has been a scoring dud in his short time in Dallas, but he will reportedly get a shot on the top line with Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn. Interesting. If that doesn't get him back to 30+ goals, nothing will... Cory Schneider will be getting the first start for the New Jersey Devils in pre-season action. Don't read too much into this, but if you are to be banking heavily on Jersey goaltending this season, you probably need to own both him and the future HOFer Marty Brodeur. PrimePucks continues to bring you the NHL IN 30 every day in the month of September, bringing you in-depth team analysis for the upcoming season. Today we focus on the Minnesota Wild!  Don't forget to check back each and every day for the latest featured team! ***ATTENTION FANTASY HOCKEY LEAGUE COMMISSIONERS*** If you are the commissioner of an upcoming fantasy hockey league and will be holding a draft ...