SMC 3-20-2016 This will be the swan song edition for this season!  It has been a blast as always and I hope you have enjoyed reading it as much as I have doing it.  Always with a cup of hot coffee to get me going.  Have a great summer, and more importantly, a great playoff season!  Philly has made it back into contention with a strong run of late you almost want them to make the playoffs. Sid the Kid has been on a tear of late.  I wonder if any poolies traded for him mid-season? I think the scenario is this.  If either Crosby or Malkin go down for an extended period of time, trade for the other one ASAP.  That should be like Rule #1 of fantasy hockey trading. Someone other than Claude Giroux needs to step up if the Flyers want to make some noise come April.   I’m just saying that teams will focus on locking down Giroux and it will be a quick “one-and-done’.  The Carolina Hurricanes are hanging in the race but time is running out.  Lindholm and Skinner are your best bets for offense from the Canes. Minnesota had the Lucky 5’s in Saturday’s game.  Zucker, Jones, Haula and Granlund each had 5 SOG in the game. Did you know that Tomas Hertl has 6 points in last 4 games?  He had 3 assists against the Rangers on Saturday.  He always seems to love playing against the Blueshirts. Every Shark had a SOG in the game except for Paul Martin.  Brent Burns had 9! Ottawa just won’t go away but they have let too many opportunities get away lately.  Except they are killers on the penalty kill with 15 shorties this season. Detroit will keep their playoff streak alive.  It’s just programmed into their skillset. Pavel Datsyuk will make sure of it. Columbus just slayed the Devils. Keep Blue Jacket Oliver Bjorkstrand on your draft radar next season. The Stars are hurting but they keep winning.  A good sign for things to come. Brian Elliot must have paid off the St. Louis Blues coaching staff big time to get back into the lineup against Vancouver. He just owns them! A 3-0 shutout in his return from the IR. Ben Bishop had the fourth shutout on the day with a 2-0 blanking of the Arizona Coyotes.  Bishop was big in the desert. I do not want to face the Los Angeles Kings in the playoffs if I don’t have to.  Then again, who would you rather face?  Anaheim?  Dallas? St. Louis? Chicago? Nashville? San Jose?  Colorado?  Okay, maybe Colorado or San Jose over the others but it still won’t be a cakewalk. The good thing about this time of year besides the intense matchups with playoff ...

SMC 11-15-2015 Sorry for the delay today but life got in the way, but have no fear, I just finished my afternoon coffee and am ready to let fly. Patrick Kane doesn’t seem to be bothered by anything as he leads the NHL in scoring. Red Wing Justin Abdelkader signed a reasonable 7-year extension proving that some NHL players are in it for more than just the money.  Don’t get me wrong, the money is still good but he wants to be on a perennial contender with a chance at the Cup every year.  Smart. Craig Anderson always plays the Rangers tough.  Even though he lost 2-1 in a shootout Saturday afternoon, this might jump start him to a stretch of very good goaltending. No matter who gets traded away, who gets signed to the team, Patrice Bergeron is the heart and soul of the Boston Bruins, and very under-rated. Ovechkin had 15 shots on goal the other night versus the Red Wings and was held off the board.  He was probably exhausted at the end. Good to see Pavel Datsyuk suit up finally after off-season surgery on his ankle.   Always a pleasure a watching Dats play. Buffalo lost 2-1 to San Jose in a shootout just showing once again that they will be a tough team to play against this year.  They may lose a lot of games, but the will be hard-earned if that makes any sense. Rumors of Patrick Marleau being traded this early in the season is probably just a lot of hot air produced by the media and bloggers to create traffic.  Marleau, with his contract, probably won’t be traded until closer to the trading deadline so teams can fit him under their salary cap. The Toronto Maple Leafs have won three in a row.  I don’t know how many times you will get to say that this season. The Avalanche buried Mike Condon and the Montreal Canadiens 6-1 Saturday.  And they were playing in the Bell Centre. Condon was shelled for his first loss of the season.  Does this mean Carey price will be back in net sooner than later? Just keep in mind how streaky Max Pacioretty is so you don’t pull all your hair out when he goes stretches without scoring a goal.  He has one in the past 9 games. Matt Duchene has turned it on of late and if you haven’t noticed, he has brought along Mikhail Grigorenko along for the ride.  Grigs has 4 points in past two games. Nathan McKinnon is having a career year.  Already he has 19 points in 17 games and he has been a consistent scorer since the first day of the season. The Battle of Florida was a doozy with the Panthers winning 5-4 in a shootout.  The Panthers will ...

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 ...

SMC 10-25-2015 Waking up to the wet sidewalks on a crisp autumn morning; need my coffee and ready for some hockey. We just knew that the Blue Jackets had to fire Todd Richards.  A bit surprised with the John Tortorella signing though but they won finally last night.  Now all they have to do is win 7 more in a row and they will be at .500 It might be Bruce Boudreau’s turn next with the way the Ducks are playing.  Another anemic effort last night against Minnesota. If Sergei Bobrovsky gets back his confidence, the Jackets could win a bunch of games in a row. Montreal looks pretty serious about winning the President’s Trophy this year with a 9-0-0 start. I just knew when Nicklas Backstrom got into the lineup for Washington that the Capitals would quickly pour on the offense. Devan Dubnyk has proven that he is the right goalie for Minnesota. Although his numbers aren’t quite as good as last year, the Wild are 5-1-0 and look like a force to be reckoned with. Break up those New Jersey Devils as they have won 4 in a row now after going 0-3-1 in the prior four.  They do have some talent on that team so they may just be a little better than what everyone thought they would be like. Adam Henrique has 6 goals already and is a huge part of that Devils offense.  We had him leading the team in points this year with 56, but he may pass that easily.  Along with Michael Cammalleri, they are THE New Jersey Devils offense.  Philadelphia is a lot better than people think.  St. Louis needs to bring in a priest and exorcise those demons lingering around the clubhouse. Arizona is having some fun as teams probably are taking them too lightly at the start of the season.  That will change as they move along into the season. Hats off to Mikkel Boedker with a hat trick last night against the Senators! Can you believe that Pittsburgh has only scored 13 goals in 8 games so far this season?  We know that their defense is suspect, but with that kind of lineup, they should be scoring a little bit more, don’t you think? It was Florida with a 6-2 against Dallas in Dallas.  Jaromir Jag continues to amaze me.  His line was 1 goal, 1 assist, +1, 5 SOG.  Not too shabby for an old guy! Tampa Bay and Chicago continues their Stanley Cup matchup with the Blackhawks winning in OT 1-0.  Oh wait, Chicago already won the Cup. Ryan Garbutt had 6 SOG in that game last night to lead both teams.  Ryan Garbutt. And he had less than 10 minutes of ice time.  Ryan Garbutt. Boone Jenner may be a good pickup....

Rangers clinch President’s Trophy & gain home-ice advantage throughout playoffs, Senators still alive with dramatic win over the Penguins The NY Rangers and New Jersey Devils played a feisty game but it was the Rangers who prevailed and claimed the President’s Cup to gain home ice advantage throughout the playoffs as far as they go.  Kevin Hayes continues to show poise and patience with the puck and was the catalyst with a goal and 2 assists, one of those on the power play.  Hayes look like he can be a tremendous force on the Rangers for years to come….Defenseman Keith Yandle, with an assist, now has 9 assists in the last ten games as he gets acclimated to the Rangers style of play.  Yandle was always an offensive force but now playing with a more talented team in the New York, his fantasy value should skyrocket next year playing a full season with the Rangers…. It is amazing that with a talent such as Claude Giroux leading your team and his line mate Jakub Voracek in contention for the scoring title that the Philadelphia Flyers aren’t in the hunt for a playoff position, but having a suspect defense with the loss of Kimmo Timonen at the beginning of the season really put the Flyers behind the 8-ball.  If they address their defensive woes during the off-season, they will back contending next year for sure… Giroux came out flying and scored two first-period goals and the Flyers hung on to beat the New York Islanders 5-4 after letting the Isles tie the game late in the 3rd period.  Brayden Schenn scored with 3 seconds remaining to save face for the Flyers after blowing a 2-goal lead with just under 2 minutes remaining.  We had been high on Schenn to start the year and he has not lived up to our expectations until recently where he has scored 7 points in last 4 games.  Maybe next season…Voracek assisted on both Giroux goals to stay close to Crosby in the scoring race…. You can just tell how much Pavel Datsyuk means to this Detroit Red Wings team as he was a game-time decision because of a recurring nagging injury but he toughed it out and played getting the game-winning goal and an assist in the 3-2 win over Carolina.  Yes he’ll be 37 before the start of next season, but if he can stay relatively healthy for close to a full season, he will get you a point-per-game if not more…Oh yeah, and Detroit clinched a playoff spot with the win... Sidney Crosby feeling the heat, scored 10 seconds into the game and added an assist to hold onto the lead in the NHL ...

Hartnell's hattie, Ducks struggle on road trip, Isles & Wild battle The Anaheim Ducks have struggled at the beginning of their 5-game road trip with their second straight loss, this time losing 5-3 to the Columbus Blue Jackets.  The Ducks managed to get off to a 2-0 lead but the Jackets battled back with Scott Hartnell getting a hat trick.  Ryan Johansen had a goal and an assist in the victory and the duo reminds me when Hartnell had that career season playing alongside Claude Giroux when in Philadelphia.  Perhaps Hartnell will continue his productive play until the end of the season…. The St. Louis Blues beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2 in overtime as they managed to keep Sidney Crosby off the score sheet.  The Pens have been struggling of late in the scoring department but have the guns once everyone is in full health.  So expect the scoring to return when the likes of Evgeni Malkin and Patric Hornqvist return to the lineup….. Jonathan Quick (34/36 Sv) and the Los Angeles Kings took control of the game after Mats Zuccarello scored just 51 seconds into the match, never letting the Rangers get back into the match.  Quick was excellent in the win that pitted last season’s Stanley Cup finalists against one another.  LA is battling to gain a playoff position while the Rangers are looking to perhaps have a shot at the President’s Cup… The Minnesota Wild and New York Islanders fought to a 2-1 shootout win by the Wild as both goaltenders, Jaroslav Halak and Devan Dubnyk, continued on with their career years.  Kudos to both net minders on a remarkable season… Roberto Luongo not so sharp in Florida's pivotal match-up with Tampa Bay as rookie Andrei Vasilevskiy outplayed the veteran, turning aside 36 shots in the 4-3 win... No Pavel Datsyuk, no win for the Red Wings as they suffered the ultimate let-down game, dropping a 5-4 home decision to Arizona.. After being a lock for Calder Trophy honors for most of the season, Nashville's Filip Forsberg has not enjoyed a prolific month of March: four points in 11 games. Perhaps last night's overtime winner against the Hab's gets him going again. His fantasy value is far more certain for next season, where he could easily rank amongst the top15-20 fantasy forwards. Love him for 2015-16 and beyond... For those who drafted Radim Vrbata on the speculation that playing with the Sedin twins has it's perks, it's all coming together late in the season. His three points in the 5-2 triumph over Winnipeg improved his numbers to ...

Rangers win big; Bruins keep free-falling, Canucks keep pace; A huge triumph at MSG for the New York Rangers who pummeled the Anaheim Ducks 7-2 and gained a share of the NHL lead in points-99. Two Blueshirts who busted out of long scoring droughts were center Derek Stepan(2G/1A- First points in 13 games) and defenseman Keith Yandle(3A/ First points in 10 games!). With the Ranger's offense rather anemic over the last month, it's hard to recommend either player as a starting option right now, but both can be capable of a hot stretch to end the season. Feel much safer starting Yandle at D than Stepan at a forward postion.. It was a Detroit team without Pavel Datsyuk outlasting a suddenly struggling St. Louis team on the road, 2-1 thanks to Justin Abdelkader's OT goal. Not much to say here other than Marek Zidlicky picked up another point and has been a waiver-wire steal since his trade to Detroit.. The Boston Bruins are quickly playing themselves out of a playoff position with another key loss, this time to the Lightning. With David Krejci out and now also arguably their best defenseman in rising fantasy star Dougie Hamilton, the B's are in hot water..With a goal and an assist, Tampa's Ondrej Palat has recorded four points in two games since returning from injury. Get him in your starting lineups ASAP.. A decent goaltending battle ensued in Arizona as Jakub Markstrom, once regarded as the hottest goalie prospect, picked up the win for the Canucks over Mike Smith and company. Vancouver staying alive for the playoffs while the Coyotes are pushing hard for Connor McDavid..  

Bernier gives Devils fire, Lightning ground Red Wings, Ducks paddle on The days are getting longer and he games are getting tighter as the season draws nearer the playoffs.  In last night’s Devils-Sabres game, won by the Devils by a score of 3-1, there wasn’t much to talk about except Steve Bernier’s rise in fantasy value as he has taken over for the departed Jaromir Jagr in terms of production with 2 goals giving him 8 points in 8 March games.  I’d only play him if I were in desperation mode and no other options were available…. It was just three short weeks ago that the Detroit Red Wings were challenging for not only the top spot in the Atlantic division, but also the top spot in the Eastern Conference but March came in like a lion for Detroit as a they have lost 6 of 9 games to fall out of those competitions.  They are still firmly entrenched in a playoff spot and it is better to go through ha slump before the playoffs start so I’m sure the Red Wings will turn things around soon.  Pavel Datsyuk missed his second straight game and was sorely missed as the Red Wings could only muster 1 goal again without their talented Center.  I was a close game until Tampa Bay’s Alex Killorn broke the tie with just under 10 minutes remaining in regulation.  Steven Stamkos added his 40th with an empty-netter to seal the 3-1 victory.  The lightning are still in the race for the Eastern Conference title & President’s Cup trophy…. Anaheim kept their hopes alive for the overall lead in NHL points as they edged the Colorado Avalanche 3-2 in overtime as Corey Perry got the game-winner, his 29th.  It was all defense as the Ducks took a 1-0 lead into the third period until a burst of scoring saw the Avs take a 2-1 lead with two goals in a two-minute span before the Ducks tied it less than two minutes after.  Frederik Andersen got the start for Anaheim after John Gibson started the last four.  Look for the rookie Gibson to be in net versus the Rangers on Sunday.

Islanders gain critical 2 points, Detroit struggles to win 5-2, Pekka and Preds finally win again The New York Islanders gained a crucial 2 points in their overtime win over the Toronto Maple Leafs as they try to stave off the charging New York Rangers whom they face tonight on the Island.  A win tonight over their rivals will go a long way in securing their hold on the Metropolitan Division title.  Of course you have to look no further than John Tavares for the Isles offense as he had the OT game-winner and an assist to pad his NHL scoring lead….Islander defenseman Nick Leddy left the game and did not return putting more emphasis on Travis Hamonic to pick up the vacancy that may be created if Leddy is out for any period of time.  Monitor this situation…. Detroit struggled with a clearly inferior Edmonton Oiler team until the 3rd period when they managed to eke out a 5-2 win.  I know it sounds funny to say “eked out a win” especially winning by three goals but two of those were empty-netters that sealed the game late in the 3rd period.  It was the veterans of Henrik Zetterberg (3A) & Pavel Datsyuk (G, A) that provided the offense and leadership as the Red Wings try to close the gap in the Atlantic Division…. Pittsburgh didn’t close out their California string by sweeping the West Coast teams but got the next best thing with a 2-1 overtime loss to San Jose giving them a point, and 5 in three games, in the race for the Metro Division, keeping them 1 point behind the second place Rangers and 4 behind the Islanders with 2 games in hand.  It’s tough to keep the Penguin offense at bay but Antti Niemi had a strong game with 39 saves earning the win.  The Sharks will need lots of strong efforts like this one if they want to get into the playoffs, but it may be a bit too late…. Nashville’s Pekka Rinne finally got a win after losing 5 straight but it was a nail-biter against the Arizona Coyotes and their rookie net minder Louis Domingue, winning by a score of 2-1 in overtime.  The Predators offense has struggled a bit lately but hopefully getting this monkey off their back will lead to better things.  They did pour 40 SOG against the rookie with everyone getting in on that action. So that’s a good sign… Eddie Lack and the Vancouver Canucks got a solid 2-1 win over the Anaheim Ducks winning 2- 1 in regulation.  The win helps keep some distance between the Canucks and those trying to gain a playoff spot.  Lack has now gone 4-1-1 since Ryan Miller was injured.  Keep...

The trade deadline came and went with a few high profile fantasy defenders finding new homes such as Keith Yandle and James Wisniewski. Both are certain to see their fantasy value shoot up as they have joined two elite teams, respectively the New York Rangers and the Anaheim Ducks. But we don't need to tell you that, given how obviously elated their fantasy owners are that their new digs are now more fantasy-friendly, As we move away from the more obvious, let's focus on a couple of under the radar defensemen who are clearly more fantasy relevant now than they were on March 2. The addition of Marek Zidlicky to Detroit gives them a right handed shot from the point which means he should get plenty of power play time moving forward. The 38-year old had his share of offensive struggles for New Jersey this season with 23 points in 63 games, but was a 42-point producer in 2013-14. With 6-plus 40-point campaigns during his career, the Czech rearguard has an extensive scoring pedigree to draw from and has some gas left in the tank. When the Wings rolled out their overtime power-play unit during last night's game, Zidlicky joined Niklas Kronwall with Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk. The end result was a clutch overtime game winner, courtesy of the newcomer and an encouraging sign that he could be a very vital part of the offensive mix for the Wings during the stretch run. With only 30% ownership across the board in ESPN leagues, Zidlicky is definitely worth a gamble in most formats as he is poised to play a big role for playoff-bound Detroit. On the opposite side of the veteran spectrum, the trade of Wisniewski to Anaheim may have signalled the beginning of the David Savard era in Columbus. While amidst only his second full season, the 24-year old has scored 10 goals and collected 25 points in 63 games. His offensive upside has been marginally tapped as the youngster is now poised to be the main successor on the team's top power-play unit. Jumping on Savard's bandwagon before his numbers become too legit to ignore would be a shrewd move for any fantasy owner, especially in keeper formats. It's also safe to say that Jack Johnson has flat-out fell short of being that no.1 pp quarterback, so it's Savard's opportunity to steal the thunder. And we say he does it.. Parting shots: Speaking of Wisniewski, he will pay huge dividends on the higher-octane Anaheim squad, but injuries might keep him out 1-2 weeks longer. When he returns, look for him to benefit greatly ...