BTP: CUFFS ARE BACK IN STYLE, HANDCUFFS THAT IS We are just about at the midpoint of the NHL season and most of you poolies know whether you have a decent shot at making your league’s playoffs or securing a top money slot.  Those that are vying for any possible award come season’s end has a legitimate #1 goaltender on their squad or two decent ones.   Going into the second half and down the stretch, you will need to secure those positions in order to stay in contention just in case your # 1 or elite net minder goes down to injury.  PrimePucks™ will be taking a look at what goalkeepers you should have on your bench as a handcuff in case your starter is lost for any period of time. JACOB MARKSTROM – Steve already mentioned how he feels about this once can’t-miss Florida Panther prospect in this week’s ADD’EM, and I am just reiterating that it looks like the talented young goaltender is finally finding his stride in the NHL. Vancouver Canuck starter Ryan Miller has been plagued with injuries lately and it is a good idea to pick up Markstrom off waivers, if still available, because if Mille falters and the Canucks trying o lock in a playoff spot, they may have no choice but to go with Markstrom if he continues his hot play. JOHN GIBSON/FREDERIK ANDERSEN – Heading into the 2015-2016 NHL Season, it sure looked like Andersen had the lock on the #1 role with Gibson being assigned to the AHL and management stating that he was there to get the experience.  Well, a rough start by the Anaheim Ducks and the minor injury to Andersen opened the door for the Ducks to call up Gibson and he is playing like he doesn’t plan on heading back.  Gibson is 8-4-2 with a 1.63 GAA and a .932 SP with 4 shutouts.  It appears he is the #1 goaltender in Anaheim but it is a good idea to grab Andersen if available but young goaltenders do struggle at times. Although Gibson doesn’t look like that’s going to happen.  With the Ducks in a playoff spot now after a horrendous start, look for the team to ride the hot hand. ANDREJ VASILEVSKIY – We all know that Ben Bishop has been stellar in net so far this season for the Tampa Bay Lightning with a 2.06 GAA and a .925 SP but his record is just 15-12-3.  That is more of an indication of the play of the team in front of him, so expect the wins to start piling up now that the team is getting back to healthy.  Vasilevskiy started the season with an injury and has had a rough time getting into NHL game shape but make no mistake of the talent this ...

#10 NEW YORK ISLANDERS The Islanders are looking to make it 3 out of 4 years of making the playoffs as they begin their new life in Brooklyn USA.  The Isles missed the playoffs the 5 prior seasons but now have their franchise player reaching his prime in John Tavares.  JT, with a career high 86 points, finished 1-point behind Art Ross Trophy winner Jamie Been.  JT’s wingers will be enjoying career seasons as well.  The younger talent is starting to filter in and the team is looking to improve on last season so they were able to ship Michael Grabner off to Toronto to clear some room.  Just who takes advantage of the opportunity will be seen.  Jaroslav Halak has been a steadying influence since signing a free agent deal last summer.  Look for that to continue.  The defense was solidified when Snow brought in Nick Leddy and Johnny Boychuk just prior to the season in deals with teams looking to create cap space.  Free agent signing of Marek Zidlicky should help with the power play. GOALIES It was pretty much status quo in the goalie department expect the team improved their backup position by signing Thomas Greiss to a 2-year deal. Halak should amass another 60 starts and give similar performance as last season.  The team is improving in front of him so as long as he remains consistent, there shouldn’t be a problem.  He needs to improve his GAA a little, as you can see from the table below, but they just need him to be the rock he was last year. 2014-2015                      GP      GAA       W        L        OTL       SP Jaroslav Halak             59         2.43       38       17         4         .914   DEFENSE The signing of Zidlicky could be a godsend and just be the spark that could make the Islander power play click.  Even at 38, he still has a knack for scoring and being an asset oh the power play. A lot of people are believing that Leddy will be the main focus on the blue line and well he should be.  At 24 and a year under his belt as an Islander look for the young d-man to better his career high of 37 points accomplished twice.  Last year and his second year with the Blackhawks. When Boychuk started with the Islanders, he came out of the shoot like a house on fire but settled in after that hot start.  He does have a scoring touch but don’t expect anything more than mid-30’s and that may be a stretch with the arrival of Zidlicky.  Travis Hamonic has shown glimpses but is lower on the depth chart while Thomas Hickey and Calvin de Haan round out ...

Just as Tuesday night was good to be the home team with 10 of 11 teams winning at home, Friday night was good to be out on the road with 5 of the 6 visiting teams taking home the 2 points. The night was sandwiched around shutouts, first by New Jersey's Cory Schneider who seems to be getting into a groove after a rough 4 game stretch and then by, of all goalies, Arizona's Devan Dubnyk. I'm not too surprised by Schneider's 1-0 blanking of the Washington Capitals but Dubnyk?  I guess with the way Mike Smith has been playing of late, even last year's Holey Goalie was a better option. I would continue starting Schneider but don't have a lot of faith in Dubnyk.  Dubnyk may have earned another start, but Smith will be their starter....Schneider played well but the Devils caught a break when Mike Cammalleri intercepted a pass from Washington G Braden Holtby and fired the miscue into the net for his seventh goal and the game-winner. Cammalleri has provided the offense the Devils were lacking last year.  Good signing Lou!.... Arizona D-man Keith Yandle continues to be a somewhat undervalued beast on defense as he scored a goal and 2 assists and now leads the Coyotes in scoring with 14 points in 17 games. Yandle has led the team in scoring the past two seasons and it looks like he is heading for the trifecta....Hats off to Martin Hanzal who had a hat trick in the 5-0 pasting of the Vancouver Canucks. Hanzal is a decent depth fantasy forward but that's about it....I guess you could say that Vancouver's G Ryan Miller was due for a clunker after an 11-2-0 start. Expect Miller to return to form in his next start..... IT was quite a matchup between two teams who have been frequent exchangers of players over the past few years. Steve Mason didn't fare as well as he would have liked against his former team, losing 4-3 and only stopping 34 of 38 SOG. Mason has not fared as well as last season, but the young goalie should shake off the inconsistency.... Jakub Voracek, another ex-Blue Jacket, had a better game with goal and an assist to continue his torrid start to the 2014 season. He now has 24 points in 17 games and is 1 point behind league leader Sidney Crosby. WOW!...Ex-Flyer Scott Hartnell tried his darnedness to get on the score sheet as he took 6 SOG, but Mason gobbled those up....Ryan Johansen had a 4 assist night and along with Nick Foligno (2G, A) are your best options for offense on Columbus....Blue Jacket D-man James Wisniewski scored his first 2 goals on the ...

Greiss allowed four goals on 31 shots in a OT loss to the Red Wings in his only start this season. Marc-Andre Fleury started the last four games and is 0-5 in his career vs. the Wild, so it looks like Greiss will get the call for the second time this season. Minny is great at home, so he is not the best spot-start option tonight.

Greiss allowed four goals on 31 shots in a OT loss to the Red Wings in his only start this season. Marc-Andre Fleury started the last four games and is 0-5 in his career vs. the Wild, so Greiss will get the call for the second time this season. Minny is great at home, so he is not the best spot-start option tonight.

Greiss, 28, went 10-8-5 with a 2.29 GAA and .920 SV% as Mike Smith's backup in Arizona last season. He should have a lot more goal support this year in Pittsburgh, but won't seem many starts behind Marc-Andre Fleury. He has a solid matchup tonight against a Red Wings team who have just 2.00 goals per game this season.

Greiss, 28, went 10-8-5 with a 2.29 GAA and .920 SV% as Mike Smith's backup in Arizona last season. He should have a lot more goal support this year in Pittsburgh, but won't seem many starts behind Marc-Andre Fleury. He has a solid matchup tonight against a Red Wings team who have just 2.00 goals per game this season.

There is no doubting that the Pittsburgh is the goldmine of fantasy hockey especially when you have Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin to start you off. There has been a lot of talk over the past few years about how the Penguins can't seem to get it together for the Stanley Cup playoff run.  The knock on goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury was that he was a great regular season goalie, but come the playoffs, he was lacking that extra gear. Some changes were made in the off-season with the Draft Day trade of James Neal for Patric Hornqvist, and letting Brooks Orpik and Matt Niskanen leave via free agency. Christian Ehrhoff was signed to add support for Kris Letang. Letang needs to play a full season and stay away from injury.  GOALIES When it comes to fantasy hockey goaltending, having a number 1 who starts just about every game and gives you decent enough metrics is all you care about. When it comes to playoff hockey, it's the rabid fan that cares more about the goaltender's performance than the fantasy poolie which makes Fleury the perfect fantasy goaltender.  He starts every game, gets you close to 40 wins, has decent metrics and pitches in a few shutouts and rarely gets injured.  It doesn't hurt that he has a powerhouse offensive club in front of him.  Thomas Greiss was brought in to serve as backup and if he proves more than capable, he might steal a few more starts from Fleury than Jeff Zatkoff did last season. DEFENSE The Pittsburgh defense flows through Letang, but help is on the way. Ehrhoff was signed to take some of the offensive pressure off Letang and with last season's sensation Olli Maata recovering from an off-season shoulder surgery, Ehrhoff's presence was sorely needed. He will also act as an insurance policy if Letang should go down to yet another injury.  Letang was once considered one of the top 2 or 3 fantasy D-men in the league but injuries have taken their toll.  Maata will have to ward off not only the sophomore jinx, but pursuit from other young talent such as Derick Pouliot (recovering from his own off-season surgery) and Simon Despres, who may get an extended look this time around. Those are your potent offensive defensemen with Paul Martin and Rob Scuderi providing the defensive support. FORWARDS There is not much to say about Crosby and Malkin that poolies don't already know. What will be interesting to see is if Hornqvist will take the role vacated by Neal and be that 40 goal scorer.  Chris Kunitz enjoys life on the wing of ...