* Superstar Evgeni Malkin returned to the Pittsburgh lineup after missing six games, paying immediate fantasy dividends with two assists. Also back was Patrick Hornqvist, which is great news for his fantasy owners. However, the injury to defenseman Kris Letang after a Shane Doan hit does a take bite out of the Pen's power-play and would have an adverse effect on the team's overall scoring over the last two weeks of the regular season. We will update you with info on Letang's status when we get it.. *To put it mildly, Henrik Lundqvist was rusty upon his return to the Ranger's crease the Boston Bruins beat him four times in the 4-2 win. With the B's really needing the W to stay in the playoff hunt, "King Henrik" was in a tough spot after the long layoff but Cam Talbot will be in net Sunday afternoon against Washington. With his starting days numbered for the rest of this campaign, I would expect a great start from Talbot as he looks to go out with a bang.. *Goalie Devan Dubnyk continues to be the NHL's top fantasy surprise of the year, prevailing once again as the Minnesota Wild down the Los Angeles Kings 4-1. Thats 35 straight starts and counting for the breakout net minder who has registered 26 wins during this prolific stretch. Mikko Koivu collected two goals and an assist, giving him six points over the last five games. Give him serious starting consideration for the upcoming week.. *There was a Toronto revival at least for one night, as Toronto's top line of Tyler Bozak-Phil Kessel-James van Riemsdyk dominated the stat sheet with a combined 10 points. The trio were fantasy duds for much of the season, but maybe, just maybe, this super effort perks them up for the last few games.. *Huge shutout effort by Detroit's Petr Mrazek in the 4-0 win over the Lightning, temporarily delaying their late-season slide but is a change in goal in order for the Wings? With Jimmy Howard struggling mightily, you can expect Mrazek to be starting on Sunday against the Isles. If he wins again, he might be worth starting next week as the Wings should ride the "hot" hand... *Frederik Andersen has taken the Anaheim starting job back from young John Gibson, turning aside 29 saves for his second straight win over tough Eastern conference opponents on the road. Having said that, one bad effort and coach Boudreau can easily turn back to Gibson as his playoff guy, so the Duck's goalie situation is far from settled.. *Tyler Seguin finished with a goal and an assist in the Dallas 4-...

* Superstar Evgeni Malkin returned to the Pittsburgh lineup after missing six games, paying immediate fantasy dividends with two assists. Also back was Patrick Hornqvist, which is great news for his fantasy owners. However, the injury to defenseman Kris Letang after a Shane Doan hit does a take bite out of the Pen's power-play and would have an adverse effect on the team's overall scoring over the last two weeks of the regular season. We will update you with info on Letang's status when we get it.. *To put it mildly, Henrik Lundqvist was rusty upon his return to the Ranger's crease the Boston Bruins beat him four times in the 4-2 win. With the B's really needing the W to stay in the playoff hunt, "King Henrik" was in a tough spot after the long layoff but Cam Talbot will be in net Sunday afternoon against Washington. With his starting days numbered for the rest of this campaign, I would expect a great start from Talbot as he looks to go out with a bang.. *Goalie Devan Dubnyk continues to be the NHL's top fantasy surprise of the year, prevailing once again as the Minnesota Wild down the Los Angeles Kings 4-1. Thats 35 straight starts and counting for the breakout net minder who has registered 26 wins during this prolific stretch. Mikko Koivu collected two goals and an assist, giving him six points over the last five games. Give him serious starting consideration for the upcoming week.. *There was a Toronto revival at least for one night, as Toronto's top line of Tyler Bozak-Phil Kessel-James van Riemsdyk dominated the stat sheet with a combined 10 points. The trio were fantasy duds for much of the season, but maybe, just maybe, this super effort perks them up for the last few games.. *Huge shutout effort by Detroit's Petr Mrazek in the 4-0 win over the Lightning, temporarily delaying their late-season slide but is a change in goal in order for the Wings? With Jimmy Howard struggling mightily, you can expect Mrazek to be starting on Sunday against the Isles. If he wins again, he might be worth starting next week as the Wings should ride the "hot" hand... *Frederik Andersen has taken the Anaheim starting job back from young John Gibson, turning aside 29 saves for his second straight win over tough Eastern conference opponents on the road. Having said that, one bad effort and coach Boudreau can easily turn back to Gibson as his playoff guy, so the Duck's goalie situation is far from settled.. *Tyler Seguin finished with a goal and an assist in the Dallas 4-...

Ottawa stays close, looking at Columbus’ future, Dubnyk loses and some hot Flames. Boston has done well to keep some distance between them and the two teams chasing them for the last wild card spot in the East but Ottawa is keeping the pressure on as they have gone 8-1-1 and are just 5 points behind with 15 games left in the regular season.  Ottawa beat a tough Islanders team by a score of 2-1 with Andrew Hammond providing stellar goaltending one more.  They need to continue to ride the hot hand of Hammond until they are eliminated as they are winning with him in net…. Believe it or not, Dallas still has a shot in the West at a wild card spot and with Tyler Seguin back, if they can go on a bi of a hot streak, they just might be able to sneak in.  They now have won 5 of their last 6 by beating the Washington Capitals last night by a score of 4-2.  Seguin just makes that Stars team so much better and he ended up with the game-winning power play goal in the 2nd period….With defensemen John Klingberg and Trevor Daley still out due to injury, Alex Goligoski (PPA) is getting a boatload of time so continue to put Gogo in your fantasy lineup…. Poolies got a good look at the future of the Columbus blue Jackets last night as they beat the Edmonton Oilers 5-4 in a shootout.  Rookies Mark Dano (G, A) and Alex Wennberg (2A) had two point nights and should be counted on more heading into next season.  They should complement rising stars Nick Foligno and Ryan Johansen to make this team a playoff contender if goalie Sergei Bobrovsky can remain healthy for a season.  Bobrovsky didn’t have one of his better games but he was playing on back-to-back night….One of the hottest players in the NHL right now is Oiler Ryan Nugent-Hopkins who had another 2 assists last night to give him 11 points in past 8 games.  I hope he isn’t the type of player who plays better when things aren’t on the line because he is loaded with talent….Jordan Eberle is another Oiler who has been on fire of late with a goal and an assists last night giving him 8 points in last 4 games and 31 total points in 31 games since the turn of the calendar. The Flames keep rising and have gone 6-3-1 in past ten games.  Last night they beat a sinking Toronto Maple Leaf team 6-3 with Sean Monahan & Johnny “Hockey” Gaudreau having –point nights each.  Monahan has really raised the level of his game of late with 9 points in past 6 games after a 10-point February.  Get him in your starting lineup as he is becoming one ...

SMC 3-8-15 Lost an hour last night but good thing I have some good coffee brewing. You just have to love the Wild Card race in the Eastern Conference as it’s now a 4-team race for that last wild card slot.  Boston holds a 2-point edge over Florida but Ottawa has quickly joined the race along with Philadelphia.  Philadelphia has let a few points slip away from them recently but still remain in the hunt. My odds-on favorite to sneak in that wild card spot is Ottawa who have been on fire lately behind their rookie net minder Andrew Hammond.  They are 7-0-1 behind the rookie.  Wow! Philly had the Bruins right where they wanted them but the B’s scored with 15 seconds remaining to tie the game before winning in overtime.  Why hasn’t Claude Giroux stepped up his game with the Flyers in the playoff race?  He has been nearly invisible during this most critical time. Brad Marchand has a 3-game scoring streak as he has remained out of the penalty box of late.  I guess the Bruins saw that his offense would be more beneficial than his agitation tactics. I guess Ovechkin didn’t want to miss out on some easy points last night against Buffalo, coming back from a missing one game against Minnesota.  He had a goal and an assist. Buffalo had 17 SOG total in that game against Washington; Ovechkin had 8. Newly acquired St. Louis Blues defenseman Robert Bortuzzo had 6 SOG last night against Toronto.  I think he had that many in his entire NHL career so far. Every Blue had a SOG against Toronto except for Alex Pietrangelo.  What has happened to his offense this year? Carey Price and the Montreal Canadiens blanked the Arizona Coyotes 2-0.  I didn’t expect anything less. Tampa Bay had a much harder time with Dallas last night than I thought they would.  Probably because Tyler Seguin was back in the lineup for the Stars and scored twice.  He’s soooo good!  It could be a fantastic race to the finish for the NHL scoring title this year as we have 17 players within 10 points of one another. Jaromir Jagr is really helping the young talent in Florida.  I wonder if he will re-sign for another year there. Colorado has made a nice run lately in the Western Conference but it’s a case of too-little, too late. Tyson Barrie is a beast on the blue line for Colorado.  Watch out for next year! Nashville has, let me come out and just say it, sucked lately. Pittsburgh with a 1-0 win in overtime over the Los Angeles Kings.  The Penguins don’t usually win those games. Patric Hornqvist is just ...

Starting with the late-night thriller between Pittsburgh and Los Angeles, Marc-Andre Fleury withstood a 31-shot barrage to hold on for his ninth shutout of the season. Patrick Hornqvist provided the game-winner in overtime, improving his goal to seven over the last seven games. After a mid-season dip in offensive production, the former Nashville winger has resumed his early-season scoring ways where he was one of the hottest fantasy assets with 25 points in his first 23 games. With all their key forwards healthy for the stretch run, look for Hornqvist to close the season on a point-per-game pace and back to fantasy must-start status.. Speaking of streaking, Vancouver's Radim Vrbata scored two goals to extend his point-streak to four games. Even though fantasy owners rather him play on the top line with the Sedin twins, the winger has delivered a team-leading 25 goals and still gets primary power-play time. If you have him on your bench, it might be time to start him while the Canucks push hard for a playoff spot. With Eddie Lack manning the crease instead of the injured Ryan Miller, there will be a stronger focus on the offense carrying the team.. Let's just re-name John Tavares Art Ross as the Islanders star continues to lead the NHL in scoring with another dominant effort, a goal and two assists in South Florida. With Kyle Okposo nearing a return, there has been plenty of debate on how the top line will look when he gets back. For my money, Anders Lee has more than earned his spot alongside JT so he should stay put. A Tavares-Okposo-Lee unit would reap huge fantasy dividends for all three... Big news in Dallas as Tyler Seguin returned to action last night, not missing a beat with two goals in the 5-3 loss to Tampa Bay. Jason Spezza's fantasy value once again takes a slight hit as he returns back to second-line center duties but he remains a fixture on the no. 1 power-play unit. Breakout defenseman John Kingberg left the contest with a lower-body injury and is listed as day-to-day. With Trevor Daley also out, this could be the best and only time to start Alex Goligoski who has been a bitter fantasy disappointment. He could string together a decent stretch of games with those two out. Consider playing him.. The Leafs were beaten down by the St. Louis Blues, as Vladimir Tarasenko plus Jaden Schwartz and TJ Oshie each collected a goal and an assist.One fact remains true- Phil Kessel is definitely unstarteable in all fantasy formats, while Tarasenko has ...

Holtby is unreal; Pittsburgh scoring woes; St. Louis fantasy relevant again; and more... Braden Holtby and the Washington Capitals had an easy time against Ondrej Pavelec and the Winnipeg Jets, winning 5-1 at home.  Having Barry Trotz behind the bench has done wonders for Holtby while it hasn’t deterred Alex Ovechkin from scoring as he netted his 38th on the year.  Enjoy the ride poolies.…The big question is , “why isn’t Winnipeg going with Michael Hutchinson night in, night out?”  The Jets clearly play better in front of Hutch… Who would have thought that the Pittsburgh Penguins would have trouble scoring?  They lost to Columbus last night, 2-1, making it three games in arrow that they only scored once.  You just know that at some point, with all those offensive weapons that they will bust out in a big way…. The New York Islanders are making a habit of scoring early and putting the pressure on opposing teams as they scored a minute into their game against Nashville and never let up against perhaps the best goaltender in the NHL today in Pekka Rinne.  The Islanders are playing like a juggernaut lately and you would be wise to have a few players in your fantasy lineup…. IT was a very spirited game between the New York Rangers and the Vancouver Canucks with the Canucks prevailing in the shootout, 5-4.  The Sedins had 2 points apiece as they continue their comeback season while Martin St. Louis seems to be waking up from his little slumber of late with a goal and an assist in the losing effort.  Keep the veterans in your lineup as they are just too experienced and too good to leave out…. Not much to say about the Philly-Buffalo tilt other than the Flyers dearly miss Steve Mason in the crease and although Jakub Voracek scored a goal, his owners maybe should have "sold high" when he was leading the entire NHL in points. It kinda made sense... Carey Price resembled a mere mortal in the Montreal crease as the Habs continued their season-long tradition of playing down to their opponents at home, losing 3-2 to Florida. However, the Panthers are no slouch and should never be taken lightly. Just ask the Bruins who suddenly have the Cat's breathing down their neck in the playoff race.. San Jose scored a huge road win in Dallas as Antti Niemi thoroughly outplayed the inconsistent Kari Lehtonen in goal. Jamie Benn and Jason Spezza will keep rewarding their fantasy owners as they carry the "O" with Tyler Seguin out. Am so delighted I didn't trade Spezza when I had the...

Huge nights for Benn and Spezza, Ovie dominates in Pitt, the Isles bounce back and deep fantasy sleeper in Detroit...   It was a night of "firsts" for Jamie Benn as the talented forward helped the Stars pull off the improbable road upset in St. Louis by collecting his first career "hat trick". Benn is currently on a four-game point streak where he posted 10 points (6G/4A). With Tyler Seguin out of action, Jason Spezza has moved up to the top line and responded with three assists last night. He also has a decent game point streak going, collecting ten points over his last six games. Offense will be tougher to come by without Seguin, but the off-season Spezza acquisition is starting to look great right now. Start both Dallas forwards as they will be heavily involved in the scoring as the Stars battle for a playoff spot. Also, don't understimate Kari Lehtonen's fantasy worth moving forward as the Star's goalie has won four straight, including three on the road against elite opponents, and has seen his overall numbers improve greatly over that stretch. More than a solid no. 2 fantasy option in goal so play him with confidence... In the Washington-Pittsburgh rivalry match, only one superstar showed up as Alex Ovechkin collected his league-leading 37th goal and an assist in the Capital's 3-1 road win. AO has been on an absolute tear lately, notching 14 points over the last ten games and looks poised to grab fantasy MVP honors if he keeps up his frenetic pace... What else can you say about Braden Holtby? A little belief instilled by coach Barry Trotz and a monster workload has resulted in an elite fantasy campaign for the young netminder... After suffering a brutal loss to the New York Rangers, John Tavares and the Islanders showed plenty of resiliency in defeating the Carolina Hurricanes in an obvious let-down game. JT picked up a goal and an assist, while rookie line-mate Anders Lee continued to impress by scoring his 18th goal. We have seen what Tavares has done for the fantasy value of wingers such as Matt Moulson and more recently, Kyle Okposo, so Lee's rise toward fantasy relevance can't come as completely shocking... A 5-1 score in favor of Nashville over San Jose looks lopsided on paper, but Pekka Rinne had to "stand on his head" to the tune of 42 saves in order to help the Preds secure the win. He continues to dominate more and more with each passing start, so enjoy the ride if you own Rinne.. Plenty of deserving kudos for Florida goalie Roberto ...

John Tavares was king against Columbus as his two goals and two assists plus a whopping nine SOG was the fantasy statline of the evening. However, more owners need to pay attention to his newest side-kick, Anders Lee, who also contributed four assists and has been on "fire" during his current five-game point streak. Short-term power move- Get Lee in your fantasy lineups next week while the Islanders play five games. If he continues to light it up, then you might have a gem on your hands in Kyle Okposo's absence.. Tyler Myers made amends in a hurry for a ho-hum Winnipeg debut, collecting two points in his second game for the Jets. This guy might merit a serious look as Tobias Enstrom hasn't exactly been scoring much and has been underachieving on the power-play. Even money that Myers gets a chance to get serious PP minutes with Dustin Byfuglien as his running mate.. Five straight games with at least a point for Jason Spezza who will be counted upon for no.1 center duties in Dallas while Tyler Seguin heals from his knee injury. Loved him before this and love him even more now. JS is about to take off so you need to start him... It could be the right time to "buy low" on Thomas Vanek, who collected three points in the win over Carolina and now has nine points over the last ten games. Get all your Minnesota Wild key players activated as they have been arguably the "hottest" team around... Say goodbye to Justin Faulk's career-high of 32 points as the Carolina defender picked up two assists to improve his numbers to 34 in 54 games. Can anyone say 50? He has a great chance as his fantasy stock is shooting straight up... Columbus winger Cam Atkinson has quietly moved up to borderline fantasy relevance with his latest offensive outburst of four goals in his last five games and eight points over his last nine contests. I had jumped off his bandwagon, but the talent is there for a significant turnaround. Just not sure about the long-term compete level... MORE TO COME...

The huge news of the night involved the lower-body injury suffered by Tyler Seguin after a low hit by Florida's Dimitry Kulikov. Seguin owners and Dallas fans are holding their breath as he could miss significant time if the MRI reveals major damage. If you want to look ahead, Jason Spezza would stand to be the major fantasy beneficiary during Seguin's potential absence. But let's hope the superstar is ok and misses minimum time.. I found it real funny and somewhat predictable that Kari Lehtonen turned in arguably his strongest performance of the season on the heels of the Stars acquiring goalie Jhonas Enroth in a trade. Lehtonen needed a kick in the butt to get his game going so fantasy owners owe Mr. Enroth a big thank you.. Fantasy star of the night honors belongs to San Jose's Joe Pavelski who collected a hat trick to raise his goal total to 31, good for fourth in the NHL. 'Little Joe" deserves way more fantasy recognition but it's the more famous "Joe"-Mr. Thornton- who has been killing it lately with 14 points over his last ten games. After a few seasons of showing some decline, the veteran center is scoring again at a point-per-game clip. Start him while he pumps out assists at such a high rate.. Marian Hossa is taking a page out of Joe Thornton's book and has turned back the clock lately with another two-point effort, his fourth straight. With seven goals over that span, the Slovakian winger is absolutely on a roll and needs to be starting while he is streaking... The "Wayne Train" is flying express these days, as Wayne Simmonds is heating up again. His two goals and an assist gives him six points over his last five games. Get him in your lineup now but be prepared to pull the plug soon when he goes cold. There is no middle ground with Simmonds. He is either great or not...  

First of all, is there a hotter top line in the NHL than Alex Steen-TJ Oshie-David Backes? The trio combined for five points in last night's 3-0 blanking of the Toronto Maple Leafs, improving their point totals to 49 in the last 11 games. Seriously? Proving to all fantasy owners that he is the "real deal" after his breakthrough 2013-14 season, Steen is currently riding point-streaks in goals and points, 5 and 9 respectively... Another shutout for Brian Elliott and another step closer to fantasy elite status. Jake Allen represents the future in the crease for the Blues, but Elliott is clearly the "now". Start him with confidence... Fantasy performer of the night- clearly Tomas Plekanec, who helped roll the Metroplitan Division leading Islanders with a four point effort. A "heart and soul" Hab who can draw some comparison to Boston's Patrice Bergeron mainly because of his superior two-way play, but is no more than a seviceable depth forward option in most fantasy formats. Awesome game nonetheless.. Two more points in a losing cause for John Tavares, giving him five points over the last two games and 13 over the last 10. JT has accelerated the scoring since the beginning of the calendar year, so superstar production seems likely for the second half... Columbus snapped a four-game losing skid with the road win at Boston, but fantasy phenom Ryan Johansen kept a 13-game point streak alive with another goal and an assist. This guy is looking like an early round draft selection come next September as he is downright dynamite... Two great buy-low options to consider at the forward position- Nathan MacKinnon and Jason Spezza. The former was expected to take a huge leap in Year 2 for Colorado, but has fizzled during the first half of the season. However, MacKinnon has shown signs of late including a late 3rd period equalizer last night against the Lightning. The latter continues to plug away as six points over the last eight games is encouraging for his typical second half outburst. Consider this- Spezza centers the second line alongside Erik Cole who is starting to heat up. Plus, he is a mainstay on the top power-play unit with All-World Tyler Seguin and the underrated Jamie Benn. This team will light the lamp plenty in the second half. Love Spezza moving forward... Dubie,Dubie,Dubie-where are you? In Minnesota, that's where! The former Arizona Coyote Devan Dubnyk continues to inject some life into his new team as the goalie led the Wild to a 3-1 win and only has...