St. Louis goaltender Jaroslav Halak outdueled Corey Crawford and the defending Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks, resulting in a 3-2 victory behind a 26-save effort.  We said a few days ago that if Halak stayed hot, Coach Ken Hitchcock would continue to play him.  For now, Brian Elliott stays on the bench. St Louis has a solid team and they will compete for the Cup this season....One of our favorite defensemen, Alex Pietrangelo, had two assists last night. We think this could be a huge year for him.... Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane both scored on the power play for the Blackhawks. We are a little wary of Chicago suffering the old Stanley Cup Hangover....Crawford has looked a little shaky in goal for the Blackhawks with Ray Emery gone to Philadelphia. He has a big contract and no competition for his job, and, he really has had only the one good year.  Hmmm! Welcome back Carter: The Kings have one pure sniper in forward Jeff Carter. Carter had two goals and an assist in the Kings game last night.  The amazing thing is that he had an assist.  It was his first of the year, while he has scored four goals.  Carter could have a big season, especially in the goal scoring department. Bobby Ryan had a goal and an assist for the Senators. Ryan is going to get the top quality ice time in Ottawa that he did not get in Anaheim.  Expect him to have a great year....Captain Dustin Brown had two goals for the Kings. Brown is a little streaky, so don't expect too much from him... Jonathan Quick is struggling a bit in goal for Los Angeles. He does not look like the goalie who won the Stanley Cup a few years ago. Although the Canadiens lost last night, the kid line still looks good, Lars Eller had a goal and Alex Galchenyuk had an assist. Calgary forward Sven Baertshi scored a goal. He is probably off most fantasy players radar scope, but we think he has a lot of potential and could suprise people.  Don't overlook him.

It was a big night in the NHL yesterday with eleven games played. First some individual news; Buffalo goaltender Ryan Miller sat out last night's game against Pittsburgh with a lower body injury. He is considered day to day....Columbus forward Cam Atkinson has been promoted to the top line, and he will play with Marian Gaborik and Brandon Dubinsky. Marc-Andre Fleury continues his good start allowing only 1 goal last night with 20 saves against the Sabres. Fleury has given up only one goal in two games. While they were admittedly against two teams that will likely struggle to score goals this season, New Jersey and Buffalo, still he looks good....Florida goaltender Tim Thomas came back to earth yesterday as he allowed 5 goals on 28 shots against the Blues. He was replaced by Jacob Markstrom who was no better giving up 2 goals on 6 shots. Thomas will quickly discover that the Florida defense is not comparable to the Bruins. And The Children Shall Lead Them: Last year young Montreal center Brendan Gallagher started on the top line between Max Pacioretty and David Desharnais. This year he finds himself on a line with two other youngsters, Lars Eller and Alex Galchenyuk. Last night this line was pure magic as they combined for six points against the Flyers, with each player getting two points.  Gallagher didn't quite fit in last year on the top line, but he looks right at home with his young linemates.  Keep an eye on this line as they could really develop into something special.  They are all young and very talented. Wild Night In Minnesota: It was a wild game in Minnesota last night as the Ducks prevailed in overtime on a last second goal by Mathieu Perreault with literally only 5 seconds left in OT. Perrault had the goal and an assist, but he is not really fantasy worthy.  The good news for the Wild was that their top line was outstanding all game long.  Winger Zach Parise had two goals, while Jason Pominville had a power play goal, and Mikko Koivu had an assist.   This could develop into one of the top lines in the NHL.  Unfortunately for the Wild they do not have a lot of scoring depth behind this line. Other Fantasy Game Notes: St. Louis goaltender Jaroslav Halak pitched a shutout last night against Florida. Halak was rarely tested and he had only 19 saves, but this start is not going to hurt his chances of seperating himself from Brian Elliott in the race for the starting goaltender for the Blues. He should get the next few starts at worst.  St. Louis...

It was a big night in the NHL yesterday with eleven games played. First some individual news; Buffalo goaltender Ryan Miller sat out last night's game against Pittsburgh with a lower body injury. He is considered day to day....Columbus forward Cam Atkinson has been promoted to the top line, and he will play with Marian Gaborik and Brandon Dubinsky. Marc-Andre Fleury continues his good start allowing only 1 goal last night with 20 saves against the Sabres. Fleury has given up only one goal in two games. While they were admittedly against two teams that will likely struggle to score goals this season, New Jersey and Buffalo, still he looks good....Florida goaltender Tim Thomas came back to earth yesterday as he allowed 5 goals on 28 shots against the Blues. He was replaced by Jacob Markstrom who was no better giving up 2 goals on 6 shots. Thomas will quickly discover that the Florida defense is not comparable to the Bruins.  And The Children Shall Lead Them: Last year young Montreal center Brendan Gallagher started on the top line between Max Pacioretty and David Desharnais. This year he finds himself on a line with two other youngsters, Lars Eller and Alex Galchenyuk. Last night this line was pure magic as they combined for six points against the Flyers, with each player getting two points.  Gallagher didn't quite fit in last year on the top line, but he looks right at home with his young linemates.  Keep an eye on this line as they could really develop into something special.  They are all young and very talented. Wild Night In Minnesota: It was a wild game in Minnesota last night as the Ducks prevailed in overtime on a last second goal by Mathieu Perreault with literally only 5 seconds left in OT. Perrault had the goal and an assist, but he is not really fantasy worthy.  The good news for the Wild was that their top line was outstanding all game long.  Winger Zach Parise had two goals, while Jason Pominville had a power play goal, and Mikko Koivu had an assist.   This could develop into one of the top lines in the NHL.  Unfortunately for the Wild they do not have a lot of scoring depth behind this line. Other Fantasy Game Notes: St. Louis goaltender Jaroslav Halak pitched a shutout last night against Florida. Halak was rarely tested and he had only 19 saves, but this start is not going to hurt his chances of seperating himself from Brian Elliott in the race for the starting goaltender for the Blues. He should get the next few starts at worst.  St. ...

Galchenyuk is averaging 12:05 a game and has registered 1 goal, 2 assists and is a +2 in 4 games this season. The Habs must like what they've seen from the 18 year old.

Galchenyuk has tons of skill and upside. Playing on the Habs second line with veterans Gionta and Plekanec is going to help his development. The sky is the limit for him. If you're in a keeper league, Galchenyuk is a great option.