10/15/2017 Jimmy Howard-G-DET (56.4% ESPN), Will Butcher -D-NJD (57.2), Samuel Girard-D-NAS (4.5), Sean Couturier-C-PHI (16.6), Vladislav Namestnikov-LW/RW-TBL (45.9), Alex Killorn-LW-TBL (32.2), Tyler Johnson-C-TL (60.7), Dylan Larkin-C-DET (61.1), Scott Hartnell-LW-NAS (49.8). There have been quite a few hot starts this season, so if you are one of those fantasy teams already playing catch-up, or are hit with the injury bug, here area few players to consider for the upcoming week that may be available in your fantasy league. If you need goaltending help for the upcoming week because you lost a starter to injury, or in the case of Anaheim playing only 1 game this week, look to Detroit's Jimmy Howard.  Howard, who is off to a great start with 3 wins in 3 starts along with a .955 Save Percentage and 1.62 GAA, should get 2, possibly 3, starts this week with te Red Wings playing 4 games. The lineup this week?  Tampa Bay at home, an away game at Toronto, then returning home for a match up with Washington and closing out the week against Vancouver.  Start with confidence. If you need blue line help, there are several available with the top dog on the waiver wire being Will Butcher of New Jersey. All Butcher has done is play solid defense since signing as a free agent and has 8 assists in 5 games with 5 of those assists on the power play.  You might also want to consider rookie Samuel Girard of Nashville who has burst on to the scene since Roman Josi went down to an injury.  Girard has 3 points in 3 games and may be worth the shot as if he continues to impress, he just may extend his stay. Looking at the forward position, there were a few players that I was surprised weren't;t owned by more fantasy teams.  Sean Couturier & Vladislav Namestnikov are playing on the top lines of their respective teams with Namestnikov playing on Tampa bay's top power play unit.  Get them on your team and into the lineup as their lines have been quite explosive to start the season.  Couturier has 6 points in 5 games centering Claude Giroux (7 pts)  and Jakub Voracek (9 pts) so this is a no-brainer with 3 upcoming home games this week against Florida, Nashville and Edmonton, a somewhat favorable schedule. Tampa Bay is off to a solid start with a 4-1-0 record and sharing the top spot in the Atlantic Division with the Toronto Maple Leafs.  The Lightning are expected to be a solid contender this season and the start emphasized that point.  Alex Killorn-LW (6 pts) and Tyler Johnson (2...

2015 PRIMEPUCKS™ STANLEY CUP FINALS PREVIEW CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS vs. TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING: The Lightning find themselves in the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 2004, and for the second time in their 22-year history.  They got to the Finals with a tremendous showing against the President Trophy-winning New York Rangers, beating the Blueshirts twice by identical scores of 2-0 at Madison Square Garden in Games 5 & 7.  By virtue of their record, the Bolts will have home-ice advantage throughout the Finals, something that they lacked against the Rangers and the Montreal Canadiens but still managed to get to the Cup Finals. The Lightning did an extraordinary thing by beating Hart Trophy candidate and Vezina-winner Carey Price and defeating an almost invincible “elimination-game” specialist Henrik Lundqvist in back-to-back rounds and find themselves with a shot at Lord Stanley’s Cup.  Tampa Bay has done it with both offense and defense as they have been able to mix up their game plans to fit the need on any particular night.  The offense has been led by Tyler Johnson who leads the playoffs with 21 points and has been just a marvel on the ice.  Line mates Nikita Kucherov and Ondrej Palat have formed an imposing threat at any given time so expect them to continue to give their next opponent some cause for concern.   Steven Stamkos seems to have awakened against the Rangers from his early playoff slump and along with Alex Killorn, gives the Lightning two very potent lines.  Valtteri Filppula, J.T. Brown & Ryan Callahan gives the team the veteran leadership and toughness it needs. The defense is led by Victor Hedman who skates very well for a big man and can take control of a game at the drop of a hat.  One blue liner who gets overlooked is Anton Stralman who has played extremely well on the backend to shore up the defense in front of goalie Ben Bishop.  If you remember, Stralman was a main cog in the Rangers defense in last year’s Cup run.  Tampa is glad to have him on their team.   Matt Carle, Andrej Sustr and Braydon Coburn complete the defensive corps. Goaltender Bishop has looked shaky at times but is an imposing figure in net as he stands 6’ 7” and takes up a lot of area for snipers to aim at.  Going to the net is the only way to get through him and the Chicago Blackhawks should note how the Rangers were able to exploit that is some of their playoff games and when they Tampa Defense locked down, he was impossible to score against.  The Lightning ...

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.

Pavel Datsyuk returned to the lineup after missing some time due to a nuisance groin problem that has plagued him since the beginning of the season. Datsyuk proved just how valuable he is not only to the Detroit Red Wings, but fantasy owners alike by scoring twice including the power play game-winner.  He's a definite start, but he has shown some brittleness of late....If you are looking for forward help, take a shot on Stephen Weiss who added a goal and an assist after scoring twice in the last game after being out of the lineup for the entire start of the season.....How much can we say about G Jimmy Howard's performance this year? Just stick him as your starter and concentrate on other areas of your team.... Jaroslav Halak and New York Islanders win again, making it 6 in a row and 11 of their last 12 games for the team from Long Island. That's 9 wins in a row for Halak who has clearly added stability to the Isles crease.... Pittsburgh's Blake Comeau had been given the opportunity to play alongside Sidney Crosby earlier in the week but with no luck but came away with a hat trick last night playing on Crosby's line and also Evgeni Malkin's line. Another potential candidate for a top-six spot but Comeau saw minimal power play time.  With Beau Bennett out for 2 weeks, Comeau should breathe easier for a little while anyways....D Kris Letang with 2 assists now has 4 points in last 2 games.... The New York rangers played the Tampa Bay lightning a little tougher than last week's 5-1 loss at the Garden but still came away on the wrong end of a 4-3 game. Ex-Ranger Captain Ryan Callahan scored twice against his former team and added an assist, giving him 5 points in two games against his former team. Playing alongside a superstar talent like Steven Stamkos will do that to you...Alex Killorn was slotted on the left wing on the Stamkos-Callahan line so that needs to be monitored to see if Killorn sticks.... Florida beat Carolina 1-0 as Roberto Luongo and Al Montoya combined for the shutout with Luongo leaving the game with an upper-body injury. No further news at this time. ...Nick Bjugstad scored 21 seconds into the game and the Panther duo made it hold up for the victory. That's 9 points in past 6 games for Bjugstad making him a must-start as a key Florida offensive weapon, although the Cats don't score a whole lot.... It was Martin Jones (28 SV) and not Jonathan Quick that posted a 4-0 shutout over the Minnesota Wild, chasing Darcy Kuemper (4 GA) from the game ...

Killorn continues to progress, but still is not ready to play tonight vs. the Blackhawks. He is hoping to return to the lineup on Thursday.

Killorn will miss his third straight game with an upper-body injury. He is nearing a return, but is not ready to go yet. He remains day-to-day.

Killorn is "getting close" but is not ready to return to the lineup tonight vs. Columbus. This will be the second straight game that he has missed and sixth in the last nine games. He should be considered questionable for Sunday's game in Detroit.

Killorn has missed practice for the last two days after suffering an upper-body injury on Saturday. The Lightning recalled Cedric Paquette yesterday, so look for him to play tomorrow because Killorn looks very doubtful.

Killorn recently returned from a four-game absence, but suffered an upper-body injury in his third game back on Saturday vs. Washington. Tampa Bay is off until Thursday, so no decision has been made on Killorn's status.

Killorn was held out of Saturday's game, but said that he is very close to returning to the lineup. He has missed a total of four games with an undisclosed injury, but Jonathan Marchessault and Mike Blunden were both reassigned to the AHL this morning, which suggests that Killorn, who is practicing this morning, will be back in the lineup on Tuesday. He has two goals and five games.