Hammond keeps hitting right notes, Kings keeping the heat on, Wild & Jets win again! Ottawa continues their amazing run with a 5-2 win over the San Jose Sharks catapulting them into the last wild card spot in the Eastern Conference, wresting it away from the Boston Bruins.  Senators Goaltender Andrew Hammond (14-0-1) is just having an incredible run as he still hasn’t lost in regulation.  Simply remarkable!...Mika Zibanejad (2G). Bobby Ryan (3A) and Mike Hoffman (G, 2A) were the offensive providers tonight as the whole roster takes turns being involved in the offense.  Now that they have risen so high, can they maintain the intensity for the last 10 game?... A couple of 3-1 contests last night as LA defeated the New Jersey Devils and the Chicago Blackhawks bested the Carolina Hurricanes.  For LA, Anze Kopitar (G, 2A) and Marian Gaborik (2A) seem to be heating up as they try to climb into playoff position as the season is winding down.  For Kopitar, that’s 5 points in last 3 and 9 points overall in 11 March games.  With just 57 points in 69 games, Kopitar should bounce back to his usual 70-points next season.  Gaborik isn’t built for the rigors of an 82-game NHL season, so don’t expect him to return to his glory days as 70+ point player anymore.  He does have 41 points in 59 games played but won’t get near a point-per-game pace anymore…The Blackhawks jumped out to a 2-0 lead early in the first period and made it stick as Corey Crawford turned aside 43 of 44 SOG for his 30th win on the season.  That’s 4 seasons of 30+ wins on last 5 which includes the shortened 48-game Lockout season where he was on pace for 30+ wins if it was a regular full season…. Devan Dubnyk continues to play large in net as he keeps on winning with a 2-1 win over Toronto.  Surging Thomas Vanek had a hand in both Minnesota goals, an assist on the first goal and the game-winner in the 3rd.  Dubnyk’s bid for a shutout was spoiled by Jake Gardiner (his 4th) with just under 7 minutes to play in regulation…. Jamie Benn (2G, 1A) had a night and it was sorely needed as the Buffalo Sabres gave the Dallas Stars all they could handle last night but the Stars prevailed in the end, 4-3. Sabres’ goalie Anders Lindback (35/39 SV) returned to his former team and did all he could but fell short at the end.  Dallas is still in the hunt for that last playoff spot but time is running out… Calgary helped their cause with a solid 3-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche keeping the Kings 2 points behind them ...

WHAT'S NEU? The NHL trade deadline has come and passed with yesterday’s 3:00 pm cutoff and there was one surprising element that struck me.  If you haven’t noticed, there were only two goalies involved in trades this deadline day and they were traded for each other.  Last month there was Buffalo Sabre Jhonas Enroth traded for Dallas Star Anders Lindback.  Yesterday, this trade also involved the Buffalo Sabres, this time it was the Sabres trading Michal Neuvirth for New York Islander backup Chad Johnson.  I know why the Islanders did this trade but I am scratching my head wondering what the Sabres were thinking. Chad Johnson parlayed his fine season with the Boston Bruins in 2013-2014 into a nice 2-year deal to serve as backup to Islanders starting goalie Jaroslav Halak.  Johnson posted numbers of 17-4-3 with a .925 SP and a 2.10 GAA while with the Bruins but didn’t fare so well in his stint on the Island.  As the Islanders backup, 8-8-1 with a .889 SPP and 3.08 GAA, not exactly what you are looking for in a backup especially when you believe you have a chance to compete for the Stanley Cup this year.  So off he went to the Sabres for Neuvirth. Now, some of you are wondering why the Islanders would want a Buffalo Sabres goalie, especially from a terrible Sabres team and a goalie who has posted a 6-17-3 record with a .918 SP and 2.99 GAA.  Neuvirth was a victim of the Sabres young defense and lack of experienced talent up front and a closer look at his metrics, you can see that they really aren’t that bad considering the circumstances he was playing under.  In 9 games started since the All-Star break, Neuvirth has posted a 2.28 GAA and a .938 SP.  Also, his numbers playing on home ice vs. away are significantly better with .929/.907 and 2.54/3.49 differences.  Now, those kind of numbers got me thinking because Neuvirth is only 26 years old and has also won back-to-back Calder Cup championships in 2009 and 2010 so you know he has what it takes under pressure.  He has a little bit of NHL playoff experience appearing in 9 games while a member of the Washington Capitals in 2010-2011.  So why would the Sabres, who are in a rebuilding mode, give up on him as he seemed to fit into their scheme?  Neuvirth is an Unrestricted Free Agent (UFA) at the end of this season and perhaps they tried to sign him to an extension but he wanted to test the market and see what he could get. If the Sabres didn’t try to sign him, then they probably made a big mistake because they ...

Hoping to have one last chance at hoisting the Stanley Cup, Martin Brodeur signed a 1-year deal with the St. Louis Blues. The Blues were in a bind when starter Brian Elliott went down with a lower-body injury and will be sidelined for a few weeks at least, leaving them with just Jake Allen with any NHL experience. Perhaps the injury to Elliott is more than the Blues are letting on.   In many ways, this was a prudent signing by St. Louis as they keep him away from their competition as well as providing a mentor for young Allen who they hope can be their undisputed no. 1 someday. Brodeur had only played with one team before signing with St. Louis and set many goaltending records while with the New Jersey Devils, including such marks as most shutouts in a season, most career wins by a goaltending in the regular season, and so on. At 42, the Devils decided to make a change and go with Cory Schneider as their starter. Schneider was acquired from the Vancouver Canucks at the 2013 NHL Entry Draft in exchange for their 1st round pick. Brodeur most recently led the Devils to the 2011-12 Stanley Cup Finals against the Los Angeles Kings but lost in 6 games. The experience that Brodeur brings to the table is priceless and tutoring Allen in net while Elliott recovers will only be beneficial to the young net minder.  The owner of 3 Stanley Cups is just what the doctor ordered as the Blues are devoid of any players who have won the coveted Cup, or have the amount of playoff experience that Brodeur brings.  Having a goalie of Brodeur's stature will surely have players paying attention to any advice that he can give them.  He will spell Allen and if Elliott's injury proves to be more serious than originally thought, having Brodeur around can only be a good thing. All-in-all, a very good move by the Blues who are on the threshold of competing not only as a regular season dynamo, but as a team, with a little bit more playoff experience, could make a run for Lord Stanley's Cup. POST MARKS: BACK-TO-BACK??--Rumor has it that he Dallas Stars are looking for a more experienced net minder to back up starter Kari Lehtonen in case of injury. They believe their team can compete for the Cup this year and having depth at goaltender is critical to their chances.  Not too happy with Anders Lindback, perhaps Minnesota's Niklas Backstrom will become available once Josh Harding works himself back into shape and creates a logjam in the crease for the Wild. Keep an eye on this as the ...

Lindback gave up six goals on 28 shots in a 7-5 loss to the Islanders on October 25th. He has allowed nine goals on 60 shots (.850 SV%) in his only two starts of the season. He could be in danger of losing his backup job if he has another bad outing; which is likely with the seventh best offence in town--San Jose is averaging 2.93 goals per game.

Lindback gave up six goals on 28 shots in a 7-5 loss to the Islanders on October 25th. He has allowed nine goals on 60 shots (.850 SV%) in his only two starts of the season. He could be in danger of losing his backup job if he has another bad outing; which is likely with the seventh best offence in town--San Jose is averaging 2.93 goals per game.

Lindback allowed three goals on 32 shots in a loss to the Predators in his season debut on October 11th. Kari Lehtonen started the last five games so they will turn to Lindback tonight vs. the Islanders. New York is scoring a ton to start the season, so there are better spot-start options out there.

Lindback allowed three goals on 32 shots in a loss to the Predators in his season debut on October 11th. Kari Lehtonen started the last five games so it looks like they will turn to Lindback tonight vs. the Islanders. New York is scoring a ton to start the season, so there are better spot-start options out there.

Lindback had a disappointing season with Nashville last season. Despite Pekka Rinne missing the majority of the year, Lindback was only able to amass eight wins while posting a 2.90 GAA and .891 SV%. He will face his former team tonight and the Predators are coming off of 3-2 win over the Senators.

Jonathan Quick made his exhibition debut, turning aside 16 of 17 shots in the King's 4-1 triumph over San Jose. The return of the great American goaltender prior to the start of the regular season should make fantasy owners breathe easier when selecting him early. Remember-add Martin Jones as a handcuff. I am not totally trusting Quick to stay healthy the whole time.. Claude Giroux also saw action fo the first time, playing 16;53 minutes and adding two shots for the Flyers. Expect him to get off to a stronger start than last yar, where he collected only 7 points in his first 15 games...No Kari Lehtonen, no win for Dallas. While the veteran Swede is recovering from a mild concussion, Anders Lindback started but gave up five goals on 33 shots in the 5-1 loss to Tampa Bay. If Lehtonen were to go down for a long time, I can't see Lindback saving the day. His numbers have been sliding over the last few years...Antti Niemi suffered a loss, giving up four goals on 30 shots. Not the type of performance expected of the Sharks netminder, especially with Alex Stalock breathing down his neck for more playing time. This situation could take a while to play out, but for now the slight edge goes to Niemi... Islanders defenseman TJ Brennan scored his first goal of the preseason on the power play. With Lubomir Visnovsky out due to back spasms, the youngster could get an early look on the man advantage. Definitely worth a late round flier.