The big story surrounding the San Jose Shark's early surge has been the stellar play of Czech rookie Tomas Hertl, who has "fit like a glove" on the first line with Joe Thornton and Brent Burns. Well, he outdid himself last night after scoring his first NHL "hat trick", plus another highlight-reel goal for good measure in the Sharks 9-2 drubbing of the New York Rangers. The 19-year old now leads the entire league with 6 goals and 7 points, while sitting second with a +5 rating. It's obviously way too early to hand him over the Calder Trophy, but his early performance should not be discounted, either. This is the type of young player with "Jaromir Jagr"-like potential, that can really motivate a veteran like Thornton to keep pushing him to new heights. He is worth an immediate waiver-wire grab in all leagues, but could end up being fantasy gold in keeper formats. Other Fantasy Notes: Roberto Luongo wins the showdown against former goalie mate Cory Schneider, stopping 21 of 23 shots in Vancouver's 3-2 OT win over New Jersey. The real fantasy star of the night was defenseman Jason Garrison, who scored the overtime goal, his third of the season, and extended his point streak to four games. He is looking very legit in the early going, but it's probably too late to pick him up.... No James Neal? No problem for the Penguins, as Jussi Jokinen scored his first career "hat trick", including two on the power-play. Even though he will lose PP time when Neal returns, it's worth noting that he has collected 14 points in 13 games since being traded to Pittsburgh. If he stays on the 2nd line, 60 pts. is a definite possibility.... Need a d-man? You were warned by us that Jamie McBain can have a fantasy impact on his new team, the Buffalo Sabres. The 25-year old scored a goal and an assist, both on the powerplay, and logged 4:24 minutes on the top PP unit. Tyler Myers has "gone south" in a hurry, so keep McBain on your radar.... John Tavares scored his first two goals and now has four points in three games, but what about that second line on Long Island? Michael Grabner, Frans Nielson, and Josh Bailey combined for 9 points in the 6-1 romp over Phoenix. I like Grabner the best out of the lot for fantasy purposes. He has 35+ goal potential.. Speaking of Phoenix, Mike Ribeiro has yet to register a single point through three games. We saw that coming. Hopefully, you read our '13-14 Fantasy Guide and did not overrate him based on his gaudy numbers with Washington last season.....

Kyle Okposo- NY Islanders, RW (Owned in 5.1% of ESPN leagues) On Long Island, fantasy relevance is directly tied with who will have the opportunity to play right wing on John Tavares' line. After his strong showing in the playoffs, Isles' Head Coach Jack Capuano feels that Kyle Okposo is ready for the opportunity. Why not? He has tantalized the team brass with brief moments of offensive brilliance, but has yet to develop any sort of consistency. He set a career high with 52 points in '09-10, but his point production has regressed over the next three seasons. In the scenario that he clicks with Tavares and Moulson, 65-70 points is a definite possibility. If you have room on your bench, the "boom or bust" forward is worth a fantasy flier. Cam Atkinson- Columbus , RW (Owned in 1.7% of ESPN leagues) With the news that the talented Columbus winger has been promoted to the top line with Marian Gaborik and Brandon Dubinsky, he needs to be on your fantasy radar. His shoot-out game winner on Saturday night was a thing of beauty, and reflective of 30-goal, 60-point potential if he gets a chance to shine for the Blue Jackets. We have been high on him for few years now, but he needs to stay healthy. If he develops chemistry with Gaborik, watch out ! Thomas Hertl- San Jose, LW (Owned in 5.1% of ESPN leagues) The rookie so far has not looked out of place on the top line with Joe Thornton and Brent Burns for San Jose, scoring two goals and one assists in his first two games. The trio meshed well in training camp, carrying their success into the regular season. Just as is the case with most rookies, the youngster is a risky fantasy proposition moving forward but his stock is on the rise if he keeps getting primary minutes. He does have proven scoring pedigree, as he scored 18 goals and 30 points as a 19-year old in the Czech League last season. Marc Staal- NY Rangers, D (Owned in 42.2% of ESPN leagues) You might get lucky with this one, given that the New York Rangers have only played one game and not everybody knows about the expanded role that Coach Alain Vigneault has in store for the ultra-talented defenseman. Close to fully recovered from his eye injury, Staal played a team-high 25:40 in their 4-1 loss to Phoenix, including scoring the lone goal on the power-play. The 26-year old is set to quarterback the top PP unit, which should translate to career numbers for the Ranger's d-man. He is a mandatory pickup in all fantasy formats. For more on Staal, read our latest...

Lindback entered the 2012-13 season as the Lightning starter but did not play well so they traded for Ben Bishop at the deadline. He finished the season 10-10-1 with a 2.90 GAA and .902 SV%. The two goalies are expected to split starts this season behind a powerful Tampa Bay offence led by Steven Stamkos. Lindback has a tough matchup vs. Boston tonight.

After signing a one-year deal with the Florida Panthers, Former Vezina standout Tim Thomas played half of last night's game, allowing one goal in the 3-2 loss to Tampa Bay. He looks to have the inside track on the starting job, so his average draft position over the next few days should rise sharply. I was lucky enough to get him in the 20th round in one of my drafts... Super goalie sleeper Ben Bishop saved 26 of 28 shots for the Lightning and should be a lock to start on Opening Night. He has been available in the late rounds in many leagues. Cash in if you can. He can get 30+ wins and a few shutouts. We don't have much faith in Anders Lindback.. Oh,oh. Colorado goalie Semyon Varlamov looked brutal in the 5-0 loss to Dallas, giving up 5 goals on 24 shots. If he doesn't get off to a good start, there will be plenty of dissension in Avalanche country.. Roberto Luongo blanked the New York Rangers 5-0 to a tune of 41 saves. It's entirely possible that Luongo becomes the top fantasy goaltender AGAIN, so don't discount his potential greatness in '13-14.. Don't sleep on Boston's Loui Eriksson, who scored the overtime game-winner in the 3-2 win over Winnipeg. All the talk has centered on the arrival of future HOF'er Jarome Iginla, but the 3-time 70-point scorer will make a big fantasy impact on his new team. Mark it down... We like to extend our condolences to Martin Brodeur and his family, after the passing of his father and legendary photographer Denis Brodeur. How many of us have the image of Paul Henderson's legendary Summit Series winning goal in 1972 engrained in our minds? Thanks for the memories. The 2013-2014 PrimePucks Fantasy Hockey Draft Guide has been updated as of September 27th, 9:25 am.  The Guide is revised with all the latest developments so that you can be prepared for your fantasy hockey draft.  As we near the start of the season, the Guide is updated more frequently so that you can be assured you have the most current and relevant information at your hands.  Just access the updated Guide through the FILES link in "My Account".  Get it now and WOW your fantasy opponents! Check out the new ROMIE HITS THE POST which focuses on the New Jersey Devils goaltending situation.  Check it out here! PrimePucks™ continues to bring you the NHL IN 30 every day in the month of September, bringing you in-depth team analysis for the upcoming season. Today's featured team: The Big, Bad Boston Bruins!  Don't forget to check back each and every day as we ...

NHL IN 30-2013/14: TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING You would think that when a team is blessed with one of the top goal-scorers and the leading point-getter in the NHL that the team would have not have any difficulty in making the playoffs. It wasn't so much that the team couldn't score, as they were 4th in the Eastern Conference in Goals For, but they were also near the top in Goals Against, allowing 150 in the shortened 48-game Lockout season.  Much was to be blamed on the defense as well as the unsettled goaltending.   Guy Boucher was let go towards the end of last season and the Bolts handed the reins over to Syracuse Crunch Head Coach Jon Cooper of the AHL.  Cooper led the Crunch to a 43-22-6 record and the team lost to Grand Rapids in the Calder Cup finals so the Lightning are hoping he can infuse that into the Big Club.  Yzerman signed ex-Red Wing Valtteri Filppula from free agency with hopes that Filppula will firm up the second line and add some scoring.  Not much was done this off-season compared to last when they shored up their defense with signings of Matt Carle and Sami Salo among others.  They also brought in Anders Lindback with a trade, but none of those moves seemed to gel for Tampa.  Perhaps the best thing to come out of last season was that the Tampa Bay Lightning were awarded the 3rd overall pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft where they promptly selected LW Jonathan Drouin, whom many believe was the top prospect in the draft.  Cooper's experience in coaching the Tampa prospects such as Tyler Johnson, Alex Killorn, Brett Connolly and many others may go a long way in providing added scoring depth to their potent first-line.  G Ben Bishop was acquired from the Ottawa Senators at the trade deadline to provide stability in net. Goalies It is safe to say that the goaltending tandem of Mathieu Garon and Anders Lindback did not live up to expectations as they sported a 2.90 Goals Against Average and a Save Percentage that was a tad under .900. Not very good numbers if you want your team to be competitive, therefore the trade for Ben Bishop.  Although his SP was a little worse than the original two co-starters at 2.99, his SP was a more pedestrian .917, and that was in 9 games.  At 26 years of age, Bishop comes with much promise and could solidify the crease for the next few years.  His GAA & SP should improve as he gains more experience but remember he has never a true starter's workload with the most games played in a season was the 48 games in 2009-...

Lindback allowed two goals on 24 shots in a loss to Boston on Thursday. He will get the nod against a bad Panthers team tonight. He is not a terrible option because the Lightning can score. However there are probably better options out there.

Lindback allowed three goals on 28 shots in a losing effort in his first game back from an ankle injury. He will get the call tonight against a Bruins team who are playing their worst hockey of the season. However it is tough to trust Lindback right now.

Lindback has missed time since March 20th with an ankle injury and has mostly given way to newly acquired Ben Bishop.

FANTASY MUST-STARTS 1. TUUKKA RASK, BOSTON BRUINS 2. NIKLAS BACKSTROM, MINNESOTA WILD SLEEPIE GOALIE ALERT 3. ANDERS LINDBACK, TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING DAILY GOALIE LOCKS WITH SEASON RECORDS RAY (61-31): BACKSTROM MIKE (56-36): RASK STEVE (50-42): RASK

Lindback has been out with an ankle sparin since March 20th.