Auston Matthews and the Maple Leafs have the biggest advantage of the night. Who else should you target?

Auston Matthews is a great value tonight against the Coyotes. Who else should you target in NHL DFS?

SMC 11-6-2016  SOME CHANGE IS GOOD! This could be the time to pick up Carl Hagelin of the Pittsburgh Penguins as he had 3 assists last night 2 of those on Crosby goals.  He may not get much PP time, if any, but he can skate and with Sid the Kid feeding him, can anyone spell B-R-E-A-K-O-U-T? Al Montoya smacked up for 10 goals the other night.  YEEESH!  And it was the Columbus Blue Jackets scoring those10 goals.  Haven’t seen 10 goals scored by 1 team in a looooong time.  Reminds me of the old-old days when the Rangers played the Minnesota North Stars and the games would be 10-2, 1-3, etc. Saturday matinee was a bit of a snoozer as Colorado beat Minnesota, no not the North Stars, 1-0 behind Calvin Pickard’s 32 save shutout.  AS my buddy Steve said in the Fantasy Guide, Varlamov may start out the season as the Avs #1, but Pickard will wrestle that from him come mid-season. The NY Rangers with another 5-goal game.  They are exciting to watch this year.  And no one gave them a chance this year, but it’s early still.  But they are getting contributions from everybody, I mean everybody. Looks like Boston’s Patrice Bergeron is in form now after missing the first few games of the season. Look out Auston Matthews!  It certainly looks like Mitch Marner is getting more and more comfortable and just might surpass you for the team scoring lead next game. Hey!  The Vancouver Maple Leafs finally scored last night after being shutout in 4 of their previous 5 games. I had to look twice at the date when I saw that Devin Setoguchi had a hat trick the other night.  There were a couple of goalie fights on Saturday night.  Well one goalie vs. goalie and another with Dubnyk fighting Landeskog who got the game-winner.  Sweet revenge.  Elton John was right!  Saturday night is alright for fighting. Montreal let in 14 goals in back-to-back games giving the NY Rangers the best goal differential by far in the NHL with +23.  Next is Chicago with a +10. No sophomore jinx for Shayne Gostibehere that’s for sure.  And what a turnaround for team mate mark Streit.  The young and the old can play and contribute.  The PrimePucks™ Fantasy guide had Streit for 10 goals and48 points.  Some might have thought that generous, but with a line of 3-6-9 in 13 games, we like our chances. Buffalo is 5-3-2 in last ten.   Imagine when Jack Eichel returns to the lineup? Our prayers are with Craig Anderson and his wife and their families.  Having been stricken with cancer myself and also my daughter, I ...

SMC 10-30-2016 THE NEW ERA HAS BEGUN! 8 shutouts yesterday in the NHL with Devan Dubnyk getting his third one in a row. Wild, isn’t it? If you were to tell me that the Edmonton Oilers would be this good, this early in the season, I would’ve said you were crazy.  I mean first place and 7-1-0? I mean Cam Talbot is already surpassing any and all expectations that fantasy poolers had in him. But low on any Dallas Stars players as they are hit with the injury bug but you know they will score in bunches when everyone is back in the lineup. John Carlson?  Does he know the regular season has started? Montreal looks invincible with Shea Weber back there in front of Carey Price.  And Alexander Radulov is no slouch either. All the talk has been on Auston Matthews but these other kids Mitch Marner and William Nylander look real good also.  Glad I have two of them on my dynasty team. T-Rask returns and stonewalls Jimmy Howard and the Detroit Red Wings 1-0 at the Joe least night.  That’s how you gotta beat Howard this year; 1-0 or 2-1. The Devils beat Tampa bay 3-1 last night but I know, I know, that they were looking ahead to today’s tilt vs. the New York Rangers.  That is the match to watch tonight. The Devils actually won without Taylor Hall scoring a single point.  The Lightning got a point from Brayden Point.  What’s the point of this comment?  I don’t know.  I guess it was pointless, like Taylor Hall last night. The Battle of Pennsylvania was a barn burner with the Pens mightier than the Flyers by a score of 5-4. I’m a little late but Jakub Voracek is heating up. Mark Streit is trying to remain relevant even with Shayne Gostibehere there. Blues Jake Allen was absolutely brilliant last night versus LA.  So was Peter Budaj in a 1-0 road loss. Rumors of Jaroslav Halak to the Kings just might be good for both teams as the Isles could get some talented youth and the Kings can make it a season until Quick gets back. Part of me wants to see the Arizona Coyotes do well, but seeing their lineup of young talent, it’s gonna take a while to see the improvements. Ovechkin was tied with 2 others for the team lead in SOG last night versus Vancouver.  Very rare that he isn’t the shot leader by a large margin.  The leader in total shots for the game?  Vancouver d-man Troy Stecher with 5.  Come on OV!  You let this no-name, rookie defenseman beat you out in SOG? Let’s see if the Bishop can beat the King once again. McDavid is #1 in points scored and Matthews #3, tied with ...

SMC 10-23-2016 I think that we should just the Hart Trophy to Carey Price right now.  You can see how much he means to this team. After just two weeks, the NHL Standings are rounding into shape just the way pretty much everyone thought they would look like except that Edmonton is off to a 4-1-0 start. Oh and Vancouver at 4-0-1 is another one that has me scratching my head.  Aren’t they supposed to be just a so-so team this season? I guess Anaheim doesn’t believe in fast starts.  It’s not how you start but how you finish is what I always say. Is anyone else waiting for the Dallas Stars offense to explode? Los Angeles better stock up on backup goaltenders this year as they are going through goaltending like water. NY Rangers’ Jimmy Vesey has really impressed me so far with his poise and confidence just two weeks into his NHL career. I wouldn’t be surprised if Brent Burns actually led the league in scoring this year.  He’s that kind of Beast! I know he hasn’t scored 4 goals in a game since opening night, but Auston Matthews is right up there with 8 points in 5 games.  And who does Richard Panik believe he is leading the league in goal scoring? Matt Read has resurrected his scoring ways this season. A lot of interesting names atop the leader board in points so far this season.  Thomas Vanek and Artem Anisimov are in the top 10 along with a bunch of young studs like Matthews, Connor McDavid and David Pastrnak. Gustav Nyquist is going to have a nice rebound year. Jonathan Marchessault has found a home in southern Florida as opposed to Western Florida where they didn’t have room for him to show off his offensive skills. Speaking of resurrections and rebounds, Jimmy Howard seems to be a man on a mission with a miniscule 0.50 GAA and a .984 SP.  Wow!  He shut out the Sharks las t night 3-0. It’s going to be fun to watch teams like the Lightning, Capitals, Canadiens, Rangers and Penguins battle this year.  You just might want to add Boston and Florida in that group as well.  Any one of those teams can go to the Cup Finals. Devils 2-1 winners over the Wild.  Didn’t expect anything more, or less! The Maple Leafs might be getting a complex about squandering leads and losing games late. The Rangers look impressive this year with their speed and tenacity.  Tampa Bay is 4-1-0 and I don’t think they are even hitting on all cylinders yet.  Scary! Both Montreal and New Jersey have only given up 9 goals in 5 games.  The big difference?  Montreal has 20 goals scored for and...

In his first game, the much-hyped Matthews scored a record-setting four goals, giving some hope to a struggling Toronto Maple Leafs franchise.