Upon his return to the Winnipeg lineup after missing 4 games due to a hand injury, Evander Kane made his presence felt immediately with a shorthanded goal and an assist in the stunning 3-2 victory over the Ducks, their first regulation loss at home. He resumed a heavy workload, playing 20:07 minutes while lining up with Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler. His overall numbers this season (27 pts.in 39 games) are leaving a sorry impression on fantasy owners, but he has quietly started to pick up his offense. After a slow start where he collected 14 points in the first 26 games, Kane has been a point-per-game scorer over the last two months with 13 points in 13 games. His injury issues have kept his game totals low, but now might be the best time to "buy low" on a budding star ready to reap the rewards of a new coach and a more free-flowing offensive scheme. If the line combinations in Winnipeg remain intact, his line will produce the most for fantasy purposes. More Fantasy Notes: Last season's Vezina Trophy winner is on quite a roll since returning from injury, as Sergei Bobrovsky has won eight straight starts for Columbus. Not showing his best form last night against the Kings, he stopped 26 of 29 shots in the 5-3 win. His overall numbers stand at 16-11-2, .915 SP, and a 2.55 GAA.. Defenseman James Wisniewski finished with 2 assists and is "on fire" with 10 points (2G/8A) in his last 9 games. If health permits, the hard-shooting blueliner should easily be a top-ten fantasy fixture for a few years to come. A talented core of young forwards are blossoming around him and Jack Johnson, so the future looks bright for this streaking Columbus squad.. 2 more goals for Rick Nash, who probably would have a had a few more if it wasn't for some tremendous saves by the Isle's Kevin Poulin. Fantasy owners are loving Nash right now, as the Ranger's most talented forward has 9 goals in the last 9 games. Smoking hot.. Ondrej Pavelec has been a different goalie since coach Paul Maurice took over for the Winnipeg Jets, winning four straight. Not tested much in the previous 3 starts, the much-maligned netminder earned his "keep" last night as he made 40 saves in a 3-2 road victory over Anaheim. Maybe " buying low" on him would be a prudent idea considering it wouldn't require a hefty return and the team has responded in a huge way to the coaching change. Pavelec is far from a "sure thing", but he is much better than the form he shown earlier in the season. I say he's worth a ...

The Jets are off until Saturday which gives Wheeler an extra day to overcome the flu, but monitor his status on Saturday morning to be sure he is in the lineup.

Not much to talk about fantasy performance-wise from last night's two games, but the Roberto Luongo injury stands tall as the biggest news. Vancouver's starting goalie left the game early due to a goal-mouth collision with Winnipeg's Blake Wheeler. With only one game scheduled for Vancouver during the upcoming week, Luongo owners could easily survive a short-term injury situation, but they need to pick up Eddie Lack as a mandatory handcuff. Lack stopped 15 shots in relief of Luongo, delivering a 2-1 win over the Jets. His fantasy values skyrockets if Luongo is out for awhile. Steen Out on Monday: There is speculation in St. Louis that Alexander Steen, one of the NHL's biggest surprises with 38 points in 35 games, might be dealing with a concussion. There has been no confirmation regarding the injury, but he will not be playing Monday night. This would be a huge blow to Steen owners.

Not much to talk about fantasy performance-wise from last night's two games, but the Roberto Luongo injury stands tall as the biggest news. Vancouver's starting goalie left the game early due to a goal-mouth collision with Winnipeg's Blake Wheeler. With only one game scheduled for Vancouver during the upcoming week, Luongo owners could easily survive a short-term injury situation, but they need to pick up Eddie Lack as a mandatory handcuff. Lack stopped 15 shots in relief of Luongo, delivering a 2-1 win over the Jets. His fantasy values skyrockets if Luongo is out for awhile. Steen Out on Monday: There is speculation in St. Louis that Alexander Steen, one of the NHL's biggest surprises with 38 points in 35 games, might be dealing with a concussion. There has been no confirmation regarding the injury, but he will not be playing Monday night. This would be a huge blow to Steen owners.

Noel said Wheeler should be OK and he expects him to be a player Sunday against San Jose. This is good news for the Jets, Wheeler broke a 4 game pointless streak with 2 assists on Friday against Nashville.

Wheeler played 14:54 with two assists in a dominant win over the Predators yesterday. Monitor his status during Sunday's morning skate.

UPDATE: The Philadelphia Flyers have fired Head Coach Peter Laviolette after the team opened the season 0-3.  The team is expected to announce Craig Berube as Head Coach.  It will be interesting to see how Berube will motivate this bunch. As expected last night, the Jet's faithful cheered loudly for Anaheim's Teemu Selanne, who was making his last appearance in Winnipeg prior to his impending retirement after the end of the '13-14 season. The "Finnish Flash" played for four seasons with the Jets, which including his record-breaking 76-goal explosion during his rookie year. However, Selanne's new team, the Ducks, prevailed thanks to Corey Perry's overtime game-winning goal. Perry should have a bounce-back season, but like we said before, do not expect a repeat of his 98-point effort in '10-11. He looks sharp in the early going. Winnipeg's top line was responsible for most of the offense, with Andrew Ladd scoring two goals and Blake Wheeler contributing two assists. With the Evander Kane line also clicking, Winnipeg's top-six should be formidable in fantasy circles. Other Fantasy Game Notes Vancouver's Eddie Lack stopped 32 of 36 shots, winning his NHL debut in goal, but he will only get a handful of starts backing up Roberto Luongo this season.. D Jason Garrison is getting tons of time on the top PP unit under new Vancouver Coach John Tortorella, so his fantasy value is on the rise....There was a Jeff Skinner sighting in Carolina's 2-1 win over Philadelphia, where the speedy winger picked up two assists. He will rebound in a big way.

UPDATE: The Philadelphia Flyers have fired Head Coach Peter Laviolette after the team opened the season 0-3.  The team is expected to announce Craig Berube as Head Coach.  It will be interesting to see how Berube will motivate this bunch. As expected last night, the Jet's faithful cheered loudly for Anaheim's Teemu Selanne, who was making his last appearance in Winnipeg prior to his impending retirement after the end of the '13-14 season. The "Finnish Flash" played for four seasons with the Jets, which including his record-breaking 76-goal explosion during his rookie year. However, Selanne's new team, the Ducks, prevailed thanks to Corey Perry's overtime game-winning goal. Perry should have a bounce-back season, but like we said before, do not expect a repeat of his 98-point effort in '10-11. He looks sharp in the early going. Winnipeg's top line was responsible for most of the offense, with Andrew Ladd scoring two goals and Blake Wheeler contributing two assists. With the Evander Kane line also clicking, Winnipeg's top-six should be formidable in fantasy circles. Other Fantasy Game Notes Vancouver's Eddie Lack stopped 32 of 36 shots, winning his NHL debut in goal, but he will only get a handful of starts backing up Roberto Luongo this season.. D Jason Garrison is getting tons of time on the top PP unit under new Vancouver Coach John Tortorella, so his fantasy value is on the rise....There was a Jeff Skinner sighting in Carolina's 2-1 win over Philadelphia, where the speedy winger picked up two assists. He will rebound in a big way.

As expected last night, the Jet's faithful cheered loudly for Anaheim's Teemu Selanne, who was making his last appearance in Winnipeg prior to his impending retirement after the end of the '13-14 season. The "Finnish Flash" played for four seasons with the Jets, which including his record-breaking 76-goal explosion during his rookie year. However, Selanne's new team, the Ducks, prevailed thanks to Corey Perry's overtime game-winning goal. Perry should have a bounce-back season, but like we said before, do not expect a repeat of his 98-point effort in '10-11. He looks sharp in the early going. Winnipeg's top line was responsible for most of the offense, with Andrew Ladd scoring two goals and Blake Wheeler contributing two assists. With the Evander Kane line also clicking, Winnipeg's top-six should be formidable in fantasy circles. Other Fantasy Game Notes Vancouver's Eddie Lack stopped 32 of 36 shots, winning his NHL debut in goal, but he will only get a handful of starts backing up Roberto Luongo this season.. D Jason Garrison is getting tons of time on the top PP unit under new Vancouver Coach John Tortorella, so his fantasy value is on the rise....There was a Jeff Skinner sighting in Carolina's 2-1 win over Philadelphia, where the speedy winger picked up two assists. He will rebound in a big way.

According to the Winnipeg Free Press, U.S. Olympic team GM David Poile had the following words to say about winger Blake Wheeler, who was selected to the Olympic tryout roster: "An emerging young player with all the attributes we're looking for. Size and speed and very conditioned. We will be watching alot of Blake early in the season to see if he can swing into the mix to be a candidate for Sochi." Not a glaring endorsement to say the least, considering that the talented 27-year old has been one of Winnipeg's rising stars and had just signed a 6-year/ $33 million extension. Just a few days ago, Poile expressed mixed emotions about another selected tryout Dustin Byfuglien, by alluding to him as "a bit of a wildcard" and that the management team needs to look closely at his production before making a decision in December. What does this all mean? From a fantasy point of view, the participation of NHL players in the upcoming Sochi games have a dual-fold effect. There will be a huge fatigue factor for players returning from the Olympics, dealing with the condensed schedule and maintaining a high level of conditioning. What doesn't get mentioned enough is how the Winter Games provides incentive and pressure for the peripheral players, such as Wheeler and Byfuglien, who want to impress early in the season and secure a nod for their respective Olympic teams. You might notice a sharp rise in offensive production from such players, but it's difficult to gauge who will respond positively from the pressures of representing their country. For most NHLer's, being selected is considered a huge honor, and the sting of being snubbed is a feeling that leaves a permanent stain on their sense of individual accomplishment. Just ask Art Ross trophy winner Martin St. Louis, who has still not gotten over the disappointment of being left off the Canadien gold medal team in 2010. Olympic incentives will have a large impact on player performance early on, so keep a close watch on who soars as a result and who doesn't.