Last night's slate of NHL contests was not densely packed, but the results offered major contributions by players who are warming up after slow starts and should be targeted by fantasy owners in potential trade offers. Their fantasy value will continue to rise, so maybe it's time to try to pry them away from an unsuspected owner while you can have them at a reasonable price. Patrick Sharp: With another goal and an assist in Chicago's 4-1 victory over Winnipeg, the high-scoring winger is slowly kicking his wheels into high gear with six points (3G/3A) in the last five games. His scoring expoits have always flown under the fantasy radar, mainly because he shares the stage in Chicago with high-profile stars such as Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane. He is currently on the team's hottest scoring line at the moment (Toews-Hossa-Sharp) and is playing the point on the top power-play unit, ahead of both Nick Leddy and Brent Seabrook. Brad Richards: In the 5-1 thrashing of the mighty Pittsburgh Penguins, the much-maligned center contributed to the offensive explosion with two assists. Not a huge night on paper, but Brad Richards has shown clear signs so far in the early stages of the season that his offensive game is on the upswing again. With 5 goals and 12 points in 15 games, he is on a scoring pace to match his 66-point output in '11-12, where he made a huge offensive impact in his first year on Broadway in their run to the Eastern Conference Finals. With the return of Ryan Callahan restoring more balance to the Ranger's top-six and adding more punch on Richard's line, this seems to suggest that his numbers could even improve moving forward. And, let's not forget that Rick Nash should be returning at some point, so Richard's fantasy value could be soaring by mid-season. P.A. Parenteau: With a goal and an assist in the 6-4 loss to Nashville, Colorado's leading scorer in '12-13 is way below last season's nearly point-per-game scoring pace with 10 points in 14 games. While there is a wealth of offense in Colorado these days, don't discount his importance on the top line with one of the NHL's hottest and rising stars, Matt Duchene. The two play together both on even strength and on the power-play, so Parenteau will get his share of points moving forward. With the likes of Gabriel Landeskog and first overall pick Nathan Mckinnon, the Av's are stacked up front, but it's looking like a huge career season for Duchene- and that bodes well for Parenteau's scoring ...

Three straight road losses for Henrik Lundqvist are no more, as the elite goaltender propelled the New York Rangers to victory by shutting out the Washington Capitals 2-0. His 22-save performance marked the 46th time he has blanked a team in his NHL career. Lundqvist has endured his share of struggles to start the season, but expect things to get back to normal now that the team have ended their extended season-opening West Coast trip... D John Moore scored his first goal of the season, the eventual game-winner and also fired 5 SOG. With Michael Del Zotto sitting out due to flu-like symptoms, the young rearguard quarterbacked the top power-play unit and could surprise if he continues to play there. It seems that Vigneault's experiment to play Marc Staal with the man-advantage has failed for now. Staal played over 23 minutes but ZERO on the PP... Brad Richards is off to a rockin' start with two more assists, raising his season total to seven points in six games. No longer under the intense scrutiny of former Head Coach John Tortorella, the veteran pivot has re-energized his career so far and could make a serious push for 65-70 points. More Fantasy Notes: Viktor Fasth was rock-solid between the pipes, turning aside 33 of 35 shots in Anaheim's 3-2 win over Calgary. His numbers currently stand at 2-1 with a 3.33 GAA and a .877 SP, which are underwhelming considering how well he played during his debut season in '12-13. For now, Jonas Hiller is the clear no.1 in Anaheim.. Not many games last night, but there are a few injuries that fantasy owners should consider. Winnipeg's Evander Kane was helped off the ice during the team's practice on Wednesday and is questionable for their next contest. The talented forward is coming off arguably his best game of the young season, so this could be bad timing if he is out for awhile. Martin St. Louis sat out practice due to a foot injury. He is considered day-to-day. Also, Montreal winger Max Pacioretty (LBI) suffered a presumed foot injury, but the severity is unknown. He could miss some time, but monitor the situation.

Three straight road losses for Henrik Lundqvist are no more, as the elite goaltender propelled the New York Rangers to victory by shutting out the Washington Capitals 2-0. His 22-save performance marked the 46th time he has blanked a team in his NHL career. Lundqvist has endured his share of struggles to start the season, but expect things to get back to normal now that the team have ended their extended season-opening West Coast trip... D John Moore scored his first goal of the season, the eventual game-winner and also fired 5 SOG. With Michael Del Zotto sitting out due to flu-like symptoms, the young rearguard quarterbacked the top power-play unit and could surprise if he continues to play there. It seems that Vigneault's experiment to play Marc Staal with the man-advantage has failed for now. Staal played over 23 minutes but ZERO on the PP... Brad Richards is off to a rockin' start with two more assists, raising his season total to seven points in six games. No longer under the intense scrutiny of former Head Coach John Tortorella, the veteran pivot has re-energized his career so far and could make a serious push for 65-70 points. More Fantasy Notes: Viktor Fasth was rock-solid between the pipes, turning aside 33 of 35 shots in Anaheim's 3-2 win over Calgary. His numbers currently stand at 2-1 with a 3.33 GAA and a .877 SP, which are underwhelming considering how well he played during his debut season in '12-13. For now, Jonas Hiller is the clear no.1 in Anaheim.. Not many games last night, but there are a few injuries that fantasy owners should consider. Winnipeg's Evander Kane was helped off the ice during the team's practice on Wednesday and is questionable for their next contest. The talented forward is coming off arguably his best game of the young season, so this could be bad timing if he is out for awhile. Martin St. Louis sat out practice due to a foot injury. He is considered day-to-day. Also, Montreal winger Max Pacioretty (LBI) suffered a presumed foot injury, but the severity is unknown. He could miss some time, but monitor the situation.

The New Jersey Devils looked like they were cruising to a solid road victory heading into the 3rd period before the Edmonton Oilers offense exploded for four unanswered goals before veteran Patrik Elias tied the game with less than a minute remaining. Martin Brodeur looked like his old self until the 5 minute mark of the 3rd period, but things started to fall apart for the Marty and the Devils defense....Even though there were four different goal scorers for the Oilers, the most important was Ryan-Nugent Hopkins, whose return from shoulder surgery re-vitalized the Oiler's offense last night. He looks good to start in all fantasy leagues....RW Damien Brunner looks like a terrific signing by the Devs as he potted his 3rd goal of the season and also added an assist. Now promoted to the top power play unit, the Slick Swiss import is playing well and has a way of finding the net.  Pick him up if he is available as New Jersey is in need of scoring and it has to come from someone....D Marek Zidlicky looks like he is back to his old scoring ways as he now has 3 points in 3 games. Play him with confidence....G Cory Schneider gets the nod tonight against his former team, the Vancouver Canucks. There will be a lot of fanfare before the game as the press will be all over Schneider in his return.  Plus, he is going up against his friend and ex-teammate, Roberto Luongo. Other Fantasy Game Notes: A light schedule with only 2 games on the plate, the other being the NY Rangers against the LA Kings.  The Rangers continued their season-opening long road trip as they put the finishing touches on the restoration of Madison Square Garden.  Both goaltenders played well except that LA goaltender Jonathan Quick played a clearing shot by Ranger D-man Ryan McDonagh into his own net, but the Kings couldn't get much past Henrik Lundqvist and the Rangers came away with a 3-1 victory....The return of Ryan Callahan seemed to have done wonders for last year's whipping boy, Brad Richards, even though they did not play on the same line, as he scored his first 2 goals, one being the game-winner. Look for a bounce back year from the vet...Rick Nash and Derek Stepan are warming up after Stepan's camp holdout as the former had 2 assists and the latter one in last night's contest. The weekly IN STEVE'S DEFENSE is out with some interesting defensmen who may still be available in your fantasy league. Read it here!

The New Jersey Devils looked like they were cruising to a solid road victory heading into the 3rd period before the Edmonton Oilers offense exploded for four unanswered goals before veteran Patrik Elias tied the game with less than a minute remaining. Martin Brodeur looked like his old self until the 5 minute mark of the 3rd period, but things started to fall apart for the Marty and the Devils defense....Even though there were four different goal scorers for the Oilers, the most important was Ryan-Nugent Hopkins, whose return from shoulder surgery re-vitalized the Oiler's offense last night. He looks good to start in all fantasy leagues....RW Damien Brunner looks like a terrific signing by the Devs as he potted his 3rd goal of the season and also added an assist. Now promoted to the top power play unit, the Slick Swiss import is playing well and has a way of finding the net.  Pick him up if he is available as New Jersey is in need of scoring and it has to come from someone....D Marek Zidlicky looks like he is back to his old scoring ways as he now has 3 points in 3 games. Play him with confidence....G Cory Schneider gets the nod tonight against his former team, the Vancouver Canucks. There will be a lot of fanfare before the game as the press will be all over Schneider in his return.  Plus, he is going up against his friend and ex-teammate, Roberto Luongo. Other Fantasy Game Notes: A light schedule with only 2 games on the plate, the other being the NY Rangers against the LA Kings.  The Rangers continued their season-opening long road trip as they put the finishing touches on the restoration of Madison Square Garden.  Both goaltenders played well except that LA goaltender Jonathan Quick played a clearing shot by Ranger D-man Ryan McDonagh into his own net, but the Kings couldn't get much past Henrik Lundqvist and the Rangers came away with a 3-1 victory....The return of Ryan Callahan seemed to have done wonders for last year's whipping boy, Brad Richards, even though they did not play on the same line, as he scored his first 2 goals, one being the game-winner. Look for a bounce back year from the vet...Rick Nash and Derek Stepan are warming up after Stepan's camp holdout as the former had 2 assists and the latter one in last night's contest. The weekly IN STEVE'S DEFENSE is out with some interesting defensmen who may still be available in your fantasy league. Read it here!

BRAD RICHARDS STAYS: The New York Rangers have announced that they will not use their second compliance buyout on center Brad Richards. As a result of offensive-minded Alain Vigneault getting hired as Ranger's head coach, the 33-year old will get a new lease on life on Broadway. Legit fantasy rebound candidate in 2013-14. read more

BRAD RICHARDS STAYS: The New York Rangers have announced that they will not use their second compliance buyout on center Brad Richards. As a result of offensive-minded Alain Vigneault getting hired as Ranger's head coach, the 33-year old will get a new lease on life on Broadway. Legit fantasy rebound candidate in 2013-14. read more

BRAD RICHARDS BUYOUT? When Alain Vigneault is formally introduced today as the New York Rangers next head coach, the appearance (or not) of Brad Richards at the press conference could be very revealing on whether the high-priced center figures in their long-term plans. The possibilities of an amnesty buyout for the 33-year old after a train wreck of a season are very real, so there are plenty of fantasy implications in what direction the Ranger's organization decide to take. read more

He played just 8:10 in Game 3 and has just one goal and is a minus-3 in 10 games in the playoffs.

Richards missed the Rangers last two games with general body soreness following the hit he took from Patrick Kaleta. Richards has two goals and 11 assists in 20 games this season.