PRIME PERFORMERS 11/7: 1. Vladamir Tarasenko- His monstrous breakout continues, as the Russian sniper scored a goal and added a power-play assist in the Blues 4-3 duke over New Jersey. 2. Dougie Hamilton- The Boston d-man has been slow to arrive as an elite fantasy blueliner, but his big night- three assists- is an encouraging sign for fantasy owners. With Zdeno Chara out of the line-up, look for Dougie to make a permanent mark. 3. Mark Giordano- Another two points and a five-game point streak for Calgary's most valuable fantasy asset, as Giordano is firmly entrenched as a legitimate no. 1 defenseman in all fantasy formats. QUICK FANTASY BITS * The Vancouver Canucks keep up their winning ways behind goalie Ryan Miller, who turned aside 34 of 36 shots in their 3-2 road win over San Jose.That's seven straight victories for the streaking American, including a 2.21 GAA and .917 SP. He is "hot" as anyone in the crease these days.. Former Arizona sniper Radim Vrbata continues to make a decent living alongside the Sedin twins, notching a goal, his 14th point in as many games... * Who thought the New York Islanders would pull out two straight road victories over Anaheim and LA? Not I, as they hold on to win another low-scoring affair, a 2-1 SO over the Kings. Another rather uneventful game by fantasy standards, even though Brock Nelson stays relevant with assists in both games with each coming on the power-play. * With Semyon Varlamov having the night off, Reto Berra secured a home win for the Avalanche over Toronto, stopping 35 of 38 shots. Matt Duchene scored his 4th goal of the season to snap his 3-game scoreless skid and raising his totals to 8 points in his last 10 games. He is beginning to come on, which means a torrid scoring streak is coming. Duchene owners take note.. Cody Franson picked up two assists for the Leafs. With points in two straight, he should be on your fantasy radar. * Another game for Kari Lehtonen that he was outplayed at home, this time to Pekka Rinne who picked up his 4th straight road win in Nashville's 3-2 triumph in Dallas. His numbers now stand at an impressive 8-2-1, 1.89 GAA, and .932 SP. As for Lehtonen, he hasn't nearly rewarded his fantasy owners as much, losing five straight starts.. Rookie Filip Forsberg remains hot for the Predators, notching his fifth goal of the season and 13th point in 13 games. The 20-year old looks like the real deal. * Pittsburgh defeats the Winnipeg Jets on the road in a relatively high scoring ...

The Nashville Predators locked up another piece of their defensive core by inking D-man Ryan Ellis to a 5-year deal. Ellis has tremendous offensive talent evidenced by his 314 points in 226 games while with the Windsor Spitfires of the OHL.  Ellis played his first full season and went 6-21-27 in 80 NHL games.  A nice late-round pick in your draft if you're looking for depth with a good chance at some decent production....P.K. Subban is already in mid-season form as he had a hand in all 3 Montreal goals last night, one of which was a PP goal. Expect a big season from Subban who wants to prove his leadership ability....Pittsburgh's Brandon Sutter scored 2 goals last night in their OT win over Minnesota. Sutter's production hasn't been what the coaching staff has expected ever since his arrival from Carolina.  If his score sheet contributions don't improve, he may find himself on the block.  Expect him to rise to the occasion and get close to his career high of 40 while with Carolina in 2009-2010.....The Columbus Blue Jackets look determined to get off to a good start when the season opens October 8th as they raised their pre-season record to 4-0-0 with a 5-4 victory over the St. Louis Blues last night.  The Jackets built leads of 4-0 and 5-1 and held off the onslaught of Blues' winger Vladmimir Tarasenko who had two 3rd period goals to close the gap. Don't worry Sergei Bobrovsky owners; he was given the night off.

Sutter, 25, is coming off his best playoff performance to date. He set new career highs in goals (5), assists (2), points (7), shorthanded goals (1) and plus/minus (+7), while his 2:57 average shorthanded time on ice per game ranked second among all Pittsburgh forwards. The 6-foot-3, 190-pound Sutter suited up for 81 of Pittsburgh's 82 games in 2013-14, tallying 13 goals and 13 assists for 26 points. Sutter played a vital role in the NHL's No. 5-ranked penalty kill unit (85%), placing second among all Pittsburgh forwards with 2:18 shorthanded minutes per game.

Sutter has had a strong first round, he recorded three goals and two assists (five points) in six games. Tonight, he will skate on the third line with Beau Bennett and Joe Vitale.

Sutter skated on the Penguins third line with Joe Vitale and Beau Bennett and also took part in power-play drills so it looks like he will return to the lineup, but Dan Bylsma would not reveal his lineup.

Sutter was injured in game 6 against the Blue Jackets, but it looks like he avoided a serious injury and will be ready for game 1 vs. the Rangers on Friday. Sutter has scored three goals and added two assists in six postseason games.

Sutter was injured while killing a penalty in the second period. While Sutter was able to finish his shift, he limped to the bench when it was done and needed assistance heading down the runway. If Sutter's injury is long-term, it will be a huge loss for the Pens. He was arguably Pittsburgh's best player in Game 5 and was the catalyst behind their 3-1 win, which set the stage for them to clinch the series tonight.

With Brian Gibbons out for at least one week the Penguins had to move someone to Crosby's line, which we now know is Sutter. Sutter certainly gets a boost in fantasy value for the foreseeable future, he has 16 points (8G / 8A) in 47 games this season.

Depending on how long Malkin is out Sutter could be a nice pickup playing alongside James Neal.