Kreider has come into this season with an upgraded style of play. How has this change benefited the New York Rangers?

Chris Kreider offers a ton of upside on Wednesday night's two-game slate. Who else should be on your roster?

As leagues begin their drafting process, everyone is on the lookout and guessing at the next breakout player to make a huge difference in their fantasy squad this season. Last year we had the emergence of several players like Sean Monahan and Johnny “Hockey” Gaudreau for the Calgary Flames, Tyler Johnson continued to breakout even further for the Lightning, Tomas Tatar for the Wings, and Filip Forsberg for the Predators. Who’s next? Let’s take a look at several possibilities who find themselves in good positions to emerge. David Pastrnak Look out for this kid. Last year the teenager showed us that he not only belongs at the NHL level, but that he has true star potential. In just 43 games Pastrnak found himself scoring 27 points and with 93 shots on goal (over 2 shots per game). Given that half a season plus of experience and the moves made by the Bruins to get younger, this kid should find himself on the first or second line and definitely will be getting power play minutes. Against the Capitals in preseason action on Tuesday Pastrnak scored both goals and is already showing the Bruins fans that they have a star in the making. At the very least he has more than proven he is going to shoot the puck and shoot it a lot. He is worth a mid-round pick if you find yourself in a good position to take a chance on him. Teuvo Teravainen Teuvo had ample time last year during the regular season to show us the skill that the Blackhawks have been raving about, but in his 34 games he was limited to only 9 points. His one redeeming stat was that he shot the puck nearly two times a game. So why do I think he might break out this year? Due to his playoff performances. It seemed like things really started to click in the playoffs and that he truly understood what Quenneville expected out of him. During their unfortunate run (I’m a Blues fan) to the Stanley Cup, Teravainen showed us that skill on his way to 10 points in 18 games.  Given the cap problems that forced the Blackhawks to ship our players like Sharp, Teuvo, with a good showing in camp, might find himself in a great position to show he can perform in the regular season as well. Chris Kreider With the retirement of Martin St. Louis the Rangers are looking for Kreider to develop into the force they all think he can be. Someone will have to take St. Louis’ minutes and if Kreider can emerge from that pack of contenders he could find himself on the top line with Nash and on the first power play unit as well. If that ...

2015 PRIMEPUCKS™ EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS NEW YORK RANGERS vs. TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING:  There is a connection between these two teams as both teams have some of the other team’s ex-teammates.  Martin St. Louis and Dan Boyle are donning the red, white and blue of the Rangers while Anton Stralman, Ryan Callahan and Brian Boyle have the Bolt emblazoned across their chest.  But that’s is where the connection ends.  The Rangers will see a switch from the physically demanding series against the Washington Capitals while the Lightning see a team built deeper than the Montreal Canadiens. The two teams met three times early in the season and it was the Bolts who prevailed in all three contests but things have changed over the course of the season and we all know that the playoffs are a different story.  The Lightning will see a much more focused Rangers team who don’t seem to get flustered no matter the circumstances. Being down 3 games to 1 last round didn’t faze them a bit as they rallied to win another series after being in that predicament like they were last year against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Tampa brings much more scoring depth but the Rangers carry a deep defensive unit that plays so well in front of the Blueshirts last defense in Henrik Lundqvist.  Tampa goalie Ben Bishop is up against another elite net minder in Lundqvist after having gone face-to-face with Hart Trophy candidate Carey Price.   All Lundqvist has done is prove once again that he is a clutch goalie and that it won’t be easy for Tampa to find twine in this series.  Look for the Rangers to play the Lightning tight and for Lundqvist to get into the minds of the younger Tampa players.  The Rangers are built for the long playoff run, and with last season’s experience, that should help them get through this series.  With the way Lundqvist has been playing after missing 2 months of the season, it looks like he is in mid-season form.  Note one thing about the ‘King’, he has a 1.60GAA and a .944 SP and doesn’t have a shutout yet.  Perhaps he is due. As for this series’ fantasy options, besides Lundqvist, Steven Stamkos has been red-hot since the switch of Valtteri Filppula to centering his line and Tyler Johnson and Nikita Kucherov are on quite a roll but expect that to slow down a bit against these New York Rangers.  The Rangers possess a deep and balanced scoring attack except that we don’t know what is going on with St. Louis as he is still looking for his first playoff goal this year.   Chris ...

PRIMEPUCKS™ 2015 FIRST ROUND PLAYOFF REVIEW The 2015 Stanley Cup playoffs are beginning shortly and PrimePucks™ is taking a look at what they predict will happen in the first round and beyond. NEW YORK RANGERS vs. PITTSBURGH PENGUINS:  After last season’s improbable run at the Stanley Cup only to fall short by losing to a more determined Los Angeles Kings team, the New York Rangers are back in the dance but this time with a more focused outlook.  It appears the Rangers got a very good taste and were thisclose to hoisting Lord Stanley’s Cup that they locked down the home ice advantage throughout by winning the President’s Cup with a very solid second half. The Rangers take on the Pittsburgh Penguins who seem to be a team in disarray especially after losing their best defenseman in Kris Letang for the remainder of this season with a concussion. The team with all this talent up front seemed to have trouble finding their offensive game with the loss of Letang.  The Rangers on the other hand seemed to be getting better with every passing game.  Expect the Rangers to win this in no more than 6 games as they forge ahead to another Finals appearance.  Those of you in playoff pools should definitely start all the major Blueshirts like Rick Nash, Henrik Lundqvist, Keith Yandle, Derek Stepan, Mats Zuccarello, Ryan McDonagh, Martin St. Louis and company as this team has their eyes set on the silver trophy. MONTREAL CANADIENS vs. OTTAWA SENATORS:  The Rangers likely opponent in the Conference Finals, the Canadiens, should dispose of the surprising Ottawa Senators fairly easy behind MVP Candidate Carey Price.  The Senators had an amazing climb in the standings to reach the playoffs but will run into a team that has some motivation of their own to exact revenge on the Rangers, who they may have beaten in last year’s Conference Finals if it weren’t for Chris Kreider knocking Price out of the series with a collision in the first game of their match. For the Canadiens, it all starts with Price. And in front of Price there is a defensive core that packs a punch both in the scoring department and defensively as well.  P.K. Subban leads the charge on both those ends with veteran Andrei Markov supplying steady support. The rest of the defense will give other teams fits to round out the Montreal defense.  On the forward front, Max Pacioretty leads the charge with Tomas Plekanec, Alex Galchenyuk, David Desharnais and Brendan Gallagher rounding out the scorers but don’t expect ...

Blueshirts rise to the top; sliding Penguins; Landeskog a March fantasy gem; and more: Boston had a chance to leapfrog over the Ottawa Senators who lost to the NY Rangers, but gave up a late goal then lost in overtime.  They managed to tie the Sens in total points but have a game in hand and with the return of David Krejci (2A) to the lineup, the Bruins will be tough to keep away from here on out.  Get him in your lineup as he makes the whole team better when he is playing well, and the Bruins need him to play well…. The NY Rangers clinched a playoff spot by routing the Senators 5-1 with Chris Kreider (2G) and Derek Stepan (2A) providing the early spark.  5 Rangers with multi-point games as it looks like they are peaking for the start of the playoffs.  And expect Henrik Lundqvist to be back in net in their next game on Saturday against Boston, or Sunday versus Washington.  Get your Ranges into your fantasy lineups… In a battle of two teams fighting for that coveted number 1 draft pick in June, Arizona beat Buffalo 4-3… Cam Ward returned triumphantly after missing 5 games due to a virus, turning aside 27 shots in Carolina's 5-2 decision over Pittsburgh. The win snapped a 0-3-3 slide at home while the Penguin offense keeps floundering without Evgeni Malkin and Patrick Hornqvist.. LA continued rolling over the New York area teams with a 3-2 win over the Islanders completing the sweep of both NY Teams and New Jersey on their road trip.  They are battling to gain the playoffs so don’t expect anything less from the Kings from here on out.... The Florida Panthers continue to stay alive in the playoff hunt after knocking off dismal Toronto 4-1 on the road. Jonathan Huberdeau scored a key second period goal while linemate Aleksander Barkov picked up two helpers. Both youngsters should be huge breakout candidates in 2015-16.. Not a great fantasy year for Patrick Marleau, but the San Jose forward spearhead a huge offensive flurry in the 6-4 win over Detroit with two goals and one assist. His best days seem clearly behind him as his 52 points on the season represents a huge step back from the normally reliable 60-70 point producer.. Pekka Rinne stood tall in Tampa as the Nashville goalie stopped 28 of 30 shots while the Lightning's Ben Bishop was pulled in the second after allowing three goals on 11 shots. After a short dry spell, Rinne has found his elite form once again and should be a top starting option over the last few weeks while the Predators fully work out...

Ottawa rookie goalie on fire; Dubnyk prevails over Rinne; Price remains right; and more... Every so often, a goalie comes out of the woodworks and changes the course of action for that luck NHL team, and in our case, fantasy squads starving for a clutch backstopper. Well, Ottawa's Andrew Hammond surely qualifies as he posted his second straight road shutout, this time against the Stanley Cup champs who had won eight straight. The Bowling Green product is currently living a dream during his call-up, collecting four straight wins with a 1.15 GAA and a .962 SP. With Craig Anderson basically already to go, you can be certain that Ottawa will ride Hammond as long as he remains unbeatable. So should you. Pick him up ASAP.. ************************************************************************************************************************************************************************** Carey Price and the Montreal Canadiens played a tidy game against the Columbus Blue Jackets winning 5-2.  Defense was the offense with P.K. Subban (G, 2A) and Andrei Markov (G, A) contributing to the road win.  The Habs will be a force to be reckoned with come playoff time…. Buffalo’s Michal Neuvirth is 3-1-2 in his last six starts and was the recipient of 6 goals in the win over Vancouver last night.  Neuvirth is a decent number 2 goalie with the team playing better hockey of late…Chris Stewart, with a goal and an assist, is rumored to be on his way out, most likely to rival Boston.  It will be an interesting weekend with the trade deadline on Monday… The New York Ranger’s beat the Arizona Coyotes with 2 pair against the Yotes 1.  Both Chris Kreider (2 PPG) and Lee Stempniak (2G) were enough to get by Arizona who got two power play goals of their own from Sam Gagner.  This one wasn’t easy for the Blueshirts as Goalie Cam Talbot continues to play brilliantly in place of the injured Henrik Lundqvist…Kreider shows glimpses of what is to come but hasn’t been able to provide the consistency just yet but his future looks bright…. While struggling at home lately, the St. Louis Blues continued their winning ways on the road with the 2-1 shootout win over Winnipeg. Not much to say here other than it seems no more Ondrej Pavelec in the Jet's goal for now. Thank gosh... The Monnesota Wild deliver a huge road win, 4-2 in Nashville, to further bolster their playoff chances. Don't worry about Pekka Rinne but remain thrilled about what Devan Dubnyk has done for the Wild goalie situation...

Darcy Kuemper's dream start to the 2014-2015 season was derailed last night at Madison Square Garden as the Rangers exploded with 5 third period goals to cap a dramatic comeback victory over the Minnesota Wild. Rick Nash continues his terrific scoring pace with a goal, his 9th on the season, and an assist that started the impressive comeback after being down 3-0 after 2 periods and without the services of LW Chris Kreider and D John Moore who were ejected with game misconducts. Nash seemed determined to erase the black cloud that followed him in last year's Stanley Cup Finals.  Congrats to those who were smart enough to draft him as you clearly are benefitting from his new determination.....Mats Zuccarello rewarded his patient fantasy owners with a goal and 2 assists in the comeback win. You should expect more consistent and more normal levels of scoring from here on out after having only 1 assist in 7 games before last night.....Derick Brassard matched Zuccarello's output on the evening and the performance should boost the confidence of not only Brassard, but of all the Rangers....Martin St. Louis seems snake-bitten as he was held without a point in the contest. Fantasy owners should remain a little patient as we all know his capabilities once he breaks out....Congratulations to Ranger Rookie Anthony Duclair on netting his first NHL goal that was the game-tying goal. What a bright future this kid has! Don't look now but the Edmonton Oilers are the hottest team in the NHL at the moment after blanking the Montreal Canadiens 3-0 behind Ben Scrivens 29-save effort to run their winning streak to 4, all at Rexall place, making Dorothy proud. During that span, Scrivens has a 1.75 GAA and a .940 SP and finally giving the Oilers the stability in net that they have been missing.  With the Oil getting this type of goaltending, it's only a matter of time before the offense gets started as they gain more confidence.  Edmonton plays twice more at home before hitting the road for a 5-game trip.

For all the fantasy owners who drafted New York Rangers winger Rick Nash a bit later than the customary early rounds, you reaped huge returns in Game 1. The enigmatic forward led the way with 2 goals, including the late game-winner and an assist in the Blueshirt's huge 3-2 road win over St. Louis. While seemingly star-crossed and in a state of disfunction all of last season, Nash looked every bit the part of a dangerous scorer last night while clicking on a line with the emerging Chris Kreider and the newly appointed center Martin St. Louis. While this represents a small sample size, this was an encouraging sign for a possible rebound season for Nash... Big injury news out of the same game- New York defenseman Dan Boyle will be out 4-6 weeks with a broken hand that he sustained while blocking a shot. Obviously, a blow to fantasy owners as Boyle looked to poise to put up decent numbers while anchoring their top power play unit. Give Ryan McDonagh a slight boost in fantasy value as he should get a modest uptick in power-play minutes.. Huge nights for Sidney Crosby (2G/1A) and Corey Perry (3G) in Pittsburgh's 6-4 win over Anaheim, but this high-scoring affair also introduced the debuts of Ryan Kesler and Patric Hornqvist in new uniforms. Both opened up the year in grand style, as fantasy owners must be thanking their luck stars for scooping them up. Kesler was terrific on the power-play with Getzlaf and Perry, collecting a goal and two assists. Meanwhile, Hornqvist responded to starting on the first line with a goal and a helper. Barring injuries, the gritty Swede is well on his way to a career season playing in his new digs... Sami Vatanen looked pretty comfortable with the man advantage, also chipping in with two assists. Even with a healthy Cam Fowler, the talented Finn might push for more PP time. Keep your eyes on him as his fantasy ascension has already begun.. So much for sitting Flyer's winger Wayne Simmonds this week on the basis that he was a bit banged up- two goals and assist in the 6-4 loss to New Jersey provides further evidence that his 60-point breakout season was definitely for real. Don't get caught up with the fact that he doesn't skate on the first line with Claude Giroux. He is a dominating force on the power-play and always around the net. 30+ goals should be a lock... The "Zach Attack" was on full display in Minnesota, as Zach Parise was in dominant form with a goal and two assists in the 5-0 drubbing of Colorado. Not much on Tomas ...

There was much to get excited about in New York last spring as the Rangers made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals against LA where their dream playoff run ended in a hard-fought battle in which the Kings hoisted their 2nd Cup in 3 seasons. Even though the series ended 4- in games, the matchup could have gone either way with a few different bounces going New York's way.  Gone are some vital components of that run in Brian Boyle and Anton Stralman, but for the most part, the main nucleus has been maintained and fans are expecting great things again this season. GOALIE When you have one of the elite goaltenders in the NHL, not only are the chances of you making the playoffs increased, but the possibility of getting to the Stanley Cup Finals are just as good, as long as you get a few of the lucky breaks that go along with making it so far in such a grueling stretch. Henrik Lundqvist has earned the nickname "The King" as he has played spectacular as the NY Ranger net minder. Lundqvist gives the Rangers an excellent chance of returning to the Finals, even if he was drafted in the 7th round of the 2000 draft. Be assured that The King will do everything in his power to get back to the Cup Finals once again.  Cam Talbot showed that he is more than a capable backup and will resume the same role again this year. DEFENSE As the Rangers made their way through last year's playoffs, there was one glaring need. That was a true power play quarterback.  As the free agent period approached, I kept saying that they needed someone like a Dan Boyle to run the point as Brad Richards couldn't hit the net half the time during the playoffs. Sure enough, the Rangers signed Boyle to a 2-year deal. Boyle will supplement the solid defensive corps already in place.  Dan Girardi is the rock and Ryan McDonagh is just starting to come into his own and will develop into a world class leader soon. Marc Staal, Kevin Klein and John Moore round out the unit and all possess the ability to not only play sound defense, but can contribute here and there, but expect most of the scoring to come from Boyle and McDonagh. FORWARDS Acquiring Martin St. Louis at the trade deadline for Ranger favorite Ryan Callahan was something that the team needed. The Blueshirts needed that veteran with the playoff experience to show them what it takes to hoist the coveted Cup.  St. Louis struggled upon his arrival, but he sure made up for it in the playoffs.  St. Louis was in the top 5 in NHL Scoring at...