ADD’EM 1/8/2017 CALL OF THE WILD PENGUINS? Here we are at the midpoint of the season, so it’s all downhill from here.  And we all know what happens when we reach the crest that is the halfway mark?  The season starts to pick up speed as we near the playoffs, with teams fighting harder, playing harder and faster to earn a right to play in the dance come April.  And what players usually pick up their game?  Mostly veterans who have been there before and knows what it takes to get there.  You can sprinkle in a few rookies who may be given the opportunity to play on the same line as the team’s superstar, but chemistry has to be explosive from the start. So who does PrimePucks™ think you should focus on for the upcoming period?  Let’s take a look and see who’s available.  Teams that have played the most games through Saturday, January 7th are the Boston Bruins, Calgary Flames, Chicago Blackhawks, NY Rangers, Vancouver Canucks and Winnipeg Jets with 42.  There are 5 teams with the least amount of games played with 38 and they are Minnesota Wild, Columbus Blue Jackets, Pittsburgh Penguins, Ottawa Senators and the NY Islanders. Taking a look at the 5 teams with the least amount of games played, Pittsburgh (3.5 goals per game) and Columbus (3.42 GPG) have scored the most amount of goals with 133 & 130 respectively.  Minnesota (3.18 GPG) has 121 goals and rounds out the 3 teams who have been very productive in the least amount of games played.  Ottawa is the least productive of the 5 with a 2.47 GPG average. We spoke about Columbus in last week’s article, so let’s look at the Pittsburgh Penguins.  We all know how explosive the Penguins can be and there are a few forwards available.  Conor Sheary, last year’s playoff sensation, is owned by just 33.0% even though he plays on a line with Sid the Kid.  Chris Kunitz is getting up there in age and is only owned by 23.6% and can be that veteran who gets his second wind and gets his motor running with the playoffs coming into view. Defensively, Ian Cole (26.3%) and Trevor Daley (27.2%), although not offensive stalwarts, can provide some intermittent production along with good +/- numbers. Minnesota has a well-rounded scoring offense but there are some pretty good options still available.  Mikael Granlund has been pretty productive of late with 11 points in past 8 games and is owned by just 63.3%.  Looking for a player with more experience, then Mikko Koivu, at 68.6% owned, could be your man.  Jason Pominville is ...

Let's face it. Phil Kessel represented the only true elite offensive threat on the Maple Leaf roster, so losing him to the Penguins without getting back a comparable talent is a massive blow to their offense. So can we depend on first liners James van Riemsdyk or Tyler Bozak for more than 50-60 point production without the services of Phil the Thrill? Absolutely not. Huge downgrade in fantasy value... As for Kessel,his drop in point production last season was mainly a result of much incurring bad blood with the Leafs organization, so you can expect a much more motivated version in Pittsburgh. At the age of 27, Kessel is still in the smack  of his prime and should see his best years ahead of him.    How about swapping Bozak for either Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin as his primary puck feeder on a nightly basis? Yes, his supporting cast will be lights year ahead of the talent he has played with during his Toronto days.    There were many nights where his line was shut down due to the lack of secondary scoring, but that problem won't exist in Pitt as their top six should be the best in the NHL: Crosby, Malkin, Kessel, Patrick Hornqvist, David Perron, and Chris Kunitz.    The one guy I would love to own next season in fantasy that could fall a bit under the radar is Hornqvist. With the acquisition of Kessel, the first power play should be downright nasty. The former Nashville Predator is the only viable down low presence so he should be a lock on the top unit. Pending injuries, a career season in the 65-75 point range should be a safe bet.

There is no doubting that the Pittsburgh is the goldmine of fantasy hockey especially when you have Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin to start you off. There has been a lot of talk over the past few years about how the Penguins can't seem to get it together for the Stanley Cup playoff run.  The knock on goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury was that he was a great regular season goalie, but come the playoffs, he was lacking that extra gear. Some changes were made in the off-season with the Draft Day trade of James Neal for Patric Hornqvist, and letting Brooks Orpik and Matt Niskanen leave via free agency. Christian Ehrhoff was signed to add support for Kris Letang. Letang needs to play a full season and stay away from injury.  GOALIES When it comes to fantasy hockey goaltending, having a number 1 who starts just about every game and gives you decent enough metrics is all you care about. When it comes to playoff hockey, it's the rabid fan that cares more about the goaltender's performance than the fantasy poolie which makes Fleury the perfect fantasy goaltender.  He starts every game, gets you close to 40 wins, has decent metrics and pitches in a few shutouts and rarely gets injured.  It doesn't hurt that he has a powerhouse offensive club in front of him.  Thomas Greiss was brought in to serve as backup and if he proves more than capable, he might steal a few more starts from Fleury than Jeff Zatkoff did last season. DEFENSE The Pittsburgh defense flows through Letang, but help is on the way. Ehrhoff was signed to take some of the offensive pressure off Letang and with last season's sensation Olli Maata recovering from an off-season shoulder surgery, Ehrhoff's presence was sorely needed. He will also act as an insurance policy if Letang should go down to yet another injury.  Letang was once considered one of the top 2 or 3 fantasy D-men in the league but injuries have taken their toll.  Maata will have to ward off not only the sophomore jinx, but pursuit from other young talent such as Derick Pouliot (recovering from his own off-season surgery) and Simon Despres, who may get an extended look this time around. Those are your potent offensive defensemen with Paul Martin and Rob Scuderi providing the defensive support. FORWARDS There is not much to say about Crosby and Malkin that poolies don't already know. What will be interesting to see is if Hornqvist will take the role vacated by Neal and be that 40 goal scorer.  Chris Kunitz enjoys life on the wing of ...

THE ELITE 3 (The top three fantasy players to own in any position) 1. Sidney Crosby C, Pittsburgh   2. Evgeni Malkin C, Pittsburgh 3. Henrik Lundqvist G, NYR GREAT BET TO REBOUND (Three players who are solid bounce-back candidates in 14-15') 1. Eric Staal C, Carolina   2. Kris Letang D, Pittsburgh 3. Mike Green D, Washington HERE THEY COME.. (Three players who should be breaking out with career seasons) 1. Adam Henrique C, New Jersey 2. Justin Falk D, Carolina 3. Braden Holtby G, Washington SLEEPER ALERT (Three players who should be late-round fantasy draft bargains) 1. Carl Hagelin RW, NYR   2. Brayden Schenn C, Philadelphia   3. Michael Del Zotto D, Philadelphia BUYER BEWARE (Three players who will be overvalued in most fantasy leagues) 1. Matt Niskanen D, Washington   2. Chris Kunitz RW, Pittsburgh   3. James Wisniewski D, Columbus

I have been gushing out of excitement when talking about the Stanley Cup playoffs so far, as their has been a record amount of come-back victories for Round 1. No lead is safe, which makes for tremendous viewing pleasure. As a fantasy hockey pundit, a few storylines have stood out as we watch the postseason play out: With all the negative talk centered on Pittsburgh's Marc-Andre Fleury, both Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin have been lacking in the scoring department with a combined ZERO goals in five games. However, both stars were united on the top line along with Chris Kunitz last night and produced their best game so far. Kunitz led the way with a goal and an assist, while Crosby chipped in with his 5th assist of the series. Look for the trio to stay intact and build some momentum in Game 6. Huge fantasy potential for all three elite forwards if the Pens get by the Jackets. Colorado's super rookie is at it again as Nathan MacKinnon exploded for three more points, including the overtime game winner in the 4-3 victory. The 18-year old has been dominant in three home tilts with 10 points, but went scoreless in 2 road games. This guy is rising up the fantasy draft boards, but be careful not to overrate him in your pools next season. The next logical scoring progression should land him in the 70-75 point range, as Matt Duchene will be back to his point-per-game ways. Speaking of Duchene, his availability for Game 6 is uncertain as he recovers from his knee injury. Monitor his situation, as his addition to the Avalanche offense should get them by the Wild. Last playoff season, it was young Torey Krug who came out of nowhere to be a solid point contributor in the Bruins Stanley Cup run. It was also the highly touted Dougie Hamilton who barely got a sniff of playoff action because he was deemed not ready. Well, the patience in bringing him up slowly has seemed to pay off as Hamilton has recorded four points in the last three games. The ultra-talented sophomore is playing with a higher level of confidence and looks real poised to adding at least 10-15 points to his offensive production next season. With "Big Z" in his waning years, a projected power-play tandem of Krug and Hamilton should be a fantasy force for years to come. Young guns Gustav Nyquist and Tomas Tatar clearly took a backseat to the Red Wing veterans in their first round series loss to Boston, but don't overlook these two budding stars in fantasy leagues next season. Nyquist holds higher ...

Kunitz has been battling a lower-body injury, so today's absence is likely related to that injury. Expect him to be ready for game 1 of the playoffs.

Updating an earlier report: Kunitz was on the ice for the start of practice, but left early. It has been confirmed that it was prearranged and that he is fine. Pens' head coach Dan Bylsma hinted that he won't rest players on Saturday, so look for Kunitz to be in the lineup.

We will get an update from coach Bylsma after practice. He missed Sunday's game with a lower-body injury, but returned two nights ago vs. the Red Wings.

Kunitz missed Sunday's game with a lower-body injury, but will slide back in tonight vs. the Red Wings. Kunitz has scored 35 goals for the first 30-goal season of his NHL career. He continues to be a great fit alongside Sidney Crosby.

While Marc-Andre Fleury was undoubtedly the fantasy star of Pittsburgh's 3-2 road win in Colorado with 39 saves, an important side story for owners was that both Sidney Crosby and Chris Kunitz were scratches. Like Boston, the Pens don't have much to play for and will pull out all the stops to enter the playoffs on a healthy note. This truly means that any fantasy owners starting any key Pittsburgh players will be doing so at their own risk. Defenseman Paul Martin could be the possible exception, considering he is working his way back through an injury. In the case of Edmonton, their young players have been performing very well even though the team has been out of playoff contention for seemingly forever. With three home games in the final week, fantasy owners should consider starting their key Oilers. Last night, Taylor Hall collected a goal and 2 assists, giving him 77 points in 72 games on the season. With 9 points in his last 5 games, the youngster is a must-start this week. The same should hold true for Jordan Eberle who has disappointed for much of the campaign but has come back strong lately. He chipped in with a goal and an assist, raising his totals to 8 points in the last 5 games. It's unbelievable that the underachieving Eberle will have a crack at the 70-point mark if he could end the season with 6 points in the last 3 games. I would also like to mention arguably the biggest underachiever of Edmonton's talented young nucleus, d-man Justin Schultz, who scored a goal and an assist, giving him 32 points in 70 games despite being maddenly inconsistent all season. This guy should get 40+ points in his sleep. He might be worth a flier as well, as the young guns in "Oil Town" seem destined to end this debacle of a season on a high note. Columbus grabbed an important 2 points last night as Sergei Bobrovsky turned aside all 31 shots he face for a 4-0 blanking of the NY Islanders. That's 2 shutouts in the past three games for the Blue Jacket goalie, clearly indicating that he is up to the task of carrying the team to the playoffs.  Start him with extreme confidence for this last week, and also for the next few seasons to come. Steve Mason had a fairly easy game in net for the Philadelphia Flyers as they defeated the Buffalo Sabres 5-2. Mason was staked to a 4-0 lead heading into the third period and only faced 19 SOG.  Even though the victory didn't clinch the Flyers a playoff position, it would take a total collapse for them not to get in.  The way ...