Tyler who? In case you have been on the far side of the moon the past couple of weeks, you should have noticed that the Boston Bruins second line of Patrice Bergeron-Brad Marchand-Reilly Smith has been absolutely on fire. Last night in a 6-3 victory over the Islanders Marchand had a goal and 3 assists, Bergeron had one goal and an assist and Smith had one goal and an assist as well.  This line is clicking about as good as one could ever expect.  In the last 6 games they have combined for 30 points.  After a slow start, Marchand has 12 points in his last 6 games.  He still has only 33 points on the season, but he is on fire.  If you can get any one of these guys right now in your pool, please do so immediately, as these three guys are playing extremely well together.  New York forward Kyle Okposo continued his great season with a goal and 2 assists. With 57 points on the year, Okposo is having a huge breakout season.  The Islanders welcomed back d-man Lubomir Visnovsky who had been out since October 19th with a concussion. Grab him if he is still available.  They, also, welcomed back goaltender Evgeni Nabokov, so Kevin Poulin will likely go back to the bench. Staal speed: The Carolina Hurricanes came from behind to beat Columbus 3-2. Carolina forward Eric Staal had 2 goals to start the comeback and his brother Jordan scored the game winner on a beautiful curl and drag play that fooled Sergei Bobrovsky. Staal's line continues hot as Alex Semin and left wing Jiri Tlusty each had an assist. Staal has 44 points on the season, and if this line stays hot he could have a big finish this year. Anton Khudobin seems to have established himself as the number one goalie in Carolina. He has won 4 in a row, and 5 of his last 6 games, and his 2.18 goals against is hard to argue with. Fleury pitches a zero: Pittsburgh goalie Marc-Andre Fleury had a great night with a shutout of the Sabres 3-0. Fleury had 24 saves, and he now has 29 wins on the season.  Top fantasy goalie!  Chris Kunitz had the game winner, and he is having a great year with 54 points. Tanner Glass had a goal and an assist for the Penguins, but with only 10 points on the season, he is just a third line plodder. The rumors are flying about 33 year old Buffalo goaltender Ryan Miller getting traded before the deadline. Miller is an unrestricted free agent after this season, and if he goes to a decent team his fantasy value would increase  a lot. His .926 save percentage indicates that he is still playing ...

Tyler who? In case you have been on the far side of the moon the past couple of weeks, you should have noticed that the Boston Bruins second line of Patrice Bergeron-Brad Marchand-Reilly Smith has been absolutely on fire. Last night in a 6-3 victory over the Islanders Marchand had a goal and 3 assists, Bergeron had one goal and an assist and Smith had one goal and an assist as well.  This line is clicking about as good as one could ever expect.  In the last 6 games they have combined for 30 points.  After a slow start, Marchand has 12 points in his last 6 games.  He still has only 33 points on the season, but he is on fire.  If you can get any one of these guys right now in your pool, please do so immediately, as these three guys are playing extremely well together.  New York forward Kyle Okposo continued his great season with a goal and 2 assists. With 57 points on the year, Okposo is having a huge breakout season.  The Islanders welcomed back d-man Lubomir Visnovsky who had been out since October 19th with a concussion. Grab him if he is still available.  They, also, welcomed back goaltender Evgeni Nabokov, so Kevin Poulin will likely go back to the bench. Staal speed: The Carolina Hurricanes came from behind to beat Columbus 3-2. Carolina forward Eric Staal had 2 goals to start the comeback and his brother Jordan scored the game winner on a beautiful curl and drag play that fooled Sergei Bobrovsky. Staal's line continues hot as Alex Semin and left wing Jiri Tlusty each had an assist. Staal has 44 points on the season, and if this line stays hot he could have a big finish this year. Anton Khudobin seems to have established himself as the number one goalie in Carolina. He has won 4 in a row, and 5 of his last 6 games, and his 2.18 goals against is hard to argue with.  Fleury pitches a zero: Pittsburgh goalie Marc-Andre Fleury had a great night with a shutout of the Sabres 3-0. Fleury had 24 saves, and he now has 29 wins on the season.  Top fantasy goalie!  Chris Kunitz had the game winner, and he is having a great year with 54 points. Tanner Glass had a goal and an assist for the Penguins, but with only 10 points on the season, he is just a third line plodder. The rumors are flying about 33 year old Buffalo goaltender Ryan Miller getting traded before the deadline. Miller is an unrestricted free agent after this season, and if he goes to a decent team his fantasy value would increase  a lot. His .926 save percentage indicates that he is still playing ...

Ten games in the NHL yesterday. Tampa Bay and the Flyers kicked things off as the Lightning beat Philadelphia 6-3.  Valtteri Filppula had a goal and an assist for Tampa. He now has 18 goals and 36 points on the season.  His name is hard to spell, and he is a waiver wire type player.  Flyer goaltender Steve Mason had a night to forget as he allowed 5 goals on only 17 shots. Sometimes you have games like that.  He is still having a good year with 18 wins.  Jakub Voracek had 2 goals for the Flyers, and while he has only 32 points on the season, he has been hot lately with 5 points in his last 4 games...Montreal beat Chicago 2-1 in OT as veteran defenseman Andre Markov scored both goals for the Canadians. Markov has been overshadowed by fellow defenseman P K Subban, but he can still bring it with 24 points on the season... New Jersey beat Florida in OT as well as defenseman Marek Zidlicky scored the game winner. Like Markov, Zidlicky is an old veteran who can still rack up points.  He has 24 on the year.  Devils forward Michael Ryder scored the other goal. He has scored a goal in 4 straight games, and he has 7 points in his last 7 games.   He once scored 62 points for Dallas.  Grab him while he's hot....Ottawa beat Nashville 2-1 in a shootout, as Senators goalie Craig Anderson was outstanding with 32 saves.  After a brutal start to the season, Anderson has been steadily improving, and he now has 15 wins on the year.  Ottawa's Kyle Turris scored a goal, and with 34 points on the season he is worth a look as a 6th forward option. At 24 years old he can still get better...Columbus pounded Winnipeg 6-3.  Bryan Little had a goal and an assist for the Blue Jackets. Little is a lot like Turris, just on the edge of being fantasy worthy...  Colorado beat the Wild 4-2 as young forward Ryan O'Reilly had 2 goals for the Avalanche. We like O'Reilly, but with only 30 points on the season we can't recommend him yet.  He is only 22 years old.  He has 70 point potential in a year or two.  Paul Stastny left the game with an injury...Anaheim continued its winning ways with a 5-3 win over Phoenix. Ryan Getzlaf left the game with a LBI. Mathieu Perreault had 3 assists for the Ducks, and while he has only 25 points on the season, he has been hot lately with 6 points in his last 3 games. Radim Vrbata had 3 assists for Phoenix. Vrbata is another one of those marginal 6th forwards...In a tight close checking game Pittsburgh beat Calgary 2-1 as Penguin forward Chris Kunitz scored a ...

Although he had a fairly easy night against an anemic Calgary offensive attack, Ben Bishop posted a 19-save shutout in the Lightning's 2-0 road win over the Flames. His omission from the United States Olympic squad is quite glaring, considering his staggering numbers of 22-5-3, 1.83 GAA and a .936 SP are among the best in the NHL. Bishop fantasy owners have hit the "jackpot" with this mid-late round pick in most fantasy drafts, but this gift will continue giving as Tampa Bay superstar Steven Stamkos is on the verge of returning to the line-up. Given probable more goal support in the second half and the motivation of being snubbed by Team USA, there is no reason to suggest that Bishop will not remain an elite fantasy goalie option for the rest of the season.Despite the absence of Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang, the Pittsburgh Penguins keep rolling on offense with a 5-2 beat-down on the New York Rangers. All eyes have been on Sidney Crosby (1G/2A) and James Neal (1A), but their quiet star by association Chris Kunitz keeps putting up elite fantasy numbers. With 2 goals and 1 assist, the underrated winger has collected 46 points in 43 games, good for fourth in the NHL. Not a sexy name by any means in fantasy circles, Kunitz have followed up his marvelous 52-point performance in '12-13 with another big year so far. As long as the top-line forward continues to get primary power-play time, he will keep producing at a high level. The perpetual injury bug that has been hampering the Pen's skaters has also lend a hand in keeping Kunitz high up the "food chain" in Pittsburgh. Keep riding him!If you are a Patrick Sharp fantasy owner, you can be a little thankful that Team Canada has yet to announce it's Olympic roster. The high-scoring winger was initially thought to have just an outside chance of making the team, but his recent stretch of incredible scoring and undeniable chemistry with Chicago captain Jonathan Toews is making him hard to ignore. You can bet your bottom dollar that his recent scoring surge, where he has scored 2 "hat tricks" and 9 overall points in the last five games, is at least partially a result of Sharp proving that he belongs in the Sochi games. Unfortunately, it doesn't always work out as two streaking USA forwards, Bobby Ryan and Kyle Okposo, were snubbed despite great numbers. Big advantage for Sharp- TOEWS. Enough said. Keep scoring Patrick!Devil's defenseman Marek Zidlicky has been on a point binge lately, scoring two goals last night ...

Just the smell of coffee stirs my senses from their slumber! Let's hope that yesterday's 4 goals let in by Steve Mason doesn't happen too often. He is having a great season. The Flyers had a complete meltdown in just over a minute's time in the 2nd period against Dallas. In his second game back from injury, Seguin gets a hattie, his second one of the year. This kid can be soooo good. I guess Pascal Dupuis won't duplicate that 59-point season from two years ago. But Chris Kunitz is going to have a career-best season. Carey Price is having a most wonderful season. Dion Phaneuf had 5 SOG yesterday. That's correct, 5.  He actually had 4 the other day against San Jose too.  Erik Karlsson had 9 SOG, so take that Phaneuf!   LOL The Red Wings could only score 1 goal against Tim Thomas and the Florida Panthers? I know they were without Datsyuk and Zetterberg, but 1 goal? That was the game where former Panther Stephen Weiss was supposed to go off. He must not have gotten that memo. Nashville isn't helping with the Western Conference's dominance over the Eastern Conference. That Jay Bouwmeester is 6th among defensemen scoring. Who woulda thunk it? Jason Garrison has been reborn, and in the same season. The Rangers were lucky to get a point out of last night's game against the Devils. The Ducks really showed the Blues yesterday, huh? You just might be seeing a little more of Brian Elliott in net for St. Louis over the next stretch of games. The Oilers can score 8 goals against Colorado, but only 1 against Calgary? Wasn't that supposed to be the other way around? When Martin Jones shuts you out, you know you need to be ripped into by the coach. Come on Islanders, you're better than that, aren't you? With Jones' shutout and the way Ben Scrivens has been playing, Jonathan Quick can take all the time he needs to get back. Colonel Klinkhammer had an assist on Friday night. Yeah baby! For the most part, both Conference standings are settling into how they should look. With such little fanfare, Bryan Little has been quietly having a very good season with 27 points in 31 games played. Have a great week!

A bit of a slow night yesterday in the NHL with only 5 games played. The Penguins beat the Islanders 4-3 on a late goal by forward Sidney Crosby. Crosby, also, had an assist and he has 30 points on the season.  We still expect him to win the NHL scoring title this season.   His linemate Chris Kunitz had 2 PPGs and an assist. As long as he plays with Crosby, Kunitz is fantasy gold, as he has 11 goals and 21 points on the season. Thomas Vanek had 2 goals for New York, but at 14 points on the season you have to believe that his trade for Matt Moulson has been a disappointment. Islander goalie Kevin Poulin allowed 4 goals on 34 shots, and while this is his opportunity to take over the starting job with Nabokov hurt, so far he is not doing it.  Desharnais is on his way: The Canadiens beat the Capitals last night 3-2, and Montreal forward David Desharnais scored his first goal of the season. We used to have high hopes for Desharnais, but he has been a big bust this year.  He is back playing on a line with Max Pacioretty, and the two of them have demonstrated some chemistry together in the past. He may be turning the corner. Alexander Ovechkin had 2 more goals, and with Stamkos out he is the reigning NHL goal scoring machine. More interesting Capitals defenseman young John Carlson had 2 assists, and with 11 points on the year he is a real up and coming d-man. Other fantasy notes: Calgary beat Florida in a shootout 4-3.  The only fantasy worthy note of the game was the goal by Flames forward Sean Monahan.  The youngster has 8 goals on the season and 14 points so far.  We think he is going to be a good one, and you should grab him if you can...The Sedin twins demonstrated once again that they are fantasy relevant as Henrik had 2 goals last night and his brother Daniel had a goal and 2 assists.  At this point they are both point per game players. Sergei Bobrovsky continues to make everyone forget about last season in goal for Columbus as he allowed 6 goals on 35 shots. His 2.95 goals against and .904 save percentage are not Vezina worthy...the Ducks have a bit of a log jam in net with Jonas Hiller, Viktor Fasth and youngster Frederick Andersen all in the mix. But we are believers in Hiller who had a great second half last season.  Last night he came through with a 1-0 shutout over Tampa Bay with 31 saves.  Hiller has 8 wins on the season, and while his save percentage is only .903, we think he will be the starter going forward. Ducks forward Ryan Getzlaf is ...

A bit of a slow night yesterday in the NHL with only 5 games played. The Penguins beat the Islanders 4-3 on a late goal by forward Sidney Crosby. Crosby, also, had an assist and he has 30 points on the season.  We still expect him to win the NHL scoring title this season.   His linemate Chris Kunitz had 2 PPGs and an assist. As long as he plays with Crosby, Kunitz is fantasy gold, as he has 11 goals and 21 points on the season. Thomas Vanek had 2 goals for New York, but at 14 points on the season you have to believe that his trade for Matt Moulson has been a disappointment. Islander goalie Kevin Poulin allowed 4 goals on 34 shots, and while this is his opportunity to take over the starting job with Nabokov hurt, so far he is not doing it.  Desharnais is on his way: The Canadiens beat the Capitals last night 3-2, and Montreal forward David Desharnais scored his first goal of the season. We used to have high hopes for Desharnais, but he has been a big bust this year.  He is back playing on a line with Max Pacioretty, and the two of them have demonstrated some chemistry together in the past. He may be turning the corner. Alexander Ovechkin had 2 more goals, and with Stamkos out he is the reigning NHL goal scoring machine. More interesting Capitals defenseman young John Carlson had 2 assists, and with 11 points on the year he is a real up and coming d-man. Other fantasy notes: Calgary beat Florida in a shootout 4-3.  The only fantasy worthy note of the game was the goal by Flames forward Sean Monahan.  The youngster has 8 goals on the season and 14 points so far.  We think he is going to be a good one, and you should grab him if you can...The Sedin twins demonstrated once again that they are fantasy relevant as Henrik had 2 goals last night and his brother Daniel had a goal and 2 assists.  At this point they are both point per game players. Sergei Bobrovsky continues to make everyone forget about last season in goal for Columbus as he allowed 6 goals on 35 shots. His 2.95 goals against and .904 save percentage are not Vezina worthy...the Ducks have a bit of a log jam in net with Jonas Hiller, Viktor Fasth and youngster Frederick Andersen all in the mix. But we are believers in Hiller who had a great second half last season.  Last night he came through with a 1-0 shutout over Tampa Bay with 31 saves.  Hiller has 8 wins on the season, and while his save percentage is only .903, we think he will be the starter going forward.

It was all that you could've asked for in a Bruins-Penguins game except if you are a Boston fan, as Marc-Andre Fleury (21/23 SV) edged Tuukka Rask (28/31 SV) 3-2 at home. The game was up-tempo with not a lot of whistle stoppages as the two teams did their best to gain the upper hand.  Both goalies should be in your starting lineup regardless of opponent......Bruins C Patrice Bergeron had a goal and an assist in the contest and even though he has started out rather quietly, he will heat up. Remember that he is still recovering from a boatload of injuries during last year's playoffs.  With 6 points in 11 games, he is below a point-per-game pace so it may be a good time to see if you can snatch him from a somewhat disgruntled owner....Pens LW Chris Kunitz scored on the power play, a rare feat between these 2 teams, with assists by Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang. This will be a familiar sight as the season moves on as Letang is back from his injury.  Letang could be a candidate for the scoring title among defensemen if he didn't get hurt so often lately....Toronto made it 3 straight as they didn't suffer a letdown on back-to-back nights as they headed into Calgary, who was coming off a 5-2 win over the Caps.  Joffrey Lupul returned to the lineup and got the Leafs off to a good start with a 1st period goal, his 7th, while G Jonathan Bernier played brilliant in stopping 41 of 43 SOG to raise his record to 6-4-0. It's safe to get Lupul back into your lineup....The more amazing feat last night was that Phil Kessel was held off the score sheet. Kessel had scored 10 points in his previous 4 games before last night.  Wow!.....Jimmy Howard stopped the bleeding of his 4-game losing streak by stopping 19 of 20 SOG from the Vancouver Canucks as the Detroit Red Wings edged Roberto Luongo 2-1 in Vancouver. Both goalies are must-starts in your fantasy league....San Jose traveled down to Los Angeles and found that the Staples center is a continuing thorn in their side as they lost 4-3 in overtime.  The goaltenders Antti Niemi (19/24 SV) and Jonathan Quick (17/20 SV) were not at their best in last night's tilt so it was a matter of which team would get the last good chance.....Anze Kopitar, Justin Williams, Mike Richards and Drew Doughty each had 2 points in the game. Williams now has 8 points in past 6 games; get him into your lineup.... Richards is always an enigma to fantasy fans as he has the talent to be a top fantasy forward, but is annoyingly streaky.  He can go on a...

It was all that you could've asked for in a Bruins-Penguins game except if you are a Boston fan, as Marc-Andre Fleury (21/23 SV) edged Tuukka Rask (28/31 SV) 3-2 at home. The game was up-tempo with not a lot of whistle stoppages as the two teams did their best to gain the upper hand.  Both goalies should be in your starting lineup regardless of opponent......Bruins C Patrice Bergeron had a goal and an assist in the contest and even though he has started out rather quietly, he will heat up. Remember that he is still recovering from a boatload of injuries during last year's playoffs.  With 6 points in 11 games, he is below a point-per-game pace so it may be a good time to see if you can snatch him from a somewhat disgruntled owner....Pens LW Chris Kunitz scored on the power play, a rare feat between these 2 teams, with assists by Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang. This will be a familiar sight as the season moves on as Letang is back from his injury.  Letang could be a candidate for the scoring title among defensemen if he didn't get hurt so often lately....Toronto made it 3 straight as they didn't suffer a letdown on back-to-back nights as they headed into Calgary, who was coming off a 5-2 win over the Caps.  Joffrey Lupul returned to the lineup and got the Leafs off to a good start with a 1st period goal, his 7th, while G Jonathan Bernier played brilliant in stopping 41 of 43 SOG to raise his record to 6-4-0. It's safe to get Lupul back into your lineup....The more amazing feat last night was that Phil Kessel was held off the score sheet. Kessel had scored 10 points in his previous 4 games before last night.  Wow!.....Jimmy Howard stopped the bleeding of his 4-game losing streak by stopping 19 of 20 SOG from the Vancouver Canucks as the Detroit Red Wings edged Roberto Luongo 2-1 in Vancouver. Both goalies are must-starts in your fantasy league....San Jose traveled down to Los Angeles and found that the Staples center is a continuing thorn in their side as they lost 4-3 in overtime.  The goaltenders Antti Niemi (19/24 SV) and Jonathan Quick (17/20 SV) were not at their best in last night's tilt so it was a matter of which team would get the last good chance.....Anze Kopitar, Justin Williams, Mike Richards and Drew Doughty each had 2 points in the game. Williams now has 8 points in past 6 games; get him into your lineup.... Richards is always an enigma to fantasy fans as he has the talent to be a top fantasy forward, but is annoyingly streaky.  He can go on a...

TUUKKA RASK-G-BOSTON BRUINS Rask was purely the difference maker last night as he turned away 53 of 54 shots on goal, some of those saves amazing letting in a lone Penguin goal by Chris Kunitz in the second period. T-Rask has only given up 2 goals (with 108 saves) in the three games so far as is playing lights out keeping the high-powered Pittsburgh offense off the score sheet. The talented goalkeeper has made Boston fans forget former Bruin Stanley Cup hero Tim Thomas rather easily with his stellar performance in these playoffs. The B's are just one win away from returning to the Stanley Cup Finals.