#6 ANAHEIM This team is built for now.  The Ducks were thisclose to making a Stanley Cup Finals appearance only to be outdone by eventual champs, the Chicago Blackhawks, who came back from being down 3 games t0 2.  Their top pairing of Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry is as good as any in the NHL so a few tweaks were made to the balance of the team.  Out go Emerson Etem, Matt Beleskey, Kyle Palmieri, rental Tomas Fleischmann, & defenseman Francois Beauchemin, Brought in were Kevin Bieksa to rejoin his good friend Ryan Kesler to solidify their young defense, speedy forwards Carl Hagelin, Chris Stewart and veteran Shawn Horcoff.  Anton Khudobin was brought in to give goalie sensation John Gibson a stint in the AHL to develop his game a little more. Can this be the right formula to get the Ducks back to the Stanley Cup Finals?  GOALIES In just his second NHL season, the Ducks put their faith in Frederik Andersen and the young net minder didn’t disappoint.  His metrics were just about average but that’s all this high-powered team needed to get to the post-season and make a legitimate run for the Cup.  Gibson was supposed to challenge the Great Dane goalkeeper but sustained an injury that left Andersen to man the crease.  The team has decided to let Gibson play a full year in the AHL this season and not rush him thereby signing Khudobin as the backup.  Look for Andersen to post similar numbers as the Ducks again should challenge for best overall record. 2014-2015                      GP      GAA       W        L        OTL       SP Frederik Andersen         57         2.38       35       12         5         .914   DEFENSE When you look at the Ducks defense, you don’t really see that superstar name like Keith, Doughty, or Karlsson but they do manage to play into Boudreau’s system well.  Perhaps this season we will see a true superstar in the making in either Sami Vatanen or Hampus Lindholm. Either of which could have a breakout season.  Cam Fowler and newly acquired Bieksa round out the top 4 with Simon Despres & Clayton Stoner filling in the top 6.  The top 5 d-men possess scoring abilities which makes their defense tough to guard against. FORWARDS Getzlaf & Perry go hand-in-hand like peanut butter and jelly.  Expect more greatness from the duo while young RW Jakob Silfverberg should be taking the next step and surpass Kesler as the third best scoring option on the team.  Hagelin was brought in for his sheer speed and his good hands.  Expect a similar role as ...

Cam Atkinson RW, Columbus: We been hyping this guy for the last couple of years, but he keeps falling flat while Ryan Johansen continues to develop into a star forward. A light has come on since the All-Star break as he has collected six points over the last six games. He should make for a decent addition, considering that he has plenty of upside. It's the game-to-game work ethic that has been questioned. Brandon Pirri C, Florida: All of the sudden, the talented 23- year old is starting to realize his vast offensive upside by scoring six goals and an assist over last seven games. He has yet to be leaned on a consistent top-six threat for the Panthers, but he will be hard to hold down if he keeps playing like this. While he should be more desirable in keeper formats, he should hold his own for at least the short-term. Chris Stewart RW, Buffalo: The power forward has had a forgettable season so far, but his latest streak of nine points in eight games should garner plenty of interest as the trade deadline draws near. It seems like centuries ago when he was consistent scorer for St. Louis and Colorado, but he obviously has drawn a tough assignment in Buffalo. Maybe a change of scenery would help. Jake Gardiner D, Toronto: Speaking of defensive liability, good'ol Jake is always a few steps away from the doghouse but he has been putting up some points lately including three over the last two games. With Dion Phaneuf out and Cody Franson maybe getting traded, the youngster will play a more prominent role on the pp and have a chance to showcase his skills. Because of inconsistencies that gave plagued him, I wouldn't bet the farm on him but he could be a decent short term solution  Cam Talbot G, New York Rangers: The backup to "King Henrik" makes for a great fantasy start over the next month or so as he will get most if not all of the work in the Rangers crease. Expect a light dropoff if any at all as the Blueshirts should continue to work their way up the Eastern Confetence standings. An obvious handcuff for Lundqvist owners but also a great short-term fill-in if you need help in goal.

Stewart was only in his third game back from an ankle injury, but lasted just one shift this afternoon. No word on whether he re-aggravated the ankle injury. Stewart likely will not play on Sunday.

Stewart has missed the last 16 games, but should return tonight vs. Detroit. Originally he was expected to miss the rest of the regular season, but it looks like he will be available to suit up for the final few contests.

Stewart was originally expected to miss the rest of the season, but now the Sabres are saying he will play again before season's end. He will not suit up tonight vs. his former team, but could be back on Sunday vs. the Flyers.

Sabres interim head coach Ted Nolan made it sound like Stewart will miss 4-5 weeks which would end his season because the Sabres are not heading to the playoffs. The Sabres were unable to move Stewart at the deadline, so he will likely be back in Buffalo next season unless they move him at the draft. Stewart had no points in his only two games with the Sabres.

Stewart left Thursday's game after suffering a lower-body injury in a collision with Lightning goalie Anders Lindback chasing down the puck for a breakaway late in the game. WIth Stewart out, expect Cory Conacher to make his Sabres debut tonight in Florida. Consider Stewart day-to-day.

Yesterday the Buffalo Sabers traded their star goalie Ryan Miller to the St Louis Blues basically in exchange for goaltender Jaroslav Halak. The Sabres also received forward Chris Stewart and prospect William Carrier plus a 1st and 3rd round draft picks, while the Blues also acquired forward Steve Ott. Clearly the Sabres were going no where this season so this is not much of a suprise.  Both Miller and Halak are unrestricted free agents this season, and rumors have been swirling about Miller for most of the year.  Miller has actually been playing well this season with a .923 save percentage, but his career number is .916 which is close to average.  His reputation comes from his fantastic 2009-2010 season of 41 wins a 2.22 goals against and a .929 save percentage, and his spectacular performance in the Olympics in 2010.  Since then he has been pretty much a middle of the road goalie, albeit with mediocre teams.  Halak has been having a good year with a 24-9-4 record, but the Blues have big time aspirations for the Stanley Cup and felt a need to upgrade the goalie positon.  Interesting that his career save percentage of .917 is actually a bit higher than Millers.  Chris Stewart once was a promising forward scoring 64 points for Colorado in 2009-2010, but he has trailed off badly since then.  He has only 26 points on the season.  Carrier was St Louis 2nd round pick in the 2013 draft, and he has decent numbers in the minors, but nothing exciting.  Ott is just a third line grinder who is supposed to be a defensive forward, but his plus/minus is -26.  Augh!  The main fantasy impact of this trade is with Miller whose value goes up a lot as he is now playing for a much better team, one that has the highest goals for/ goals against numbers in the NHL.  Halak's fantasy value takes a beating while the other players are not really fantasy relevant. It's Miller time!

The 6-2, 231-pound Stewart has 15 goals and 11 assists in 58 games for the Blues this season after leading St. Louis last year with 18 goals and 36 points. Stewart, 26, was Colorado's first-round pick (18th overall) in 2006. In six NHL seasons, Stewart has 115 goals and 228 points in 377 games.

Being an avid participant in fantasy hockey for over 20 years, I should know better when it comes to picking up "hot" forwards on balanced, scoring teams like the one in St. Louis. Ken Hitchcock continues rolling out four lines, and the one clicking the best on that given night will get the most quality ice-time. The "hot" line could last a few games, even weeks, but once another set of forwards are starting to surge, they now become the centerpiece of the offense. It's been a trademark of Hitchcock's teams, so why should things change now? The "flavor" of the moment seems to be the Vladimir Sobotka line flanked by Vladimir Tarasenko and Patrick Berglund. Both Tarasenko and Sobotka collected a goal and an assist in the 5-0 win over Calgary, raising their respective multi-point streaks to three games. The dilemma for most fantasy owners remains the same: When is it a good time to pick up a streaking St. Louis forward? I picked up RW Chris Stewart in the midst of his December streak, where he scored 8 goals and 3 assists in 7 games. The hope was that he could replicate his awesome 25-game stretch late last season when he was among the elite scorers in the NHL. Well, he went cold in the hurry, so I went against my instincts and scooped up Jaden Schwartz for him. A budding star with promising potential, he was sizzling around Christmas time. Now he has gone scoreless in his last 2 contests, with his minutes dropped to 14:33 and given minimal power-play time. Of course, Tarasenko is looking real good just about now, as the talented Russian is oozing with offensive upside. There is a slight chance that by the time I finish this article, he will be on my team. But, there is a reason why all these talented St. Louis forwards are readily available on the waiver wire. Due to the way they are used in Hitchcock's system, there is no fantasy staying power and the chances that any of them can contribute for you on a consistent basis for an entire season are slim to none. It seemed that prior to his injury that Alex Steen was bucking that trend with an exceptional first half, but we will never know if he could have kept it up. Anyway, that's my "two cents" on the St. Louis situation. Fantasy Game Notes: Anton Khudobin wins his fourth straight start for Carolina since returning from injury, stopping 25 of 26 shots in the 5-1 win over Toronto. With Cam Ward on the shelf, the 27-year old Russian is "hot stuff" right now and should be owned in all fantasy leagues. Given ...