MAY I HELP YOU? As the regular season turns into the home stretch, many teams are striving to reach the playoffs and others are trying to better their positions.  The latter ones are all but set in the crease going forward but some of the former teams need to either fix what is wrong or improve on their situation. Let's take a look at who can help your fantasy team down the stretch in your quest for the championship. EDDIE LACK: With Vancouver’s Ryan Miller suffering an injury due to a collision the other night, it appears the 2nd year goaltender will assume starting duty for the next 4-6 weeks as Miller recovers.  Expect Lack, who saw considerable time last year when Roberto Luongo was traded, to provide consistent goaltending as the Canucks battle for a playoff spot.  Probably not available on the waiver wire anymore, but if he is, grab him… ANDREW HAMMOND: Another situation where the starring goalie is out due to an injury, as is the case with Craig Anderson.  However, the backup goalie in Ottawa is also out, with Robin Lehner out with a concussion after colliding with team mate Clarke MacArthur.  Hammond was pressed into action and he has done remarkably well by winning his first two starts.  He may have a rougher time this week with 3 away games against the three California teams so temper your expectations.  His NHL starting experience may be short-lived as Anderson is close to returning as he is travelling with the team. MICHAL NEUVIRTH: You wouldn’t expect a recommendation of a Buffalo Sabre player especially with the season they are having but ever since Jhonas Enroth was traded away to Dallas, Neuvirth has settled in as the undisputed starter with 6 starts in a row and has posted decent numbers during that span, although only going 2-2-2.  If you are in multi-category leagues, Neuvirth may be helpful in all statistical categories except wins.  MICHAEL HUTCHINSON:  It may not be obvious to all but the Winnipeg Jets seem to play better when Hutchinson is in net as he has gone 5-3-2 in last 10 starts while Ondrej Pavelec has gone just 3-5-2.  With the Jets trying to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since their return to Winnipeg, expect the team to rely more on Hutchinson and break away from the alternating starter system they have employed since the All-Star break. POST MARKS: RETURN OF THE KING—With Cam Talbot and the NY Rangers winning without their star net minder, it appears the Blueshirts can take their time getting Lundqvist ...

A New York classic, crippled Jets and Sens, and streaking vets In what was arguably the most exciting game of the season, the New York Rangers stormed back from a 3-goal deficit to defeat the Islanders 6-5 on a late tally from defenseman Kevin Klein. When both squads eclipse the 40-shot mark, you should expect plenty of fireworks and this one did not disappoint. Ryan McDonagh was the most dominant player on the ice, leading the way for the Blueshirts with a goal and an assist. His recent point surge includes seven in his last nine games. Start him with confidence down the stretch. On the other side. Travis Hamonic continues to be the most valuable fantasy Islander defender over the last month as he collected two more helpers. Despite scoring a goal, Johnny Boychuk has been in a major funk while Lubomir Visnovsky has been an inconsistent point-getter at best. For now, roll with Hamonic if you need help on "D".. The biggest news from the Carolina-Ottawa tilt was a pair of key injuries for the Senators as both goalie Robin Lehner and Clarke MacArthur left the game after colliding with each olther. If Lehner misses time, there will be a goaltending panic in Ottawa given that Craig Anderson is not ready to return yet. Next up- Andrew Hammond. Good luck. Safe to say, do not pick him up.. The Winnipeg Jets are fresh off a huge trade but an injury-plagued game with the Oilers could necessitate more moves. Forwards Mathieu Perrault and newly-acquired Drew Stafford were both injured but details regarding their severity are not clear yet. In the case of Stafford, he was promoted to the top unit for the game and considering how streaky he gets, he would be a great fantasy sleeper for the short-term... Tobias Enstrom picked up a couple of helpers and could start resembling at least his 40-point former self. Snag him off the waiver wire if available... Carey Price was beyond inpenetrable in the Montreal crease last night as the Red Wings were dangerous all game long but could not beat him. Of course," Mr. Game Winner" Max Pacioretty set up the first goal and the Hab's held on 2-0. Jimmy Howard looked more sharp in his second start back from injury and should be back to top form very soon.. After a hot start to the season and then a somewhat cool January, Calgary d-man Mark Giordano looks to be heating up once again with 5 points in 7 February games that includes a 3-point effort against Boston in the Flames 4-3 win.  He tied his career high in points of 47 set last ...

Mike Hoffman LW, Ottawa: Let's begin with a true "dark-horse" pick that has lit up opposing goalies lately with six goals in the last five games. I am high on this kid given that he has displayed big-time offensive talent in the juniors, but the question remains whether it could translate full-time in the NHL. So far so good for the 24-year old, who is starting to earn more minutes because of his recent production. It's hard to predict whether Hoffman will permanently jump into the Senator's top-six, but ask yourself who is his biggest competition- Clarke MacArthur? I would keep an eye on this guy. Jori Lehtera C, St Louis: I repeat: Pick him up ASAP! The 27 year old was an unknown commodity before his recent hot streak upon his NHL arrival. What was known is that he had exhibited huge chemistry in KHL with Vladimir Tarasenko, so the duo have continued where they have left off. Don't wait much longer, as the window of opportunity is almost shut. Nick Foligno W, Columbus:- Here is a perfect example of riding the "hot hand" while a player is streaky but being prepared to release him when the scoring comes to halt. The winger is tearing it up for a struggling Columbus squad, collecting 9 goals and 18 points in 15 games. However, before you consider him a long term savior, take note that his career high is 49 pts and 18 goals. Tread with caution but enjoy the immediate rewards. Jared Spurgeon D, Minnesota: The talented d-man is back after missing 5 games due to injury, responding immediately with a goal against Buffalo. With 7 points in 10 games, the youngster is emerging offensively at the right time for a depleted Minny squad. He gave fantasy owners a taste last season with 26 pts in 67 games but he is now ready to put up career numbers in 14-15. Jake Muzzin D, Los Angeles: If there was ever a time to use Muzzin, it's definitely now with Alec Martinez and Slave Voynov out of the immediate picture. The overload of offensive defensemen in LA makes it difficult to gauge future performance, but Muzzin is the clear no 2 after Drew Doughty for the near future. His 5 points in last 4 games is a good sign for the normally streaky defender. Don't think this pace will last very long, but he should be an adequate lower end starting option while getting a boost in quality minutes.

MacArthur recorded 24 goals and 31 assists with a plus-12 rating in 79 games with the Senators last season. The 29-year-old has scored 20 goals in each on the last three 82-game seasons so expect fourth straight in 2014-15. On a rundown Senators offence, Mac will once again play a considerable amount of minutes this season.

Maybe the most underrated acquisition after the first wave of key free agents were signed, was winger Radim Vrbata being inked to a two-year deal by Vancouver. The 33-year old was courted by many NHL clubs looking for a proven top-six scorer and should have plenty of "gas left in the tank" in his new home north of the border. Fantasy owners should expect a rebound from Vrbata, considering he was signed with the explicit purpose of helping the Sedin twins revitalize the Canuck's slumping power-play. While Vrbata's numbers were down last season compared to his career season of 11-12' (35G/62Pts in 77GP), he still managed 10PPG/11PPA. If the Sedins and Vrbata get to play on the same line, all three should be in line for big fantasy bounce-back campaigns. Keep an eye on these Canucks.In Ottawa, the under-the-radar signing of C David Legwand gives the Senators two scoring tandems to throw out there on any given night: the established Kyle Turris-Clarke MacArthur connection and now, maybe Legwand/Bobby Ryan. While I would hesitate to consider Legwand as a sleeper, a probable resurgence from proven scorer Ryan could elevate him to 50-55 point territory if the two click on the same line.The Isle's UFA signings of former Leaf line-mates Mikhail Grabovski and Nikolai Kulemin were far from "sexy" acquisitions, but were unfairly panned by Jeremy Roenick through a series of well-publicized tweets. First of all, this free agency period lend itself to third-liners like David Bolland to get paid "big money", so GM Garth Snow did well to secure the services of two forwards in their prime, well capable of putting up 50-55 pts. The last time these two were put in a position to provide top-six scoring for their team, they did so quite successfully playing on Toronto's second line in 10-11'. "Grabo" had 29 goals and 58 points, while Kulemin flourished with 30 goals and 57 points. Randy Carlyle relegated the duo to third-fourth line duty upon his arrival as head coach in Toronto, so subsequently their offensive production suffered. While John Tavares and his wingers will do most of the scoring damage on Long Island, don't be surprised that the re-united Grabovski/Kulemin duo flirt with the 50-point range.

MacArthur will not play Monday, but the Senators are off all week after tonight, so he should be ready to go vs. the Habs on Saturday. Tonight, Mike Hoffman will skate in his spot on the second line once again.

MacArthur was injured on Wednesday and was sent back to Ottawa to see a specialist. The hand specialist determined that Mac does not need surgery and could only miss one week. Mike Hoffman gets a promotion to the second line with MacArthur out.

MacArthur injured his hand on Wednesday and did not return to the contest. MacArthur has returned to Ottawa to see a hand specialist to see how serious the damage to his hand is.

The NHL announced last night that the salary cap level for next season will rise to $71 million, an increase of $6.7 million, while the minimum will be set at $52 million, up from $44 million. Some more money for the owners to throw at some undeserving players....The Senators gained a much needed 2 points as they outlasted the Philadelphia Flyers last night in a 5-4 shootout win.  Neither goaltender, Steve Mason and Craig Anderson, were at their best so expect both to sit out the team's next start. Anderson has been struggling this season but backup Robin Lehner hasn't exactly shown to be much better; an interesting situation to keep your eye on....Clarke MacArthur scored two early goals to pace the Sens and now has 13 points in last 11 games. If he is still available, grab him quick as he has shown consistency in scoring this season....C Jason Spezza, with 2 assists in the game, has 9 points in last 9 games and seems to be heating up....Interesting to note that Flyers' D Kimmo Timonen had a goal and an assist last night giving him only 8 points in 30 games played. With 3 points in last 3 games, he might be turning the corner making it a good time to grab him to shore up your defense.....Eddie Lack notched his first NHL shutout last night against the Carolina Hurricanes. Kudos to Mr. Lack! The Canuck goaltender was tested early and late but turned aside all 31 SOG to raise his record to 4-2-0....You may not have noticed but the Columbus Blue Jackets have climbed back into the hunt for a playoff spot by winning 3 of 4 before last night's tilt against the Pittsburgh Penguins.  The Blue Jackets played the Pens tough but couldn't get anything past Marc-Andre Fleury who came within 56 seconds of recording his 4th shutout but held on for the 2-1 victory raising his record to 17-8-1....The Western Conference continued their dominance against Eastern Conference teams as Anaheim crushed the NY Islanders 5-2 last night. John Tavares opened the scoring with his 12th of the year and also added an assist in the second period giving him 34 points in 31 games, on track for 90+ points as we had predicted in our Fall Fantasy Guide...The Isles have now lost 10 in a row. Not the kind of season they were hoping for...Corey Perry (2G), Daniel Winnick (3A) and Cam Fowler (G, 2A) were the offensive stars of the game. Two of these are fantasy worthy while one is not.  I'll leave it up to you to guess which one shouldn't be on your fantasy radar.  Perry was so grateful for the ...

The NHL announced last night that the salary cap level for next season will rise to $71 million, an increase of $6.7 million, while the minimum will be set at $52 million, up from $44 million. Some more money for the owners to throw at some undeserving players....The Senators gained a much needed 2 points as they outlasted the Philadelphia Flyers last night in a 5-4 shootout win.  Neither goaltender, Steve Mason and Craig Anderson, were at their best so expect both to sit out the team's next start. Anderson has been struggling this season but backup Robin Lehner hasn't exactly shown to be much better; an interesting situation to keep your eyes on....Clarke MacArthur scored two early goals to pace the Sens and now has 13 points in last 11 games. If he is still available, grab him quick as he has shown consistency in scoring this season....C Jason Spezza, with 2 assists in the game, has 9 points in last 9 games and seems to be heating up....Interesting to not that Flyers' D Kimmo Timonen had a goal and an assist last night giving him only 8 points in 30 games played. With 3 points in last 3 games, he might be turning the corner making it a good time to grab him to shore up your defense.....Eddie Lack notched his first NHL shutout last night against the Carolina Hurricanes. Kudos to Mr. Lack! The Canuck goaltender was tested early and late but turned aside all 31 SOG to raise his record to 4-2-0....You may not have noticed but the Columbus Blue Jackets have climbed back into the hunt for a playoff spot by winning 3 of 4 before last night's tilt against the Pittsburgh Penguins.  The Blue Jackets played the Pens tough but couldn't get anything past Marc-Andre Fleury who came within 56 seconds of recording his 4th shutout but held on for the 2-1 victory raising his record to 17-8-1....The Western Conference continued their dominance against Eastern Conference teams as Anaheim crushed the NY Islanders 5-2 last night. John Tavares opened the scoring with his 12th of the year and also added an assist in the second period giving him 34 points in 31 games, on track for 90+ points as we had predicted in our Fall Fantasy Guide...The Isles have now lost 10 in a row. Not the kind of season they were hoping for...Corey Perry (2G), Daniel Winnick (3A) and Cam Fowler (G, 2A) were the offensive stars of the game. Two of these are fantasy worthy while one is not.  I'll leave it up to you to guess which one shouldn't be on your fantasy radar.  Perry was so grateful for the ...