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 ...

Anderson allowed three goals on 31 shots in a shootout loss to the Maple Leafs on Saturday. It was not the best start, but his 2.40 GAA and .921 SV% in his two starts in December are a lot better than his 2-4-0, 4.00 GAA and .866 SV% he posted in November. He would face the 13-14-2 Flyers who are coming off of an ugly 5-1 loss to the Stars.

Anderson allowed three goals on 31 shots in a shootout loss to the Maple Leafs on Saturday. It was not the best start, but his 2.40 GAA and .921 SV% in his two starts in December are a lot better than his 2-4-0, 4.00 GAA and .866 SV% he posted in November. He will face the 13-14-2 Flyers who are coming off of an ugly 5-1 loss to the Stars.

It was a busy day in the NHL yesterday with 11 games played. Dallas and Philadelphia kicked it off with a matinee, and it was no contest as the Stars won easily 5-1. Tyler Seguin had a big game for Dallas with 3 goals and an assist. 18 year old Star forward Valeri Nichushkin had a 4 point game as well with a goal and 3 assists. He has 15 points now on the season, and he will be a good fantasy player in a few years.  I watched the whole game, and in my opinion the best player on the ice was Dallas' Jamie Benn. He only had 1 assist, but he was all over the ice.  Flyers goalie Steve Mason deserved a better fate than allowing 4 goals, as he had some tremendous saves, but Philadelphia just did not show up. If he wants to make Team Canada's Olympic team, Claude Giroux is going to have to play a lot better than he did yesterday. He was invisible.  The Flyers line that has been getting so much attention Steve Downie, Matt Read and Sean Couturier did nothing...Nice win by Boston over Pittsburgh who is still without Evgeni Malkin. Bruin d-man Zdeno Chara got the game winner, but he is not the same player he used to be with only 12 points on the season. Boston forward Loui Eriksson left the game with an apparent concussion. 19 year old Alex Galchenyuk scored a goal for Montreal against hapless Buffalo. He has 20 points on the season, and he is going to be a good one. Nice keeper for next year. Anderson struggles continue:  Ottawa goaltender Craig Anderson continued his dismal year with a 4-3 loss to Toronto. He has won only 7 games and his goals against is a terrible 3.38 while his save percentage is .897.  Look for Robin Lehner to get a lot more starts in goal for the Senators. James van Riemsdyk had a goal and 2 assists for Toronto. He is having a solid year with 25 points on the season. Superdeau Huberdeau: Jonathan Huberdeau scored the game winning goal in Florida's 2-1 win over Detroit. While Huberdeau has been a disappointment this year with only 14 points so far, we still like him and think he will have a good second half of the season. Jonas Gustavsson suffered his first regulation loss of the season in goal for Detroit, but it was hardly his fault as he had 35 saves. We still think Gustavsson may take over Jimmy Howard's starting position. Grab Grabovski?:  Washington forward Mikhail Grabovski had 2 assists in the Capitals victory over Nashville. With 24 points on the year he is having a career season.  Be a little wary because at 29 years old one ...

It was a busy day in the NHL yesterday with 11 games played. Dallas and Philadelphia kicked it off with a matinee, and it was no contest as the Stars won easily 5-1. Tyler Seguin had a big game for Dallas with 3 goals and an assist. 18 year old Star forward Valeri Nichushkin had a 4 point game as well with a goal and 3 assists. He has 15 points now on the season, and he will be a good fantasy player in a few years.  I watched the whole game, and in my opinion the best player on the ice was Dallas' Jamie Benn. He only had 1 assist, but he was all over the ice.  Flyers goalie Steve Mason deserved a better fate than allowing 4 goals, as he had some tremendous saves, but Philadelphia just did not show up. If he wants to make Team Canada's Olympic team, Claude Giroux is going to have to play a lot better than he did yesterday. He was invisible.  The Flyers line that has been getting so much attention Steve Downie, Matt Read and Sean Couturier did nothing...Nice win by Boston over Pittsburgh who is still without Evgeni Malkin. Bruin d-man Zdeno Chara got the game winner, but he is not the same player he used to be with only 12 points on the season. Boston forward Loui Eriksson left the game with an apparent concussion. 19 year old Alex Galchenyuk scored a goal for Montreal against hapless Buffalo. He has 20 points on the season, and he is going to be a good one. Nice keeper for next year.   Anderson struggles continue:  Ottawa goaltender Craig Anderson continued his dismal year with a 4-3 loss to Toronto. He has won only 7 games and his goals against is a terrible 3.38 while his save percentage is .897.  Look for Robin Lehner to get a lot more starts in goal for the Senators. James van Riemsdyk had a goal and 2 assists for Toronto. He is having a solid year with 25 points on the season. Superdeau Huberdeau: Jonathan Huberdeau scored the game winning goal in Florida's 2-1 win over Detroit. While Huberdeau has been a disappointment this year with only 14 points so far, we still like him and think he will have a good second half of the season. Jonas Gustavsson suffered his first regulation loss of the season in goal for Detroit, but it was hardly his fault as he had 35 saves. We still think Gustavsson may take over Jimmy Howard's starting position. Grab Grabovski?:  Washington forward Mikhail Grabovski had 2 assists in the Capitals victory over Nashville. With 24 points on the year he is having a career season.  Be a little wary because at 29 years old one ...

ALL GOALIES CONFIRMED UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED AT TIME OF PRINT The Philadelphia Flyers, having won 3 of their last 4, head into Big D this afternoon to take on the Stars. Steve Mason gets the start and will be up against Kari Lehtonen (LIKELY) who has started 18 of the last 19 games for Dallas. Both goaltenders playing very well so toss a coin...Let's hope that 13 is not a bad sign for Marek Mazanec (LIKELY) who will be making his 13th consecutive start for Nashville tonight against Braden Holtby and the Washington Capitals. Even though he has lost 4 in a row, Maz has been playing well as the Preds await the return of Pekka RInne. The Capitals offense may be a bit too much for Mazanec.  Holtby should be able to backstop the Caps to a win....The Winnipeg Jets are off to Tampa Bay to take on Anders Lindback and the Lightning. Backup Al Montoya takes the reins for the Jets, a team that has lost 6 of the last 9 so playing against the Bolts is going to be a tough task....Jonas Gustavsson, who is playing lights out this season, may be gaining the edge for the No. 1 goaltending job in Detroit.   Gustavsson will be facing a revitalized Florida Panther team, but the Cats have lost 5 of their last 7, and with the incentive to grab the starter's role, the Monster may be too much for the Panthers to handle.  Tim Thomas should keep them in the game but Gustavsson is on fire....Craig Anderson gets another shot at keeping the starter's job tonight against the Toronto Maple Leafs who have been struggling of late. Hit with a rash of injuries at the Center position, the Leafs have lost 9 of 13 heading into tonight. Perhaps playing against an erratic Anderson will boost the Leafs' offense.  Jonathan Bernier (LIKELY) is coming off an impressive 3-2 overtime victory over Dallas and should get the best of the Sens...Carey Price has been playing lights out all season long and it is starting to show in his record. His metrics have been above average throughout the year so far and that should continue.  The Habs have a chance to share in the Conference lead if the Pens lose to the Boston Bruins in regulation.  Playing against the Buffalo Sabres, with Jhonas Enroth in net, should give them a very reasonable shot at that...Tuukka Rask (LIKELY) and the Boston Bruins are out to get right back in to the Conference battle for the top spot as they host the Pittsburgh Penguins. Marc-Andre Fleury and Rask will be on their game tonight as the battle between Yellow-and-Black should be a ...

Anderson finally got off the schnide on Tuesday when he stopped 30 of 32 shots in a win over the Panthers. Prior to Tuesday he had allowed 23 goals in his previous six starts. He draws a tough matchup on Saturday when he faces the Maple Leafs. He allowed four goals on 42 shots in a 5-4 loss to the Maple Leafs on October 5th.

Anderson's struggles continued on Thursday when he was pulled after allowing four goals on 15 shots. It was the fourth straight contest he allowed four goals as he wrapped up an ugly month of goaltending. Anderson finished November 2-4-0 with a 4.00 GAA and .866 SV%. He will try and find his game tonight at Florida.

Quiet night yesterday in the NHL as there were only two games played.  A lot of players have gone down with injuries as Nashville defenseman Shea Weber left last night's game with a UBI. He got hit with the puck in his face.  Not sure how long he might be out, but it should not be too long.  Toronto forward Joffrey Lupul is out with a groin strain, while promising young Calgary forward Sean Monahan will be out a while with a hairline fracture in his foot. We are very high on Monahan's potential.  The big news yesterday was the return of Oilers goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov with a shutout for Edmonton against the admittedly offensively challenged Nashville Predators. I will Have a Romie Hits The Post piece later today on Bryzgalov and how we view him. I don't know about you all, but I have no interest in shopping today, and I intend to stay home and watch the Rangers/Bruins game, and hopefully come up with some good insights, especially about the Rangers trouble with scoring goals. Anderson shoots the pooch:  Ottawa goaltender Craig Anderson is having just a brutal season. His record is 6-8-2, but his metrics are just terrible at 3.51 goals against and a .894 save percentage. Last night he gave up 4 goals on only 15 shots before being replaced by Robin Lehner. You have to consider Lehner as the Senators' starting goalie at this point as his save percentage at 2.38 is more than a goal per game less than Anderson.  Hard to understand what is happening to Anderson, as last year, for example, he went 12-9-2 with a 1.69 goals against and a .941 save percentage.  Right now he can't stop a basketball.  The Sedin twins each had 2 points for Vancouver, and they continue to be point per game players.  Nice game for Roberto Luongo in goal for Vancouver with the win and 33 saves. Bryzgalov arrives:  Well he came back from obscurity with a big bang as he shutout the Predators with 33 saves.  Edmonton may be the right place for him with all their good young talent, and a small market media.  He clearly was out of his element in the media crazy city of Philadelphia.  We shall see, but Devan Dubnyk's future in Edmonton is very much in doubt now. Jordan Eberle and Taylor Hall each had a goal and an assist last night for the Oilers. While we are high on Eberle, Hall has 19 points in 19 games played, and we view him as a future superstar.  Nashville's young goaltender Marek Mazanec took the loss, but he played well allowing only 2 goals on 27 shots. His 2.02 goals against and ...

Quiet night yesterday in the NHL as there were only two games played.  A lot of players have gone down with injuries as Nashville defenseman Shea Weber left last night's game with a UBI. He got hit with the puck in his face.  Not sure how long he might be out, but it should not be too long.  Toronto forward Joffrey Lupul is out with a groin strain, while promising young Calgary forward Sean Monahan will be out a while with a hairline fracture in his foot. We are very high on Monahan's potential.  The big news yesterday was the return of Oilers goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov with a shutout for Edmonton against the admittedly offensively challenged Nashville Predators. I will Have a Romie Hits The Post piece later today on Bryzgalov and how we view him. I don't know about you all, but I have no interest in shopping today, and I intend to stay home and watch the Rangers/Bruins game, and hopefully come up with some good insights, especially about the Rangers trouble with scoring goals. Anderson shoots the pooch:  Ottawa goaltender Craig Anderson is having just a brutal season. His record is 6-8-2, but his metrics are just terrible at 3.51 goals against and a .894 save percentage. Last night he gave up 4 goals on only 15 shots before being replaced by Robin Lehner. You have to consider Lehner as the Senators' starting goalie at this point as his save percentage at 2.38 is more than a goal per game less than Anderson.  Hard to understand what is happening to Anderson, as last year, for example, he went 12-9-2 with a 1.69 goals against and a .941 save percentage.  Right now he can't stop a basketball.  The Sedin twins each had 2 points for Vancouver, and they continue to be point per game players.  Nice game for Roberto Luongo in goal for Vancouver with the win and 33 saves. Bryzgalov arrives:  Well he came back from obscurity with a big bang as he shutout the Predators with 33 saves.  Edmonton may be the right place for him with all their good young talent, and a small market media.  He clearly was out of his element in the media crazy city of Philadelphia.  We shall see, but Devan Dubnyk's future in Edmonton is very much in doubt now. Jordan Eberle and Taylor Hall each had a goal and an assist last night for the Oilers. While we are high on Eberle, Hall has 19 points in 19 games played, and we view him as a future superstar.  Nashville's young goaltender Marek Mazanec took the loss, but he played well allowing only 2 goals on 27 shots. His 2.02 goals against and ...