Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, and David Backes have a great matchup against the Coyotes tonight. Who else should you stack in your NHL DFS contests?

SMC 1/22/2017 OLDIES BUT GOODIES! Good day my fellow hockey addicts!  Got my fresh brewed cup of coffee and ready to tackle the day. Oh wait, that’s a football term.  I’m ready to rush up the ice! The early afternoon tilt for Saturday was a Jet-Blue affair.  St. Louis was the one feeling blue after with a 5-3 loss.  Trouble in St. Lou?  Perhaps they are missing David Backes a little more than originally thought. Surprised to see Ondrej Pavelec back up with the big boys since it seemed he was exiled for his inconsistent play.  I guess Hutchinson and Hellebuyck were pretty inconsistent themselves.  Pavelec should be motivated since being recalled.  Grab him and start him. I think Winnipeg can make a run for the playoffs.  It’s a gut feeling. Columbus is still sporting that 2017 magic!  Scott Hartnell is now picking up his scoring production with 6 in last 8 games. Carolina will be clawing away for that last Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference along with about 9 other teams. Crazy! Some wild, high-scoring games at the beginning of the week.  An 8-7 PIT-WSH game on Monday.  A 7-6 DAL-NYR game on Tuesday night. Plus 6-4 OTT-STL and CHI-COL affairs on Tuesday as well.  A 6-5 DET-BOS on Wednesday and a 7-3 WSH-STL contest on Thursday.  And a 7-1 PIT-CAR finisher on Friday night. Must’ve been a full moon or just the craziest leading up to the Presidential inauguration. The blues gave up a lot of goals this past week. That Ottawa-Toronto game was fun to watch. The Montreal Canadiens have been quite pedestrian of late after that terrific start to the season in October and early November. The Islanders are coming! The Islanders are coming! John Tavares is heating up big time.  Safe to say he’s a second half player now.  9 points in last 5 games! Josh Bailey and Anders Lee are the beneficiaries of JT’s hot streak.  And Nick Leddy has been a force of late with 5 points in last 5 games. With 2 assists in Saturday’s Philly game, and 3 in last 3 games, New Jersey’s Michael Cammalleri might be starting one of those hot streaks he has. New Jersey may makes things interesting as they have a lot more home games then away games the rest of the way. The Flyers are spiraling out of playoff contention as fast as they got themselves into it in December. If Ovechkin is going to reach 50 goals, he is going to have to go on some scoring streak being that he has 22 to this point.  Worth it to try and trade for him. It wouldn’t hurt to surround your fantasy team with some ...

First of all, is there a hotter top line in the NHL than Alex Steen-TJ Oshie-David Backes? The trio combined for five points in last night's 3-0 blanking of the Toronto Maple Leafs, improving their point totals to 49 in the last 11 games. Seriously? Proving to all fantasy owners that he is the "real deal" after his breakthrough 2013-14 season, Steen is currently riding point-streaks in goals and points, 5 and 9 respectively... Another shutout for Brian Elliott and another step closer to fantasy elite status. Jake Allen represents the future in the crease for the Blues, but Elliott is clearly the "now". Start him with confidence... Fantasy performer of the night- clearly Tomas Plekanec, who helped roll the Metroplitan Division leading Islanders with a four point effort. A "heart and soul" Hab who can draw some comparison to Boston's Patrice Bergeron mainly because of his superior two-way play, but is no more than a seviceable depth forward option in most fantasy formats. Awesome game nonetheless.. Two more points in a losing cause for John Tavares, giving him five points over the last two games and 13 over the last 10. JT has accelerated the scoring since the beginning of the calendar year, so superstar production seems likely for the second half... Columbus snapped a four-game losing skid with the road win at Boston, but fantasy phenom Ryan Johansen kept a 13-game point streak alive with another goal and an assist. This guy is looking like an early round draft selection come next September as he is downright dynamite... Two great buy-low options to consider at the forward position- Nathan MacKinnon and Jason Spezza. The former was expected to take a huge leap in Year 2 for Colorado, but has fizzled during the first half of the season. However, MacKinnon has shown signs of late including a late 3rd period equalizer last night against the Lightning. The latter continues to plug away as six points over the last eight games is encouraging for his typical second half outburst. Consider this- Spezza centers the second line alongside Erik Cole who is starting to heat up. Plus, he is a mainstay on the top power-play unit with All-World Tyler Seguin and the underrated Jamie Benn. This team will light the lamp plenty in the second half. Love Spezza moving forward... Dubie,Dubie,Dubie-where are you? In Minnesota, that's where! The former Arizona Coyote Devan Dubnyk continues to inject some life into his new team as the goalie led the Wild to a 3-1 win and only has...

This version of SMC is coming to you from Wells, Maine where it's really cold but the coffee is really good! I've been telling you that Boston has been getting their act together. Don't let last night's hiccup against Columbus discourage you.  They are back. T-Rask is back to being his dominant self. Ryan Johansen looks like you ‘will' be the centerpiece for the Jackets after all. It has been a pleasure to see him rise to new levels. Once Milan Lucic gets a head of steam, watch out! I think Philly's season is practically over, but they still had to beat Buffalo last night. It will take a miracle for the Flyers to make the playoffs.  That's a shame considering the seasons that Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek are having. I had to take a week of lessons on how to both pronounce and spell this Buffalo Sabres name because I think Zemgus Girgensons is going to be a good one in a very short time. The Toronto Maple Leafs went 0-4 on their mostly West Coast road trip scoring only 1 goal. I wonder if they left their sticks in TO?   They'll probably be glad to be home, but they have 5 of their next 7 on the road.  David Backes has 16 points in last 9 games. Say what?!?!?!  He's a good fantasy player in all categories but this prolific of a scorer? The Islanders are going to have to work on their defense if they want to go deep into the playoffs. Are John Tavares and Kyle Okposo going to tear up the NHL from here on out? I think JT has been saving it up for the stretch run. I truly believe that. This Montreal Canadiens team is scary. Carolina beat Ottawa in a "does anyone really care" matchup. Eric Staal should not be disappearing in some games. He's just too good for that. What happens to Jeff Skinner? Sometimes he looks like a world-beater and then you don't hear from him for months. I mean besides the oft-times that he's injured. Too many top goalies getting injured of late. Or is it a plot to keep them out of the All-Star game?  My conspiracy theory for the week. Tomas Tatar has 20 goals already. What have I been watching to not realize he was having this good of a season? That 5-2 loss to Detroit really showed how much Pekka Rinne is perhaps the best net minder in the NHL right now. If anyone can have a huge second half that has been pretty much non-existent, it's Nathan MacKinnon, he's that talented. For a minute I thought Victor Hedman got injured again when I saw Anton Stralman's line in the box score. 1G, 1A, -1, 1 SOG, 1 BS, 2 HT, and the most power play ...

*Tyler Johnson- After his two goals last night helped propel the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning past the Montreal Canadiens, the 2nd-year center has now vaulted into third in NHL scoring with 45 points. It's unbelievable how quickly Johnson has ascended into the upper echelon of fantasy forwards, but he is as MUST-START as they come now. Keep rolling Johnson. **Patrik Elias- Kudos to the veteran Czech winger for surpassing the 1,000 point mark in his NHL career with a goal and two assists. I beg you to buy low on Elias who has been a huge fantasy disappointment but has been turning it on with 5 points over the last 5 games. If there is anyone left on the waiver-wire that can notch 30-35 pts in the second half, it's surely him. ***Steve Mason- An extraordinary effort by Mason as he single-handlely provided the Flyers the much-needed win with 40 saves on 41 shots against Ottawa. The victory snapped his personal six-game losing streak and although he was all-world last night, he has a way to go before he earns our confidence as a solid fantasy goalie option. ****David Backes- Wow, a four-goal performance by the superior St. Louis two-way center who is also benefitting from two "HOT" line-mates in TJ Oshie and Alex Steen. The return of Jaden Schwartz will help balance the offense a bit, but I would keep riding Backes and company until they cool off. *****Semyon Varlamov- The Colorado Avalanche have been struggling to keep opposing offenses at bay and last night in Chicago was no different. The Blackhawks fired 53 shots at Varlamov but he was up to the task with the Herculean shutout effort. Just like Mason, I still don't trust Varly as a consistent fantasy netminder, but a few more of these type of games and I'm sure I could be swayed.

* TJ Oshie has been a dominant offensive force for the St. Louis Blues since the start of December, so it's time for fantasy owners to take notice. His four-point night, including a "hat trick", helped seal the fate of the San Jose Sharks in the 7-2 rout. He is currently sporting a five-game point streak and has racked up 17 points in the last 16 games. His line, with Alex Steen and David Backes, is rolling, but the return of Jaden Schwartz will also get the Tarasenko unit probably back to their early-season dominant form. Start Oshie now while he is smoking hot... *In his first game donning a Pittsburgh Penguin uniform, David Perron lined up with Sidney Crosby and scored a goal on his first shot. Awesome fairy tale stuff, eh? Well, the Pens got smoked 4-1 by visiting Montreal and should expect a transition period while Perron acclimates to his new high-end teammates. He should get top power-play minutes in the short-term but that could change when Patrick Hornqvist returns in a few weeks. Anyway you slice it, huge boost in fantasy value for the suddenly relevant Perron.. *A wild high-scoring affair in LA, as the Kings rallied for three goals in the dying minutes to sent the game against Nashville into overtime only to lose 7-6 after a goal by defender Roman Josi in the extra frame. Don't worry, both Pekka Rinne and Jonathan Quick still rock in goal! It was just one of those games.. *In case you have not received the memo, Winnipeg goalie Michael Hutchinson is indeed for real. After allowing six goals over his last two starts, "Hutch" settled down by stopping 20 of 21 Toronto shots in the 5-1 blowout win. I feel confident in saying that the youngster's superb numbers (10-3-2, 1.81 GAA, .937 SP) are not flukish and that he will be the starter over Ondrej Pavelec down the stretch.. *Now for the not so obvious- Sam Gagner is actually playing good hockey for Arizona and might warrant short-term fantasy consideration. The underachieving forward scored twice while adding an assist, improving his numbers to 8 points over the last five games. He has clicked big-time with Martin Hanzal, so he might be worth a starting nod for the next few weeks before he goes ice-cold again... *Huge applause for future HOFer Jaromir Jagr becoming the oldest player in NHL history-42- to collect a "hat trick". Pause. Reality check. 25 points in 40 games. His best fantasy days are behind him, but he will occasionally blow up for a few big offensive outbursts.. *The Dallas Stars are...

Backes has been cleared to play after missing just one game with a concussion that he suffered on Tuesday vs. Dallas. With no lingering concussion-like symptoms, Backes will return and centre the Blues top-line tonight. He has two goals and three assists in eight games this season.

Backes missed Thursday's game with a concussion that he suffered on Tuesday. He likely won't play on Saturday vs. Colorado, but the fact that he is back on the ice already is good news for the Blues and Backes owners. He is day-to-day.

Backes suffered the concussion on a collision with Trevor Daley on Tuesday. With Backes out, Jori Lehtera will centre the Blues top-line. Backes should be considered day-to-day, but concussions are tricky.

Backes suffered the injury in the first period when he collided with Stars' defenseman Trevor Daley in the offensive zone. Backes hit the ice hard and suffered what the Blues are calling an upper-body injury. St. Louis hosts Anaheim on Thursday, so expect an update on Wednesday or Thursday morning.