Penguins find it hard to win, Senators march closer to a playoff spot, Sabres beat Bruins... Pittsburgh has been finding it hard to come by wins of late as they have lost 4 of their last 5, the latest a 2-0 shutout by Cory Schneider and the New Jersey Devils.  Playing without two of their offensive stars, the Penguins did put 35 shots on goal but couldn’t manage to put one past Schneider.  Schneider is one of the best NHL goaltenders but hasn’t been getting the support this year.  Perhaps next year will be a huge turnaround for both him and the Devils….. Ottawa came up with a huge win in Carolina by beating the Hurricanes -1 in overtime.  Rookie Mark Stone provided the game-winner while defenseman Erik Karlsson was huge assisting on both Sens goals.  Depending on how the roster shapes up over the summer, Stone may play a bigger part in the Senators offense next season.  The win keeps the pressure on both Boston and Washington in the Eastern Conference for the wild card spot, as Boston lost to Buffalo in the shootout 2-1, so the Sens make up a point.…. Montreal managed to tie the New York Rangers atop the Eastern Conference with a 3-2 win over the Florida Panthers, hurting the Cats chances of reaching a playoff position.  It was Dustin Tokarski’s turn in net for the Habs and he didn’t disappoint with a 41-save effort in the victory.  With the way the Panthers have been playing all season long and the amount of young talent they have on board and gaining experience, they should be taken more seriously come draft time in September/October… A huge night for captain Jonathan Toews as his two goals and two assists helped Chicago cruise by the New York Islanders 4-1. Chicago's JT has accelerated his scoring pace since Patrick Kane went down, notching ten points in eight games. For the Isles, their JT has not picked up a point in three games. Don't fret, Tavares owners. He will rebound soon.. Matt Dumba's overtime goal gave the Minnesota Wild the 3-2 win over Nashville as Devan Dubnyk keeps maintaining his lofty perch as the NHL's hottest fantasy goalie. Defenseman Roman Josi continues his breakout season for Nashville with two goals in the losing effort.. Fantasy owners need to pay attention to Winnipeg goalie Ondrej Pavelec who picked up another huge win, this time making 38 saves against a sliding Sharks squad. He has started two straight games for the first time in forever. The rookie Michael Hutchinson has faltered late so it might be time for Winnipeg to ...

The Toronto Maple Leafs came out flat against an Ottawa Senators team that had played a tough match against the New York Rangers the night before.  The Leafs fought back in the third period but Ottawa defenseman Erik Karlsson showed his All-Star form with 2 goals, including the game-winner. Karlsson proved once again why he is the top-rated defenseman in the NHL. The Senators are fighting for a playoff spot so look for good second halves from the likes of Bobby Ryan, Mike Hoffman, Mika Zibanejad and goalie Craig Anderson. Anderson has rebounded from a poor 2013-2014 and is putting up good metrics despite his record....the Leafs have been struggling on offense of late but with talent like Phil Kessel, James van Riemsdyk, Tyler Bozak and company you just know that Toronto will break out in a big way soon, so keep them in your lineup or perhaps "buy low" opportunities await.... Pittsburgh was missing Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang in their matchup against the Chicago Blackhawks but managed to play them tough in a 3-2 shootout loss. The pair were injured in the Philly game the night before and with the long All-Star break, perhaps it was wise to be cautious with two of their top talents... Michael Hutchinson blanked the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-0 heading into the break as the Winnipeg Jets continue to solidify a hold on a playoff spot. Hutchinson has put up some impressive numbers in his short stint in the NHL, so look for the Jets to ride Hutchinson for the majority of starts from here on out.  Evander Kane looks like he is picking up steam with his fourth goal in 7 January games, so if you need some goals and he's on the wire, he might be worth the pickup.... Colorado continues to climb their way back into playoff contention with a 3-2 shootout win over a surging Boston Bruin team. Avs goalie Semyon Varlamov is poised for a big second half and speaking of second halves, Jarome Iginla must feel good to score against his former team. Look for Iginla to be a big part of Colorado's climb going forward.... San Jose helped themselves with a 4-2 win over Los Angeles putting a little distance between the two teams. Logan Couture was the main cog for the Sharks and he should be able to consistently score with this lineup. Expect a point-per-game pace from the 25-year old as he has 11 in 10 January games.  He has the talent to be the top dog in terms of scoring so don't be surprised if he raises his game to the next level.

*On a thrilling evening in the NHL where no lead was safe, we start with a feisty affair between arch-rivals Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. The game featured many fights and hits, including one by Zac Rinaldo that took out Pen's defenseman Kris Letang out of the game. That injury could be a costly one for fantasy owners but there is no word yet on the severity of his injury. The timing of it all considering the team won't play for another week could end up minimizing actual game-time lost for Letang. As for the match, Claude Giroux ended it deep in overtime with a huge power-play goal and his 51st point in 47 games. Firmly established as one of the NHL's fantasy elite, the center continues to rack up the points along with the league's top point getter in Jakub Voracek and "hot" defenseman Mark Streit. On the Pittsburgh front, the word is that forward Patrick Hornqvist should resume skating within a few days and could be back shortly after the All-Star Break. **The goaltending carousel continues in Minnesota as Devan Dubnyk was yanked in Detroit after allowing 4 goals on 10 shots. Enter year-long starter Darcy Keumper, fresh after injury who stopped the 14 shots only to lose in overtime to the streaking Wings. I am not sure where this leaves the Wild's netminding situation entering the break, but at the very least Kuemper will get a legitimate shot to re-earn his starting position. Dubnyk has played better hockey for most of the season, so this situation bears watching. As for the game itself, Zach Parise's two third-period goals led a furious 3-goal comeback for the Wild, but just fell short. Thomas Vanek also added two points, hinting to signs of both wingers heating up for the second half... Speaking of heating up, Detroit's Gustav Nyquist is already a blazing inferno, registering his fifth two-point effort over his last ten games. This guy should be close to a PPG lock moving forward as his slow start has become a distant memory. ***For one night, all the talk that PK Subban has regressed for fantasy purposes is a bunch of "hogwash" as the prolific defender helped the Habs bounce back from a one-goal deficit by scoring the overtime game-winner. His two-point effort gives him 31 points in 45 games which is the same as ultra-elite Erik Karlsson in Ottawa. The moral of the story- d-men like Subban and Karlsson are rare breeds who can heat up in a hurry and all of a sudden, they are right back to where they belong. Ride both with confidence as the they ...

Good morning. I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and a great Boxing Day!  So glad hockey is back! I got a coffee mug warmer stand from my son Derek for Christmas.  It's a Disney version, wonderful! A few weeks back I told you that the Columbus Blue Jackets were about to turn their season around, and Sergei Bobrovsky would be a big part of it, although he didn't start last night's game. The Jackets are the hottest team right now at 8-1-1, even better than the NY Rangers who are 8-2-0. I think you can all guess who the worst team over the last 10 games has been. Who is this Kevin Connauton and why is he acting like Bobby Orr? I thought Marty St. Louis was supposed to be the point-per-game player and not Derek Stepan? What has happened to the Boston Bruins this season? Don't tell me that they miss Jarome Iginla that much. I think the time is right for NY Islander John Tavares to start to really heat up. He's been good so far, but not REAL good. I still don't know if I could have any Buffalo Sabres on my fantasy team yet. This Detroit Red Wing team is pretty dangerous when healthy. Aren't Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk like the classiest players in the NHL? Add Patrice Bergeron to that list too. Dougie Hamilton had 6 SOG and so did Erik Karlsson to lead their respective teams. I'm not comparing these two, just so you know (JSYK). As great as Steve Stamkos is, the Lightning really depend on Ben Bishop, although this kid Andrej Vasilevskiy (learn how to say and spell it because he will be a good one!) looks like a damn, good goalie. What happened to the Carolina Hurricanes scoring? I think that the Devils need a head coach, not a three-ring circus. I hope Lou is not losing it. When is Winnipeg going to give the starting job to Michael Hutchinson? He deserves a long look in my opinion. I have always liked Andrew Ladd for his consistent play but he did have 2 four game stretches without a point. I don't think you'll see that again this season as the Jets are starting to fly high. Minnesota is having goaltending issues this season. I know, hard to believe, right? Washington Capitals G Braden Holtby is on fire. Did you read my BETWEEN THE PIPES article on December 23rd? I'm surprised Pittsburgh lost because they did have Colonel Klinkhammer in the lineup. I'm just kidding, you know that, right? Alex Ovechkin had 10 SOG in the game but was held without a point. Poolies love to see a double digit number under the SOG column. I'm stating the obvious ...

If you didn't happen to catch the latest UNDER THE RAYDAR piece on Tuesday, you may have missed the part about Sean Couturier starting to heat up. Against the Devils, all the young Flyer did was score an early goal and add an assist In the 4-1 Philadelphia win over New Jersey.  It was all Couturier in the first period and then the Flyers sealed the deal with 2 late goals in the third period with Claude Giroux and Mark Streit getting assists on both goals. We all know Giroux and Streit are must-starts, and it looks like Couturier is inching his way into that category as well..... Chicago Blackhawk G Scott Darling is quickly becoming Chicago's darling as he won for the second straight filling in for the injured Corey Crawford. Darling was able to withstand a late-charging Boston Bruin team and turned aside 32 SOG for the 2-2 win in Boston....Jonathan Toews left the game with an apparent upper-body injury when he was checked hard into the end boards. We will keep you posted as we learn more about the extent of Toews' injury.... If you haven't noticed, the Buffalo Sabres have won 5 of their last 7 games as Jhonas Enroth has picked up his game of late, this time with a 4-3 win over the Calgary Flames. Enroth is 7-2-0 in last 9 starts, so if you are need for goaltending help, grab Enroth as he has remained hot for a surging Sabres team....Matt Moulson had 2 goals including the game-winner giving him just 6 goals to go along with 8 assists on the season. Moulson has seen better days since he was traded away from Long Island....Tyler Ennis, with 3 assists, has always shown flashes of offensive brilliance but has never been able to offer that consistently for fantasy purposes. If there is any Sabre player you would pick up for fantasy, Ennis would be the guy... The Columbus Blue Jackets continue their resurgence in the Eastern Conference with a 3-2 OT victory over the Washington Capitals. Sergei Bobrovsky turned aside 39 SOG for his, and the team's, fifth straight win. We had mentioned in the December 2ndBETWEEN THE PIPES article that the time to ‘buy-low" on Bobrovsky was coming to a close and with this win, that window of opportunity has been shut. Perhaps it's not too late to pick up some of the more talented skaters on the team as I'm sure they will start to get hot knowing they have a red-hot Bobber backing them up.... So how does a team usually respond to their coach getting fired? The Ottawa Senators fell victim the Los Angeles Kings 5-3 as the post-Paul ...

It has been a wild ride for fantasy owners early on this season, as many of the elite defensemen have not kicked into high gear yet. While the under-the-radar tandem of Mark Giordano and TJ Brodie are skyrocketing up the ranks, names like Subban, Weber, and Pietrangelo have or almost fallen outside the top ten. With all this uncertainty settling in with some of our better known defensemen, it's easy to forget how truly great Victor Hedman is becoming as a scoring machine and arguably the best fantasy d-man in the NHL. Yes, I said it! Arguably the best, but with an early injury derailing his opportunity to immediately prove that his 55-point 2013-14 was no fluke, he is almost a forgotten man. I received e-mails regarding various trades that Hedman was involved in while he was injured, and to say that I was flabbergasted was an understatement. It's human nature that leads to fantasy owner having a percieved lower value of injured players, only because they are reaping ZERO dividends while sitting on the bench. But let's not forget that he finished fourth last season in d-men scoring for the entire NHL, so to expect him to fall flat in his absolute prime while playing with the likes of Steven Stamkos and an emerging core of talented forwards is irrational. As we stand today, Hedman has collected 13 points in his first 11 games to lead all NHL defensemen with a 1.18 Pts/G and higher than his awesome country-mate Erik Karlsson. Whether he surpasses him or not as a fantasy option is yet to be known, but I could tell you one thing.. elite defensemen should not be tradeable unless it's for way more value. So when I heard that Hedman had been traded for Jaroslav Halak in one of my fantasy leagues, I asked myself if I would ever trade Karlsson for the same deal. My answer is a resounding no, but most fantasy owners wouldn't. The real problem is that Hedman is not universally considered in Karlsson's category yet. The way things are going, that perception will be changing real soon.. Parting Shots: Mike Green will be returning for Washington Thursday night, hoping to get back to what was turning out to a huge bounce-back season. He has recorded 3 goals and 9 assists in his first 19 games. Having been sidelined since Nov. 22, expect some rust early on, but he should be activated immediately... Zdeno Chara will again be paired with Dougie Hamilton when he makes his return tonight. Many signs of steady decline are showing for "Big Z", but he is still a reliable no.3 ...

Even the loss of Corey Perry can't slow down Ryan Getzlaf as the Anaheim center piled up three assists in the 4-3 road win over Winnipeg. With ten points in the last five games, there isn't much stopping Getzlaf these days as he has been a consistent elite option over last few years.. Jacob Trouba is making most of key injuries to Zach Bogosian and Tobias Enstrom, picking up a goal and an assist for Winnipeg in a losing cause. Definitely use him in the short-term, as the 20-year old is showing clear signs of breaking out... After putting up a "goose-egg" on Saturday night, Detroit's  Pavel Datsyuk registered a goal and 2 assists in the 3-1 win over Carolina. His three points gave him four multi-point outings in his last five games. He always puts forth a point-per-game clip but one must hope he can stay healthy long enough... Tomas Tatar was also a major contributor, collecting a goal and an assist as well. Watch out for Mika Zibenejad and Bobby Ryan, as the duo combined for 7 points in the 4-3 comeback victory for Ottawa over Vancouver. Bobby is probably taken, but Mika could be worth a waiver grab and stash.. Erik Karlsson ended the game with the overtime winner. Not much to say here, other than he is the elite of the elite. Untradeable as far as I am concerned..

Hooray to the great Martin Brodeur for picking up his first win For St. Louis, after stopping 14 of 16 shots in relief of an ineffective Jake Allen. Somewhere way inside me, I have a feeling he can push Allen for playing time given his tremendous future HOF pedigree but am not sure how it would play out when Brian Elliott returns. I would say that if you any room on your bench, stashing him for now might not be the worst idea.. To stay on this game, Kevin Shattenkirk's three points has vaulted him to second amongst NHL defensemen in scoring with 22 points. For fantasy formats that reward power-play points, he actually leads all d-men in power-play assists with 14. As elite as they come.. Up-and-coming Florida defenseman Aaron Ekblad is making quite the rookie impact with three more assists, giving him 17 points in 26 games. While its unreasonable to expect the youngster to maintain that level of production, I could easily see him pull off a "Tyler Myers"... Chicago's other great line came up huge for the second straight match, as Marian Hossa scored two goals in the 3-1 win over Nashville. Patrick Kane and Kris Versteeg have been dynamite on the second line, but the impending return of Patrick Sharp to the top unit might give them the edge going forward. Nonetheless, plenty of goals to go around as the Blackhawks are explosive.. While Sidney Crosby and Jakub Voracek have been battling for the NHL scoring lead seemingly all season long, studly Tyler Seguin roared past the two with a three-point effort and now also leads in goals scored with 21. There is a subtle "change of the fantasy guard" going on here, as the Dallas center making a bold statement for universal top-three selection in next year's fantasy drafts... Maybe it's time to change Mark Giordano's first name to "Norris" as the Calgary defenseman continues to prove that his breakout season of 2013-14 was no fluke. With his goal last night, he now leads all defensemen with 28 points. His point-per-game production last year-.73- ranked third only behind Erik Karlsson and Duncan Keith, so he keep your faith in this guy. He's legit elite and not worth trading under most circumstances... Shades of heavy-duty Vezina form for goalie Sergei Bobrovsky lately, as he turned aside 33 shots in the improbable victory in Tampa. He has now won three straight for an injury-plagued Columbus squad and should only get better as the team gets healthier. Your "buy-low" window is closing rapidly... MORE COMING..

Sorry for the delay, but I've been bogged down by the flu all day. Only able to muster a sip or two of coffee.  Well, here goes........ Lots of scoring yesterday which makes most fantasy fans very happy. Sid the Kid with 5 assists, proving once again that he is the No. 1 fantasy player on the planet. The Calgary Flames are an exciting team to watch. Flames D Mark Giordano leads all NHL defensemen in points with 18, followed by Brent Burns and T.J. Brodie. Where is Erik Karlsson? One thing about Karlsson is that he can catch up in a hurry. Kris Letang is back! Patric Hornqvist probably pinches himself every day to make sure his life is real playing in Pittsburgh. That Toronto-NY Ranger game on Saturday was a great game to watch. A classic back and forth battle. You can immediately tell how much Derek Stepan means to that offense. Montreal's 4 goals against Minnesota was the most they scored in the past 10 games. Ondrej Pavelec continues to prove me wrong. He has been brilliant in goal the last 7-8 games. Tampa Bay scored 7 agaisnt Columbus an Stamkos only had 1 assist. A bit disappointing to fantasy owners who saw the score and were probably salivating. Ryan Callahan could be gold playing alongside Stamkos as not only will he get points by attrition, but will also get you some PIMs too. Good to see Cam Atkinson taking 9 shots last night. Jakub Voracek is staying close to Sid in the scoring race with 3 points last night. From here on out, Claude Giroux should have a spectacular season. The NY Islanders won three straight on the road against LA, Anaheim and Arizona. Who wudda thunk it? The Carolina Hurricanes are for real after they came back down 2 goals to the Washington Capitals before losing in OT. They have gotten 9 out of a possible 10 points in November. What is up with Shea Weber this year? Wake up buddy. You're in a new system that should benefit your offense. I kind of miss that magic that Tomas Hertl had last year. That's it for me today. I gotta rest up.  Enjoy your week and I hope all your fantasies come true.

The Florida Panthers and Roberto Luongo continue to be a tough draw as the Boston Bruins squeaked out a 2-1 win over the Cats. Brad Marchand was the offensive catalyst for the third straight game with a goal and an assist giving him 6 points in those three games. If you are looking for a mid-50 point scorer who could possibly give you a little more, then Marchand might be worth a pickup... The Cam Ward resurgence continues from the weekend as Ward and the Carolina Hurricanes won their third straight with a 4-2 win over Columbus. It is safe to put Ward back in your lineup, or possibly pick him up off waivers if he happens to still be available.... The hottest player in the NHL continues to tear it up as Vladimir Tarasenko scored a game-winning power play goal as the blues beat the New Jersey Devils 1-0. There isn't much more to say than to keep him in your lineup until he somehow cools off.  That's 9 points in his last 5 games.  Torrid!  G Jake Allen pitched the 26-save shutout..... Steve Mason and the Philadelphia Flyers played a solid game at home to start off a 4-game homestand. On player who is giving Tarasenko a run for the "hottest player" honors is Jakub Voracek who had 2 goals, including the game-winner. With 18 points in 12 games, he is right up there with Sidney Crosby for the league lead in points. Like Tarasenko, he also has 9 points in his last 5 games..... If the NHL, or fantasy poolies even, haven't taken the Calgary Flames seriously yet, well you just might have to join the ever increasing believers as the Flames took one from the Washington Capitals with a 4-3 OT victory in DC. The Flames have carried over their solid play from last year and Head Coach Bob Hartley has them playing spirited hockey.  Continue to start T.J. Brodie and Mark Giordano on the back end and perhaps Johnny Gaudreau even though he was kept off the score sheet, he does have 5 points in last 4 games. G Jonas Hiller has brought much needed stability in net for the Flames so continue to start him with confidence.... Chicago, behind the 28-save performance by Corey Crawford, blanked the Montreal Canadiens 5-0 at the Bell Centre. Jonathan Toews was the catalyst with a power play goal and an assist as the Habs continue to struggle to score. Their goal differential to date is -14, so someone has to step up or G Carey Price will start to get shell shocked.... Erik Karlsson led the way with a power-play goal that keyed a three-out burst in the third period for the Senators ...