Got my coffee and ready to roll, but no roll with my coffee this morning. Not only did the San Jose Sharks lose to the Buffalo Sabres 2-1 Saturday, they have now lost 4 in a row. I thought Buffalo was the sort of team that you stopped losing streaks with? The Sabres scored twice on 15 SOG. Just think, if they took more shots they'd score more goals.  If only it worked like that. You just know that the Bruins are going to be strong once again in the Eastern Conference when they lose their top d-man for at least 4-6 weeks and can slide a Dougie Hamilton in and he gets 3 points in Chara's place. When will Jonathan Bernier show up because Toronto is counting on him? The Leafs need Phil Kessel to be more consistent if he is going to be their true leader. Carey Price is quietly 6-1-0. A lot of goalies that had troubles last year seem to have gotten off to good starts this year. Players like Jimmy Howard, Braden Holtby and Robin Lehner to name a few. That line of Plekanec, Parenteau and Galchenyuk seemed to be buzzing all night long. All 3 could be in for solid years. Cory Schneider is going to start every game for the New Jersey Devils this year. Not really. This Damon Severson kid is soooo good. He out-scored Erik Karlsson 2-1 and Karlsson is only known for being the best offensive defenseman in the league. Milan Michalek decided to show up last night with a 2 assist night. A lot of people don't have Philly making eh playoffs, but I think otherwise. Once Steve Mason gets straightened out, the Flyers will be tough. Michael Del Zotto has 5 points in 8 games but is not getting a lot of power play time at the moment. Pair of sevens last night as the islanders and the Wild laid a lot of hurt on their visitors, although the Dallas Stars put up 5 themselves. Thank goodness for Frans Nielsen and his 3rd period hat trick. After his blazing start since being acquired from Boston, Islanders d-man Johnny Boychuk has really quieted down on the score sheet although he is still getting lots of ice time. Can you believe Darcy Kuemper is 4-1-0 with 3 shutouts already for Minnesota? Smells like a Brian Elliott career year. I think it's safe to say that Tampa Bay's Jonathan Drouin has had a successful first week in the NHL. Arizona defenseman Keith Yandle doesn't get the credit he deserves. Playing out in the desert doesn't help. With an n 0-5-2 record to start the season, you now know how much Eric Staal means to the Carolina Hurricanes. Have a great week and good luck in ...

Cold, windy autumn day here in New York but I've got my hot cup of Joe right in front of me. There were a lot of significant happenings for fantasy owners last night. Some important fantasy players broke the ice or showed signs of life finally.  Boston's defense seems to be awakening as Zdeno Chara got his 2nd goal, Jason Krug got his 1st and Dougie Hamilton scored his 1st and added an assist. Chara had 7 SOG; out to prove critics wrong about his decline. 2 players that should be added; one for this season and the other for this season and beyond. LW Nick Foligno has 7 points in 5 games for Columbus while Alex Galchenyuk has 6 points in 6 games but is ready to breakout in this his 3rd NHL season. Washington has embraced Barry Trotz' system and is 3-0-2. It's going to be a real dogfight in the Metropolitan division this year. Patric Hornqvist is going to have one huge year in Pittsburgh it seems. 12 SOG last night.  It was good to see Logan Couture have a big game with a goal and 2 assists.   He could be San Jose's leading point-getter this season. Huge overtime win for Philadelphia in Dallas last night.  Huge. Jonas Gustavsson played big last night, blanking his former team the Toronto Maple Leafs 1-0 in overtime. Dion Phaneuf had 6 SOG on goal but his best days as far as big fantasy point-getter are behind him. The Ottawa Senators are surprising me with their play. Are they surprising you? Ottawa G Robin Lehner looks like the promising young goaltender everyone has been waiting for. 2-0-0 with a 1.92 GAA and a .950 SP.  Don't slip Mr. Anderson. Erik Karlsson had 7 SOG last night. Big night for defensemen taking lots of shots.  Matt Duchene, not a defenseman, had 10 SOG for Colorado last night. I really like Galchenyuk this year. I really do. Do the Devils think that with adding this offense they can give up playing defense? If they combine who they used to be with their new offense, they could be dangerous. Mike Cammalleri loves playing in New Jersey it seems with 5 goals and 2 assists in 5 games. This Damon Severson kid looks like he's the real deal on defense for the Devils, doesn't he? A lot of people have the Islanders making the playoffs this year. I think they just miss out.  Sorry, I just don't see it. Claude Giroux is waking up earlier than he did last year. Watch out! This Tyler Seguin has his sights on the Art Ross Trophy this year, but Sid the Kid will have something to say about that. Take a look at Dallas D-man Trevor Daley as he has 3 ...

Ryan Johansen signed a three-year deal with the Columbus Blue Jackets that so desperately needed him to start the season with the rash of injuries the team sustained during camp. Johansen broke out last year and should be able to continue his rise in the NHL.  Johansen will still be a RFA at the end of his contract but will have arbitration rights.  Should be interesting then but Jacket fans can breathe a sigh of relief as they head into the 20140-2015 season....The New York Rangers named Ryan McDonagh the team captain, becoming the 27th captain in their history. McDonagh will prove, if he hasn't already, that he is the right man for the job....Erik Karlsson was also named captain of the Ottawa Senators, taking over for the departed captain Jason Spezza....Jeff Skinner out with a concussion, Evgeni Malkin so-so to start in season opener, Kevin Bieksa so-so for opener in Calgary, Joey Crabb's a Ranger, Peter Budaj a Jet, and when you're a Jet, you're a Jet all the way?.....A day of rest before the season begins. Rest up!  It's going to be a wild ride!

After two straight playoff appearances under Paul MacLean, the Ottawa Senators failed to reach the post-season in 2013-14 with a 37-31-14 record. Their acquisition of high-scoring winger Bobby Ryan last summer was supposed to push the team to the top of the Eastern Conference, but they instead failed to make the top eight. Former captain Jason Spezza has since been shipped to the Dallas Stars for a player package featuring promising forward Alex Chiasson. While lacking elite-level talent, the offense does boast decent depth with promising upside. On defense, Erik Karlsson remains arguably the best offensive defenseman in the game while promising Robin Lehner looks to take another step toward claiming the starting goalie job over Craig Anderson. Once considered on the cusp of elite, this Canadien team, with one of the NHL's lowest payrolls, has ventured down the path of depending on their youthful core to restore their past winning ways. Will it be enough? Probably not, but fantasy owners should find a few bargains along the way. Goalies There quite possibly isn't a more overvalued fantasy goaltender right now than Craig Anderson. While his 25 wins were respectable, his 3.00 GAA and .911 SP last season left more to be desired. Outside of the lockout-shortened season, where he posted a 1.69 GAA, Anderson's lowest in 4 years was 2.83. Ouch! The Senators have signed back-up Robin Lehner to a three-year/$6.675 million extension in July, prompting the thoughts of an eventual goaltending controversy this upcoming year. While it's probably better to stay away from the Ottawa goalie situation in your fantasy drafts, Lehner does remain a decent late-round sleeper, given his considerable value in keeper leagues. Defense After leading the team in scoring with 74 points, All-World Erik Karlsson remains the undisputed no.1 fantasy option on "D". There isn't much to say here other than he is the closest to a sure thing there is in fantasy other than Crosby and Stamkos. If you are drafting late in Round 1, he is well worth heavy consideration since there could be a 15-point or so disparity between him and the next highest scoring blueliner. Patrick Wiercioch is another promising offensive-minded d-man, but he struggled to stay in the lineup last season, being scratched for 29 games. With 23 points in 53 games, he is well worth a late-round flier if he can get his act together in the defensive zone. Young Cody Ceci showed a world of promise during his limited stint as a...

Our summer fantasy lists begin with a few names from the Atlantic Division that should be considered or overlooked when your fantasy leagues start up in September. For actual point predictions and comprehensive fantasy player analysis, make sure to get your hands on our 2014-15 PrimePucks Fantasy Guide available on August 15th. Also, make sure to read our fantasy overviews on each team during our NHL in 30 series coming in September. For now, here is a brief look at what we foresee for the upcoming NHL season: THE ELITE 3 (The top three fantasy players to own in any position) 1. Steven Stamkos C, Tampa Bay   2. Erik Karlsson D, Ottawa 3. Tuukka Rask G, Boston GREAT BET TO REBOUND (Three players who are solid bounce-back candidates in 14-15') 1. Loui Eriksson RW, Boston   2. Tyler Myers D, Buffalo 3. Bobby Ryan RW, Ottawa HERE THEY COME.. (Three players who should be breaking out with career seasons) 1. Gustav Nyquist C, Detroit 2. Kyle Turris C, Ottawa 3. Jonathan Bernier G, Toronto SLEEPER ALERT (Three players who should be late-round fantasy draft bargains) 1. Morgan Reilly D, Toronto   2. Dougie Hamilton D, Boston   3. Tomas Tatar LW, Detroit BUYER BEWARE (Three players who will be overvalued in most fantasy leagues) 1. Zdeno Chara D, Boston 2. Johan Franzen RW, Detroit 3. Dion Phaneuf D, Toronto

As we enter the third day of free agency, most of the coveted UFA's have been signed and whisked away by the highest bidder, including defenseman Matt Niskanen. He was signed by Washington to the tune of a 7-year/$40.25M deal. However, I need to issue a word of caution to all fantasy owners who think that such a financially lucrative signing automatically signals Niskanen's ascent to the upper echelon of fantasy d-men. While it does appear he is entering a very fantasy-friendly situation with Alex Ovechkin's Capitals, there are clears signs to make fantasy pundits pause. As I was glancing through Niskanen's career stats, I did notice that the 27-year old clearly had his breakout campaign last season with Pittsburgh. His 46 points ranked 12th in the NHL, with a huge assist to Kris Letang who missed a bunch of games due to several ailments. Prior to his prolific campaign, Niskanen had only surpassed 30 points once and 20 points three times in six full seasons. Not much of a past scoring pedigree to draw upon, but maybe, just maybe his monster season is a sign of things to come. Well, I decided to look at the career stats of the 11 defensemen that ranked ahead of him in points last season, and noticed something very interesting. Here is the list of each defenseman and in which full season (over 40 games) in their career did they collect 40+ pts. For example, it took the great Alex Pietrangelo his first full year on the job to surpass the 40-point mark. In comparison, Niskanen accomplished the feat for the first time in his seventh season. Let's see how the rest of the top 11 fared: Erik Karlsson, Ottawa            2nd yr. Duncan Keith, Chicago           4th yr. Shea Weber, Nashville            2nd yr. Dustin Byfuglien, Winnipeg     4th yr. Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay    5th yr. PK Subban, Montreal             4th yr. Keith Yandle, Phoenix            3rd yr. James Wisniewski, Columbus 5th yr. Niklas Kronwall, Detroit          3rd yr. Mark Giordano, Calgary         4th yr. With the exception of Hedman and Wisniewski, the rest of the d-men had their classic breakout season within four years of the start of their NHL career. The fact that Niskanen had his "coming out" party in Year 7 raises a red flag for myself. Also, he had been a member of the Penguins for three years prior, so obviously something just clicked last season. Maybe the dreaded contract year which brings the best out of so many chronic underachievers. I was also alarmed by the fact that he ...

All 6 games in the NHL last night were decided by one goal, with half of them decided by a shootout and another won in overtime. Playoff season is arriving! Ryan McDonagh was nothing short of fabulous last night as the sleepy Rangers pulled out an important two points against the Phoenix Coyotes. All the emerging defenseman did was add two assists and scored the game-winner in overtime.  With those 3 points, McDonagh eclipsed the 40 point plateau and is obliterating his previous high of 32 a few years back.  At 24 years of age, McDonagh has room to grow still and can be comparable to Chicago's Duncan Keith. Mike Smith has been spectacular in net of late and so has Henrik Lundqvist.  The two elite net minders turned their seasons around after the Olympic break and last night was proof.  Unfortunately, Smith went down to a lower-body injury (LBI) and may be lost for some time.  Not good for the Yotes who are battling for the last playoff spot in the Western Conference.  Thomas Greiss will man the net in the meantime and has decent metrics at 2.38 GAA and a .924 SP. Grab him if you need goaltender help. The Rangers celebrated Lundqvist's franchise record for victories (302) last night at the Garden and after a shaky start, kept the Rangers in the game long enough for the McDonagh theatrics.  It wasn't one of his best games in that he only faced 21 shots on goal, but it he was good when the team needed him.  Congrats Henrik on your record! Peter Budaj got the surprise start against the Boston Bruins last night instead of Carey Price. Budaj stopped 28 of 29 SOG and raised his record against Boston this season to 2-1-0.  Coach had his reasons and it paid off.  Don't worry Price owners.  Carey is still the Number 1 in Montreal! Erik Karlsson continues to show why he is the elite defenseman in the NHL. He helped the Ottawa Senators upset the Tampa bay Lightning last night with a goal and 2 assists.  What else is there to say? An important win in Big D last night as Kari Lehtonen backstopped the Dallas Stars to a 2-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets; especially with Phoenix losing in OT to the Rangers. Lehts stopped 32 of 33 SOG and earned his 27th win on the season. A few more games like that and the Stars will be shining come playoff time. If you throw out that 6-game losing streak in the middle of November, the "rebuilding" Calgary Flames just might be battling for that last playoff spot along with Phoenix and Dallas. Don't expect Calgary to be an easy stop of ...

All 6 games in the NHL last night were decided by one goal, with half of them decided by a shootout and another won in overtime. Playoff season is arriving! Ryan McDonagh was nothing short of fabulous last night as the sleepy Rangers pulled out an important two points against the Phoenix Coyotes. All the emerging defenseman did was add two assists and scored the game-winner in overtime.  With those 3 points, McDonagh eclipsed the 40 point plateau and is obliterating his previous high of 32 a few years back.  At 24 years of age, McDonagh has room to grow still and can be comparable to Chicago's Duncan Keith. Mike Smith has been spectacular in net of late and so has Henrik Lundqvist.  The two elite net minders turned their seasons around after the Olympic break and last night was proof.  Unfortunately, Smith went down to a lower-body injury (LBI) and may be lost for some time.  Not good for the Yotes who are battling for the last playoff spot in the Western Conference.  Thomas Greiss will man the net in the meantime and has decent metrics at 2.38 GAA and a .924 SP. Grab him if you need goaltender help. The Rangers celebrated Lundqvist's franchise record for victories (302) last night at the Garden and after a shaky start, kept the Rangers in the game long enough for the McDonagh theatrics.  It wasn't one of his best games in that he only faced 21 shots on goal, but it he was good when the team needed him.  Congrats Henrik on your record! Peter Budaj got the surprise start against the Boston Bruins last night instead of Carey Price. Budaj stopped 28 of 29 SOG and raised his record against Boston this season to 2-1-0.  Coach had his reasons and it paid off.  Don't worry Price owners.  Carey is still the Number 1 in Montreal! Erik Karlsson continues to show why he is the elite defenseman in the NHL. He helped the Ottawa Senators upset the Tampa bay Lightning last night with a goal and 2 assists.  What else is there to say? An important win in Big D last night as Kari Lehtonen backstopped the Dallas Stars to a 2-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets; especially with Phoenix losing in OT to the Rangers. Lehts stopped 32 of 33 SOG and earned his 27th win on the season. A few more games like that and the Stars will be shining come playoff time. If you throw out that 6-game losing streak in the middle of November, the "rebuilding" Calgary Flames just might be battling for that last playoff spot along with Phoenix and Dallas. Don't expect Calgary to be an easy stop of ...

All 6 games in the NHL last night were decided by one goal, with half of them decided by a shootout and another won in overtime. Playoff season is arriving! Ryan McDonagh was nothing short of fabulous last night as the sleepy Rangers pulled out an important two points against the Phoenix Coyotes. All the emerging defenseman did was add two assists and scored the game-winner in overtime.  With those 3 points, McDonagh eclipsed the 40 point plateau and is obliterating his previous high of 32 a few years back.  At 24 years of age, McDonagh has room to grow still and can be comparable to Chicago's Duncan Keith. Mike Smith has been spectacular in net of late and so has Henrik Lundqvist.  The two elite net minders turned their seasons around after the Olympic break and last night was proof.  Unfortunately, Smith went down to a lower-body injury (LBI) and may be lost for some time.  Not good for the Yotes who are battling for the last playoff spot in the Western Conference.  Thomas Greiss will man the net in the meantime and has decent metrics at 2.38 GAA and a .924 SP. Grab him if you need goaltender help. The Rangers celebrated Lundqvist's franchise record for victories (302) last night at the Garden and after a shaky start, kept the Rangers in the game long enough for the McDonagh theatrics.  It wasn't one of his best games in that he only faced 21 shots on goal, but it he was good when the team needed him.  Congrats Henrik on your record! Peter Budaj got the surprise start against the Boston Bruins last night instead of Carey Price. Budaj stopped 28 of 29 SOG and raised his record against Boston this season to 2-1-0.  Coach had his reasons and it paid off.  Don't worry Price owners.  Carey is still the Number 1 in Montreal! Erik Karlsson continues to show why he is the elite defenseman in the NHL. He helped the Ottawa Senators upset the Tampa bay Lightning last night with a goal and 2 assists.  What else is there to say? An important win in Big D last night as Kari Lehtonen backstopped the Dallas Stars to a 2-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets; especially with Phoenix losing in OT to the Rangers. Lehts stopped 32 of 33 SOG and earned his 27th win on the season. A few more games like that and the Stars will be shining come playoff time. If you throw out that 6-game losing streak in the middle of November, the "rebuilding" Calgary Flames just might be battling for that last playoff spot along with Phoenix and Dallas. Don't expect Calgary to be an easy stop of ...

Lots of activity in the NHL yesterday with 11 games played, so we have a lot to go through. The Flyers and St. Louis kicked things off with Philadelphia winning 4-1.  Steve Mason was very solid in goal for the Flyers with 32 saves. His record on the year is now 30-16-6 with a 2.52 GA and a .918 SP.  Not a bad season!  Left wing Scott Hartnell had a goal and an assist, and he has been hot lately with 5 points in his last 3 games. Still he has only 46 points on the year.  Young Blues left wing Jaden Schwartz scored their only goal, and he now has 52 points. Look for him next season, as this kid is only going to get better.  The Penguins topped Tampa Bay 4-3, and the big guns were all over the scoreboard.  Evgeni Malkin had a big game with 2 goals and 2 assists for Pittsburgh, while Sydney Crosby had a goal and 2 assists. Steven Stamkos had a goal and an assist for the Lightning. The Red Wings beat Minnesota 3-2, as defenseman Brendan Smith had a goal and an assist. Smith has only 17 points on the season so don't go after him. Dave Leqwand, also, had a goal and an assist for Detroit, but with only 47 points on the year I would not chase him either. The Stars beat Ottawa 3-1.  Boy Ottawa is having a tough year. Kari Lehtonen had 26 saves for the win in goal, and he has 26 wins on the season. Senators defenseman Erik Karlsson got their only goal, and this guy is a monster with 19 goals and 65 points on the year.   LA shutout Florida 4-0, as goaltender Jonathan Quick had 24 saves. Big night for Quick as he surpassed Rogie Vachon as the winningest goaltender in LA history with win number 172.  Congratulations to him!   Montreal got past Toronto 4-3, as each team's right wings Brian Gionta and Joffrey Lupul had a goal and an assist. Neither is fantasy worthy though.   The Rangers shutout New Jersey 2-0, as goaltender Henrik Lundqvist had a big night with 21 saves, and he surpassed Eddie Giacomin for the franchise record with his 50th shutout. Congratulations to him as well!   Carolina beat Winnipeg 3-2, as goaltender Cam Ward had a good night with 34 saves. Maybe he is coming back to life after a difficult season.  We shall see.  Defenseman Andrej Sekera had 2 assists for the Hurricanes, and he is having a great season withh 11 goals and 44 points. Jarome Iginla may be getting up a bit in age, but it sure isn't affecting his play as he had 2 goals last night in Boston's 4-2 win over Phoenix. Goals number 27 & 28 on the year. Tuukka Rask was sharp in goal for ...