FANTASY GAME NOTES: Ryan Miller has been playing well since the start of the season but you wouldn't have known it just by looking at the standings. His record now stands at 9-17-0 with the win last night against the Coyotes, and 5 of those wins have come in his last 7 starts.  He's a steady goaltender who gets tons of starts, perhaps the law of averages is panning out.  So, if you need a decent 2nd goalie, it's Miller time!....The Toronto Maple leafs played their third shootout in a row, losing the last two.   At least they are gaining some points after losing 5 of their previous 6.  Phil Kessel and Joffrey Lupul have been sort of ice cold, at least for them. So perhaps you may be able to snatch them away from an unknowing GM....Ducks with a capital ‘D'.  The Anaheim Ducks defense kept Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Caps at bay in their 3-2 victory but Nicklas Backstrom continued his torrid scoring pace with a power play goal, giving him 17 points in 10 December games. ....No Skinner off their backs as the Columbus Blue Jackets were able to overcome Jeff Skinner's 2-goaleffort. Skinner is one of those you live and die with becvause he can give you some good fantasy production, but at the same time gets injured ‘way too much'.  He's already been on the sideline once this year, so perhaps it's safe to keep him in.  OR, you can try and "sell-high".  See what you can get?....Maybe Columbus doesn't need Marian Gaborik. They have gone 6-3-1 in December basically without the enigmatic score. In those 10 games, Ryan Johansen has gone 5-6-11. Johansen is finally coming of age.....Craig Anderson should study the tape of his game last night against Pittsburgh because he blanked the Penguins 5-0. Anderson struggles have been the talk of Ottawa but last night's performance could signal a turnaround for the struggling goaltender....Speaking of turnarounds, The NY Isles avenged their early season loss to the Detroit Red Wings with a 3-0 blanking of their own. Having Evgeni Nabokov back in net is a world of difference from having Kevin Poulin in there. It's just not Poulin's time yet...The Bolts blasted the Florida Panthers in the Battle of Florida.  The Cats took the first shot with a late 1st period goal by Sean Bergenheim, but the Lightning answered less than 20 seconds and then with 5 more unanswered goals. The loss of Steven Stamkos has not hurt Tampa Bay at all. It's all because of Goalie sensation Ben Bishop who has been nothing less than spectacular ...

Nabokov allowed four goals on 30 shots in a loss to the Ducks on Saturday. It was a terrible matchup so the bad performance is not surprising. He is 1-1-2 with a 2.44 GAA and .913 SV% in his last four starts since returning to the crease.

ALL GOALIES CONFIRMED UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED AT TIME OF PRINT On the last day before the Christmas Holiday break, we have a slew of games, with every team playing except for the Montreal Canadiens and Vancouver Canucks. The Buffalo Sabres are shuffling off into the break on the heels of Ryan Miller, who, despite his and the team's record has been playing well this season. In fact, the Sabres have won 2 of 3 and 3 of their last six.  Perhaps they are shedding their doormat moniker for something special this Christmas.  Mike Smith (LIKELY) and the Phoenix Coyotes might want to leave some coal in their stockings.  This concludes a 4-game road trip for the Yotes so perhaps they will be thinking about being home for the holidays.  It's Miller time...Henrik Lundqvist will sit for the second game in a row as the NY Rangers look to get their season straightened out.  Cam Talbot has been more than an adequate backup for the Blueshirts and he will give the team a good shot at winning two in a row. Their opponent, the Toronto Maple Leafs, have been struggling with their own game having lost 6 of past 8 games.  Both goaltenders are starting to slip lately, opening up discussions about possibly acquiring a bona fide starter.  Jonathan Bernier (LIKELY) will try to get back on track after losing to the Detroit Red Wings in a shootout last time out. There's a Blue Christmas in NY....Philipp Grubauer and the Washington Capitals will host the Anaheim Ducks and their starter Jonas Hiller. The Ducks are ending a 4-game road trip and they have actually won 8 in a row.  The Caps can be explosive but the Ducks are just too tough and don't want to end up on someone's Christmas table....Curtis McElhinney and the Columbus Blue Jackets head into Carolina to take on Justin Peters (LIKELY) and the Carolina Hurricanes.  Nothing could be finer than to be in Carolina for a win.  The Canes have lost 5 of 6 and the Jackets look to sweeten up on some candy....With Harding out, its Niklas Backstrom and the Minnesota Wild traveling to Philadelphia to take on Steve Mason and the Flyers. The Flyers are coming off too doozies against Columbus and the inept offense of the Wild just may be what the home team needs to make Christmas even merrier....It's the Battle of Florida as Ben Bishop and the Tampa Bay Lightning look to extend their winning streak to 5 against Scott Clemmensen and the Florida Panthers. The Cats have been playing much better over the past few weeks winning 7 of 9 but the ...

Nabokov allowed three goals on 24 shots in the Islanders 5-3 win over the Rangers last night. The win was his first since November 1 and moved him to 1-0-2 with a 1.93 GAA and .929 SV% since returning from his groin injury.

We all know about Santa's little helpers but recently Washington Capitals Center Nicklas Backstrom is doling out assists like giving away candy canes at Christmas. Last night against the Canes in fact, Backstrom had 4 assists, the second time in December that he had 4 helpers in a game.   Always known more for his assists than goal-scoring but at the rate he is dishing them out lately, he could possibly set a new career high.  His previous high was 68 back in 2009-2010.  The last few years injuries took their toll along with a different system in place, but don't worry, Backstrom is back to his old ways....Caps Goalie Philipp Grubauer got the win to raise his season record to 3-0-1 with a 2.06 GAA and a .937 SP. If he continues at this rate,  Braden Holtby better start bringing his ‘A' game if he wants to keep his starting job. It might be a good idea to grab him off the wire to handcuff your Capital goalie situation.... More Fantasy Game Notes: The desperate Islanders only needed a match against their arch-rival NY Rangers to get the blood boiling again.  Early Ranger sloppiness led to 2 short-handed goals in the 1st, but hey managed to overcome those miscues to take a 3-2 lead before the Isles took the lead back and sealed the game late in the third period. The Blueshirts have been a huge disappointment so far whereas the Islanders were expected to be playoff-worthy but there is a little more leniency because of their youth.  With Evgeni Nabokov back in net for the Isles, peraps this is a good time to grab some Islander players on the cheap before they start to turn it around....I'LL HAVE A ‘Z' PLEASE PAT. If you are looking for a player to somewhat breakout for a good second half run, look no further than the New Jersey Devils' Travis Zajac. Although you can't expect huge scoring from the Devils, Zajac does have 5 points in his past 5 games.  So if you need some consistency on the back end of your forward group, Zajac could be a good fit.  He did have back-to-back seasons of 60+ points from 2008-2010....MAKING HIS MARK. Winnipeg's Mark Scheifele has scored in 5 straight games with 7 points and 8 points in 7 games. Scheifele only has 15 points on the season, so you can see how hot he has gotten.  He seems to be counted more lately and he has responded.  The Jets hanger is crowded, but he can push his way and grab some ice time from some non-producing forwards, he might be worth a shot to help your team down the stretch....NOT ‘LACK'ING. It wasn't the ...

We all know about Santa's little helpers but recently Washington Capitals Center Nicklas Backstrom is doling out assists like giving away candy canes at Christmas. Last night against the Canes in fact, Backstrom had 4 assists, the second time in December that he had 4 helpers in a game.   Always known more for his assists than goal-scoring but at the rate he is dishing them out lately, he could possibly set a new career high.  His previous high was 68 back in 2009-2010.  The last few years injuries took their toll along with a different system in place, but don't worry, Backstrom is back to his old ways....Caps Goalie Philipp Grubauer got the win to raise his season record to 3-0-1 with a 2.06 GAA and a .937 SP. If he continues at this rate,  Braden Holtby better start bringing his ‘A' game if he wants to keep his starting job. It might be a good idea to grab him off the wire to handcuff your Capital goalie situation.... More Fantasy Game Notes: The desperate Islanders only needed a match against their arch-rival NY Rangers to get the blood boiling again.  Early Ranger sloppiness led to 2 short-handed goals in the 1st, but hey managed to overcome those miscues to take a 3-2 lead before the Isles took the lead back and sealed the game late in the third period. The Blueshirts have been a huge disappointment so far whereas the Islanders were expected to be playoff-worthy but there is a little more leniency because of their youth.  With Evgeni Nabokov back in net for the Isles, peraps this is a good time to grab some Islander players on the cheap before they start to turn it around....I'LL HAVE A ‘Z' PLEASE PAT. If you are looking for a player to somewhat breakout for a good second half run, look no further than the New Jersey Devils' Travis Zajac. Although you can't expect huge scoring from the Devils, Zajac does have 5 points in his past 5 games.  So if you need some consistency on the back end of your forward group, Zajac could be a good fit.  He did have back-to-back seasons of 60+ points from 2008-2010....MAKING HIS MARK. Winnipeg's Mark Scheifele has scored in 5 straight games with 7 points and 8 points in 7 games. Scheifele only has 15 points on the season, so you can see how hot he has gotten.  He seems to be counted more lately and he has responded.  The Jets hanger is crowded, but he can push his way and grab some ice time from some non-producing forwards, he might be worth a shot to help your team down the stretch....NOT ‘LACK'ING. It wasn't the ...

We all know about Santa's little helpers but recently Washington Capitals Center Nicklas Backstrom is doling out assists like giving away candy canes at Christmas. Last night against the Canes in fact, Backstrom had 4 assists, the second time in December that he had 4 helpers in a game.   Always known more for his assists than goal-scoring but at the rate he is dishing them out lately, he could possibly set a new career high.  His previous high was 68 back in 2009-2010.  The last few years injuries took their toll along with a different system in place, but don't worry, Backstrom is back to his old ways....Caps Goalie Philipp Grubauer got the win to raise his season record to 3-0-1 with a 2.06 GAA and a .937 SP. If he continues at this rate,  Braden Holtby better start bringing his ‘A' game if he wants to keep his starting job. It might be a good idea to grab him off the wire to handcuff your Capital goalie situation.... More Fantasy Game Notes: The desperate Islanders only needed a match against their arch-rival NY Rangers to get the blood boiling again.  Early Ranger sloppiness led to 2 short-handed goals in the 1st, but hey managed to overcome those miscues to take a 3-2 lead before the Isles took the lead back and sealed the game late in the third period. The Blueshirts have been a huge disappointment so far whereas the Islanders were expected to be playoff-worthy but there is a little more leniency because of their youth.  With Evgeni Nabokov back in net for the Isles, peraps this is a good time to grab some Islander players on the cheap before they start to turn it around....I'LL HAVE A ‘Z' PLEASE PAT. If you are looking for a player to somewhat breakout for a good second half run, look no further than the New Jersey Devils' Travis Zajac. Although you can't expect huge scoring from the Devils, Zajac does have 5 points in his past 5 games.  So if you need some consistency on the back end of your forward group, Zajac could be a good fit.  He did have back-to-back seasons of 60+ points from 2008-2010....MAKING HIS MARK. Winnipeg's Mark Scheifele has scored in 5 straight games with 7 points and 8 points in 7 games. Scheifele only has 15 points on the season, so you can see how hot he has gotten.  He seems to be counted more lately and he has responded.  The Jets hanger is crowded, but he can push his way and grab some ice time from some non-producing forwards, he might be worth a shot to help your team down the stretch....NOT ‘LACK'ING. It wasn't the ...

Nabokov allowed two goals on 36 shots in a shootout loss against the Lightning on Tuesday. Despite going 0-0-2 he has been solid in both starts since returning from a groin injury, positing a 1.42 GAA and .951 SV%. He will face a struggling Rangers squad tonight and could make for a solid start.

Nabokov allowed a single tally on 25 shots in a 1-0 OT loss to the Canadiens on Saturday. It was a nice return to the net for Nabby after missing the last 12 games. Tonight he will face the Lightning and their 15th ranked scoring offence.

Nabokov missed the last 12 games with a groin injury. He served as Kevin Poulin's back-up on Thursday but appears to be getting the call tonight. Before he was injured he struggled at times, posting a 5-5-3 record with a 3.30 GAA and .892 SV%. In his first game back he draws a tough matchup against a solid Canadiens team.