Blueshirts rise to the top; sliding Penguins; Landeskog a March fantasy gem; and more: Boston had a chance to leapfrog over the Ottawa Senators who lost to the NY Rangers, but gave up a late goal then lost in overtime.  They managed to tie the Sens in total points but have a game in hand and with the return of David Krejci (2A) to the lineup, the Bruins will be tough to keep away from here on out.  Get him in your lineup as he makes the whole team better when he is playing well, and the Bruins need him to play well…. The NY Rangers clinched a playoff spot by routing the Senators 5-1 with Chris Kreider (2G) and Derek Stepan (2A) providing the early spark.  5 Rangers with multi-point games as it looks like they are peaking for the start of the playoffs.  And expect Henrik Lundqvist to be back in net in their next game on Saturday against Boston, or Sunday versus Washington.  Get your Ranges into your fantasy lineups… In a battle of two teams fighting for that coveted number 1 draft pick in June, Arizona beat Buffalo 4-3… Cam Ward returned triumphantly after missing 5 games due to a virus, turning aside 27 shots in Carolina's 5-2 decision over Pittsburgh. The win snapped a 0-3-3 slide at home while the Penguin offense keeps floundering without Evgeni Malkin and Patrick Hornqvist.. LA continued rolling over the New York area teams with a 3-2 win over the Islanders completing the sweep of both NY Teams and New Jersey on their road trip.  They are battling to gain the playoffs so don’t expect anything less from the Kings from here on out.... The Florida Panthers continue to stay alive in the playoff hunt after knocking off dismal Toronto 4-1 on the road. Jonathan Huberdeau scored a key second period goal while linemate Aleksander Barkov picked up two helpers. Both youngsters should be huge breakout candidates in 2015-16.. Not a great fantasy year for Patrick Marleau, but the San Jose forward spearhead a huge offensive flurry in the 6-4 win over Detroit with two goals and one assist. His best days seem clearly behind him as his 52 points on the season represents a huge step back from the normally reliable 60-70 point producer.. Pekka Rinne stood tall in Tampa as the Nashville goalie stopped 28 of 30 shots while the Lightning's Ben Bishop was pulled in the second after allowing three goals on 11 shots. After a short dry spell, Rinne has found his elite form once again and should be a top starting option over the last few weeks while the Predators fully work out...

It was a rare feat last night as two of the projected top teams in the Western Conference fought to a 1-0 shootout match between the St. Louis Blues and Los Angeles Kings. Jonathan Quick (43 SV) held on just enough as he battled Brian Elliott (18) SV), proving that both are ready for the long season. Start both with confidence as both goalies should supply you with not only loads of wins, but excellent metrics as well....... The Pittsburgh Penguins were shocked as the Dallas Stars snatched what appeared to be a sure victory with 2 late third period goals to win 3-2. Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin both scored with under 3 minutes remaining the game, proving that they both should be considered among the NHL Elite..... People are all talking about the start that the New York Islanders are having this year and most of the focus has been on John Tavares, Kyle Okposo, newcomer Johnny Boychuk, and young Brock Nelson but not much has been spoken of G Jaroslav Halak. Halak raised his record to 3-0-0 win the shootout win over San Jose last night and although his metrics aren't spectacular at 2.92 GAA and a .900 SP, he should get you lots of wins on a much-improved Islander team. Expect his numbers to improve a bit as we settle into the season.... Perhaps the New Jersey Devils should've reverted back to their defensive ways last night as Washington chased Cory Schneider by scoring 5 goals on 26 shots. Not Schneider's best.  The Capitals had 6 different goal-scorers and raised their record to 2-0-2.  It looks like the Caps are a more balanced scoring team at the beginning of the season.  Mike Green chipped in with 2 assists giving him 5 points in 3 games and looks like he is playing with more confidence under Barry Trotz.  He may not be the dynamic scoring defenseman he once was, but he seems to be over the past injuries that curtailed his output.... Don't look now, I know it's only 2 games, but Braden Holtby is 2-0-0 with a 1.85 GAA and a .932 SP. We predicted his resurgence this year in our Guide and it looks like he is rewarding our confidence in him... Looking for a 4th defensemen that can provide some pop? Look at New Jersey's Damon Severson as he had 2 goals last night with 8 SOG. Plus he had the most PP time of all, yes ALL, New Jersey players.  He now has 3 goals and an assist in 4 games.... No one expected the Colorado Avalanche to take the league by surprise this year but no one them to start off 1-3-1 after their loss to the Ottawa Senators last night. ...

Only four games on the schedule last night in the NHL. The Sabres surprised the Sharks with a 4-2 victory.  Jhonas Enroth was in net for Buffalo as Jaroslav Halak was not yet ready to start for his new team. Enroth was sharp with 36 saves, but with only 3 wins on the season and a 2.90 GAA and .906 SP, he should be taking a back seat to Halak.  Defenseman Tyler Myers had a goal and 2 assists in the game, but he has only 20 points on the season and his plus/minus is a ghastly -23....The Avalanche took out Phoenix 4-2 as left wing Gabriel Landeskog had a goal and 2 assists. We have been touting Landeskog for some time on this site, and we have high expectations for him.  He has 51 points on the season with a +16.  Colorado goaltender Semyon Varlamov continued his outstanding season with a 40 save effort. Varlamov's record is now 29-11-5 with a 2.47 GAA and a .925 SP.....Defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson had 2 assists for Phoenix, and that makes me happy because he is on my team. OEL has 32 points on the season with 9 goals.  This guy has big time fantasy potential written all over him.  Draft him early next year.  Right wing Shane Doan had 2 power play goals for Phoenix, and the old war horse is still playing pretty well with 33 points in 47 games, but he is not quite what he used to be....Minnesota beat the Canucks 2-1 in a shootout in what was a very defensive minded game. It took 13 attempts in the SO until Justin Fontaine finally scored the game winner for the Wild, but he has only 18 points on the season. Darcy Kuemper appears, for now, to be the starter in goal for Minnesota, so grab him if you need help in goal. He was good last night with 30 saves.  His record is a solid 10-3-2....Anaheim topped St Louis 1-0 and the big star of the game was Ducks goaltender Jonas Hiller who had 18 saves. Hiller is one of the top fantasy goaltenders with his 26-9-4 record this year.

Only four game on the schedule last night in the NHL. The Sabres suprised the Sharks with a 4-2 victory.  Jhonas Enroth was in net for Buffalo as Jaroslav Halak was not yet ready to start for his new team. Enroth was sharp with 36 saves, but with only 3 wins on the season and a 2.90 GAA and .906 SP, he should be taking a back seat to Halak.  Defenseman Tyler Myers had a goal and 2 assists in the game, but he has only 20 points on the season and his plus/minus is a ghastly -23. The Avalanche took out Phoenix 4-2 as left wing Gabriel Landeskog had a goal and 2 assists. We have been touting Landeskog for some time on this site, and we have high expectations for him.  He has 51 points on the season with a +16.  Colorado goaltender Semyon Varlamov continued his outstanding season with a 40 save effort. Varlamov's reord is now 29-11-5 with a 2.47 GAA and a .925 SP.  Defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson had 2 assists for Phoenix, and that makes me happy because he is on my team. EL has 32 points on the season with 9 goals.  This guy has big time fantasy potential written all over him.  Draft him early next year.  Right wing Shane Doan had 2 power play goals for Phoenix, and the old war horse is still playing pretty well with 33 points in 47 games, but he is not quite what he used to be. Minnesota beat the Canucks 2-1 in a shootout in what was a very defensive minded game.  It took 13 attempts in the SO until Justin Fontaine finally score the game winner for the Wild, but he has only 18 points on the season. Darcy Kuemper appears for now to be the starter in goal for Minnesota, so grab him if you need help in goal. He was good last night with 30 saves.  His record is a solid 10-3-2.  Anaheim topped St Louis 1-0 and the big star of the game was Ducks goaltender Jonas Hiller who had 18 saves. Hiller is one of the top fantasy goaltenders with his 26-9-4 record this year.

Tyler who? In case you have been on the far side of the moon the past couple of weeks, you should have noticed that the Boston Bruins second line of Patrice Bergeron-Brad Marchand-Reilly Smith has been absolutely on fire. Last night in a 6-3 victory over the Islanders Marchand had a goal and 3 assists, Bergeron had one goal and an assist and Smith had one goal and an assist as well.  This line is clicking about as good as one could ever expect.  In the last 6 games they have combined for 30 points.  After a slow start, Marchand has 12 points in his last 6 games.  He still has only 33 points on the season, but he is on fire.  If you can get any one of these guys right now in your pool, please do so immediately, as these three guys are playing extremely well together.  New York forward Kyle Okposo continued his great season with a goal and 2 assists. With 57 points on the year, Okposo is having a huge breakout season.  The Islanders welcomed back d-man Lubomir Visnovsky who had been out since October 19th with a concussion. Grab him if he is still available.  They, also, welcomed back goaltender Evgeni Nabokov, so Kevin Poulin will likely go back to the bench. Staal speed: The Carolina Hurricanes came from behind to beat Columbus 3-2. Carolina forward Eric Staal had 2 goals to start the comeback and his brother Jordan scored the game winner on a beautiful curl and drag play that fooled Sergei Bobrovsky. Staal's line continues hot as Alex Semin and left wing Jiri Tlusty each had an assist. Staal has 44 points on the season, and if this line stays hot he could have a big finish this year. Anton Khudobin seems to have established himself as the number one goalie in Carolina. He has won 4 in a row, and 5 of his last 6 games, and his 2.18 goals against is hard to argue with. Fleury pitches a zero: Pittsburgh goalie Marc-Andre Fleury had a great night with a shutout of the Sabres 3-0. Fleury had 24 saves, and he now has 29 wins on the season.  Top fantasy goalie!  Chris Kunitz had the game winner, and he is having a great year with 54 points. Tanner Glass had a goal and an assist for the Penguins, but with only 10 points on the season, he is just a third line plodder. The rumors are flying about 33 year old Buffalo goaltender Ryan Miller getting traded before the deadline. Miller is an unrestricted free agent after this season, and if he goes to a decent team his fantasy value would increase  a lot. His .926 save percentage indicates that he is still playing ...

Tyler who? In case you have been on the far side of the moon the past couple of weeks, you should have noticed that the Boston Bruins second line of Patrice Bergeron-Brad Marchand-Reilly Smith has been absolutely on fire. Last night in a 6-3 victory over the Islanders Marchand had a goal and 3 assists, Bergeron had one goal and an assist and Smith had one goal and an assist as well.  This line is clicking about as good as one could ever expect.  In the last 6 games they have combined for 30 points.  After a slow start, Marchand has 12 points in his last 6 games.  He still has only 33 points on the season, but he is on fire.  If you can get any one of these guys right now in your pool, please do so immediately, as these three guys are playing extremely well together.  New York forward Kyle Okposo continued his great season with a goal and 2 assists. With 57 points on the year, Okposo is having a huge breakout season.  The Islanders welcomed back d-man Lubomir Visnovsky who had been out since October 19th with a concussion. Grab him if he is still available.  They, also, welcomed back goaltender Evgeni Nabokov, so Kevin Poulin will likely go back to the bench. Staal speed: The Carolina Hurricanes came from behind to beat Columbus 3-2. Carolina forward Eric Staal had 2 goals to start the comeback and his brother Jordan scored the game winner on a beautiful curl and drag play that fooled Sergei Bobrovsky. Staal's line continues hot as Alex Semin and left wing Jiri Tlusty each had an assist. Staal has 44 points on the season, and if this line stays hot he could have a big finish this year. Anton Khudobin seems to have established himself as the number one goalie in Carolina. He has won 4 in a row, and 5 of his last 6 games, and his 2.18 goals against is hard to argue with.  Fleury pitches a zero: Pittsburgh goalie Marc-Andre Fleury had a great night with a shutout of the Sabres 3-0. Fleury had 24 saves, and he now has 29 wins on the season.  Top fantasy goalie!  Chris Kunitz had the game winner, and he is having a great year with 54 points. Tanner Glass had a goal and an assist for the Penguins, but with only 10 points on the season, he is just a third line plodder. The rumors are flying about 33 year old Buffalo goaltender Ryan Miller getting traded before the deadline. Miller is an unrestricted free agent after this season, and if he goes to a decent team his fantasy value would increase  a lot. His .926 save percentage indicates that he is still playing ...

It's about that point in the fantasy hockey season where you take a good, hard look at your team. Does your team have what it takes to go all the way in it's current makeup?  Do you have the horses to finish in the top 3?  Or, should you be looking to prepare for next season?  Today we will take a look at potential breakout players for the 2014 season you should probably target now. Please take note that these players all were part of an NHL club during the Lockout season, which should be taken into account in your own analysis of players as it didn't constitute a full 82-game season.  For forwards, a typical breakout year is usually in year 3 or 4 depending on the amount of games the player has played in those prior years along with the responsibilities and opportunities that were given or can arise. So, some of these players fall right, smack-dab in the middle of those prime breakout years.  For the most part, high draft picks usually get the opportunity for more responsibility because of time and money invested in these draft selections.  They're usually of high pedigree so you can probably bank on them to at least get a considerate amount of opportunity.  In the case of the players we are about to discuss, if the team they play for moves players or let's others walk via free agency without dipping into that pool; you know that they have a more-than-reasonable chance to breakout. One player that comes to mind who has been given ample playing time with room to grow and has the offensive talent to jump up another level is Philadelphia flyer Sean Couturier. Since being selected with the eighth overall selection in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, he has stuck with the team and seemed to fit right in playing in 77 games and notching 27 points while learning the defensive aspects of NHL life.  His second year in the league was a letdown as he played in 46 games of the Lockout season and only scoring 15 points. Players usually slump in their sophomore year, the dreaded ‘sophomore jinx'.  He has more responsibility in his third season and has 21 points in 48 games played so far, but could see a jump in points for the second half, especially since the team had to overcome such a horrendous start to the season.  Next season will be his 3rd full season, or 3 ½ counting the Lockout season. Prime breakout potential in the 60-65 point range but may be limited by the forward s above him on the depth chart will probably still be on the team, but love his potential. ...

O'Reilly missed the last two games with a freak shoulder injury that he suffered on Monday while celebrating a Paul Stastny goal. He is expected to hop back onto his usual line with Paul Stastny and Gabriel Landeskog.

Quiet night for fantasy owners as some of the biggest names in the NHL were shut down by some top-notch goaltending. Antti Niemi silenced the Detroit Red Wings on the road with a 24-save shutout performance in the 1-0 SO win. Jimmy Howard did the same, but Sharks prevailed in the shoot-out thanks to an insane stop by Niemi on Todd Bertuzzi's last attempt. Last year's Vezina finalist is unquestionably among the fantasy elite, having gone 8-0-1 with a 1.64 and a .930 SP so far. Owners should continue to start the Finn workhorse with confidence. Meanwhile, Colorado backup J.S. Giguere helped the Avalanche take the battle of 7-1 teams in Pittsburgh with a 34-save shutout. One goal decided this "barnburner", as Av's captain Gabriel Landeskog notched the game-winner, his third of the season. Giguere's numbers now stand at 3-0, .067 GAA and .981 SP. The veteran is off to a fantastic start, but the starting job in Colorado belongs to Semyon Varlamov. "Cammy" returns for Calgary: All of a sudden, the Calgary Flames have fantasy options galore as they continue to amaze with their surprising hot start. Last night's victims, the Los Angeles Kings, were foiled by a late T.J. Brodie power-play game-winner in the 3-2 Flame's win. Winger Mike Cammalleri scored a goal and an assist in his season debut, while Jiri Hudler, with 2 assists and 11 points overall in eight games, is on a eight-game point streak. These two forwards are worth snapping off the waiver-wire, as they will play a huge role on the offense, especially with the man-advantage. Rookie sensation Sean Monahan can still be sent down after 10 games, but his eye-popping numbers (6G/3A in 8GP) will make that decision extremely difficult. And what about Mark Giordano? After falling off the fantasy map last season, the new Calgary captain leads the blueline with nine points in seven games. A real fantasy sleeper could be goalie Karri Ramo, who has plenty of untapped upside but had a few shaky starts before his solid win over the Kings last night. Just know this- if the Flames are to shock the hockey world this year, either Ramo or Joey MacDonald needs to step up. Pittsburgh forward  center Sidney Crosby finally had a game where he did not score a point.  Crosby has 17 points in 9 games, and he will almost assuredly win the NHL scoring title if he stays healthy.

Quiet night for fantasy owners as some of the biggest names in the NHL were shut down by some top-notch goaltending. Antti Niemi silenced the Detroit Red Wings on the road with a 24-save shutout performance in the 1-0 SO win. Jimmy Howard did the same, but Sharks prevailed in the shoot-out thanks to an insane stop by Niemi on Todd Bertuzzi's last attempt. Last year's Vezina finalist is unquestionably among the fantasy elite, having gone 8-0-1 with a 1.64 and a .930 SP so far. Owners should continue to start the Finn workhorse with confidence. Meanwhile, Colorado backup J.S. Giguere helped the Avalanche take the battle of 7-1 teams in Pittsburgh with a 34-save shutout. One goal decided this "barnburner", as Av's captain Gabriel Landeskog notched the game-winner, his third of the season. Giguere's numbers now stand at 3-0, .067 GAA and .981 SP. The veteran is off to a fantastic start, but the starting job in Colorado belongs to Semyon Varlamov. "Cammy" returns for Calgary: All of a sudden, the Calgary Flames have fantasy options galore as they continue to amaze with their surprising hot start. Last night's victims, the Los Angeles Kings, were foiled by a late T.J. Brodie power-play game-winner in the 3-2 Flame's win. Winger Mike Cammalleri scored a goal and an assist in his season debut, while Jiri Hudler, with 2 assists and 11 points overall in eight games, is on a eight-game point streak. These two forwards are worth snapping off the waiver-wire, as they will play a huge role on the offense, especially with the man-advantage. Rookie sensation Sean Monahan can still be sent down after 10 games, but his eye-popping numbers (6G/3A in 8GP) will make that decision extremely difficult. And what about Mark Giordano? After falling off the fantasy map last season, the new Calgary captain leads the blueline with nine points in seven games. A real fantasy sleeper could be goalie Karri Ramo, who has plenty of untapped upside but had a few shaky starts before his solid win over the Kings last night. Just know this- if the Flames are to shock the hockey world this year, either Ramo or Joey MacDonald needs to step up. Pittsburgh forward  center Sidney Crosby finally had a game where he did not score a point.  Crosby has 17 points in 9 games, and he will almost assuredly win the NHL scoring title if he stays healthy.