BTP: BOTTOM FISHING-WHO’S BITING Look for a BETWEEN THE PIPES feature article beginning regularly on Thursdays beginning October 22nd.  We hope you enjoy the initial 2015-2016 article below as we are bringing you this week’s article a few days early to help you in your fantasy leagues.   We are only just a few games into the regular NHL regular season and we are already seeing some positive signs, and a tough break, from what we consider the bottom teams of the NHL.  Let’s take a look at a few goaltenders that poolies may have steered clear at the draft table this September. MIKE SMITH: ARIZONA COYOTES – Let’s face it, after last season, who could blame any fantasy hockey player to even want to go near last season’s disaster of a goaltender Mike Smith?  Those who took a chance on Smith last year were strung along the whole season in hopes that the veteran goalkeeper would find his form and produce at least as a #2 for their fantasy squad.  His metrics were the worst of his career if you take out the 13-game stint with Tampa Bay in 2007-2008 after being traded there.  With a 3.16 GAA and a .904 SP, no wonder you could find the enigmatic net minder on the waiver wire at the start of the season. Well, with a new year comes a fresh start and Smith has been nothing short of perfect in his first two starts.  He is sporting a 1.00 GAA and a .971 SP, but we all know that players usually gravitate towards career average statistics.  Don’t expect this pace to continue but it looks like he is a safe bet to be a decent #2 goaltender if your fantasy team needs help in that department.   ROBIN LEHNER: BUFFALO SABRES – Nothing is more disheartening to a starting goaltender than to suffer an injury when starting on a new team.  Robin Lehner was getting a grand opportunity to shake off the inconsistent play while with the Ottawa Senators and build a career playing for the upstart Buffalo Sabres. In his first start with his new team he suffered an ankle sprain landing him on the IR and could be out for up to 2 months.  Lehner was brought in to be the #1 for the next few years, but for now, he’ll have to rehab and work his way back into the lineup.  In the meantime, Chad Johnson and Nathan Lieuwen will man the crease for this Sabres team who just bagged Jack Eichel with the second overall pick in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.  Are either one of these goaltenders worthy of a pickup?  At this point in time on the Buffalo Sabres rebuilding timeline, I would say no.  Lehner will be the guy when he returns and the Sabres still need to grow as a team in his absence.  I would keep an eye on Lehner and if you need help in the goaltending department in a month or so, pick Lehner up and hope that it won’t take long for him to get back into shape and maybe the Sabres will start to win more consistently as well.   CAM TALBOT: EDMONTON OILERS – I must say that I was a little skeptical when the Oilers traded for a goalie to be their #1 when there wasn’t really any significant resume except for a stint last year filling in for an injured Henrik Lundqvist on a  solid defensive team like the New York Rangers.  Before last year’s 34 starts in 36 games performance, Talbot had played in just 21 NHL games and started 19.  You can see why I wasn’t ready to put my stock into a relatively unproven goalie. We all know what happened with the Ben Scrivens experiment.  You can see why the Oilers were enamored with Talbot.  He sported metrics of 2.21 GAA and a .926 SP, which compared to Scrivens’ numbers of 3.16 and .890, clearly he can’t fair any worse.  The only problem is that the Edmonton defense is nowhere near in the same class as the New York Rangers defensive core, but in just 2 games, against tough rivals Nashville and St. Louis, Talbot faired pretty well even though he Oil lost both.  Talbot gave up 2 goals in each of those two starts with a 2.05 GAA and .929 SP.  Don’t expect these types of numbers throughout the season, but you could do worse than having Talbot as your #2 as he seems to be what the doctor ordered in Edmonton.  May not get a lot of wins but his metrics should be decent enough and should get you a decent amount of wins as well. ICE POPS:  MAC & CHEESE--We at PrimePucks expected a big bounce back season from Nathan MacKinnon (77 pts.) and he sure hasn’t disappointed so far in the early going with 5 points in the first two games…..OSCAR OH MYAH!—Ranger rookie C Oscar Lindberg is surely fitting in just nicely with 3 goals and 4 points in the first three games of the season.  No baloney this kid is good…SUGAR CANE—Outside matters don’t seem to have any effect on Chicago Blackhawks superstar Patrick Kane as he leads the NHL with 3 goals and 3 assists…..MAPLE SYRUP—Best 0-2 team so far this season?  The Toronto Maple Leafs who are the only 0-2-0 team to have earned a point by forcing Ottawa to overtime on Saturday night...CHEEZ-WIZ--Not the way you want to open up with your new team by sustaining an injury on yoru first shift and then having to miss 6 months but that is exactly what happened to D James Wisniewski (known as Wiz) of the Carolina Hurricanes.