Upon his return to the Winnipeg lineup after missing 4 games due to a hand injury, Evander Kane made his presence felt immediately with a shorthanded goal and an assist in the stunning 3-2 victory over the Ducks, their first regulation loss at home. He resumed a heavy workload, playing 20:07 minutes while lining up with Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler. His overall numbers this season (27 pts.in 39 games) are leaving a sorry impression on fantasy owners, but he has quietly started to pick up his offense. After a slow start where he collected 14 points in the first 26 games, Kane has been a point-per-game scorer over the last two months with 13 points in 13 games. His injury issues have kept his game totals low, but now might be the best time to "buy low" on a budding star ready to reap the rewards of a new coach and a more free-flowing offensive scheme. If the line combinations in Winnipeg remain intact, his line will produce the most for fantasy purposes.
More Fantasy Notes: Last season's Vezina Trophy winner is on quite a roll since returning from injury, as Sergei Bobrovsky has won eight straight starts for Columbus. Not showing his best form last night against the Kings, he stopped 26 of 29 shots in the 5-3 win. His overall numbers stand at 16-11-2, .915 SP, and a 2.55 GAA.. Defenseman James Wisniewski finished with 2 assists and is "on fire" with 10 points (2G/8A) in his last 9 games. If health permits, the hard-shooting blueliner should easily be a top-ten fantasy fixture for a few years to come. A talented core of young forwards are blossoming around him and Jack Johnson, so the future looks bright for this streaking Columbus squad.. 2 more goals for Rick Nash, who probably would have a had a few more if it wasn't for some tremendous saves by the Isle's Kevin Poulin. Fantasy owners are loving Nash right now, as the Ranger's most talented forward has 9 goals in the last 9 games. Smoking hot.. Ondrej Pavelec has been a different goalie since coach Paul Maurice took over for the Winnipeg Jets, winning four straight. Not tested much in the previous 3 starts, the much-maligned netminder earned his "keep" last night as he made 40 saves in a 3-2 road victory over Anaheim. Maybe " buying low" on him would be a prudent idea considering it wouldn't require a hefty return and the team has responded in a huge way to the coaching change. Pavelec is far from a "sure thing", but he is much better than the form he shown earlier in the season. I say he's worth a shot.
DAILY PRIME - JANUARY 22, 2014: GREAT RETURN FOR KANE primepucks.comWed 1/22/14 6:06 AM