For all the fantasy owners who drafted New York Rangers winger Rick Nash a bit later than the customary early rounds, you reaped huge returns in Game 1. The enigmatic forward led the way with 2 goals, including the late game-winner and an assist in the Blueshirt's huge 3-2 road win over St. Louis. While seemingly star-crossed and in a state of disfunction all of last season, Nash looked every bit the part of a dangerous scorer last night while clicking on a line with the emerging Chris Kreider and the newly appointed center Martin St. Louis. While this represents a small sample size, this was an encouraging sign for a possible rebound season for Nash... Big injury news out of the same game- New York defenseman Dan Boyle will be out 4-6 weeks with a broken hand that he sustained while blocking a shot. Obviously, a blow to fantasy owners as Boyle looked to poise to put up decent numbers while anchoring their top power play unit. Give Ryan McDonagh a slight boost in fantasy value as he should get a modest uptick in power-play minutes.. Huge nights for Sidney Crosby (2G/1A) and Corey Perry (3G) in Pittsburgh's 6-4 win over Anaheim, but this high-scoring affair also introduced the debuts of Ryan Kesler and Patric Hornqvist in new uniforms. Both opened up the year in grand style, as fantasy owners must be thanking their luck stars for scooping them up. Kesler was terrific on the power-play with Getzlaf and Perry, collecting a goal and two assists. Meanwhile, Hornqvist responded to starting on the first line with a goal and a helper. Barring injuries, the gritty Swede is well on his way to a career season playing in his new digs... Sami Vatanen looked pretty comfortable with the man advantage, also chipping in with two assists. Even with a healthy Cam Fowler, the talented Finn might push for more PP time. Keep your eyes on him as his fantasy ascension has already begun.. So much for sitting Flyer's winger Wayne Simmonds this week on the basis that he was a bit banged up- two goals and assist in the 6-4 loss to New Jersey provides further evidence that his 60-point breakout season was definitely for real. Don't get caught up with the fact that he doesn't skate on the first line with Claude Giroux. He is a dominating force on the power-play and always around the net. 30+ goals should be a lock... The "Zach Attack" was on full display in Minnesota, as Zach Parise was in dominant form with a goal and two assists in the 5-0 drubbing of Colorado. Not much on Tomas Vanek in his Minny debut, but plenty of fantasy value to go around for the Wild offense as their top-six could be amongst the NHL elite in 2014-15. Defenseman Ryan Suter is off to a flying start with two assists and should benefit greatly from all that offensive firepower... Young Darcy Kuemper was perfect in goal for the Wild, shutting out the Av's even though he only needed 16 saves. For now, all the cries of inferior netminding in Minnesota will subside but he still has much to prove before we hand him instant kudos as a legitimate no.2 fantasy goalie option... On the other hand, Anaheim John Gibson was far from solid as he was torched for six goals by the high-octane Penguins. A jittery debut for sure and an opening for Federik Andersen to get back in there, but much better times await the talented prospect... On defense, Ottawa's Erik Karlsson was relatively quiet in the stats column, while Tampa Bay's Victor Hedman continued his push to fantasy stardom with the overtime winner and an assist in their 3-2 win over Florida. While Karlsson remain the undisputed top fantasy rearguard to own, would anyone be shocked if Hedman made it a close contest this season? He is rocketing up the charts almost as quick as Karlsson did with a much stronger supporting cast in Steven Stamkos and company. Just an early thought... How often does a two-time 50+ point scoring blueliner goes largely unnoticed, as Winnipeg's Tobias Enstrom could be one of the more massive draft day steals as his stock has fallen in recent times. The diminutive d-man cashed in with two assists during Winnipeg's 6-2 road demolition of Phoenix, along with hefty outings from forwards Blake Wheeler (2G/1A) and Bryan Little (2G). Toby could be a dark-horse choice for a top-ten scoring finish amongst NHL defensemen.. Mason Raymond made quite a splash in his 2nd game as a Calgary Flame, collecting a "hat trick" in the 5-2 defeat of provincial rival Edmonton. Consider him a decent reseve option who could end up being the most productive Calgary fantasy forward on a team devoid of veteran elite talent... Even though goalie Ben Scrivens bombed mightily in his Oiler's home debut, not so fast with Viktor Fasth. The starting goalie job in Edmonton should resemble "musical chairs" for a while until one runs away with the job. With a sub-par defensive corps and an underachieving offense, we doubt this will happen antime soon. Steer clear of the Edmonton goalie situation...