It is safe to say that Alexander Semin is on fire. With another two goals last night, he now has 6 goals in his last 4 games.  En fuego!  Those who took a chance acquiring Semin when he was injured, or perhaps plucked him off the waiver wire, are reaping the benefits big time now....Jiri Tlusty seems to have found his game from last season by potting a goal and getting an assist; that's 5 points in last 3 games. Semin may not be available but Tlusty still may be lingering on the wire....The Columbus Blue Jackets are ‘red" hot at the moment having gone 9-1-0 in last ten.  D Jack Johnson now has 7 points in last 6 games by opening the scoring against the Philadelphia Flyers. JJ has turned it around since being snubbed for the Olympics.  For those who were patient during the first half of the season, he is making up for it with his current hot streak.  A very good 3rd or 4th defenseman on your fantasy squad....Columbus G Sergei Bobrovsky has returned to his Vezina-winning ways in net for the Jackets ever since his return from injury. Bobber is another player whose fantasy owners are being rewarded for being patient.  Or, if you were able to acquire him through trade or wire, kudos!....The NY Rangers and St. Louis Blues played a doozy of a game in what could be a highlight of the Stanley Cup finals if everything fell into place.  But we are a long ways from that point.  The Blueshirts peppered Jaroslav Halak with 35 SOG but Halak was tremendous by putting aside 34. Henrik Lundqvist played well enough for the win but the Blues took advantage of their power play opportunities (1/2) while the Rangers went 0 for 3....Perhaps playing against Ottawa Defenseman Erik Karlsson inspired Tampa's Victor Hedman, or maybe Hedman is just coming into his own (29 pts. in 44 games), but whatever the reason, Hedman's 3 assists was every bit as good as Karlsson's 2 points but it took a shootout to give Ben Bishop and the Bolts the victory. For Bishop, that is win number 25, putting him in the top 3 in goaltender wins.  What a story this young goaltender is writing this year....The Pittsburgh Penguins offense was just a little bit much for the NY Islanders.  The only Islander with 2 points was Michael Grabner while the Pens had 5 players with 2 or more and two of those were defensemen. Matt Niskanen continues his fine season even with the Pens defense at full strength; keep playing him with confidence. Rookie Olli Maata is also contributing but still a bit inconsistent for fantasy circles.....January hasn't been kind to the Chicago Blackhawks as they lost another close game, 2-1 to the Minnesota Wild. The Blackhawks are 4-2-5 since the calendar changed but I don't think there is much to worry about as most of those losses could have gone either way.  The Wild, and fantasy owners, welcomed Zach Parise back into the lineup after missing time with a foot injury.  Parise is an integral player for most fantasy teams and having his scoring prowess back in the lineup will only help....Darcy Kuemper was instrumental in the Wild win over Chicago stopping 33 of 34 SOG and was within 32 seconds of shutting out the Hawks. Kuemper should continue to get the majority of starts as Josh Harding and Niklas Backstrom are out with injuries. With a 2.22 GAA and a .924 SP, you could do a lot worse in goal....The Stars raked up on the Leafs last night 7-1 with rookie sensation Valeri Nichushkin getting 2 goals and an assist and Jamie Benn potting a goal and adding 3 assists. The Stars defense was involved last night with "GO-GO" d-men  Alex Goligoski and Segei Gonchar getting 2 assists each. Kari Lehtonen has now put together two solid starts back-to-back after going 1-6-1. The Stars need to claw their way back into playoff contention so it may be a good time to get some of them into your lineup....Nashville goalie Carter Hutton stopped 33 of 34 SOG to beat the Canucks 2-1 in Vancouver. The Predators are another team that needs to get on a roll to get back into playoff contention but lack consistent scoring options for fantasy owners besides D-men Shea Weber and Roman Josi....Two more backup rookie goalies stole the show in their respective games as Frederik Andersen of Anaheim beat LA 2-1 and Alex Stalock of San Jose blanked the Winnipeg jets 1-0. Andersen may be worth a shot as a handcuff for Jonas Hiller owners while Stalock gets a rare start from time-to-time to spot Sharks starter Antti Niemi.