The Chicago Blackhawks seem to be running on all cylinders as they demolished the Philadelphia Flyers 7-2 last night. Even with starting goalie Corey Crawford who is out with a groin injury, the Hawks are rolling right along. On Sunday, October 27th in my SUNDAY MORNING COFFEE article, I mentioned that it was a good time to get Patrick Sharp. All he has done since that day is go 14-13-27 points in 23 games. With 8 points in his last 3 games, perhaps now is the time to "Sell High" on Sharp, but that may be tough to do on this high-flying Blackhawk team that leads the entire NHL with 51 points....If Antti Raanta is somehow still available in your league, grab his ASAP as he will get the bulk, if not all, of the starts until Crawford returns to the lineup. All Raanta has done so far this season is go 5-0-1 with a 2.12 GAA and .926 SP. Not too shabby.... Marian Hossa had a 3 assists night, and although he is past his prime, on this potent Chicago team, he will still get you decent points. He is scoring at just under a point-per-game pace with 27 points in 29 games played....
More Fantasy Game Notes: There is a new ‘boy wonder' in the nets and his name is Martin Jones. All Jones has done since getting a spot start for the Los Angeles Kings is go 4-0-0 with a 0.74 GAA and .974 SP, and has 2 shutouts to boot. Ben Scrivens might not see the blue paint of the crease until Jonathan Quick returns the way Jones is playing. Now, we all know that he won't be able to keep up this ridiculous pace, reminds me ofPatrick "Lalime the Dream" in 1996-1997 with the Penguins when he started his career with a 14-0-2 record, but the way the Kings are playing now, Jones wouldn't be such a bad fill-in until then. Pick him up short-term....The Ducks are keeping pace with the aforementioned Blackhawks, staying 2 points behind the Western Conference leaders as they tamed the Wild 2-1 last night behind Jonas Hiller's 23 save effort. The Ducks have now won 4 straight and show no signs of slowing down. Hiller is now 12-4-4 and is well entrenched as the No. 1 in Anaheim....With all three Western Conference teams winning, with 2 against Eastern Conference teams, the West's record improved to 115-50-20 this season.
DAILY PRIME TODAY: THE WEST IS THE BEST, BLACKHAWKS UP! primepucks.comThu 12/12/13 8:20 AM