SMC 12/11/2016   The Christmas Holiday season is fast approaching.  Time to get your wish list ready.  I am going to sprinkle some of my wishes in throughout today’s SMC as I tackle my mug of hot coffee. The afternoon Stars-Flyers game was pretty exciting.  Drew Shore (2G) and Brayden Schenn (3G) exchanged blows in a 4-2 Philly victory making it a true Shore-Schenn Redemption.  Justas good as the movie! At the top of my wish list is that Tyler Seguin goes off on one of his torrid scoring paces. And where has Jamie Benn been?  Alright, he has 24 points in 29 games but it feels like he’s been invisible this year. You know who wasn’t invisible last night?  Max Pacioretty (4G) and the Montreal Canadiens who put up a 10 spot against Colorado.  The Habs sure haven’t missed Alex Galchenyuk so much the past three games scoring 15 goals after losing 30-2 in OT against St. Louis since Glachenyuk went down to injury on Sunday. I hope Max Pax’s arms aren’t too tired for Monday’s tilt against Boston after taking 8 SOG against Colorado. Jason Spezza is having a rough +/- game this year.  The worst since his last season in Ottawa in 2013-14 when he was -26.  Will history repeat itself?  I hope not because I have him on my fantasy squad finally. My second wish is that the Stars align for some pretty awesome offensive statistics. I hope Jakub Voracek isn’t becoming one of those “every-other-year” players like Mike Ribeiro. I miss Rob Klinkhammer.  Let’s start a petition, “Bring Back the Hammer”.  Why not?  John Scott has retired. Drew Doughty was fired up in his matchup against Erik Karlsson Saturday afternoon. Is there something amiss in Beantown?  Yes.  It’s called a Patrice Bergeron slump. I think the B’s miss Loui Eriksson more than they are letting on. Kris Letang finally had a Kris Letang game with 3 assists and a +1 rating with 4 SOG.  Welcome back! Last Sunday I said, “One day Jonathan Drouin is going to start producing like a superstar.  I hope that day comes soon for his, and Tampa Bay’s sake.”  He’s got 3 goals in 2 games this week with 5 SOG.  I wonder if he read my article. Although it seems like the Florida Panthers are picking up their offense of late, they are still losing.  Perhaps another coaching change will do the trick.  You know, like doubling down on a bet. It appears the NY Islanders are starting to put it together.  I mean, they couldn’t have played any worse and they still didn’t fire their Head Coach Jack Capuano. The Columbus Blue Jackets keep rolling along.  I think it is time to start believing.  It’s like one of those foggy dreams you have that you think is a dream but by the time it’s over you realize that it’s been real all the time.  13 Blue Jackets players were involved in the scoring in the 6-2 win over the Islanders. I heard the Nashville Predators will be changing their team name to the Schizophrenics posthaste. Grab as many Calgary Flames players onto your fantasy roster as they have officially turned the corner now with Chad Johnson one of the hottest goaltenders in the NHL leading the charge. 8-1-1 in last 10 and sitting atop the Pacific Division.  I remember their awful start to the season going 1-4-1 and 5-10-1.  Now 11-3-1 in last 15.  I’d say they are red-hot. Dougie Hamilton is an enigma who flaunts his tremendous talent and then quickly pulls it back like a magician applying his trade.  Now you see it, now you don’t.  Where’d it go?  I swore it’s in his right hand.  Wait, it’s behind my ear.  WTF?! The Carolina Hurricanes aren’t playing that badly, they could’ve won some of those tight games and we would be talking about them along with the Blue Jackets. I don’t think Sidney Crosby is going to let Connor McDavid run away with this scoring title. Can you believe Evgeni Malkin is tied for 5th in league scoring? The leading defenseman in scoring?  I don’t think I need to answer that. Due to slow down: Ryan Kesler, Leon Draisaitl, and most of the Rangers if they haven’t already. I hope everyone has a great week and may all your fantasies come true!