SMC 12/18/2016 TIS THE SEASON! Ta-ta-ta-ta-ta, ta-ta-ta-tar!  This season it seemed more like “tata” than “Tatar” but his hat trick on Saturday just might be the awakening.  You might recall a few weeks ago I mentioned to start targeting players who were having subpar seasons or slow starts and that the beginning of the New Year just might be a reversal of sorts?  This is that point in time to consider those players. The Dallas Stars have only won two games in a row once this year so far.  They are due for a long hot streak. The Stars beat a very hot Philly Flyer team on Saturday.  Minnesota is taking over the spot of hottest NHL team with 7 wins in a row now.  They been scoring a decent amount as well.  The only big powerhouse team they beat in that stretch was St. Louis though. When Arizona’s defenseman Luke Schenn leads your team in SOG in a game with 4, you know you have issues.  Minny’s leading shot taker…Tyler Graovac.  (Pause) That’s what I said! Every Penguin had a SOG against Toronto except Matt Cullen.  Come on Matt! The Ottawa-New Jersey game ended up with the Senators winning 3-1.  Every goal scorer in that game for both teams scored their 5th goal on the season. Rikard Rakell now has gone 14-7-21 in 21 games played this season.  IS he a point-per-game player?  Probably not but he is having a breakout year, like we said in the PrimePucks Guide where we projected him for 55 points. I’m on the fence if Detroit’s Thomas Vanek is still fantasy relevant. Montreal did a superb job of shutting down the Washington offense on Saturday.  And vice versa. There has some smack about Chicago not being the same team and on the decline but hey are leading the Western Conference by 6 points with 46 points. There were four 2-1 games and 2 g-4 games out of 10 games on Saturday’s schedule. Patrik Berglund was the scoring star for St. Louis against Chicago with 2 goals in their 6-4 loss.  Not to take anything away from Berglund, but when he and defenseman Joel Edmundson with 3 assists are your leading scorers, you’re probably not going to win many of those games. Jaden Schwartz needs to pick up his game now.  Enough time has passed since his injury. Over the past 5-6 games, the NY Rangers are showing they can still win the tight ones. What is going on with Nashville goaltender Pekka RInne this season?  He’s gone through stretches of good and bad, with some ugly thrown in there as well. The Sharks are circling and the Blue Jackets (9-0-1 in last 10) just keep are chugging along.  Two spots in the Atlantic Division seem to be up for grabs as no one has really put together a string to solidify a stronghold on a playoff position.  We all know Montreal should win that division barring a disaster. Detroit still may be able to keep that playoff streak alive. With the holidays coming up, SMC will be taking a break but will return in the New Year, January 8th. Have a Merry Christmas, Happy Boxing Day, Happy Hanukah, Happy Kwanza, and a very Happy and Healthy New Year! May all your fantasies come true!