The trade deadline came and went with a few high profile fantasy defenders finding new homes such as Keith Yandle and James Wisniewski. Both are certain to see their fantasy value shoot up as they have joined two elite teams, respectively the New York Rangers and the Anaheim Ducks. But we don't need to tell you that, given how obviously elated their fantasy owners are that their new digs are now more fantasy-friendly, As we move away from the more obvious, let's focus on a couple of under the radar defensemen who are clearly more fantasy relevant now than they were on March 2. The addition of Marek Zidlicky to Detroit gives them a right handed shot from the point which means he should get plenty of power play time moving forward. The 38-year old had his share of offensive struggles for New Jersey this season with 23 points in 63 games, but was a 42-point producer in 2013-14. With 6-plus 40-point campaigns during his career, the Czech rearguard has an extensive scoring pedigree to draw from and has some gas left in the tank. When the Wings rolled out their overtime power-play unit during last night's game, Zidlicky joined Niklas Kronwall with Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk. The end result was a clutch overtime game winner, courtesy of the newcomer and an encouraging sign that he could be a very vital part of the offensive mix for the Wings during the stretch run. With only 30% ownership across the board in ESPN leagues, Zidlicky is definitely worth a gamble in most formats as he is poised to play a big role for playoff-bound Detroit. On the opposite side of the veteran spectrum, the trade of Wisniewski to Anaheim may have signalled the beginning of the David Savard era in Columbus. While amidst only his second full season, the 24-year old has scored 10 goals and collected 25 points in 63 games. His offensive upside has been marginally tapped as the youngster is now poised to be the main successor on the team's top power-play unit. Jumping on Savard's bandwagon before his numbers become too legit to ignore would be a shrewd move for any fantasy owner, especially in keeper formats. It's also safe to say that Jack Johnson has flat-out fell short of being that no.1 pp quarterback, so it's Savard's opportunity to steal the thunder. And we say he does it.. Parting shots: Speaking of Wisniewski, he will pay huge dividends on the higher-octane Anaheim squad, but injuries might keep him out 1-2 weeks longer. When he returns, look for him to benefit greatly ...

Johnson will miss this Friday and Saturday's games as well as next Tuesday in Washington. He is eligible to return next Friday in Philadelphia. The Blue Jackets are already depleted with injuries, so a suspension was the last thing they needed.

Three struggling teams were shutout at home last night, all by teams that struggled mightily last year. Four of the six games on the slate last night were won by visiting teams.  Of the shutouts, first Roberto Luongo blanked the Buffalo Sabres 1-0 earning his first, and the team's first, win of this season. Don't expect many wins from either team this year as they are in the midst of rebuilding...Secondly, the Nashville Predators remained undefeated as Pekka Rinne stopped all 31 Winnipeg Jets shots to raise his record to 3-0-1 and remind people that he is still one of the elite goaltenders of the NHL.  The Jets dropped to 1-3-0 even though G Ondrej Pavelec is playing better than he has ever played in his career with a 2.22 GAA and a .919 SP. It's only a small sample size of 4 games but it looks like Pavelec is determined to prove critics wrong.... Thirdly, Ryan Miller backstopped the Vancouver Canucks to a 2-0 blanking of the Edmonton Oilers to raise their record to 3-0-0 and drop the Oil to 0-4-1. The line of Radim Vrbata-Henrik Sedin-Daniel Sedin has been money so far and should consistently produce throughout the year as the Sedins look to rebound from last season's nightmare.... Just like last year, the Calgary Flames will fight to the end of every game and did so again last night but came up short against Sergei Bobrovsky and the Columbus Blue Jackets who built a 3-0 lead only to hold on for the 3-2 victory.  Ryan Johansen shows no signs of slowing down even though he held out of training camp. The blue Jackets are becoming a fantasy relevant team as they have a solid young goaltender, a deep defensive core and young forwards coming into their own.  Johansen, Cam Atkinson and Bobrovsky are must-starts in your fantasy lineups while d-men Jack Johnson and James Wisniewski are off to slow starts, this could be a good "buy-low" opportunity to strengthen your fantasy defense. One pl;ayer to keep your eye on is LW Nick Foligno who has quietly put up 5 points in 4 games... You just have to wonder how dangerous the Red Wings could be once Pavel Datsyuk returns to the lineup. Without the superstar center, Detroit, behind Henrik Zetterberg (3A), Gustav Nyquist (G, A) and Johan Franzen (2G), defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-1 last night. Franzen may be one player that is available in your league, but if not take a look at Justin Abdelkader who had a goal and assist in last night's tilt. Abdelkader now has 4 points in 4 games and may be helpful in deeper ...

A few more fantasy relevant trades on defense were expected prior to the deadline, but names like Christian Ehrhoff, Tyler Myers, and Jack Johnson were not moved. Bigger splashes were made with high-profile goalies and forwards, but there were two defensemen with some fantasy implications that found a new home. The Islanders shipped Andrew McDonald to the Philadelphia Flyers for 2 draft picks. Earlier in the season, the 27-year old had significantly more fantasy value with offensive defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky injured. McDonald played on the top power-play and had a "hot" stretch between Dec.20-Jan. 6, collecting 10 assists in 9 games. However, he had been relegated to secondary PP duty with "Lubo" back in the fold. The trade to Philly keeps his fantasy worth at "status quo", as he is unlikely to get any primary power-play minutes over Mark Streit or Kimmo Timonen. The Boston Bruins acquired 27-year old Andrej Meszaros from the Flyers, filling a void for a two-way defender with Dennis Seidenberg out indefinitely. As in the case of McDonald, Meszaros had a few moments of offensive production, but only accumulated 17 points in 38 games while playing sparingly with the man-advantage. Don't look for his role to change much with Boston, as there are several offensive defenders, such as Torey Krug, Zdeno Chara, and Dougie Hamilton ahead of him on the depth chart. PARTING SHOTS TO FOLLOW LATER...

Eight games in the NHL yesterday with Boston and Washington kicking things off with a matinee in Beantown. The Capitals prevailed 4-2 as, yes, you guessed it, Alexander Ovechkin had 2 goals. He also had 9 shots on goal.  The guy is just a human scoring machine with 43 goals on the season.  Surprisingly, having scored that many goals he is a -18 on the season.  Washington right wing Joel Ward had a goal and an assist, but with only 35 points on the season he is not fantasy worthy. Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby had a good game with 36 saves, but he has won only 19 games this year and his GAA is high at 2.89....Big night for New Jersey's veteran Jaromir Jagr who scored the 700th goal of his career in a 6-1 drubbing of the Islanders. He also had an assist in the game.  While he doesn't score like he used to in his old Pittsburgh days, he does have 52 points on the season with a +21.  Not bad!  Marek Zidlicky had a goal and an assist, good for me because I own him, and with 31 points on the year, he is a solid fantasy defenseman. In what may be his last game as a Devil, Martin Brodeur got the win with 18 saves. Brodeur has slowly been giving way to Cory Schneider in New Jersey's goal, and could be dealt before the deadline. Kyle Okposo had the lone goal for the Islanders, and he continues his breakout season with 60 points....The Flyers knocked off the Rangers 4-2 as right wing Wayne Simmonds had a goal and an assist. Simmonds is having a pretty solid year with 19 goals and 45 points.  He is a decent forward option if you are looking for someone there.  Defensmen Kimmo Timonen had 2 assists for Philadelphia, but with only 21 points he is having a disappointing season. Nice win in goal for Steve Mason with 33 saves. He has 25 wins on the season, but his metrics are just fair at a 2.54 GAA and a .917 SP. Columbus beat the Panthers 6-3 in a wide open game. The Blue Jackets defenseman Jack Johnson had a big game with 3 assists. Johnson has been a bit disappointing with only 25 points on the year.  Columbus had 6 separate goal scores, but young Florida forward Nick Bjugstad had a goal and an assist. The youngster has only 26 points in 54 games, but keep him on your radar and look for him in the future as he grows into the NHL game.  He should be a good player one day....Goaltender Ondrej Pavelec was the star player in the Jets 3-1 win over Nashville with 39 saves. That being said he is having a very tough year with only 20 wins, a 2.90 GAA and a .904 SP.  ...

Eight game in the NHL yesterday with Boston and Washington kicking things off with a matinee in Beantown. The Capitals prevailed 4-2, as yes you guessed it Alexander Ovechkin had 2 goals. He, also, had 9 shots on goal.  The guy is just a human scoring machine with 43 goals on the season.  Suprisingly having scored that many goals he is a -18 on the season.  Washington right wing Joel Ward had a goal and an assist, but with only 35 points on the season he is not fantasy worthy. Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby had a good game with 36 saves, but he has won only 19 games this year and his GAA is high at 2.89. Big night for New Jersey's veteran Jaromir Jagr who scored the 700th goal of his career in a 6-1 drubbing of the Islanders. He also had an assist in the game.  While he doesn't score like he used to in his old Pittsburgh days, he does have 52 points on the season with a +21.  Not bad!  Marek Zidlicky had a goal and an assist, good for me because I own him, and with 31 points on the year he is a solid fantasy defenseman. In way may be his last game as a Devil, Martin Brodeur got the win with 18 saves.  Brodeur has slowly been giving way to Cory Schneider in New Jersey's goal, and could be dealt before the deadline. Kyle Okposo had the lone goal for the Islanders, and he continues his breakout season with 60 points. The Flyers knocked off the Rangers 4-2 as right wing Wayne Simmonds had a goal and an assist. Simmonds is having a pretty solid year with 19 goals and 45 points.  He is a decent forward option if you are looking for someone there.  Defensmen Kimmo Timonen had 2 assists for Philadelphia, but with only 21 points he is having a disappointing season. Nice win in goal for Steve Mason with 33 saves. He has 25 wins on the season, but his metrics are just fair at a 2.54 GAA and a .917 SP. Columbus beat the Panthers 6-3 in a wide open game. The Blue Jackets defenseman Jack Johnson had a big game with 3 assists. Johnson has been a bit disappointing with only 25 points on the year.  Columbus had 6 separate goal scores, but young forward Nick Bjugstad had a goal and an assist. The youngster has only 26 points in 54 games, but keep him on your radar and look for him in the future as he grows into the NHL game.  He should be a good player one day.  Goaltender Ondrej Pavelec was the star player in the Jets 3-1 win over Nashville with 39 saves. That being said he is having a very tough year with only 20 wins, a 2.90 GAA and a .904 SP.  Look elsewhere for ...

With the NHL season on "hold", I am deviating from reviewing the top-ten overall fantasy defensemen because it's the easy thing to do. I found it way more valuable to focus on which blueliners have been leading the "pack" over the last month, considering overall stats can be misleading to fantasy owners looking to upgrade their talent. Let's start off with the 10th to 6th ranked d-men over the last 30 days, giving us a few unfamiliar names to ponder as we all try to grab the fantasy hockey hardware: 10. Dustin Byfuglien, Wpg: 4 G, 5 A, 1 PPG, 3 PPA Heading into the Olympic break with 2 straight games with a goal and a combined 14 shots, the conversion to the power forward position might be finally paying off for this hard-shooting Jet. "Big Buff" has collected just 2 goals and 2 assists over the previous 10 games, but he still ranks third amongst fantasy-eligible defensemen in points scored with 43. The next few weeks off should help as he should continue to be among the elite fantasy options on defense, even though he is being utilized as a forward. You figure it out, but I am sure Byfuglien fantasy owners aren't complaining. 9. Tyson Barrie, Col: 4 G, 7 A, 1 PPG His first 3-point night of his NHL career on Saturday had many fantasy owners moving to pick up the young Colorado defenseman before the break, but truth be told- Barrie has been among the "hottest" scoring options on the blue-line with 11 points (7G/4A) in the last 14 games. This is a more amazing feat considering the fact that only one of those points were scored on the power-play. With Erik Johnson struggling to score over the last month after a huge surge in early December, Head coach Patrick Roy has again placed more offensive responsibilities on Barrie's shoulders. With that high-octane offense clicking on all cylinders in Colorado, the talented 22-year old is poised for a strong second half of '13-14. A huge breakout can be in store for next season, though. 8. Mark Giordano, Cgy : 4 G, 6 A, 2 PPG The Calgary captain "stormed out of the gate" with 9 points in his first 8 games of the '13-14 season, but a broken ankle which cost him 6 weeks could have ended his breakout season. Instead, Giordano remains the most reliable defensive scoring option in Calgary with 19 points in 32 games since returning from injury. Dennis Wideman has struggled mightily and young T.J. Brodie is not ready to carry the offensive load, so Giordano continues to get top minutes in all scoring situations. Roll...

RED HOT---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....WHITE LIGHTNING---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....BLUE JACKETS---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!.... More Fantasy Game Notes: 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....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 (2A) continues his fine season even with the Pens defense at full strength; keep playing him with confidence.  ...

RED HOT---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....WHITE LIGHTNING---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....BLUE JACKETS---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!.... More Fantasy Game Notes: 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....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 (2A) continues his fine season even with the Pens defense at full strength; keep playing him with confidence.  ...

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 ...