The regular season is finally over but not without it's full share of drama on Saturday. Here is a brief recap plus our fantasy thoughts: *The New York Islanders will be heading to the playoffs, but they lose out twice last night. First, their 5-4 home SO loss guaranteed the Washington Capitals home ice advantage for their first round meeting. Second, John Tavares tallied a goal and an assist to widen his NHL point lead to three but Jamie Benn's 4-point effort later in the evening enabled him to capture the Art Ross Trophy and beat out JT 87-86 on the year. We viewed Benn as a point-per-game forward entering the 2015-16 season, but NOBODY saw this coming. Benn blossomed into an elite scorer when Tyler Seguin went down and continued to pour on the points in April, finishing with 13 points in his last five games. So who would take higher in next season's drafts; Tavares and Benn? Am still leaning toward JT but the Seguin/Benn combo could be the most prolific for many years to come. * The Ottawa Senators and the Pittsburgh Penguins are in the playoffs, while the Boston Bruins fail to make it in after finishing with the President's Trophy in 2013-14. Mark Stone's two goals in the 3-1 win over Philadelphia gives him 26 on the season and makes him one to watch as a potential breakout player next year. Those Ottawa young guns on offense could turn some heads in the playoffs and beyond, so keep serious tabs on them... What to make of the Pen's? Don't overrate them in your playoff pools, given that they are likely one and done against the President Rangers.. What to make of the B's? Major changes possibly coming, with the only certainities of fantasy upper-tier status being Dougie Hamilton, Tuukka Rask, and Patrice Bergeron. * There are goaltending questions heading into the playoffs for Detroit and St. Louis, as veterans Jimmy Howard and Brian Elliott could be be usurped by upstarts Petr Mrazek and Jake Allen. Elliott was rock-solid between the pipes in their regular season finale victory over Minnesota while Mrazek blanked the Carolina Hurricanes to maintain their third place finish. Your guess is as good as mine, but am leaning toward the vets starting both of their respective Game 1's. * No time better than the present to predict the NHL's leading point-getter for the upcoming playoffs. Drum roll, please.. Am going with Vladimir Tarasenko of the St. Louis Blues. His team is poised to make serious noise in the post-season, as "Vladdy" returned after a brief ...

Columbus putting on quite an audition for next fantasy season, Rangers getting stronger, and the Jets keep soaring The Carolina Hurricanes and Buffalo Sabres are playing out their respective disappointing seasons and it may be a few years before either team can be considered legitimate contenders.  They will still have some fantasy relevant players but you will have to put up with some not-so-good plus/minus stats.  On the Canes you have must-start players like Eric Staal and Justin Faulk and an injury-prone Jeff Skinner, but there isn’t much help coming from the youngster although Elias Lindholm has shown flashes of greatness from time to time….Tyler Ennis looks to be sure thing for next season and Zach Bogosian may be fantasy relevant in his new home up in upstate New York but all may rest upon how last year’s Number 1 pick Sam Reinhart plays in camp along with young talent like Johan Larsson and company…Too many things have to happen for wither of these teams to be making a huge jump up in the standings…. The Columbus Blue Jackets continue to show that this season was not meant to be but that they will be a force to be reckoned with for next year.  Sergei Bobrovsky played outstanding in the 4-3 overtime loss to the New York Rangers and it appears he is ready to perform at his Vezina-winning ways once again.  Grab Bobber high in next season’s fantasy draft….Derek Stepan may have missed the beginning of the season but he sure is enjoying quite an end to this season as he propelled the Rangers to their 51st win on the season capping the comeback victory with the tying goal with less than 30 seconds remaining and then the game-winning goal in OT.  The Ranges are not letting up and seem to be getting stronger as they near the playoffs….Henrik Lundqvist made quite a few outstanding saves in this game and appears to be in mid-season form.  Go long with the Rangers in the playoffs!... The Jets are doing everything they can to lock down a playoff spot and they sure helped themselves by blanking the Minnesota Wild 2-0 behind Ondrej Pavelec's 32 saves.  The win puts them a point ahead of the Los Angeles Kings in the wild card race as the Kings lost to Vancouver, another team trying to lock down a playoff berth, 2-1 in a shootout.  What a race we have in the Western Conference!  Calgary was idle last night... In a game with no implications except for possibly the scoring title saw Dallas clobber the Sharks 5-1 with Jamie Benn (2G, A) climbing to within one point...

Captain Toews to the rescue, Shoot’em out in Wild West, Ducks & Habs losing helps Rangers The Buffalo Sabres almost made it 2 in a row by scaring the Chicago Blackhawks until Captain Jonathan Toews rescued the Hawks from a humiliating defeat against the NHL’s worst team by scoring two late goals with less than 2 minutes remaining to give the Blackhawks a 4-3 win.  Toews just shows what a tremendous talent he is by upping his game in the wake of losing Patrick Kane for the last month and a half and carrying the team to within reach of the Central division crown…Brandon Saad added 2 assists and has 6 points in the last six games.  Perhaps the time has come for the young LWer.  With next year being his fourth, you could see a good jump in production from the 50’s level to perhaps a 70-point campaign….For those looking ahead to next season, Buffalo’s defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen may be the main cog on the Sabres’ power play along with Zach Bogosian.  Regardless, Buffalo has a tremendous amount of defensive young talent to build the team up on.  And don’t forget Sam Reinhart…. The New Jersey Devils actually helped their cross-river rivals, the New York Rangers, by beating the Montreal Canadiens 3-2 in a shootout, keeping the Mighty Habs from gaining that extra point that is so crucial at this point of the season.  It was a battle of the backups as both teams have or had back-to-back nights… It was a regular ‘shoot-em out in the Old West’ as the St. Louis Blues outlasted the Dallas Stars 7-5 last night in a game atypical at this time of year.  With Vladimir Tarasenko sidelined, Patrik Berglund has stepped up his production of late with 6 points in last 4 games.  Berglund has never lived up to his scoring potential but has come on of late...Jaden Schwartz had a hattie and showed that he can score without the talented Tarasenko giving the Blues a potent duo for years to come…Dallas has their own potent duo in Jamie Benn (2G, A) and Tyler Seguin (G, 2A) as both contributed with 3 points each in the loss.  You can probably expect more matches like this in the upcoming years… The New York Rangers got some more help as the Colorado Avalanche defeated the Anaheim Ducks 4-2, keeping the Ducks from expanding their 2-point lead over the Rangers for the President’s Cup.  With 2 assists Avs’ defenseman Tyson Barrie cracked the 50-point plateau, bettering his previous high of 38 set last year.  Barrie has arrived big time and should be high on your draft lists next ...

Hammond keeps hitting right notes, Kings keeping the heat on, Wild & Jets win again! Ottawa continues their amazing run with a 5-2 win over the San Jose Sharks catapulting them into the last wild card spot in the Eastern Conference, wresting it away from the Boston Bruins.  Senators Goaltender Andrew Hammond (14-0-1) is just having an incredible run as he still hasn’t lost in regulation.  Simply remarkable!...Mika Zibanejad (2G). Bobby Ryan (3A) and Mike Hoffman (G, 2A) were the offensive providers tonight as the whole roster takes turns being involved in the offense.  Now that they have risen so high, can they maintain the intensity for the last 10 game?... A couple of 3-1 contests last night as LA defeated the New Jersey Devils and the Chicago Blackhawks bested the Carolina Hurricanes.  For LA, Anze Kopitar (G, 2A) and Marian Gaborik (2A) seem to be heating up as they try to climb into playoff position as the season is winding down.  For Kopitar, that’s 5 points in last 3 and 9 points overall in 11 March games.  With just 57 points in 69 games, Kopitar should bounce back to his usual 70-points next season.  Gaborik isn’t built for the rigors of an 82-game NHL season, so don’t expect him to return to his glory days as 70+ point player anymore.  He does have 41 points in 59 games played but won’t get near a point-per-game pace anymore…The Blackhawks jumped out to a 2-0 lead early in the first period and made it stick as Corey Crawford turned aside 43 of 44 SOG for his 30th win on the season.  That’s 4 seasons of 30+ wins on last 5 which includes the shortened 48-game Lockout season where he was on pace for 30+ wins if it was a regular full season…. Devan Dubnyk continues to play large in net as he keeps on winning with a 2-1 win over Toronto.  Surging Thomas Vanek had a hand in both Minnesota goals, an assist on the first goal and the game-winner in the 3rd.  Dubnyk’s bid for a shutout was spoiled by Jake Gardiner (his 4th) with just under 7 minutes to play in regulation…. Jamie Benn (2G, 1A) had a night and it was sorely needed as the Buffalo Sabres gave the Dallas Stars all they could handle last night but the Stars prevailed in the end, 4-3. Sabres’ goalie Anders Lindback (35/39 SV) returned to his former team and did all he could but fell short at the end.  Dallas is still in the hunt for that last playoff spot but time is running out… Calgary helped their cause with a solid 3-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche keeping the Kings 2 points behind them ...

Mad Max continues on his hot pace, Jamie Benn a real shooting Star, Pavel Datsyuk takes over, Zetterberg leaves game with possible head injury Our two early afternoon matches both resulted in shootout wins as both home teams, Washington and Philadelphia, came up with the extra point. All the big names were basically held off the scoreboard as goalies Braden Holtby and Rob Zepp were the fantasy stars for their respective teams. Claude Giroux owners are patiently awaiting for the star to heat up again as his lengthy slump has been costing them big-time at this crucial juncture of the season..... New Jersey made it look easy against Carolina but Jeff Skinner spoiled the Devil's shutout bid with under half a period remaining.  It was Skinner's 4th goal in the past 6 games.  Skinner is one of those enigmas that is a prolific scorer but then gets injured, taking him a while to get back on track when he returns.  Well, he's hot now, so if available, scoop him up and ride him while he's healthy... The Anaheim Ducks and John Gibson eked out a 2-1 win over Edmonton.  Gibson will someday be an elite NHL goaltender as he continues to show poise at such an early age.... Max Pacioretty continues on his hot scoring streak with 2 goals in Montreal's 3-1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets.  Pacioretty is a dangerous scorer but is maddeningly inconsistent, so ride him while he's hot but don't be surprised when he disappears for games at a time. Mad Max now has 12 points in 11 February games…. There was a JVR sighting in Toronto last night as James van Riemsdyk scored the overtime game-winner against the Winnipeg Jets.  JVR and Phil Kessel have been absent from the score sheet too much lately for fantasy fans liking, a far cry from their first half pace…. It was a regular Western style shootout at the OK Corral as the Red Wings and Stars battled to a 7-6 Detroit win.  Pavel Datsyuk polished up his shooting stick and had four points (2G, 2 A) in the match but they did suffer one casualty as Henrik Zetterberg left the game to an upper-body injury.  More word as it develops…Stars Jamie Benn continued with his torrid scoring pace with 2 more points giving him 11 in past 6 games.  Yeeee-haw!....

Holtby is unreal; Pittsburgh scoring woes; St. Louis fantasy relevant again; and more... Braden Holtby and the Washington Capitals had an easy time against Ondrej Pavelec and the Winnipeg Jets, winning 5-1 at home.  Having Barry Trotz behind the bench has done wonders for Holtby while it hasn’t deterred Alex Ovechkin from scoring as he netted his 38th on the year.  Enjoy the ride poolies.…The big question is , “why isn’t Winnipeg going with Michael Hutchinson night in, night out?”  The Jets clearly play better in front of Hutch… Who would have thought that the Pittsburgh Penguins would have trouble scoring?  They lost to Columbus last night, 2-1, making it three games in arrow that they only scored once.  You just know that at some point, with all those offensive weapons that they will bust out in a big way…. The New York Islanders are making a habit of scoring early and putting the pressure on opposing teams as they scored a minute into their game against Nashville and never let up against perhaps the best goaltender in the NHL today in Pekka Rinne.  The Islanders are playing like a juggernaut lately and you would be wise to have a few players in your fantasy lineup…. IT was a very spirited game between the New York Rangers and the Vancouver Canucks with the Canucks prevailing in the shootout, 5-4.  The Sedins had 2 points apiece as they continue their comeback season while Martin St. Louis seems to be waking up from his little slumber of late with a goal and an assist in the losing effort.  Keep the veterans in your lineup as they are just too experienced and too good to leave out…. Not much to say about the Philly-Buffalo tilt other than the Flyers dearly miss Steve Mason in the crease and although Jakub Voracek scored a goal, his owners maybe should have "sold high" when he was leading the entire NHL in points. It kinda made sense... Carey Price resembled a mere mortal in the Montreal crease as the Habs continued their season-long tradition of playing down to their opponents at home, losing 3-2 to Florida. However, the Panthers are no slouch and should never be taken lightly. Just ask the Bruins who suddenly have the Cat's breathing down their neck in the playoff race.. San Jose scored a huge road win in Dallas as Antti Niemi thoroughly outplayed the inconsistent Kari Lehtonen in goal. Jamie Benn and Jason Spezza will keep rewarding their fantasy owners as they carry the "O" with Tyler Seguin out. Am so delighted I didn't trade Spezza when I had the...

Huge nights for Benn and Spezza, Ovie dominates in Pitt, the Isles bounce back and deep fantasy sleeper in Detroit...   It was a night of "firsts" for Jamie Benn as the talented forward helped the Stars pull off the improbable road upset in St. Louis by collecting his first career "hat trick". Benn is currently on a four-game point streak where he posted 10 points (6G/4A). With Tyler Seguin out of action, Jason Spezza has moved up to the top line and responded with three assists last night. He also has a decent game point streak going, collecting ten points over his last six games. Offense will be tougher to come by without Seguin, but the off-season Spezza acquisition is starting to look great right now. Start both Dallas forwards as they will be heavily involved in the scoring as the Stars battle for a playoff spot. Also, don't understimate Kari Lehtonen's fantasy worth moving forward as the Star's goalie has won four straight, including three on the road against elite opponents, and has seen his overall numbers improve greatly over that stretch. More than a solid no. 2 fantasy option in goal so play him with confidence... In the Washington-Pittsburgh rivalry match, only one superstar showed up as Alex Ovechkin collected his league-leading 37th goal and an assist in the Capital's 3-1 road win. AO has been on an absolute tear lately, notching 14 points over the last ten games and looks poised to grab fantasy MVP honors if he keeps up his frenetic pace... What else can you say about Braden Holtby? A little belief instilled by coach Barry Trotz and a monster workload has resulted in an elite fantasy campaign for the young netminder... After suffering a brutal loss to the New York Rangers, John Tavares and the Islanders showed plenty of resiliency in defeating the Carolina Hurricanes in an obvious let-down game. JT picked up a goal and an assist, while rookie line-mate Anders Lee continued to impress by scoring his 18th goal. We have seen what Tavares has done for the fantasy value of wingers such as Matt Moulson and more recently, Kyle Okposo, so Lee's rise toward fantasy relevance can't come as completely shocking... A 5-1 score in favor of Nashville over San Jose looks lopsided on paper, but Pekka Rinne had to "stand on his head" to the tune of 42 saves in order to help the Preds secure the win. He continues to dominate more and more with each passing start, so enjoy the ride if you own Rinne.. Plenty of deserving kudos for Florida goalie Roberto ...

First of all, is there a hotter top line in the NHL than Alex Steen-TJ Oshie-David Backes? The trio combined for five points in last night's 3-0 blanking of the Toronto Maple Leafs, improving their point totals to 49 in the last 11 games. Seriously? Proving to all fantasy owners that he is the "real deal" after his breakthrough 2013-14 season, Steen is currently riding point-streaks in goals and points, 5 and 9 respectively... Another shutout for Brian Elliott and another step closer to fantasy elite status. Jake Allen represents the future in the crease for the Blues, but Elliott is clearly the "now". Start him with confidence... Fantasy performer of the night- clearly Tomas Plekanec, who helped roll the Metroplitan Division leading Islanders with a four point effort. A "heart and soul" Hab who can draw some comparison to Boston's Patrice Bergeron mainly because of his superior two-way play, but is no more than a seviceable depth forward option in most fantasy formats. Awesome game nonetheless.. Two more points in a losing cause for John Tavares, giving him five points over the last two games and 13 over the last 10. JT has accelerated the scoring since the beginning of the calendar year, so superstar production seems likely for the second half... Columbus snapped a four-game losing skid with the road win at Boston, but fantasy phenom Ryan Johansen kept a 13-game point streak alive with another goal and an assist. This guy is looking like an early round draft selection come next September as he is downright dynamite... Two great buy-low options to consider at the forward position- Nathan MacKinnon and Jason Spezza. The former was expected to take a huge leap in Year 2 for Colorado, but has fizzled during the first half of the season. However, MacKinnon has shown signs of late including a late 3rd period equalizer last night against the Lightning. The latter continues to plug away as six points over the last eight games is encouraging for his typical second half outburst. Consider this- Spezza centers the second line alongside Erik Cole who is starting to heat up. Plus, he is a mainstay on the top power-play unit with All-World Tyler Seguin and the underrated Jamie Benn. This team will light the lamp plenty in the second half. Love Spezza moving forward... Dubie,Dubie,Dubie-where are you? In Minnesota, that's where! The former Arizona Coyote Devan Dubnyk continues to inject some life into his new team as the goalie led the Wild to a 3-1 win and only has...

On a night of thrilling comebacks and "stand on your head" goalie efforts, lets first take a look at the only significant fantasy injury from Sunday's full slate of action. Washington defenseman Mike Green left the contest with an upper-body injury and did not return. We all expected this to happen sooner or later as the talented blueliner usually can't stay healthy long enough to finish amongst the most productive fantasy "D" options. However, there are no details regarding the severity of his injury, so Green owners can be hopeful that he will back soon. He has been on a decent roll to start the season, collecting 12 points in his first 19 games. Another reaction to throw out there- most Cory Schneider owners rather have New Jersey rest him periodically in order to prevent a second half "burnout". Well, the team tried just that in Calgary last night as Scott Clemmenson received the start after Schneider started in the Devil's first twenty games. The results were catastrophic as he gave up three third-period goals including two in the last three minutes. Perhaps Schneider will start in the next fifty games.. kidding. Now for our top five fantasy performers from a busy Saturday: 1. Marian Hossa- The Chicago winger has showed clear signs of offensive decline over recent seasons, but he surely "turned the clock" back with his four-point performance in the 7-1 win over Edmonton. With seven points in his last three games, the Slovakian sniper has raised his scoring totals to 15 on the season and should be able to produce at his normal .75 PPG clip the rest of the way. 2. Jamie Benn- Tyler Seguin's sidekick in Dallas enjoyed a brilliant night with two goals and an assist, as his Stars have won two straight at home with the latest 5-4 victory over the Los Angeles Kings. The prolific winger has been somewhat inconsistent along with the entire Star's offense, but now finds himself amidst a three-game point streak while totalling three goals and six assists during that span. Very few forwards can rack the points as quickly as Benn and seguin, so don't let the few dry spells get you down. 3. Jhonas Enroth- The most impressive effort in the crease came from a goalie with very little fantasy appeal at this time, as Buffalo's enroth has clearly been struggling all season. However, with michal Neuvirth out with an injury, the embattled Swede showed plenty of guts in delivering a 43-save effort in the face of a constant offensive barrage during Buffalo's 2-1 road win ...

It was a rare feat last night as two of the projected top teams in the Western Conference fought to a 1-0 shootout match between the St. Louis Blues and Los Angeles Kings. Jonathan Quick (43 SV) held on just enough as he battled Brian Elliott (18) SV), proving that both are ready for the long season. Start both with confidence as both goalies should supply you with not only loads of wins, but excellent metrics as well....... The Pittsburgh Penguins were shocked as the Dallas Stars snatched what appeared to be a sure victory with 2 late third period goals to win 3-2. Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin both scored with under 3 minutes remaining the game, proving that they both should be considered among the NHL Elite..... People are all talking about the start that the New York Islanders are having this year and most of the focus has been on John Tavares, Kyle Okposo, newcomer Johnny Boychuk, and young Brock Nelson but not much has been spoken of G Jaroslav Halak. Halak raised his record to 3-0-0 win the shootout win over San Jose last night and although his metrics aren't spectacular at 2.92 GAA and a .900 SP, he should get you lots of wins on a much-improved Islander team. Expect his numbers to improve a bit as we settle into the season.... Perhaps the New Jersey Devils should've reverted back to their defensive ways last night as Washington chased Cory Schneider by scoring 5 goals on 26 shots. Not Schneider's best.  The Capitals had 6 different goal-scorers and raised their record to 2-0-2.  It looks like the Caps are a more balanced scoring team at the beginning of the season.  Mike Green chipped in with 2 assists giving him 5 points in 3 games and looks like he is playing with more confidence under Barry Trotz.  He may not be the dynamic scoring defenseman he once was, but he seems to be over the past injuries that curtailed his output.... Don't look now, I know it's only 2 games, but Braden Holtby is 2-0-0 with a 1.85 GAA and a .932 SP. We predicted his resurgence this year in our Guide and it looks like he is rewarding our confidence in him... Looking for a 4th defensemen that can provide some pop? Look at New Jersey's Damon Severson as he had 2 goals last night with 8 SOG. Plus he had the most PP time of all, yes ALL, New Jersey players.  He now has 3 goals and an assist in 4 games.... No one expected the Colorado Avalanche to take the league by surprise this year but no one them to start off 1-3-1 after their loss to the Ottawa Senators last night. ...