After two uneventful games to start the year, Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn served notice that they are among the NHL fantasy elite by combining for seven points in the Star's 4-2 road win over Columbus. Seguin notched a "hat trick", while Benn cruised along with a goal and three helpers. We all tend to panic when our superstars don't immediately get in the scoring column, but these two have been proven scorers. With the added depth to the Dallas forward corps, it was just a matter of time. It was only a few days ago when I recieved an email expressing concerns over Phil Kessel's lack of production over the first few games. After last night's overtime game-winner to seal the fate of the Colorado Avalanche, "Phil The Thrill" has responded to his slow start with five points over the last two games. A memo to all novice fantasy owners- always be patient with your high-end forwards early in the season, because they can pick up the slack in a hurry as made evident by both Seguin and Kessel. You will get many seasoned owners knocking at your door for the first slumping star, but do yourself a favor and don't answer. Now, if we are talking about the quarter point of the season, then maybe you have a chat.. Staying in Toronto, there has been surprising developments involving the goalie situation as "back-up" goalie James Reimer has proven to be the more dependable option with two straight wins, including last night's 22-save effort in the 3-2 victory over Colorado. Head Coach Randy Carlyle is going with the "hot hand" at the moment as Reimer (2.24 GAA/.920 SP) has posted far superior numbers to Jonathan Bernier (4.51 GAA/ .882 SP). I would suggest for Bernier owners to stay the course as he is far too talented to lose the starting job long-term, but if scooping up Reimer allays your fears a bit, do it then. In the "classic trap" game after an inspiring 7-1 demolition of Montreal, the Tampa Bay Lightning fell back to earth by losing to New Jersey. The real story of the contest is Devil's goalie Cory Schneider who is now 3-0 after stopping 26 of 27 shots. His key numbers speak for themselves- 2.00 GAA and .931 SP, as he is finally heading toward the top of the fantasy charts as the undisputed starter for a Brodeur-less Jersey squad. We loved him as a potential top-five goalie before the season started and now even more.. Mike Cammalleri has fallen into the right place as a new member of the team, collecting a goal and an assist plus points in all three games. ...

THE ELITE 3 (The top three fantasy players to own in any position) 1. Tyler Seguin C, Dallas   2. Patrick Kane RW, Chicago 3. Shea Weber D, Nashville GREAT BET TO REBOUND (Three players who are solid bounce-back candidates in 14-15') 1. Pekka Rinne G, Nashville   2. Jason Spezza C, Dallas 3. Tobias Enstrom D, Winnipeg HERE THEY COME.. (Three players who should be breaking out with career seasons) 1. Matt Duchene C, Colorado 2. Jamie Benn LW, Dallas 3. Brandon Saad LW, Chicago SLEEPER ALERT (Three players who should be late-round fantasy draft bargains) 1. Mikael Granlund C, Minnesota   2. Darcy Kuemper G, Minnesota   3. Trevor Daley D, Dallas BUYER BEWARE (Three players who will be overvalued in most fantasy leagues) 1. Duncan Keith C, Chicago   2. Jonathan Toews C, Chicago   3. James Neal LW, Nashville

Good morning! Coffee in hand and ready to go! Congrats to the Boston Bruins, who clinched the Eastern Conference title yesterday afternoon! Loui Eriksson has found fortune in the misfortune of Jarome Iginla's injury with 4 points playing on the top line; and he had 7 SOG. T-Rask is a monster of a goalie. Are Varlamov and the Avalanche peaking at the right time? You betcha! Lots of PIMs doled out in the third period of that Colorado-St. Louis match yesterday. Paul Stastny with 7 SOG last too. It took half a game against the NY Islanders for the Capitals to realize their season was hanging in the balance if they didn't wake up, but they did to win in a shootout. Funny to say Holtby played a great game yesterday because he hasn't all season long. Cal Clutterbuck had 7 SOG last night also. What's going on? With last night's 4-2 loss to the Winnipeg Jets, the Toronto Maple Leaf season is over for all intents and purposes. Shame really. The Canadiens got a scare when Detroit stormed back with 3 goals in the 3rd period to tie but the Habs woke up and recovered to win 5-3.  The Red Wings are going to be scary come playoff time. Niklas Kronwall had 7 SOG last night for the Wings. Unbelievable! Jamie Benn didn't have 7 SOG but he did score 2 goals and an assist in beating the Bolts last night. I can't see John Tortorella behind the Vancouver bench come the start of next season. Ottawa always gives the Rangers fits. Always. It was Z-night in the NHL as Zajac, Zubrus (2G), Zibanejad, and Zuccarello (2G) all hit the twine last night. Zidlicky had an assist. New Jersey is fighting hard to make the playoffs. Don't count them out, especially with Schneider in net. Rick Nash had 7 SOG.   That's 5 so far. Patric Hornqvist is on fire! Good luck on the final week of the regular season. You may need a hot cup of coffee to keep you up for the late games.

Exciting night yesterday in the NHL. San Jose right wing Martin Havlat had a big night with a goal and an assist in the Sharks 4-3 win over the Islanders. Havlat once had a lot of potential as a possible 90 point player, but injuries have taken their toll on him, and he has only  14 points in 35 games this year.  What a waste of talent.  New York forward Kyle Okposo had 2 assists in the loss, and with 67 points he is having a great year. Draft him high next season.  Okay game for San Jose goalie Antti Niemi as he had 35 saves in the win, and he has 33 wins on the season, but his .912 SP is a little bit unnerving. The Capitals beat the Canucks 4-3 as young Russian forward Evegny Kuznetsov scored his first NHL points by collecting 3 assists. Great game for the 21 year old rookie.  The amazing thing is that he did it in only 9:58 of time on ice, and on the 4th line no less.   Don't get too excited about him yet.  Goaltender Jaroslav Halak got the win with 35 saves, and he is playing well with 26 wins and a 2.25 GAA. He is pretty solid.  Detroit beat Edmonton 2-1 in a shootout as goaltender Jimmy Howard had a good game for the Wings with 21 saves. Howard has had a tough year with a losing record and this is his first win in 4 games, but he was sharp last night.  The Panthers beat the Devils 5-3 as Florida forward Brad Boyes had a goal and an assist. Boyes once scored 71 points for St Louis in the  2008-2009 season, but he has really struggled with injuries since then and has only 32 points on the year.  New Jersey defenseman Marek Zidlicky was a -4 by the way. Florida center Jonathan Huberdeau had 2 assists, but with only 27 points on the season, he has been a major disappointment. So much talent wasted.  Goaltender Pekka Rinne looks like he is rounding into shape for Nashville as he had 31 saves in a 3-2 victory over the suprisingly struggling Blackhawks. Rinne has good metrics with a 2.27 GAA and a .920 SP.  Get him if you can, as he is coming on strong.  Defenseman Roman Josi had a big night for Nashville assisting on all 3 goals. With 30 points in 51 games played he is a good defenseman choice.   Huge game for Rangers forward Carl Hagelin as he scored his first hat trick in the NHL. But he has only 28 points on the season, so we would not chase him.  He does have a lot of speed, but not yet so much skill.  Winnipeg goalie Ondrej Pavelec left the game early with an LBI. No word yet on how serious it is. Al Montoya replaced him, and if Pavelec is going to...

Steven Stamkos returned to the Tampa Bay lineup last night and although the Bolts lost to the lowly Sabres, he acquitted himself quite well after a long layoff. Playing on a top line with Alex Killorn and Teddy Purcell, the star center was held scoreless but registered 5 shots on goal. There will be an adverse effect on his fantasy value without the great Martin St. Louis by his side, but Stamkos is good for 85-90 points a season regardless of who he lines up with. Give him a few games and the points will come. BTW, keep your eye on Purcell, who has definitely received a fantasy boost if he becomes the second scoring option on the Lightning. No points for Marian Gaborik in his Los Angeles King's debut, but the Slovakian sniper was skating with Anze Kopitar and Justin Williams on the first line. His addition to the top power-play slides Mike Richards down to the second unit. I am liking the chances here for solid offensive production from the Kings here on out, given that they have two legitimate scoring lines to roll every night. "Gabby" will need a few games to click with Kopitar, but Richards will not with Jeff Carter. The two have been linemates since their Philly days, so expect a modest rise in fantasy value for Richards. Thomas Vanek had a quiet games for his new club in Montreal, playing on a second line with Tomas Plekanec and Brian Gionta. I am not sold on him being a point-per-game performer moving forward, considering coach Michel Therrien's intentions to keep the top line of Desharnais-Pacioretty-Gallagher intact. However, if Vanek can eventually click with Alex Galchenyuk, then we might have ourselves a new no. 1 line in Habs Nation. We still need to see how the lines play out in Montreal. Keep tabs on the Islander's Anders Lee, who after scoring a goal in the overtime loss to Edmonton, now has four in the last five games since his AHL recall after the Olympic Break. Our own "Razor" has noticed, so make sure to check out his latest installation of Under The Raydar. The fantasy star of the night was the Dallas Star's Tyler Seguin, who turned in a masterful performance with a "hat trick" and two assists in the 6-1 romp of Vancouver. He now has collected 4+ points on five different occasions this season, giving him 63 points(28G/35A) in 61 games. Jamie Benn was also huge with a goal and two helpers. Look for this duo to take another step toward fantasy stardom in '14-15, as they should develop more consistency while playing together in Year 2....

Steven Stamkos returned to the Tampa Bay lineup last night and although the Bolts lost to the lowly Sabres, he acquitted himself quite well after a long layoff. Playing on a top line with Alex Killorn and Teddy Purcell, the star center was held scoreless but registered 5 shots on goal. There will be an adverse effect on his fantasy value without the great Martin St. Louis by his side, but Stamkos is good for 85-90 points a season regardless of who he lines up with. Give him a few games and the points will come. BTW, keep your eye on Purcell, who has definitely received a fantasy boost if he becomes the second scoring option on the Lightning. No points for Marian Gaborik in his Los Angeles King's debut, but the Slovakian sniper was skating with Anze Kopitar and Justin Williams on the first line. His addition to the top power-play slides Mike Richards down to the second unit. I am liking the chances here for solid offensive production from the Kings here on out, given that they have two legitimate scoring lines to roll every night. "Gabby" will need a few games to click with Kopitar, but Richards will not with Jeff Carter. The two have been linemates since their Philly days, so expect a modest rise in fantasy value for Richards. Thomas Vanek had a quiet games for his new club in Montreal, playing on a second line with Tomas Plekanec and Brian Gionta. I am not sold on him being a point-per-game performer moving forward, considering coach Michel Therrien's intentions to keep the top line of Desharnais-Pacioretty-Gallagher intact. However, if Vanek can eventually click with Alex Galchenyuk, then we might have ourselves a new no. 1 line in Habs Nation. We still need to see how the lines play out in Montreal. Keep tabs on the Islander's Anders Lee, who after scoring a goal in the overtime loss to Edmonton, now has four in the last five games since his AHL recall after the Olympic Break. Our own "Razor" has noticed, so make sure to check out his latest installation of Under The Raydar. The fantasy star of the night was the Dallas Star's Tyler Seguin, who turned in a masterful performance with a "hat trick" and two assists in the 6-1 romp of Vancouver. He now has collected 4+ points on five different occasions this season, giving him 63 points(28G/35A) in 61 games. Jamie Benn was also huge with a goal and two helpers. Look for this duo to take another step toward fantasy stardom in '14-15, as they should develop more consistency while playing together in Year 2....

Tyler who? In case you have been on the far side of the moon the past couple of weeks, you should have noticed that the Boston Bruins second line of Patrice Bergeron-Brad Marchand-Reilly Smith has been absolutely on fire. Last night in a 6-3 victory over the Islanders Marchand had a goal and 3 assists, Bergeron had one goal and an assist and Smith had one goal and an assist as well.  This line is clicking about as good as one could ever expect.  In the last 6 games they have combined for 30 points.  After a slow start, Marchand has 12 points in his last 6 games.  He still has only 33 points on the season, but he is on fire.  If you can get any one of these guys right now in your pool, please do so immediately, as these three guys are playing extremely well together.  New York forward Kyle Okposo continued his great season with a goal and 2 assists. With 57 points on the year, Okposo is having a huge breakout season.  The Islanders welcomed back d-man Lubomir Visnovsky who had been out since October 19th with a concussion. Grab him if he is still available.  They, also, welcomed back goaltender Evgeni Nabokov, so Kevin Poulin will likely go back to the bench. Staal speed: The Carolina Hurricanes came from behind to beat Columbus 3-2. Carolina forward Eric Staal had 2 goals to start the comeback and his brother Jordan scored the game winner on a beautiful curl and drag play that fooled Sergei Bobrovsky. Staal's line continues hot as Alex Semin and left wing Jiri Tlusty each had an assist. Staal has 44 points on the season, and if this line stays hot he could have a big finish this year. Anton Khudobin seems to have established himself as the number one goalie in Carolina. He has won 4 in a row, and 5 of his last 6 games, and his 2.18 goals against is hard to argue with. Fleury pitches a zero: Pittsburgh goalie Marc-Andre Fleury had a great night with a shutout of the Sabres 3-0. Fleury had 24 saves, and he now has 29 wins on the season.  Top fantasy goalie!  Chris Kunitz had the game winner, and he is having a great year with 54 points. Tanner Glass had a goal and an assist for the Penguins, but with only 10 points on the season, he is just a third line plodder. The rumors are flying about 33 year old Buffalo goaltender Ryan Miller getting traded before the deadline. Miller is an unrestricted free agent after this season, and if he goes to a decent team his fantasy value would increase  a lot. His .926 save percentage indicates that he is still playing ...

Tyler who? In case you have been on the far side of the moon the past couple of weeks, you should have noticed that the Boston Bruins second line of Patrice Bergeron-Brad Marchand-Reilly Smith has been absolutely on fire. Last night in a 6-3 victory over the Islanders Marchand had a goal and 3 assists, Bergeron had one goal and an assist and Smith had one goal and an assist as well.  This line is clicking about as good as one could ever expect.  In the last 6 games they have combined for 30 points.  After a slow start, Marchand has 12 points in his last 6 games.  He still has only 33 points on the season, but he is on fire.  If you can get any one of these guys right now in your pool, please do so immediately, as these three guys are playing extremely well together.  New York forward Kyle Okposo continued his great season with a goal and 2 assists. With 57 points on the year, Okposo is having a huge breakout season.  The Islanders welcomed back d-man Lubomir Visnovsky who had been out since October 19th with a concussion. Grab him if he is still available.  They, also, welcomed back goaltender Evgeni Nabokov, so Kevin Poulin will likely go back to the bench. Staal speed: The Carolina Hurricanes came from behind to beat Columbus 3-2. Carolina forward Eric Staal had 2 goals to start the comeback and his brother Jordan scored the game winner on a beautiful curl and drag play that fooled Sergei Bobrovsky. Staal's line continues hot as Alex Semin and left wing Jiri Tlusty each had an assist. Staal has 44 points on the season, and if this line stays hot he could have a big finish this year. Anton Khudobin seems to have established himself as the number one goalie in Carolina. He has won 4 in a row, and 5 of his last 6 games, and his 2.18 goals against is hard to argue with.  Fleury pitches a zero: Pittsburgh goalie Marc-Andre Fleury had a great night with a shutout of the Sabres 3-0. Fleury had 24 saves, and he now has 29 wins on the season.  Top fantasy goalie!  Chris Kunitz had the game winner, and he is having a great year with 54 points. Tanner Glass had a goal and an assist for the Penguins, but with only 10 points on the season, he is just a third line plodder. The rumors are flying about 33 year old Buffalo goaltender Ryan Miller getting traded before the deadline. Miller is an unrestricted free agent after this season, and if he goes to a decent team his fantasy value would increase  a lot. His .926 save percentage indicates that he is still playing ...

Valeri Nichuskin- Dallas Stars, RW (Owned in 11.5% of ESPN leagues) The 18-year old Russian has turned many heads as a rookie, collecting 6 points (2G/4A) in the last 5 games. Playing on the top line with Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn has given him more opportunity to showcase his immense talent, even though his power-play time has been limited. He will endure his share of ups and downs in Year 1, but he should make a strong push for the Calder Trophy. Serious keeper league upside. Martin Jones- Los Angeles Kings, G (Owned in 78.5% of ESPN leagues) The 23-year old goalie has taken the NHL by storm with incredible numbers in relief of an injured Jonathan Quick. Pushing aside Ben Scrivens for the temporary King's starting gig, he has gone 5-0-0 with a .99 GAA and .967 SP. Safe to say, he needs to be owned in your league, but chances are that he might be gone by the time you read this. Heck, it's worth a shot! Ilya Bryzgalov- Edmonton Oilers, G (Owned in 16.9% of ESPN leagues) After being out since suffering a concussion on December 1, the beleaguered net-minder is set to start tonight for Edmonton against Anaheim. He was very effective in limited duty prior to the injury, going 1-1 with a 2.11 GAA and a .939 SP. The Oiler defense continues to struggle, so temper your expectations on his potential fantasy value. Having said all that, maybe he can provide them a spark in the goal and the young guns get hot. He could be a lower-tier 2nd goalie option, so he is worth a look. Roman Josi- Nashville Predators, D (Owned in 56.5% of ESPN leagues) Fantasy owners were hoping for the young defenseman to offensively break out this season, but a concussion suffered at the hands of Steve Downie derailed his "coming out" party. After a slow start to his third campaign, the Swiss defender has turned it around lately with 2 goals and 3 assists in the last 4 games. Fully recovered from injury, Josi has been promoted to Nashville's top pairing with Shea Weber both at even-strength and on the power play. Expect his numbers to keep rising, as the youngster makes a move up the fantasy charts. Sergei Gonchar- Dallas Stars, D (Owned in 25.6% of ESPN leagues) After many years of being one of the elite offensive defensemen in the NHL, the 39-year old veteran looked washed up during the first quarter of his debut season with Dallas, where he collected just 5 points in the first 28 games. However, his four-point explosion on Saturday was his best effort while donning a ...