Don't look now, but veteran center Mikko Koivu has been a fantasy difference-maker once again with his recent scoring explosion. Reunited with winger Zach Parise on the primary line, the diminutive Finn is currently riding a six-game point streak (2G/7A) highlighted by last's night crucial game-winning goal and also an assist in the 3-2 road win over the Los Angeles Kings. The emergence of young center Mikael Granlund coupled with Koivu's injury issues resulted in him being dropped to the second line with Matt Moulson, drastically lessening his fantasy value. However, Koivu seems to be back in stellar form and Coach Mike Yeo has him back with "Zach". You know what that means? Start him with confidence as the Wild seem destined for the playoffs and the top line should continue rolling. Much-maligned goalie Ilya Bryzgalov back-stopped the Wild to another huge victory last night, running his record with Minnesota to 3-0-2 with a .910 SP and a 2.19 GAA. If you need goalie help, look no further than "Bryz", considering that he is the most viable goaltending option on a probable playoff team. The Wild will need to ride him in the playoffs in wake of Darcy Kuemper's late season collapse. Bryzgalov should see plenty of starts in order to get him ready for the postseason. Marian Gaborik is definitely trending up these days. With another assist, the King's streaky winger is currently on a four-game point streak(1G/4A) and enjoying life playing with the underrated Anze Kopitar. This duo needs to keep building up scoring chemistry for their playoff run, so Gaborik looks to be a strong fantasy start for the remainder of the season. What happened to perennial second-half "fantasy beast" Eric Staal? With Carolina out of playoff contention, the normally reliable center has been a fantasy disappointment to say the least, collecting only 56 points in 72 games. I would be wary of starting him the rest of the way. I would be remiss if I didn't mention the scoring exploits of Travis Zajac (3G/1A) and Jaromir Jagr(1G/3A) as the Devil's duo combined for 8 points against the woeful Florida Panthers. Both would be legit fantasy options if the Devils had a realistic shot of making the playoffs, but obviously that is not the case. SPECIAL NOTE: IN STEVE'S DEFENSE WILL BE FEATURED ON THURSDAY THIS WEEK, FOCUSING ON THE TOP TEN FANTASY DEFENSEMEN OVER THE LAST 15 DAYS.

Tim Thomas, making his first start for the Dallas Stars, stifled the mighty St. Louis Blues by turning aside 28 of 30 shots in the 3-2 OT win. I told you guys to grab him a few days back as the former Stanley Cup winner should be rejuvenated for another possible playoff hunt with Kari Lehtonen out with a concussion. He should get the bulk of the starts moving forward in Lehtonen's absence. However, there is one caveat to consider: Thomas is proven and playoff-tested, while Lehtonen is not. If he can pull together a string of impressive wins like the one last night in St. Louis, it won't be easy for Lehtonen to reclaim his job upon his return. Mark that down. Our fantasy star performer of the night was Joe Pavelski, who helped the Sharks batter the Toronto Maple Leafs with a 2-goal,one-assist performance. With 34 goals and 65 points in 66 games, he has consistently been one of the upper-tier fantasy options amongst the forwards throughout the season. Don't expect much of a dropoff over the final stretch of games, as "Little Joe" has been the biggest Shark of all. Recently-acquired Tuomo Ruutu for New Jersey had a hand in both goals with 2 assists in their 2-1 win over Philadelphia. Since being united on a line with Jaromir Jagr (who continues to defy Father Time with another game-winning goal) and Travis Zajac(he's looking good too!), the 31-year old has collected 5 points in 2 games. I am loving this guy for a short-term sneaky pickup, as he has been notoriously streaky throught his NHL career and his recent trade could have re-invigorated him. Another interesting situation is playing out in Jersey as Cory Schneider has been struggling in the crease, while future HOFer Martin Brodeur has been the more effective Devil's goaltender since the Olympic break. Yesterday, Brodeur was called upon for the start in a critical matchup with the Flyers and responded with 30 saves on 32 shots in the huge 2-1 road victory. Fantasy owners could safely roll with the proven Stanley Cup winner while he keeps the Devils in playoff contention. Who would have thought Brodeur and Thomas could possibly have huge fantasy value during the final quarter of the season? So which Staal should be starting in all fantasy lineups at this moment? The numbers say Jordan, as he clicked big-time with Alex Semin and Jiri Tlusty on Carolina's supposed second line, collecting 5 points in the last three games. All he did in the Hurricane's upset win over the Blueshirts is score 2 huge goals. ...

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Dallas Star Forward Rich Peverley who collapsed during the first period of last night's game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Peverley had suffered from an irregular heartbeat recently and sat out a game last week but no indications that this is related.  Peverley is reported to be stable and during fine.  We pray for a speedy and complete recovery. One of the biggest games of the night pitted the Maple Leafs against the Ducks. Phil Kessel feasted on the Ducks-served-cold factoring in all three Toronto goals in their 3-1 victory, including the game-winner. In two games against the stumbling ducks, Kessel has 4 goals and 2 assists.  Kessel has feasted like a king!  Kessel should always be in your lineup regardless of the amount of games in the period as he is truly a game-changer.  Kessel is 2nd behind Sidney Crosby in League scoring but being 4 points behind will be tough to catch. Kudos for those who selected Kessel early in their drafts this season (wink, wink).  Not to be outdone, Jonathan Bernier turned aside 43 of 44 shots on goal for his 25th win on the season. Bernier has entrenched himself as the bona-fide number 1 goaltender in TO.  Perhaps the trading away of first, Cory Schneider at the 2013 Entry Draft, and then Roberto Luongo at this year's trade deadline were not the most prudent moves the Vancouver Canucks have ever made as Eddie Lack and the team has sort of imploded lately. Without the pressure of carrying the team as a Number 1, Lack impressed with solid performances in  the early stages fo the season while spelling Luongo every few games.  Lack has started the last 7 games since the O-break for the Canucks, going 2-4-1, with some of those starts just before the trade.  Lack needs to find consistency, which is a common problem among rookie goaltenders.  A few nights ago he let in 6 in a loss to Dallas.  He followed that up with a 2-1 win, stopping 22 of 23 shots on goal against Calgary.  Last night, he seemed to be rolling along to a win over the NY Islanders as he headed into the 3rd period with a 3-0 lead. Too bad for Lack the vowel in his name isn't a U as the Islanders poured in 7 3rd period goals to wrest what was sure victory from the young net minder.  So, if you do not have any other goalie options, you will have to put up with the maddening inconsistencies that you will get the rest of the season from Mr. Lack.  The one thing you can take from this game was that the Isles gained momentum ...

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Dallas Star Forward Rich Peverley who collapsed during the first period of last night's game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Peverley had suffered from an irregular heartbeat recently and sat out a game last week but no indications that this is related.  Peverley is reported to be stable and during fine.  We pray for a speedy and complete recovery. One of the biggest games of the night pitted the Maple Leafs against the Ducks. Phil Kessel feasted on the Ducks-served-cold factoring in all three Toronto goals in their 3-1 victory, including the game-winner. In two games against the stumbling ducks, Kessel has 4 goals and 2 assists.  Kessel has feasted like a king!  Kessel should always be in your lineup regardless of the amount of games in the period as he is truly a game-changer.  Kessel is 2nd behind Sidney Crosby in League scoring but being 4 points behind will be tough to catch. Kudos for those who selected Kessel early in their drafts this season (wink, wink).  Not to be outdone, Jonathan Bernier turned aside 43 of 44 shots on goal for his 25th win on the season. Bernier has entrenched himself as the bona-fide number 1 goaltender in TO.  Perhaps the trading away of first, Cory Schneider at the 2013 Entry Draft, and then Roberto Luongo at this year's trade deadline were not the most prudent moves the Vancouver Canucks have ever made as Eddie Lack and the team has sort of imploded lately. Without the pressure of carrying the team as a Number 1, Lack impressed with solid performances in  the early stages fo the season while spelling Luongo every few games.  Lack has started the last 7 games since the O-break for the Canucks, going 2-4-1, with some of those starts just before the trade.  Lack needs to find consistency, which is a common problem among rookie goaltenders.  A few nights ago he let in 6 in a loss to Dallas.  He followed that up with a 2-1 win, stopping 22 of 23 shots on goal against Calgary.  Last night, he seemed to be rolling along to a win over the NY Islanders as he headed into the 3rd period with a 3-0 lead. Too bad for Lack the vowel in his name isn't a U as the Islanders poured in 7 3rd period goals to wrest what was sure victory from the young net minder.  So, if you do not have any other goalie options, you will have to put up with the maddening inconsistencies that you will get the rest of the season from Mr. Lack.  The one thing you can take from this game was that the Isles gained momentum ...

WITH THE 2014 NHL DEADLINE JUST 2 DAYS AWAY, THE ST. LOUIS BLUES GOT THE BALL ROLLING THE OTHER DAY WITH THE ACQUISITION OF RYAN MILLER.  NOW WITH A MAJOR PIECE MOVED BEFORE THE DEADLINE, WHAT HAPPENS TO THE REST OF THE RUMORED PLAYERS?  PRIMEPUCKS™ GUEST WRITER, "TRADER" JOE LEPERE GIVES HIS OUTLOOK ON WHAT CAN TRANSPIRE OVER THE COURSE OF THE NEXT FEW DAYS. THE WORD ACCORDING TO "TRADER" JOE: RYAN CALLAHAN { NYR }-- IT JUST MIGHT BE TIME FOR THE RANGERS TO MOVE THE OFT-INJURED CAPTAIN.   I KNOW HE'S THE CAPTAIN BUT.... MARTIN BRODEUR { NJD }--THIS MOVE SHOULD HAVE BEEN DONE BEFORE THE SEASON STARTED, BUT YOU HAVE TO ASK YOURSELF, WHAT CAN THE DEVILS GET FOR HIM? THOMAS VANEK { NYI }--THIS IS A PLAYER THAT GARTH SNOW GAVE UP TOO MUCH TO GET . HE WILL BE MOVED. BUT TO WHO AND FOR HOW MUCH OF WHAT GM GARTH SNOW GAVE UP TO OBTAIN HIM CAN HE RECOUP TO MAYBE SAVE HIS JOB? RYAN KESLER { VAN }--THE RUMOR IS THAT THE PENGUINS ARE HOT ON HIS TRAIL! THIS IS ONE RUMOR I THINK WILL COME TO FRUITION ON MARCH 5TH AS THE PENS ARE LOOKING TO MAKE A LONG CUP RUN. JAROMIR JAGR { NJD }--WHAT DO THE DEVILS DO WITH THIS FUTURE HOF? MY FEELING IS THEY SHOULD MOVE BOTH HIM AND BRODEUR AND REBUILD AROUND CORY SCHNEIDER. CHRIS STEWART { BUF }-- I THINK THE QUESTION IS WHEN WILL HE BE MOVED BY THE SABRES AND WHERE? THERE SEEMS TO BE A LOT OF QUESTIONS IN BUFFALO AFTER PAT LAFONTAINE RESIGNED AND COACH TED NOLAN, WHO HAS DONE A GREAT JOB, IS NOT HAPPY WITH WHAT IS GOING ON IN BUFFALO. MATT MOULSON { BUF }--COULD BE A GOOD CATCH FOR A TEAM THAT NEEDS A GOAL SCORER, BUT LIKE THE OTHER PLAYERS IN BUFFALO, THE QUESTION IS NOT IF, BUT WHERE HE WILL END UP. MARTY ST.LOUIS { TAM }--NAME HAS COME UP A LOT OVER THE PAST WEEK WITH BEING MOVED TO THE NEW YORK RANGERS AT THE TOP OF THE LIST. MY FEELING IS "IF THERE IS SMOKE THERE IS FIRE" AND WE ALL NOW KNOW THAT HE IS VERY UNHAPPY ABOUT BEING LEFT OFF CANADA' S OLYMPIC TEAM. CAM WARD { CAR }--WOULD THE HURRICANES TRADE CAM WARD WITH 2 YEARS LEFT @ s6.3 MILLION AND A NO TRADE CLAUSE?  I THINK THEY WOULD LOVE TO MOVE HIM IF THE RETURN IS RIGHT FOR A TEAM THAT SHOULD START TO REBUILD. ANDREW MACDONALD { NYI }--SHOULD FIND HIMSELF AT A NEW HOME MARCH 5TH SINCE HE TURNED DOWN A VERY FAIR 4-YEAR, $16 MILLION OFFER FROM THE NEW YORK ISLANDERS. GOING TO BE FUN TO SEE WHAT MOVES ARE MADE BY SOME OF THE TOP TEAMS OVER THE NEXT 48 HOURS!

Welcome folks, it's that time of the week again. This week's edition of SMC is being brought to you by 'Steve' as Ray gets the day off. Let's start by handing out major kudos to Jaromir Jagr and Alex Oveckin for their milestone moments last night. JJ gets his 700th goal. AO gets his 800th point. Future fantasy hockey Hall of Famers for sure! Is there a better big-game player than Jonathan Toews? He absolutely dominated in Chicago's 6-1 romp of Pittsburgh at Soldier Field. A game of huge stars dominated by one. Eddie Lack is projected to start the Heritage Classic for Vancouver. How much more disrespect can Roberto Luongo take? You think Marty St. Louis is playing with a chip on his shoulders since returning from Sochi? Four goals in the last two games, while apparently making it clear he wants out. If he stays put and Stamkos gets back soon, they should be the best fantasy forward tandem over the last 20 games or so. Phil Kessel has made James van Riemsdyk and Tyler Bozak very fantasy relevant this season. Just like he did for Joffrey Lupul last year. In Steve Mason we trust? The Flyer's starting goalie had a 7-goal clunker sandwiched between 2 great wins against Colorado and the New York Rangers. So much for Team Russia's meltdown and a IOC suspension slowing them down... Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom are on "fire" for the Washington Capitals. Fantasy owners should enjoy the ride. Looking for a nice sleeper goalie with solid starting fantasy value? Darcy Kuemper that's who. It's looking less likely that Minnesota will be trading for a goalie by the deadline. If Johan Franzen can stay healthy for Detroit, he will put up big numbers with Henrik Zetterberg out. Big "IF" though.. Is Alex Semin hurt again? What else is new? Will Daniel Sedin ever score again? Tortorella's defensive scheme is "kryptonite" to the fantasy values of offensive stars. I am loving Jarome Iginla as solid fantasy option the rest of the way. The Olympic Break has done the 36-year old plenty of good. He has great chemistry with Krejci and Lucic. He is also perennially a second-half stud. Do you need anymore evidence? Now, speaking of second-half duds, hopefully many Kyle Okposo owners "sold high" when the news of JT's season-ending injury broke out. His numbers are about to get even worse if Vanek is dealt soon. Under Paul Maurice, Winnipeg goalie Ondrej Pavelec is very startable in all fantasy formats. Those poor Edmonton Oilers.. All these claims of incredible offensive ...

The New York Rangers were considered Stanley Cup contenders at the start of the season, but they stumbled through the beginning of the season and were under .500 at the beginning of January. But they have caught fire since then, and have won 9 of their last 12 games.  Goaltender Henrik Lundqvist has reverted back to his old quality self and he was outstanding last night as the Rangers beat the Islanders 4-1. Lundqvist had 38 saves in the win.  Defenseman Marc Staal had 2 assists for New York, but with only 10 points on the season, he has no fantasy value.  The Rangers appear to have adjusted to Coach Alain Vigneault's system...In a bit of a suprise Carolina beat St Louis 3-1.  Hurricane goaltender Anton Khudobin has really been terrific, and he was great last night wth 27 saves. His 11-4-0 record with a 2.24 goals against and a .925 save percentage speak for themselves.  Play him if you can... Detroit managed to squeak out a 4-3 victory over Washington, in a shootout that required 13 attempts before Patrick Eaves finally scored for Detroit.  Young center Gustav Nyquist scored a goal for Red Wings. Ray recently featured Nyquist in his "Under The Raydar" feature. He will be a star one day, and he is really beginning to show his talent with 8 points in his last 7 games. Grab him if you can.  Weber scores: Well the old defenseman "war horse" was on display last night, as Predator's defenseman Shea Weber had 2 goals last night in the their 3-2 win over New Jersey.  Weber's numbers on the year are 15 goals 23 assists and 38 points.  This is for a defenseman!  This guy is amazing, and a top  fantasy pick. Fortunately, I have him in both of my pools.  41 year old Jaromir Jagr had a goal and an assist for the Devils. With 46 points on the season and a +21, Jagr is still a valuable fantasy forward option.  The Jets fly:   The Winnipeg Jets beat the Canucks last night 4-3. Jets right wing Devin Setoguchi had 2 goals in the win, but with only 21 points on the season he is not fantasy worthy. Veteran left wing Andrew Ladd had 2 assists for Winnipeg, and he had 46 points in 48 games last year, but he has been struggling somewhat this year with only 38 points in 56 games. He is only 28 years old, so he should bounce back.  Keep an eye on him, as he could be a great buy low player.

The New York Rangers were considered Stanley Cup contenders at the start of the season, but they stumbled through the beginning of the season and were under .500 at the beginning of January. But they have caught fire since then, and have won 9 of their last 12 games.  Goaltender Henrik Lundqvist has reverted back to his old quality self and he was outstanding last night as the Rangers beat the Islanders 4-1. Lundqvist had 38 saves in the win.  Defenseman Marc Staal had 2 assists for New York, but with only 10 points on the season, he has no fantasy value.  The Rangers appear to have adjusted to Coach Alain Vigneault's system...In a bit of a suprise Carolina beat St Louis 3-1.  Hurricane goaltender Anton Khudobin has really been terrific, and he was great last night wth 27 saves. His 11-4-0 record with a 2.24 goals against and a .925 save percentage speak for themselves.  Play him if you can... Detroit managed to squeak out a 4-3 victory over Washington, in a shootout that required 13 attempts before Patrick Eaves finally scored for Detroit.  Young center Gustav Nyquist scored a goal for Red Wings. Ray recently featured Nyquist in his "Under The Radar" feature.  He will be a star one day, and he is really beginning to show his talent with 8 points in his last 7 games.  Grab him if you can.  Weber scores: Well the old defenseman "war horse" was on display last night, as Predator's defenseman Shea Weber had 2 goals last night in the their 3-2 win over New Jersey.  Weber's numbers on the year are 15 goals 23 assists and 38 points.  This is for a defenseman!  This guy is amazing, and a top  fantasy pick. Fortunately, I have him in both of my pools.  41 year old Jaromir Jagr had a goal and an assist for the Devils. With 46 points on the season and a +21, Jagr is still a valuable fantasy forward option.  The Jets fly:   The Winnipeg Jets beat the Canucks last night 4-3. Jets right wing Devin Setoguchi had 2 goals in the win, but with only 21 points on the season he is not fantasy worthy. Veteran left wing Andrew Ladd had 2 assists for Winnipeg, and he had 46 points in 48 games last year, but he has been struggling somewhat this year with only 38 points in 56 games. He is only 28 years old, so he should bounce back.  Keep an eye on him, as he could be a great buy low player.

Good morning all! We have a new overall points leader in the NHL this morning; The Anaheim Ducks. This Martin Jones kid is pretty spectacular, isn't he? I always wondered when Antoine Vermette was going to have that one really good season. Maybe this is the year.  Congrats on his hat trick last night. The Senators really need one of their goaltenders to step up here. The only two players on the Phoenix Coytotes to get less playing time yesterday than Colonel Klinkhammer were Kyle Chipchura and Jordan Szwarz. That was probably due to the fact that it was easier to say, "Hey Klinkhammer!  Get in there!"  Plus it sounds way cooler. Two Colorado Avalanche players woke up this past week: Paul Stastny and Ryan O'Reilly. Is Jarome Iginla waking up at this time of year like he usually does? He 7 points in 9 December games. It's ‘Feast or Famine' with Joffrey Lupul isn't it? The Detroit Red Wings are still scary to play against and I wouldn't want to play them come playoff time. Tampa Bay really hasn't skipped a beat while Steven Stamkos has been out. Just wait when he does get back in the lineup.  Ben Bishop has been phenomenal in net this year which makes you wonder why he was traded around so much so early in his career. HE's everything you ever want in a goaltender.  He's tall, big and can move. The Anaheim Ducks beat down the NY Islanders with a four-goal third period on the Island last night. Ugh-leeeee! Perry and Getzlaf. Getzlaf and Perry.  They are having one amazingly productive year.  I hope it's not another 19 games before Temmu scores again. This Islander team needs to send out an SOS because it looks like they are stranded on Long Island. The New Jersey Devils scored 5 goals last night. They have scored 3 or more goals in 6 of their past 10 games. Jaromir Jagr is leading the way for the Devils. Grab some Devs like Travis Zajac and Andy Greene if available. I saw that the Columbus Blue Jackets scored 6 goals last night and then I read the box score and saw that Marian Gaborik returned to the lineup. If he can stay healthy, they can be a sneaky dangerous team. No amazing comeback for the Flyers in this one against the Blue Jackets. The Canadiens made that game a little tougher than it should've been against the Predators. The Oilers just can't seem to score much lately. During their current 6-game losing streak, they have been shutout 3 times. Chris Stewart is getting hot! Have a Very Merry Christmas and Happy Boxing Day to all. For those who don't ...

Don't look now, but the New Jersey Devils just may be finding their offense. With 18 goals in the last 5 games, the Jersey goalies are finally getting some support.  Martin Brodeur, coming off a shutout, was the beneficiary of a 5-goal outburst from the Devils in their 5-2 win over the Ottawa Senators. Rookie defenseman Eric Gelinas shows no sign of slowing as he scored a goal and added an assist in the contest. Gelinas now has 15 points in 26 games matching Marek Zidlicky's output and just 1 behind Andy Greene among Devil defensemen. If the Devils offense is picking up, Gelinas just may be the one you should be picking up as well....Patrik Elias (22 pts. in 27 games) with 2 assists and Jaromir Jagr (29 pts. in 35 games) with his 12th, this one on the PP, are proving that they can still contribute at a decent clip even at their age. They are definitely the leaders on offense for the Devils and are good bottom tier forwards for your fantasy team.....Ottawa goalie Robin Lehner keeps coming up short in his bid to take over the starting job for the Senators. Giving up 5 against the Devils did not help his cause.  The Senators are waiting for either Craig Anderson to regain his form or Lehner to establish himself as the undisputed No. 1. The waiting continues. More Fantasy Game Notes: The New York Rangers have been looking for someone to step up and have a big game for them on this 9-game home stand; a home stand in which they have only won once in 6 games so far and that was against the Calgary Flames in a shootout. Everyone was expecting Henrik Lundqvist to rise to the occasion especially after signing a 7-year contract extension but he is still floundering trying to find his ‘A' game. So here they were last night against the Mighty Pittsburgh Penguins who were without the services of top stars Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and James Neal. They were staring another loss in the face being down 3-1 late in the third when they got the unlikeliest of heroes, well somewhat of a hero, in Mats Zuccarello. Mats scored with a little over 7 minutes left in the contest to bring the Blueshirts within 1 and then assisted on the tying power play goal by Derick Brassard with just under 2 minutes left. The Rangers couldn't put anything past Marc-Andre Fleury in the shootout but the Rangers gained a much valuable point. Zuccarello now has 8 points in 8 December games.  If you need a Ranger on your fantasy roster, He may be the one to have with 23 points in 34 games (9 on ...