SMC 11/4/201 Had an extra hour as we turned back our clocks 1 hour marking the end of Daylight Savings Time which means it’s lighter earlier in the day and gets darker sooner for the next 6 months.  Oh who cares anyway?  We have hockey, and Thanksgiving, and Christmas/Boxing Day, and New Year’s Eve, and the Winter Classic.  All good stuff to look forward to as the temperature gets colder and less daylight to bask in. Speaking of basking, how about those Nashville Predators?  Top of the NHL with 22 points.  They definitely have their minds focused on hoisting the Stanley Cup come June when the temperatures are rising, the sun is shining and…. If you haven’t noticed, the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks share 1st place in the Pacific Division. And Edmonton is 2 points behind. The Buffalo Sabres exploded against G Craig Anderson and the Ottawa Senators in a Saturday matinee winning 9-2.  Anderson only let 3 goals in before being pulled, so he wasn’t to blame really. I believe everyone on the Sabres roster had like 3-point days.  Okay, maybe not all the players. You would think at some point that Rasmus Ristolainen would start getting points just by being on the ice with these guys. I stated watching season 3 of Daredevil and I have to say that I am really enjoying it so far.  Episode 4 tonight before watching the NY Rangers take on the Sabres.  Rangers first game home after a California road trip and the Sabres coming off a barn burner win yesterday should all point to a low-scoring affair at MSG.  I finally pulled the trigger and grabbed Yanni Gourde off the free agent wire and dropped Travis Konecny.  I’m keeping my eye on Konecny but Gourde just gets points all the time.  Anton Stralman had a 3 assist game and today I have him as a drop in a claim I have in one of my leagues.  Maybe I should pull him back. Part of me wants to believe that Gustav Nyquist is real this year and another part can’t forget all the disappointment seasons I’ve had waiting for him to breakout. The NY Islanders are for real.  New GM.  New Head Coach.  New beginnings with John Tavares gone to TO. Speaking of TO, the Maple Leafs played the perfect game against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night.  And without Auston Matthews and holdout William Nylander. There’s a Jason Spezza resurgence this season but I don’t have room for him on my fantasy squad.  If you do, ride him for a bit. The St. Louis blues have looked good of late but not last night.  The boring team we know ...

SMC 11/19/2017 Glad to be back on somewhat of a routine again!  Looks like RW Sebastian Aho from Carolina, not to be mistaken for the defenseman Sebastian Aho from the NY Islanders-although he may be a good one someday, seems to be heating up.  Kudos to those sticking with him through his rather slow start.  Grab him if he’s available.  The Carolina player, not the Islander one. Chicago’s Brandon Saad has really crashed and burned since his hot start.  I believe he will start to score more consistently going forward. Auston Matthews is back and he made his return with a ‘statement’.  That Statement being 2 goals.  Wow. Half as good as his NHL debut.  Mitch Marner was appreciative assisting on both AM’s goals. What is up with Luke Witkowski?  And shouldn’t Matthew Tkachuk get more than the 1-game suspension and Witkowski get less than the 10-games?  I mean, he slashed the back of Witkowski’s leg kind of instigating that melee. Break out the champagne!  The Arizona Coyotes won 2 in a row for the first time this season.  Of course the champagne will have to be a dry one. Need a goal scorer badly.  If Anthony Duclair is available, perhaps he will be the goal scorer everyone has been waiting for.  He did have a hattie on Saturday. Sean Monahan also had a hattie against Philadelphia, all coming in the second period. Wooohoo! Is that all we get from the Edmonton Oilers?  One good season and a playoff berth and now a return to mediocrity?  Oh wait, they’ve been worse than mediocrity for a long time before last season’s 2 playoff rounds. If Jason Spezza is available, pick him up, store him on your bench, and then he will either get on a roll, or get traded and really get on a roll. I believe you are about to see the Division standings start to look like they are supposed to with maybe one or two surprises in there like we have every year. That Devan Dubnyk sure went on a roll, didn’t he?  Three straight shutouts!  Plus one guy in m one of my fantasy leagues had him.  But he also had Sergei Bobrovsky who shutout the Rangers on Friday night.  What a week! Looks like Bobrovsky is finally over his injury-prone stage. The Winnipeg Jets are coming together thanks to Conor Hellebuyck’s play this season.  Sorry Steve Mason. LA’s Darcy Kuemper must’ve been watching ex-teammate Devan Dubnyk recent performance as he too posted a shutout on Saturday, just not three in a row.  That would be difficult to do with Jonathan Quick in net for the Kings. Does anyone else feel like ...

The Minnesota Wild roll by the St. Louis Blues 6-3, as Brian Elliott was pulled after giving up four goals. Thomas Vanek scored a goal, extending his point streak to seven games. His late season scoring surge is good enough reason to get him in your starting lineups... Is there a better line going in the NHL than the Gaudreau-Hudler- Monahan unit for the Calgary Flames? In another big spot, the trio have combined for five points but the team fell short in overtime after Rene Bourque buried the game-winner. Start all three as thay are providing the bulk of Calgary's offense during their hot streak... Carey Price for MVP? It's looking more and more likely as he keeps churning out suberb efforts in the crease, this gtime posting his second straight shutout and blanking the San Jose Sharks...   Jonathan Quick kept the Los Angeles Kings in the match with 36 saves, but Radim Vrbata spearheaded the Canuck's offense with the go-ahead goal in the third period plus an assist. He has been heating up so give him an extended look as Vancouver pushes hard for a playoff spot.  Boston blows another opportunity to extend their point lead over Florida as Roberto Luongo outlasted Tuukka Rask in the shootout to give the panthers the 2-1 win. In two games back, "Bobby Lou" looks every bit the solid fantasy goalie that he was during his peak years in Vancouver...  Jaroslav Halak is back starting for the Islanders after missing two games and his presence along with the return of defenseman Nick Leddy helped lead them to a 3-0 win over New Jersey. Kyle Okposo scored his 16th goal of the season, slowly shaking off his injury rust and getting ready for a strong finish. Get him in your starting lineups..   Kyle Turris continued his hot play with the game winning goal and Andrew Hammond won his sixth straight start for Ottawa as the Senators defeated their provinciakl rivals, the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-3. Defenseman Erik Karlsson finished the match with a goal and an assist. He is definitely paying fantasy dividends now for those owners who drafted him in the early rounds.. The goaltending enigma known as Kari Lehtonen was spectacular in net after he posted his fifth shutout of the season in the 4-0 drubbing of Chicago. Jason Spezza picked up a goal and  an assist while Alex Goligoski notched two helpers. Give "Gogo" the starting nod this upcoming week if you own him as he is on a serious scoring roll to finish the season.. What a return for Taylor Hall as he assisted on ...

Starting with the late-night thriller between Pittsburgh and Los Angeles, Marc-Andre Fleury withstood a 31-shot barrage to hold on for his ninth shutout of the season. Patrick Hornqvist provided the game-winner in overtime, improving his goal to seven over the last seven games. After a mid-season dip in offensive production, the former Nashville winger has resumed his early-season scoring ways where he was one of the hottest fantasy assets with 25 points in his first 23 games. With all their key forwards healthy for the stretch run, look for Hornqvist to close the season on a point-per-game pace and back to fantasy must-start status.. Speaking of streaking, Vancouver's Radim Vrbata scored two goals to extend his point-streak to four games. Even though fantasy owners rather him play on the top line with the Sedin twins, the winger has delivered a team-leading 25 goals and still gets primary power-play time. If you have him on your bench, it might be time to start him while the Canucks push hard for a playoff spot. With Eddie Lack manning the crease instead of the injured Ryan Miller, there will be a stronger focus on the offense carrying the team.. Let's just re-name John Tavares Art Ross as the Islanders star continues to lead the NHL in scoring with another dominant effort, a goal and two assists in South Florida. With Kyle Okposo nearing a return, there has been plenty of debate on how the top line will look when he gets back. For my money, Anders Lee has more than earned his spot alongside JT so he should stay put. A Tavares-Okposo-Lee unit would reap huge fantasy dividends for all three... Big news in Dallas as Tyler Seguin returned to action last night, not missing a beat with two goals in the 5-3 loss to Tampa Bay. Jason Spezza's fantasy value once again takes a slight hit as he returns back to second-line center duties but he remains a fixture on the no. 1 power-play unit. Breakout defenseman John Kingberg left the contest with a lower-body injury and is listed as day-to-day. With Trevor Daley also out, this could be the best and only time to start Alex Goligoski who has been a bitter fantasy disappointment. He could string together a decent stretch of games with those two out. Consider playing him.. The Leafs were beaten down by the St. Louis Blues, as Vladimir Tarasenko plus Jaden Schwartz and TJ Oshie each collected a goal and an assist.One fact remains true- Phil Kessel is definitely unstarteable in all fantasy formats, while Tarasenko has ...

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 ...

John Tavares was king against Columbus as his two goals and two assists plus a whopping nine SOG was the fantasy statline of the evening. However, more owners need to pay attention to his newest side-kick, Anders Lee, who also contributed four assists and has been on "fire" during his current five-game point streak. Short-term power move- Get Lee in your fantasy lineups next week while the Islanders play five games. If he continues to light it up, then you might have a gem on your hands in Kyle Okposo's absence.. Tyler Myers made amends in a hurry for a ho-hum Winnipeg debut, collecting two points in his second game for the Jets. This guy might merit a serious look as Tobias Enstrom hasn't exactly been scoring much and has been underachieving on the power-play. Even money that Myers gets a chance to get serious PP minutes with Dustin Byfuglien as his running mate.. Five straight games with at least a point for Jason Spezza who will be counted upon for no.1 center duties in Dallas while Tyler Seguin heals from his knee injury. Loved him before this and love him even more now. JS is about to take off so you need to start him... It could be the right time to "buy low" on Thomas Vanek, who collected three points in the win over Carolina and now has nine points over the last ten games. Get all your Minnesota Wild key players activated as they have been arguably the "hottest" team around... Say goodbye to Justin Faulk's career-high of 32 points as the Carolina defender picked up two assists to improve his numbers to 34 in 54 games. Can anyone say 50? He has a great chance as his fantasy stock is shooting straight up... Columbus winger Cam Atkinson has quietly moved up to borderline fantasy relevance with his latest offensive outburst of four goals in his last five games and eight points over his last nine contests. I had jumped off his bandwagon, but the talent is there for a significant turnaround. Just not sure about the long-term compete level... MORE TO COME...

The huge news of the night involved the lower-body injury suffered by Tyler Seguin after a low hit by Florida's Dimitry Kulikov. Seguin owners and Dallas fans are holding their breath as he could miss significant time if the MRI reveals major damage. If you want to look ahead, Jason Spezza would stand to be the major fantasy beneficiary during Seguin's potential absence. But let's hope the superstar is ok and misses minimum time.. I found it real funny and somewhat predictable that Kari Lehtonen turned in arguably his strongest performance of the season on the heels of the Stars acquiring goalie Jhonas Enroth in a trade. Lehtonen needed a kick in the butt to get his game going so fantasy owners owe Mr. Enroth a big thank you.. Fantasy star of the night honors belongs to San Jose's Joe Pavelski who collected a hat trick to raise his goal total to 31, good for fourth in the NHL. 'Little Joe" deserves way more fantasy recognition but it's the more famous "Joe"-Mr. Thornton- who has been killing it lately with 14 points over his last ten games. After a few seasons of showing some decline, the veteran center is scoring again at a point-per-game clip. Start him while he pumps out assists at such a high rate.. Marian Hossa is taking a page out of Joe Thornton's book and has turned back the clock lately with another two-point effort, his fourth straight. With seven goals over that span, the Slovakian winger is absolutely on a roll and needs to be starting while he is streaking... The "Wayne Train" is flying express these days, as Wayne Simmonds is heating up again. His two goals and an assist gives him six points over his last five games. Get him in your lineup now but be prepared to pull the plug soon when he goes cold. There is no middle ground with Simmonds. He is either great or not...  

What I've noticed of late is how defenseman Seth Jones has become more involved in the scoring for the Nashville Predators. He has a 4-game point streak and has 9 points in last 12 games.  Pretty impressive stats I must say... Chicago Blackhawk Marian Hossa has been quiet of late but scored twice against St. Louis. His first points in 6 games.  Veteran players like Hossa know when to raise the level of their game and with the season coming to the stretch run.... Philadelphia Flyer Claude Giroux has been relatively quiet of late but had 2 assists against Washington in a big win for Philly as they cling to playoff expectations. A player like Giroux can go off in a hurry so leave him in your lineup regardless....G Steve Mason had to leave the game with an apparent knee injury. Seems like he could be on the shelf for a while so if you expect a lot from the Flyers, pick up and start Ray Emery as you await further word on Mason's injury.... Not much to say about the Buffalo-Islanders tilt other than Jaroslav Halak won the game by making just eight saves during an entire match. Really? That has to be a record. Anyway, his owners will gladly take it.. The Lightning steamrolled the Ducks despite the return of Ryan Getzlaf, getting a huge three-point effort from Valtteri Fillpula(7 points in last 10 gms).Anaheim goalie Federik Andersen left the match after getting hit by a tilted net. Let's hope that the injury is not serious given that Ilya Bryzgalov would be a less than adequate handcuff for Andersen owners.. Jason Spezza has been more of a dominant offensive performer lately, collecting a goal and two assists improve his numbers to 11 points over the last ten games. A point-per-game pace or close to it should be expected for the perennial second-half stud.. Kari Lehtonen's amazing 34-save effort in the win justs adds to the craziness of owning him and not knowing what to expect from start to start. I had all but decided to sit him for the upcoming week but now have second thoughts. So should you.. Mathieu Perreault and Dustin Byfuglien get the Winnipeg Jets back in the winning column with three points apiece. "Big Buff" has been moved back to forward but as long he maintains eligibility on the blueline, keep starting him on defense.. Behind Carey Price's 34 saves, the Habs completed the season sweep of the Boston Bruins in a low-scoring affair. Tuuka played well but Carey was just a tad better..

The New York Islanders continue their supremacy over the Rangers this season with a 4-1 win for their 4th win of the season over the Blueshirts. Jaroslav Halak almost had another shutout but lost it with just 10 seconds left in the game. The Isles are tied atop the Eastern Conference with the Detroit Red Wings who beat the Florida Panthers 5-4.  Stephen Weiss was the offensive hero for the Wings with a goal and 2 assists. Weiss is probably still available on the waiver wire and should be picked up as a lower end forward or for depth purposes.... The Pittsburgh Penguins were without the services of top guns Crosby and Malkin but got back some significant contributors in Patric Hornqvist (2 goals) and D Kris Letang who had 5 assists in his return from injury. Keep these fantasy studs in your lineup at all times because if they can score without Crosby and Malkin, imagine what they could do with them in it.... Columbus and Philadelphia kept their playoff hopes alive with must-needed victories over Washington and Arizona respectively. With Bobrovsky lost to injury, Curtis McElhinney pushed aside 25 of 28 SOG for the win and will be counted on to keep them in the race until their starter Bobber returns....Philly beat the Coyotes in a shootout to stay in the hunt. IF you are looking for some defensive help on the score sheet, take a look at Michael Del Zotto who seems to have found his scoring form with his fourth on the season but that makes 5 points in last 4 games.... Carey Price turned aside 40 shots as the Montreal Canadienssneaked by the visiting Dallas Stars by a 3-2 score. Defenseman Andrei Markov has firmly jumped back into fantasy relevance by collecting another power-play assist to improve to eight points in his last six games. After collecting ten points over the first two months, all the cagey veteran has done is rack up 17 points in his last 22 contests. Start him with confidence as he and PK Subban have revitalized the Habs on the power-play..Jason Spezza has shown signs of life for the sputtering Stars, extending his point streak to five games with an assist. Expect him to juice up his numbers in the second half, but don't count on a point-per-game clip... It seems that Cam Ward is clearly the forgotten man in the Carolina crease as Anton Khudobin keeps flashing his breakout form from last season. In the 4-2 win over Tampa Bay, the streaking Russian improved his win total to six over his last seven games and his streak of allowing two or less ...