Good morning all! Coffee's hot, the air is cold!  Brrrrrr! Telling you what's not cold is the Boston Bruins. I think they are waking up.  No hibernating for this big, bad bear! Krejci is a big part of making that team click. You know who else is a big part of it?  Zdeno Chara  J. Pekka Rinne continues to prove that he is the best goaltender in the NHL. From the start of the season I keep seeing these three names in the Philly box scores. Voracek, Giroux & Streit. It's a shame their record is so poor. Will Minnesota make a deal for a goaltender? I think it's a matter of sooner than later. Colorado is starting their move. They have won 3 in a row and 5 of last six played.  Watch out as they will make the race for the playoffs very interesting.  The Avalanche is packed full of young explosive talent that can go off at any given moment. MacKinnon and Duchene had 5 and 6 SOG respectively last night. David Perron scored on like his first shot with Pittsburgh and nothing since. Don't worry.  He's getting plenty of chances and will break out soon.  He's had 6, 5 and 5 SOG in his first three games with the Pens. That Pitt-Montreal game would be a great series to watch come April. Even though Carey Price lost last night against Pittsburgh, he has truly blossomed into an elite NHL goaltender. Mike Smith's problems continue so don't rely on the Arizona goalie to help your cause this year unless he gets traded to some place like Minnesota. Every once in a while the Ottawa Senators give a glimpse of what may be in store for the future. Is there any hope for Arizona in the foreseeable future? I mean their defense looks tremendous going forward.... Losing Jimmy Howard for an extended period of time sucks but the Red Wings will be just fine with Petr Mrazek in net for the time being. Braden Holtby has turned into a workhorse; 24 starts in a row for the young goaltender. That's almost two month's worth of games. Look at those Islanders go! There were 8 goals in regulation between the Blues and Hurricanes and those 8 goals were scored by 8 different players. Carolina has been playing much better since Jordan Staal returned to the lineup. The New York Rangers remain hot with the three-game sweep of California. All lines are clicking! There is no ‘win' in Winnipeg unless Michael Hutchinson is in net it seems. Tobias Enstrom returned to the Jets lineup. They are slowly but surely getting their injured defensemen back which should be good for the team. Has anyone noticed ...

Injuries, injuries, injuries... Two starting goaltenders went down yesterday as both Steve Mason(knee) and Jimmy Howard(groin) both had to exist their respective games. Mason should only miss a week, but Howard owners could be without their star netminder for much longer. As he was stretchered off the ice, all I could think of while watching the NFL playoff games was to scoop up Petr Mrazek. The 22-year old is one of the more talented back-ups, albeit a bit unseasoned to say the least. He could be in line for a huge workload but the question remains whether he can rise to the occasion. I, for one. feel like he is definitely worth a gamble for fantasy teams in need of goalie help. Also, strategy-wise, getting the goalie before the Jimmy Howard owner does could help bolster your position. Of lesser fantasy consequence, Tanner Pearson broke his leg last night and will miss substantial time for the LA kings. With fellow line-mate Tyler Toffoli being diagnosed with mono, their second line is now on the shelf and more line tinkering will be in the works for coach Sutter. I am sure that Anze Kopitar, Jeff Carter, and Marian Gaborik will get all the ice-time needed for a further fantasy boost in the second half. Zach Parise returned to the Minnesota Wild line-up with a heavy heart after missing two games due to the death of his father. He played 23:08 minutes and registered three shots on goal. If I had to venture an educated guess based on how this guy plays the game, he should put forth inspired hockey moving forward..Also back from injury is defenseman Tobias Enstrom who picked up an assist in his return game.He is playing on the 2nd power-play unit for Winnipeg, but could push for more minutes in the near future. A decent waiver-wire add if he is available, as the two-time 50+ point scorer has a vast track record of offensive production in the NHL. The Pittsburgh Penguins have been shaken up with a myriad of injuries, but their big guns are keeping up the offensive pressure in recent games. Sidney Crosby applied the finishing touch to their 2-1 win in Montreal by scoring the overtime tally. Fellow star Evgeni Malkin scored a goal and an assist for his third multiple point effort in his last four games. With the impending return of Patrick Hornqvist and the recent acquisition of David Perron, you can fully expect the Pens to put up fantasy-monster numbers down the stretch. You can't hold them down for too long.. Keep your eye on 18-year old David Pastrnak ...

Perhaps this is the time to start thinking about "buying low" on the New Jersey Devils as they have played 21 of their 34 games away from home so far and with some players returning to full health should be able to make a run with a lot of games coming up at home. New Jersey plays 12 of their next 18 games at the Prudential Center. Devils G Keith Kincaid earned his won his 1st NHL victory against the high-powered Tampa Bay lightning who seem to have hit a rut lately by losing 6 of their last 9 games. Both usual starters, Ben Bishop and Cory Schneider, were out for different reasons but should be in net for their respective team's next starts....Patrik Elias scored his 4th goal on the season and just 3th point in 28 games this season well below his career average. Could be a solid acquisition from here on out as he should return to normal scoring levels.... Ilya Bryzgalov got his first start in his return to the Anaheim Ducks and was smoked for 6 goals by the Ottawa Senators. Expect Frederik Andersen back in net for their next game.  Bobby Ryan seems to be heating up with 8 points in 8 December games after contributing two assists in the game. You just might be able to obtain Ryan on the cheap.  If you remember, Ryan was at a point-per-game clip before playing with an injury last year, his first in Ottawa.... Jaroslav Halak and the NY Islanders continued their strong season with a 2-1 victory in Hockeytown over the Detroit Red Wings who lost G Jimmy Howard to a lower-body injury during the first period. Hopefully for the Red Wings, Howard won't be out long as he was having a nice comeback season.  Halak earned his 17th win on the year.... Michael Hutchinson continues to show what he can do at the NHL level with a 30-save, 2-1 win over the Boston Bruins. Hutchinson raised his record to 7-2-2 with outstanding metrics and should be considered the undisputed starter but Winnipeg continues to platoon both he and Ondrej Pavelec who is having his best statistical season by far but the team seems to win more with Hutch in net..... The Dallas Stars scored twice early and held on for a 2-1 victory over the Calgary Flames, raising G Kari Lehtonen's record to 13-7-5. For the Flames, that was their 7th loss in a row  as they are quickly fading from a solid start to the season.  

Could this be the coming out party for Montreal's Alex Galchenyuk? Moved to the center the top line a few games ago, the ultra-talented Center, with his 3-goal game tonight against the Hurricanes, has 5 points in the three games since being moved.  It's too early to say for sure that he is ready for greater things, but he is capable...Max Pacioretty who knows a few things about hat tricks assisted on all three Galchenyuk goals... Tampa Bay won for just the second time in the past 6 games with rookie G Andrei Vasilevskiy making his NHL debut and turning aside 23 of the 24 Philadelphia SOG for the win. Regular starter Ben Bishop hurt himself the previous night but according to Bishop, he shouldn't be out long...Tyler Johnson had the game-winner and an assist in the game giving him 33 points in 33 games this season. No sophomore jinx for this Johnson....  Toronto continued their winning ways and remain the hottest team in the Eastern Conference with an impressive 6-2 win over Frederik Andersen and the Anaheim Ducks. The top line of Phil Kessel-Tyler Bozak-James van Riemsdyk combined for 7 points in the Leaf victory....G Jonathan Bernier, our latest BETWEEN THE PIPES feature, remained hot with a 40-save effort in notching his 13th win and his 8th win in last 10 decisions. Continue to ride the hot net minder.... Both Sergei Bobrovsky and Jimmy Howard wouldn't budge in their matchup last night and it took a shootout to decide the regulation scoreless tie. Both net minders have been playing excellent goal of late and should continue for the remainder of the season..... The Florida Panthers continue to scratch and claw their way against their opponents to come away with at least a point and last night was just another reminder that the Cats aren't going to be an easy game anymore. Roberto Luongo turned aside 23 of 24 and then saw another 20 attempts in the shootout before Nick Bjugstad put an end to the shootout marathon for the win....   Just when you thought the Los Angeles Kings would continue their recent dominance over St. Louis, their breakout star Vladimir Tarasenko fueled the 5-2 comeback win with a heck of a third period effort- two goals and an assist. He finished with four points on the night to extend his point streak to six games. His overall 36 points is only two behind the NHL lead so treat Tarasenko as an ultra-elite fantasy option and enjoy his monster season. Trading him is not recommended... Not much to say about Arizona's 2-1 overtime win ...

Marc-Andre Fleury (26/27 SV) and the Crosby-less Pittsburgh Penguins played a tidy game against the Calgary Flames and came away with a 3-1 victory. It appears Crosby will be out for at least one more game but they did welcome back D Kris Letang and Patric Hornqvist from the infirmary. Hornqvist was held off the score sheet but Letang scored the game-winning goal while Evgeni Malkin pitched in with 2 assists. The Pens are just so deep with offense that as long as one of Malkin or Crosby are in the lineup, they are tough to beat.... The Montreal Canadiens continued their 5-game home stand with a 6-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings as P. K. Subban was the main cog with a goal and an assist giving him 21 points in 31 games and 8 points in last 7.    Subban is creeping up on the defensive scoring leaders with his 2 points and now is just 9 points behind leader Mark Giordano. I have a feeling that Subban will catch Giordano at some point....Habs rookie Jiri Sekac started and ended the scoring with goals, his 5th and 6th of the season. That's 4 points in last 3 games and with just 12 points in 24 games, I'd be hesitant in picking him up.... The Florida Panthers continued their strong play this season and came away with a 3-2 shootout win in Detroit. Both Roberto Luongo and Jimmy Howard played well in net for their respective teams but the shootout loss prevented the Red Wings from taking over the top of the Eastern Conference... Anaheim goalie Frederik Andersen started his 17th straight game last night against the Edmonton Oilers and came away with his 6th straight winning by a score of 4-2. Andersen turned aside 21 SOG for his 16th win on the season.  This wasn't much of a contest with the Oilers losing their 14th in their past 15 games.

Last season, Jimmy Howard and the Detroit Red Wings struggled throughout, as much with injuries as well as him playing up to his career averages. Howard had in fact won 35+ games three straight seasons and also won 21 games in 42 starts in the Lockout season.  Clearly he would have won 35+ for a fourth straight season if not for the Lockout.  Unfortunately for fantasy fans, Howard had an off-year the following season where he struggled to match the previous season's, the Lockout season of 48 games, win total of 21. This season, Howard is a huge part of the Red Wing's success. Howard sported numbers of 2.66 GAA and a .910 SP, not his worst but close to it. In fact his worse season was his second full season where he posted a 2.79 GAA and a .908 SP.  Yet, he still managed to win 37 games that year.  So, after last year's step back, poolies gave up on the Red Wing net minder figuring he was near the end even though he was only 30-years old, or more likely that they were just suspect of his abilities and shied away from him in the draft.  With the way Detroit handles their players, and that they are perennial participants in the playoffs, you should have had a feeling that they would stick with Howard knowing that he just had an off-year sprinkled with a few minor injuries.  They really had no other options, and they probably weren't even considering other plans. Patience, and perhaps a calculated gamble, has paid off for fantasy owners as Howard has returned to more common levels in his game.   The Detroit goalie has gone 13-5-4 with a 2.21 GAA and a .917 SP with one shutout.  Howard usually starts 4 to 5 games in a row before getting a breather by either Petr Mrazek or Jonas Gustavsson. Mrazek is up with the big club while "the Monster" recovers from his injury and has won all three starts.  Howard's play, along with the backups, has the Red Wings tied atop not only the Atlantic Division but the Eastern Conference with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Congratulations who stuck with Howard or took a shot in the draft as you have been rewarded already and should continue as he is in store for perhaps a record season awaits with a little bit of luck. POST MARKS: MILLER'S TIME--I'm sure Ryan Miller is quite happy that his hockey life has settled down this season after last year's trials and tribulations. First, he had to deal with playing on a poor Buffalo Sabres team and then moving on to St. Louis where they were counting on a savior.  Well that didn't happen and ...

Pavel Datsyuk returned to the lineup after missing some time due to a nuisance groin problem that has plagued him since the beginning of the season. Datsyuk proved just how valuable he is not only to the Detroit Red Wings, but fantasy owners alike by scoring twice including the power play game-winner.  He's a definite start, but he has shown some brittleness of late....If you are looking for forward help, take a shot on Stephen Weiss who added a goal and an assist after scoring twice in the last game after being out of the lineup for the entire start of the season.....How much can we say about G Jimmy Howard's performance this year? Just stick him as your starter and concentrate on other areas of your team.... Jaroslav Halak and New York Islanders win again, making it 6 in a row and 11 of their last 12 games for the team from Long Island. That's 9 wins in a row for Halak who has clearly added stability to the Isles crease.... Pittsburgh's Blake Comeau had been given the opportunity to play alongside Sidney Crosby earlier in the week but with no luck but came away with a hat trick last night playing on Crosby's line and also Evgeni Malkin's line. Another potential candidate for a top-six spot but Comeau saw minimal power play time.  With Beau Bennett out for 2 weeks, Comeau should breathe easier for a little while anyways....D Kris Letang with 2 assists now has 4 points in last 2 games.... The New York rangers played the Tampa Bay lightning a little tougher than last week's 5-1 loss at the Garden but still came away on the wrong end of a 4-3 game. Ex-Ranger Captain Ryan Callahan scored twice against his former team and added an assist, giving him 5 points in two games against his former team. Playing alongside a superstar talent like Steven Stamkos will do that to you...Alex Killorn was slotted on the left wing on the Stamkos-Callahan line so that needs to be monitored to see if Killorn sticks.... Florida beat Carolina 1-0 as Roberto Luongo and Al Montoya combined for the shutout with Luongo leaving the game with an upper-body injury. No further news at this time. ...Nick Bjugstad scored 21 seconds into the game and the Panther duo made it hold up for the victory. That's 9 points in past 6 games for Bjugstad making him a must-start as a key Florida offensive weapon, although the Cats don't score a whole lot.... It was Martin Jones (28 SV) and not Jonathan Quick that posted a 4-0 shutout over the Minnesota Wild, chasing Darcy Kuemper (4 GA) from the game ...

I think it is safe to say that Evgeni Malkin is "in the zone" as he scored twice, including the game-winner against Boston, giving him 8 points in last 5 games....Sidney Crosby (G, 2A) scored for just the 2nd time in 11 games, so expect his production to start heating up as well...Kris Letang pitched in with 3 assists... The New York Islanders and Philadelphia Flyers battled to a 1-0 shootout victory by the Isles. Both net minders were brilliant as they kept their opponents off the score sheet.  Steve Mason (46 SVS) & Jaroslav Halak (21 SVS) put on a showcase of goaltending skills with Halak earning his third shutout and has now won 7 in a row. Make sure you get the hottest goaltender in the NHL in your lineup, the Islanders are for real! Minnesota G Niklas Backstrom made himself relevant once again as he defeated the Florida Panthers 4-1, raising his record to 3-2-0. With Josh Harding getting some work in the minors, the Wild may be in a situation where they will deal one of their net minders. Darcy Kuemper seems ensconced as the No. 1 right now and that shouldn't change unless he loses his hold with a string of poor starts....Just an FYI, Jason Zucker with his 2 goals tonight, has as many goals as Zach Parise this year-8.... It was a sweet return to the lineup for Detroit's Center Stephen Weiss who scored his first 2 goals in over a year. Weiss signed with the Red Wings in July of 2013 but his debut season with the team was cut short by an injury.  Brought in to supply some secondary scoring, Weiss only played in 26 games and produced just 4 points.  Weiss is a 4-time 20+ goal scorer and if he stays healthy, could supply some depth support to your fantasy team....Jimmy Howard raised his record to 9-4-4 with the 4-3 win, wiping out the bad memories of his poor 2013-14 season.

Boston Bruins stopped the red-hot Blues 2-0 behind Tuukka Rask's 33-save effort. Rask also stopped red-hot players such as Jori Lehtera, Jaden Schwartz and Vladimir Tarasenko which has been no small feat lately...Patrice Bergeron continued with his 4th goal and 9th point in 8 November games. His goal was the game-winner.  Bergeron is the definition of pure consistency and leadership..... Marc-Andre Fleury notched his fourth shutout on the season, blanking the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre 4-0. Not really known as A shutout goalie, Fleury has raised his game over the past two seasons, so look for his strong play to continue....Beau Bennett had a goal and 2 assists in the game, showing signs that he is getting his game in order. Bennett is still not getting a lot of ice time, but as long as he continues to have games like this, he will be relied upon more.  Remember that this is only his fourth game back after missing the start of the season.  Perhaps he will be the winger that the team needs to fill out their top-six.....Sidney Crosby scored his first goal in 9 games. That's sort of news.... Jimmy Howard continued his 2014 resurgence with a 5-0 shutout of the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Red Wings played a solid game without their superstar center Pavel Datsyuk who is sidelined again with a groin injury. Age is catching up to the talented Centerman, but is still very productive when in the lineup...5 different goal scorers for the Wings, most from their young forward core; Nyquist, Tatar, Jurco and Sheahen all scoring for the Red Wings.... The New York Islanders turned the page on the Tampa Bay Lightning who beat the NY Rangers 5-1 last night but lost to the Isles 5-2. There was an emotional letdown for the Bolts and the Islanders took full advantage by beating ex-Islander goaltender Evgeni Nabokov, who only saw his 4th start of the year... Like the Red Wings, the Isles had 5 different goal scorers and what was surprising was that John Tavares was held off the score sheet. Nothing to worry about though..... Buffalo did it again to the San Jose Sharks, beating them for a second time this season, this time by a score of 4-1. Sabres' starter Michal Neuvirth (LBI) had to leave the game and Jhonas Enroth held the Sharks at bay. Brian Gionta was the scoring star with 2 goals and an assist, but I would steer clear of any Sabres until you see more stability from the team as a whole.... The days of being a defensive-style team is long gone as the Nashville ...