THE WINDS OF CHANGE The Carolina Hurricanes, behind goaltender Cam Ward's 4th straight win, have risen from the bottom of the Eastern Conference by switching places with the team they beat last night in the Columbus Blue Jackets, 3-2 in overtime, who now share that dubious distinction with the Buffalo Sabres. There was a lot skepticism that Ward would not be able to return to form as Carolina's no. 1 net minder especially after how backup Anton Khudobin filled in during his injury last season. After a rough start to this season, and perhaps needing time to build up his strength, the Hurricane goalkeeper has flashed his past form during this modest 4-game winning streak and claiming the starter's job.  Holy glove save Batman! Ward is back....One Cane that is playing strong of late is C Elias Lindholm who has 6 points in the last 4 games with 3-game winners. He has been getting considerable power play time so he is definitely worth a pickup while he is hot...Columbus has now lost 7 straight after a fabulous pre-season record and a 4-2-0 start to the season.  Look for the Blue Jackets to turn their season around as they start to get players back from injury.... The Edmonton Oilers stopped a 4-game losing streak but it was against the lowly Sabres, but it was a win nonetheless and the Oil needed it badly but changes are probably in the works as their lead scorer Taylor Hall is out for a few weeks with a leg injury. Things have not progressed the way Edmonton would have liked, so there are rumors floating around that big changes are on their way..... Detroit halted their three-game losing streak with a win over the New Jersey Devils as they returned home. Jimmy Howard didn't have to do much as he only faced 17 shots from a Devils team that has been beset by injuries of late.  The Devils have now lost 3 in arrow and G Cory Schneider has looked very human in the past 2 games.....Pavel Datsyuk hurt his grown in practice earlier in the day and did not dress. Expect Datsyuk to miss a few games at the least..... The Washington Capitals scored three late 2nd period goals to wipe out a 2-0 deficit and held on for the 3-2 victory. G Braden Holtby stopped 38 of 40 to raise his record to 4-3-2. The Caps need more games like this from Holtby if they are going to make a run for the playoffs.  Marcus Johansson and Andre Burakovsky were the catalyst on offense along with D Matt Niskanen's 2 assists. Burakovsky holds a lot of promise but the other 2 are mainly support/depth...

Howard stopped 29 of 31 shots in the Red Wings 3-1 loss to the Senators. Detroit is not playing well as of late, but Howard has been sensational. He has yet to allow more than three goals in a game and has allowed just 20 goals in 10 games while posting a .928 SV%. Get him in your lineup tonight vs. a Devils team coming off of a loss to the Blues last night.

Howard stopped 29 of 31 shots in a 5-2 win over Los Angeles on Friday. He has won three in a row while posting a 2.29 GAA and .917 SV%. Howie has had an awesome start to 2014-15 and is definitely a must-start tonight in Buffalo.

The trio of Pavel Datsyuk (2G, A), Henrik Zetterberg (2A) and Gustav Nyquist (2 PPG, A) proved to be too much for the LA Kings as they combined for 8 points in the 5-2 win. Tomas Tatar also scored showing that the changing of the guard in Detroit is well underway... Jimmy Howard is playing like a man possessed as he is putting last year's off-year behind him, posting a line of 5-1-2 with a 1.97 GAA and .929 SP, making him one of the top goaltenders so far this year. This could be his best year yet.... The injuries are starting to take their toll on the Columbus Blue Jackets as they dropped to 4-6-0 after a 7-1-0 pre-season. Ryan Johansen and Cam Atkinson are their main offensive weapons up front but until players like Sergei Bobrovsky, James Wisniewski, Boone Jenner and Artem Anisimov return to the lineup, it will be tough sledding.... Anaheim's Frederik Andersen raised his record to 7-1-0 with a 2-1 overtime win against Dallas on the road. It was a big win for the Ducks, and especially Andersen who seems to be in a sharing situation with rookie John Gibson even though his numbers are worthy of a no. 1 status. It appears that this will be a platoon situation as they don't want either young goaltender to ride the pine for too long, with both needing to play to get into any rhythm. Calgary 4-Nashville 3:  Some things to bring out of this contest is that Nashville's James Neal is getting comfortable playing alongside Mike Ribeiro & Company as he potted 2 goals last night, giving him 7 on the year....Calgary's T.J. Brodie scored his 4th goal of the year giving him 9 points in 12 games, already matching last year's goal production. Brodie is the real deal....At 4-2-1 with a 1.82. GAA and .941 SP, Jonas Hiller is going to make playing the Flames very tough this year.....Both Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan had a goal and an assist apiece against Nashville showing that Calgary has a bright future in front of them, and if they can just prove to be a bit more consistent, that future can be later this year.

Howard made 25 saves in the Red Wings 4-2 win over Washington on Wednesday. He improved to 4-1-2 with a 1.96 GAA and .928 SV% on the season with Wednesday's W. It has been an impressive start for the 30-year-old netminder, who will look to keep things rolling tonight vs. the Kings. L.A has lost two in a row while being outscored 6-2.

NY Ranger defenseman John Moore was suspended for 5 games by the NHL for his hit to the head of Minnesota's Erik Haula in Monday night's game. Some were calling for a lengthier sentence because of his hit on Montreal Canadien Dale WIese in last year's Stanley Cup Conference Final round. Moore should count his blessings that it wasn't longer... Speaking of last year, fantasy owners of Detroit goaltender Jimmy Howard were perplexed by the off-year he was having after so much was expected from him. In fact, he had such a ppor season that a lot of poolies lost their faith in him but those that stuck with him are reaping the rewards early on this season as he raised his record to 4-1-2 with the 4-2 victory over Washington last night.  His hot start has him posting the best numbers of his career with a 1.96 GAA and a .928 SP.... There is another goaltender who is showing that he has returned to form and thy name is Pekka Rinne. Rinne and the Nashville predators halted Ben Scrivens and the Edmonton Oilers 4-game winstreak with a 4-1 effort on the road. Rinne raised his record to 6-1-1 with a 1.71 GAA and .936 SP.  Not too shabby!  The Predators sit 2 points behind Wetsrn Conference leader Anaheim with a game in hand.

Howard surrendered three goals on 26 shots in the Red Wings comeback OT win over the Penguins last Thursday. Jonas Gustavsson got the call on Saturday, so it is back to Howard on Wednesday. He is 3-1-2 with a 1.95 GAA and .929 SV% in six starts this season, so get him in your lineups.

Got my coffee and ready to roll, but no roll with my coffee this morning. Not only did the San Jose Sharks lose to the Buffalo Sabres 2-1 Saturday, they have now lost 4 in a row. I thought Buffalo was the sort of team that you stopped losing streaks with? The Sabres scored twice on 15 SOG. Just think, if they took more shots they'd score more goals.  If only it worked like that. You just know that the Bruins are going to be strong once again in the Eastern Conference when they lose their top d-man for at least 4-6 weeks and can slide a Dougie Hamilton in and he gets 3 points in Chara's place. When will Jonathan Bernier show up because Toronto is counting on him? The Leafs need Phil Kessel to be more consistent if he is going to be their true leader. Carey Price is quietly 6-1-0. A lot of goalies that had troubles last year seem to have gotten off to good starts this year. Players like Jimmy Howard, Braden Holtby and Robin Lehner to name a few. That line of Plekanec, Parenteau and Galchenyuk seemed to be buzzing all night long. All 3 could be in for solid years. Cory Schneider is going to start every game for the New Jersey Devils this year. Not really. This Damon Severson kid is soooo good. He out-scored Erik Karlsson 2-1 and Karlsson is only known for being the best offensive defenseman in the league. Milan Michalek decided to show up last night with a 2 assist night. A lot of people don't have Philly making eh playoffs, but I think otherwise. Once Steve Mason gets straightened out, the Flyers will be tough. Michael Del Zotto has 5 points in 8 games but is not getting a lot of power play time at the moment. Pair of sevens last night as the islanders and the Wild laid a lot of hurt on their visitors, although the Dallas Stars put up 5 themselves. Thank goodness for Frans Nielsen and his 3rd period hat trick. After his blazing start since being acquired from Boston, Islanders d-man Johnny Boychuk has really quieted down on the score sheet although he is still getting lots of ice time. Can you believe Darcy Kuemper is 4-1-0 with 3 shutouts already for Minnesota? Smells like a Brian Elliott career year. I think it's safe to say that Tampa Bay's Jonathan Drouin has had a successful first week in the NHL. Arizona defenseman Keith Yandle doesn't get the credit he deserves. Playing out in the desert doesn't help. With an n 0-5-2 record to start the season, you now know how much Eric Staal means to the Carolina Hurricanes. Have a great week and good luck in ...