SMC 11/17/2019 My apologies for the lack of a SMC last weekend but I had family events that took precedent. The NHL standings are starting to take proper form except that Edmonton and Arizona are holding onto the top spots in the wide-open Pacific. Vancouver right up there with them but they were projected to be in the hunt this season. At least for a playoff spot. I had mentioned in previous SMC’s that the Chicago Blackhawks & Tampa Bay Lightning were good ‘buy-low’ candidates.  The Dallas Stars & San Jose Sharks are turning it around as well now. New Jersey Devils are your next ‘buy-low’ team. Anaheim will stick around but only based on the heels of John Gibson’s goaltending. In the 2019-2020 PP Draft Guide, I had Jack Eichel and David Pastrnak for 100+ points.  Looking good for the moment especially with Eichel 4-goal night against Ottawa. Two players I thought for sure would be lighting the lamp more than they have are Patrik Laine and Taylor Hall. But they are contributing with a boatload of assists so I’m not complaining too much.  The goals will come in bunches. Washington’s D John Carlson isn’t stopping, is he? NHL top goalie so far: Arizona Coyote Darcy Kuemper.  Who would’ve thought? Another shutout last night against the Calgary Flames giving him 2 on the young season. Sidney Crosby out six-weeks….Bummer.  But Geno Malkin has come to the rescue. Malkin always plays and produces much more when Sid is out. Minnesota D Matt Dumba is starting to get top PP time I’ve noticed.  About time. Winnipeg Jets Kyle Connor is starting to heat up with 3 points in last 2 games and 10 points in 8 November games. Dallas Star Jamie Benn had a goal and an assist last night in Edmonton. 3 points in 2 games is a third of his total points this season.  Is Benn waking up? Benn team mate Tyler Seguin has 10 points in last 8 games. Patience has been rewarded. Are the Los Angeles Kings trying to become relevant after winning three in a row? 5 Washington players had more SOG than Alex Ovechkin in Saturday’s game versus the big bad Bruins. OV had 7 hits though. NY Rangers got shellacked by the Bolts 9-3 on Friday.  Better effort versus Florida but still lost.  Tampa Bay game was revenge for the Lightning after looking horrendous against the Blueshirts the week before losing 4-1. NY Islanders came back from a 3-0 deficit to beat the Philadelphia Flyers 4-3 in a shootout to keep close to Washington atop the Metropolitan Division.  9-0-1 in last 10 and 13 of last 14. Wow! ...

John Gibson could be the top goalie of the night. How else should you be approaching this playoff slate?

BTP: CUFFS ARE BACK IN STYLE, HANDCUFFS THAT IS We are just about at the midpoint of the NHL season and most of you poolies know whether you have a decent shot at making your league’s playoffs or securing a top money slot.  Those that are vying for any possible award come season’s end has a legitimate #1 goaltender on their squad or two decent ones.   Going into the second half and down the stretch, you will need to secure those positions in order to stay in contention just in case your # 1 or elite net minder goes down to injury.  PrimePucks™ will be taking a look at what goalkeepers you should have on your bench as a handcuff in case your starter is lost for any period of time. JACOB MARKSTROM – Steve already mentioned how he feels about this once can’t-miss Florida Panther prospect in this week’s ADD’EM, and I am just reiterating that it looks like the talented young goaltender is finally finding his stride in the NHL. Vancouver Canuck starter Ryan Miller has been plagued with injuries lately and it is a good idea to pick up Markstrom off waivers, if still available, because if Mille falters and the Canucks trying o lock in a playoff spot, they may have no choice but to go with Markstrom if he continues his hot play. JOHN GIBSON/FREDERIK ANDERSEN – Heading into the 2015-2016 NHL Season, it sure looked like Andersen had the lock on the #1 role with Gibson being assigned to the AHL and management stating that he was there to get the experience.  Well, a rough start by the Anaheim Ducks and the minor injury to Andersen opened the door for the Ducks to call up Gibson and he is playing like he doesn’t plan on heading back.  Gibson is 8-4-2 with a 1.63 GAA and a .932 SP with 4 shutouts.  It appears he is the #1 goaltender in Anaheim but it is a good idea to grab Andersen if available but young goaltenders do struggle at times. Although Gibson doesn’t look like that’s going to happen.  With the Ducks in a playoff spot now after a horrendous start, look for the team to ride the hot hand. ANDREJ VASILEVSKIY – We all know that Ben Bishop has been stellar in net so far this season for the Tampa Bay Lightning with a 2.06 GAA and a .925 SP but his record is just 15-12-3.  That is more of an indication of the play of the team in front of him, so expect the wins to start piling up now that the team is getting back to healthy.  Vasilevskiy started the season with an injury and has had a rough time getting into NHL game shape but make no mistake of the talent this ...

#6 ANAHEIM This team is built for now.  The Ducks were thisclose to making a Stanley Cup Finals appearance only to be outdone by eventual champs, the Chicago Blackhawks, who came back from being down 3 games t0 2.  Their top pairing of Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry is as good as any in the NHL so a few tweaks were made to the balance of the team.  Out go Emerson Etem, Matt Beleskey, Kyle Palmieri, rental Tomas Fleischmann, & defenseman Francois Beauchemin, Brought in were Kevin Bieksa to rejoin his good friend Ryan Kesler to solidify their young defense, speedy forwards Carl Hagelin, Chris Stewart and veteran Shawn Horcoff.  Anton Khudobin was brought in to give goalie sensation John Gibson a stint in the AHL to develop his game a little more. Can this be the right formula to get the Ducks back to the Stanley Cup Finals?  GOALIES In just his second NHL season, the Ducks put their faith in Frederik Andersen and the young net minder didn’t disappoint.  His metrics were just about average but that’s all this high-powered team needed to get to the post-season and make a legitimate run for the Cup.  Gibson was supposed to challenge the Great Dane goalkeeper but sustained an injury that left Andersen to man the crease.  The team has decided to let Gibson play a full year in the AHL this season and not rush him thereby signing Khudobin as the backup.  Look for Andersen to post similar numbers as the Ducks again should challenge for best overall record. 2014-2015                      GP      GAA       W        L        OTL       SP Frederik Andersen         57         2.38       35       12         5         .914   DEFENSE When you look at the Ducks defense, you don’t really see that superstar name like Keith, Doughty, or Karlsson but they do manage to play into Boudreau’s system well.  Perhaps this season we will see a true superstar in the making in either Sami Vatanen or Hampus Lindholm. Either of which could have a breakout season.  Cam Fowler and newly acquired Bieksa round out the top 4 with Simon Despres & Clayton Stoner filling in the top 6.  The top 5 d-men possess scoring abilities which makes their defense tough to guard against. FORWARDS Getzlaf & Perry go hand-in-hand like peanut butter and jelly.  Expect more greatness from the duo while young RW Jakob Silfverberg should be taking the next step and surpass Kesler as the third best scoring option on the team.  Hagelin was brought in for his sheer speed and his good hands.  Expect a similar role as ...

Bruins, Panthers win to make things interesting, Rangers blue, and Calgary stays hot After a tremendous run when Henrik Lundqvist got injured, the New York Rangers are skidding a bit as they lost to the Washington Capitals 5-2 making three losses in their past 4 games.  The schedule is winding down so expect Lundqvist to get the majority of starts as they prepare for the expected long playoff haul.  Alex Ovechkin scored twice giving him 49 on the season, proving that you can still score in a Barry Trotz system while still playing defensively….  Boston continues to fight hard as they gained a valuable 2 points today while the Ottawa Senators lost for the second night in a row, this time to a Florida team still chasing a dream.  It was the young guns for the Bruins that contributed to the overtime victory of the Carolina Hurricanes with David Pastrnak and Ryan Spooner scoring the goals.  The future is bright in Beantown with these talented young forwards gaining valuable experience.  Boston G Tuukka Rask was back in net after leaving the previous game with dehydration issues.  Continue to start this elite goaltender…. As mentioned above, the Florida Panthers defeated the Ottawa Senators by a score of 4-2 making things quite interesting in the Eastern Conference wild card race.  Obtaining Jaromir Jagr at the trade deadline has done wonders for the Cats offense, especially the young talent, as he scored twice with Jonathan Huberdeau contributing on both goals.  If Jagr re-signs with Florida next season, it could mean better stats out of the young talent like Huberdeau and Aleksander Barkov and company… What a wild game on the Island yesterday as the New York Islanders exchanged blows with the Detroit Red Wings and finally prevailing 5-4.  For the Wings it was important that Pavel Datysuk returned to the lineup and he showed why with a goal and an assist, showing that he is still a major component of this Detroit team.  What was more important for the Islanders was that they had 5 different goal scorers with John Tavares picking up 3 assists, but the Isles need to tighten up their defense if they want to make a run in the playoffs…. The Calgary Flames aren’t going away as they handily defeated the Nashville Predators 5-2 with Lance Bouma scoring twice and Jiri Hudler picking up a goal and two assists.  Defenseman Deryk Engelland continues to get his name on the score sheet picking up 2 assists after having a 2-goal game against Dallas on Wednesday night.  ...

* Superstar Evgeni Malkin returned to the Pittsburgh lineup after missing six games, paying immediate fantasy dividends with two assists. Also back was Patrick Hornqvist, which is great news for his fantasy owners. However, the injury to defenseman Kris Letang after a Shane Doan hit does a take bite out of the Pen's power-play and would have an adverse effect on the team's overall scoring over the last two weeks of the regular season. We will update you with info on Letang's status when we get it.. *To put it mildly, Henrik Lundqvist was rusty upon his return to the Ranger's crease the Boston Bruins beat him four times in the 4-2 win. With the B's really needing the W to stay in the playoff hunt, "King Henrik" was in a tough spot after the long layoff but Cam Talbot will be in net Sunday afternoon against Washington. With his starting days numbered for the rest of this campaign, I would expect a great start from Talbot as he looks to go out with a bang.. *Goalie Devan Dubnyk continues to be the NHL's top fantasy surprise of the year, prevailing once again as the Minnesota Wild down the Los Angeles Kings 4-1. Thats 35 straight starts and counting for the breakout net minder who has registered 26 wins during this prolific stretch. Mikko Koivu collected two goals and an assist, giving him six points over the last five games. Give him serious starting consideration for the upcoming week.. *There was a Toronto revival at least for one night, as Toronto's top line of Tyler Bozak-Phil Kessel-James van Riemsdyk dominated the stat sheet with a combined 10 points. The trio were fantasy duds for much of the season, but maybe, just maybe, this super effort perks them up for the last few games.. *Huge shutout effort by Detroit's Petr Mrazek in the 4-0 win over the Lightning, temporarily delaying their late-season slide but is a change in goal in order for the Wings? With Jimmy Howard struggling mightily, you can expect Mrazek to be starting on Sunday against the Isles. If he wins again, he might be worth starting next week as the Wings should ride the "hot" hand... *Frederik Andersen has taken the Anaheim starting job back from young John Gibson, turning aside 29 saves for his second straight win over tough Eastern conference opponents on the road. Having said that, one bad effort and coach Boudreau can easily turn back to Gibson as his playoff guy, so the Duck's goalie situation is far from settled.. *Tyler Seguin finished with a goal and an assist in the Dallas 4-...

* Superstar Evgeni Malkin returned to the Pittsburgh lineup after missing six games, paying immediate fantasy dividends with two assists. Also back was Patrick Hornqvist, which is great news for his fantasy owners. However, the injury to defenseman Kris Letang after a Shane Doan hit does a take bite out of the Pen's power-play and would have an adverse effect on the team's overall scoring over the last two weeks of the regular season. We will update you with info on Letang's status when we get it.. *To put it mildly, Henrik Lundqvist was rusty upon his return to the Ranger's crease the Boston Bruins beat him four times in the 4-2 win. With the B's really needing the W to stay in the playoff hunt, "King Henrik" was in a tough spot after the long layoff but Cam Talbot will be in net Sunday afternoon against Washington. With his starting days numbered for the rest of this campaign, I would expect a great start from Talbot as he looks to go out with a bang.. *Goalie Devan Dubnyk continues to be the NHL's top fantasy surprise of the year, prevailing once again as the Minnesota Wild down the Los Angeles Kings 4-1. Thats 35 straight starts and counting for the breakout net minder who has registered 26 wins during this prolific stretch. Mikko Koivu collected two goals and an assist, giving him six points over the last five games. Give him serious starting consideration for the upcoming week.. *There was a Toronto revival at least for one night, as Toronto's top line of Tyler Bozak-Phil Kessel-James van Riemsdyk dominated the stat sheet with a combined 10 points. The trio were fantasy duds for much of the season, but maybe, just maybe, this super effort perks them up for the last few games.. *Huge shutout effort by Detroit's Petr Mrazek in the 4-0 win over the Lightning, temporarily delaying their late-season slide but is a change in goal in order for the Wings? With Jimmy Howard struggling mightily, you can expect Mrazek to be starting on Sunday against the Isles. If he wins again, he might be worth starting next week as the Wings should ride the "hot" hand... *Frederik Andersen has taken the Anaheim starting job back from young John Gibson, turning aside 29 saves for his second straight win over tough Eastern conference opponents on the road. Having said that, one bad effort and coach Boudreau can easily turn back to Gibson as his playoff guy, so the Duck's goalie situation is far from settled.. *Tyler Seguin finished with a goal and an assist in the Dallas 4-...

SMC 3-22-2015 Spring has sprung and the snow is melting and the coffee is brewing.  Grab a cup and settle in. What an amazing story it will be if the Ottawa Senators manage to get into the playoffs!  Alas, Florida will also have an amazing story to tell this summer but I don’t think they will earn a spot. Come June, can you imagine the Cup Finals pitting one rookie goaltender in John Gibson against another in Andrew Hammond?  That would be mind-blowing! All season long I thought the Winnipeg Jets should have just stuck with Michael Hutchinson in net and sit Ondrej Pavelec as Hutch was the better net minder.  However, Pavelec has re-established himself as a bona fide No. 1 NHL goalkeeper again. There have been a lot of great NHL stories this year as we have mentioned a few above but what about New York Ranger’s Cam Talbot taking over for an injured Henrik Lundqvist and the Rangers not missing a beat? Carey Price can definitely lock down the Hart with his spectacular season.  And if it weren’t for Pekka Rinne’s injury and subsequent cold streak, we might have had a battle between them for the MVP. Enough with the goalies, right?  Wait.  One more. Devan Dubnyk, last year’s whipping boy has transformed into an elite NHL goaltender as he now has started 30 straight games and has a 22-6-2 record.  Wow!  That’s wild! LOL Vladimir Tarasenko is a beast as he scored his 35th with an assist and had 8 SOG, 2 PIM.  The Blues will be fun to watch for a few years with Jaden Schwartz and VT teaming up. Some hot lines of late: Gaudreau-Monahan-Hudler, Pouliot-RNH-Eberle, Simmonds-Giroux-Voracek, Stafford-Scheifele-Wheeler Watch out for the Columbus Blue Jackets next season as they should be playing close to full health unlike this season. Barring a late surge, and not that they have been eliminated, but it’s not looking good for the LA Kings to defend their crown.  There will be a collective huge sigh of relief from the Western Conference once that becomes official. If you take a look, it appears Vancouver defenseman Alexander Edler may be coming around as he had 8 SOG last night and 3 points in last 3 games.  He does have the talent, but last year messed him up I think. Boston just may be the best team to not make the playoffs this season.  It happens. Patrice Bergeron is probably one of the most under-rated fantasy hockey players around. Ottawa is just driving hard and making that push and it’s coming from every player in their lineup, not just one or two hot players....

Bernier gives Devils fire, Lightning ground Red Wings, Ducks paddle on The days are getting longer and he games are getting tighter as the season draws nearer the playoffs.  In last night’s Devils-Sabres game, won by the Devils by a score of 3-1, there wasn’t much to talk about except Steve Bernier’s rise in fantasy value as he has taken over for the departed Jaromir Jagr in terms of production with 2 goals giving him 8 points in 8 March games.  I’d only play him if I were in desperation mode and no other options were available…. It was just three short weeks ago that the Detroit Red Wings were challenging for not only the top spot in the Atlantic division, but also the top spot in the Eastern Conference but March came in like a lion for Detroit as a they have lost 6 of 9 games to fall out of those competitions.  They are still firmly entrenched in a playoff spot and it is better to go through ha slump before the playoffs start so I’m sure the Red Wings will turn things around soon.  Pavel Datsyuk missed his second straight game and was sorely missed as the Red Wings could only muster 1 goal again without their talented Center.  I was a close game until Tampa Bay’s Alex Killorn broke the tie with just under 10 minutes remaining in regulation.  Steven Stamkos added his 40th with an empty-netter to seal the 3-1 victory.  The lightning are still in the race for the Eastern Conference title & President’s Cup trophy…. Anaheim kept their hopes alive for the overall lead in NHL points as they edged the Colorado Avalanche 3-2 in overtime as Corey Perry got the game-winner, his 29th.  It was all defense as the Ducks took a 1-0 lead into the third period until a burst of scoring saw the Avs take a 2-1 lead with two goals in a two-minute span before the Ducks tied it less than two minutes after.  Frederik Andersen got the start for Anaheim after John Gibson started the last four.  Look for the rookie Gibson to be in net versus the Rangers on Sunday.

Gibson Rocks, Hawks and  Rangers round two and 2 hot Oilers Anaheim goalie John Gibson is starting to put his game together which Is bad news for the teams in the Western Conference. With last nights 3-2 win over crosstown rival Los Angeles Kings, Gibson has now now won 6 of his last 7 starts and has not given up more than 2 goals in any of his 6 victories. The rookie has arrived and it looks like he is here to stay…. If these two teams reach the Stanley Cup Finals, don't expect much scoring as they have battled twice this season with each team coming away with a 1-0 win on the other’s home ice. I'm sure ex-Ranger Brad Richards was happy to get the goal against his former team. The Chicago Blackhawks and New York Rangers are prepping for the playoffs and last nights tight battle was proof that they both plan to go a long way again this season. What a playoff series these two teams would make…. Edmonton’s Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jordan Eberle each had a point in last nights 4-3 shootout loss against the Columbus Blue Jackets keeping their hot streaks alive. RNH now has 12 points in 8 March games while Eberle has an 6-game point streak going. Polices had been waiting all season for this kind of production which fantasy owners can only hope will carry into next season.