* TJ Oshie has been a dominant offensive force for the St. Louis Blues since the start of December, so it's time for fantasy owners to take notice. His four-point night, including a "hat trick", helped seal the fate of the San Jose Sharks in the 7-2 rout. He is currently sporting a five-game point streak and has racked up 17 points in the last 16 games. His line, with Alex Steen and David Backes, is rolling, but the return of Jaden Schwartz will also get the Tarasenko unit probably back to their early-season dominant form. Start Oshie now while he is smoking hot... *In his first game donning a Pittsburgh Penguin uniform, David Perron lined up with Sidney Crosby and scored a goal on his first shot. Awesome fairy tale stuff, eh? Well, the Pens got smoked 4-1 by visiting Montreal and should expect a transition period while Perron acclimates to his new high-end teammates. He should get top power-play minutes in the short-term but that could change when Patrick Hornqvist returns in a few weeks. Anyway you slice it, huge boost in fantasy value for the suddenly relevant Perron.. *A wild high-scoring affair in LA, as the Kings rallied for three goals in the dying minutes to sent the game against Nashville into overtime only to lose 7-6 after a goal by defender Roman Josi in the extra frame. Don't worry, both Pekka Rinne and Jonathan Quick still rock in goal! It was just one of those games.. *In case you have not received the memo, Winnipeg goalie Michael Hutchinson is indeed for real. After allowing six goals over his last two starts, "Hutch" settled down by stopping 20 of 21 Toronto shots in the 5-1 blowout win. I feel confident in saying that the youngster's superb numbers (10-3-2, 1.81 GAA, .937 SP) are not flukish and that he will be the starter over Ondrej Pavelec down the stretch.. *Now for the not so obvious- Sam Gagner is actually playing good hockey for Arizona and might warrant short-term fantasy consideration. The underachieving forward scored twice while adding an assist, improving his numbers to 8 points over the last five games. He has clicked big-time with Martin Hanzal, so he might be worth a starting nod for the next few weeks before he goes ice-cold again... *Huge applause for future HOFer Jaromir Jagr becoming the oldest player in NHL history-42- to collect a "hat trick". Pause. Reality check. 25 points in 40 games. His best fantasy days are behind him, but he will occasionally blow up for a few big offensive outbursts.. *The Dallas Stars are...

BRADEN HOLTBY When preparing last season's PrimePucks™ Draft Guide, we chose Washington Capital Goalie Braden Holtby as our Prime Choice Goalie for the 2013 season thinking that Holtby was ready to take his game to the next level as the Caps number 1 goaltender. Well, not only did he not meet our expectations but his numbers dipped a bit even though his record was almost identical to the season before.  There were questions about whether or not Holtby could be the goaltender that Washington envisioned so they signed free-agent G Justin Peters to battle for the starter's job. The Capitals also brought in long-time Nashville Head Coach Barry Trotz and hopes were restored that one of these goaltenders was going to benefit greatly from Trotz' defensive system. Early on there was a platooning system in place with Peters starting one to every 2 starts for Holtby.  That strategy was dismissed in mid-November with Holtby starting the next 16 games.  It has paid big dividends as Holtby has gone 10-3-3 in those 16 games as Washington has moved into third place in teh Metropolitan Division and sit 9 points behind division and Conference leader Pittsburgh. So far this season, Holtby has metrics of 2.24 GAA and a .920 SP which are average at best but they have been trending on the upside of late so fantasy owners should continue to start the Washington goalkeeper with confidence. Holtby has 4 years of experience and at 25-years of age, is entering his prime as an NHL goaltender.  He did play 60+ games in back-to-back seasons with the Saskatoon Blades of the WHL from 2007-2009 so he is capable of starting the majority of games.  Things are looking good right now and no reason why it shouldn't continue.  Stay invested in Holtby. POST MARKS: LIGHTNING STRIKE--You gotta love what you have seen in just 2 games from Andrei Vasilevskiy, the Tampa Bay rookie Goalie who was called up when starter Ben Bishop left a game with a lower-body injury (LBI). The talented rookie has gone 1-1-0 with a 1.52 GAA and .958 SP with another start likely tonight.  You won't see much of AV this season unless there are injuries, so enjoy him until Bishop is cleared to return....QUICK TURNAROUND--With a 3-3-2 record in past 8 games, you might think that LA Kings G Jonathan Quick is just an average NHL goaltender this season, but things can turn around quickly (no pun intended!) as the return of Marian Gaborik and Anze Kopitar both beginning to heat up after a very slow start, that can give the ...

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 ...

*The Boston Bruins bounced back after two straight humiliating defeats North of the border, holding off the resilient Hurricanes by a 2-1 score. Tuukka Rask was at his best in the crease, turning aside 33 of 34 shots to secure the must-win for the "B's"... With the game-winning goal, Patrice Bergeron has heated up with points in 6 of his last 7 games. It's always near the end of the calendar year when the brilliant two-way pivot cranks up the scoring, so make you are starting him. *Darcy Kuemper temporarily staves off talk of him losing his hold on the Minnesota Wild starting job with a super effort in the 2-1 road win in Dallas. He stopped 27 of 28 shots, while counterpart Kari Lehtonen couldn't turn a decent performance into a win for the Stars. Dallas has struggled heavily at home, winning only once in six games.. *Jarrett Stoll banged home the overtime game-winner for the Kings in this latest version of this heated Southern California rivalry. Jonathan Quick was the fantasy star of the game, stopping 27 of 29 shots to improve his record to 3-0-2 in his last five starts. Nothing less than elite reserved for this guy.. Ryan Kesler kept the Ducks close with his second-period goal and now is currently riding a six-game point streak. Start him next week as he has been picking up the offensive slack while Corey Perry recovers from the mumps. *Sergei Bobrovsky made a triumphant return to the Columbus crease, turning aside 36 of 37 shots in the 2-1 win over San Jose. Expect "Super Bob" to swiftly make his way up to fantasy elite status as the Blue Jackets continue to get healthier. "Buy low" on him if you can, as a huge second half is looming for the talented Russian.. * I almost forgot.. Jake Muzzin is looking real good for LA with two more assists, giving him seven points in his last five games. If you need help on defense, grab him if he is still available. *A couple of significant line developments for the Washington Capitals: Andre Burakovsky has been moved up to the top line, while Evgeni Kuznetsov is playing alongside Marcus Johansson on the 2nd unit. It didnt make much of a difference in their 4-1 loss to St. Louis, but they could have fantasy implications. *Montreal LW Max Pacioretty is getting on one of those scoring streaks, picking up two assists to give him six points over the last four games. Ride him while he is hot, but when he gets cold.. *Whats up with PK Subban lately? The elite offensive blueliner has been struggling and as a result, ...

Quick stopped 18 of 19 shots in the Kings win over the Canucks on Saturday. He has allowed just three goals in his last three starts and should be started in all formats regardless of his matchup. Quick has posted a 1-2-2 record with a 2.75 GAA and .923 SV% on the road this season.

Quick stopped 25 of 26 shots in the Kings 2-1 shootout loss on Thursday. All of a sudden Quick has dropped four of his last five starts, despite posting a 2.35 GAA and .929 SV%. Tonight he faces a Canucks team who has the second most points in the NHL at 20 (10-4-0).

Quick stopped 25 of 26 shots in the Kings 2-1 shootout loss on Thursday. All of a sudden Quick has dropped four of his last five starts, despite posting a 2.35 GAA and .929 SV%. Tonight he faces a Canucks team who has the second most points in the NHL at 20 (10-4-0).

Quick turned aside 33 of 34 shots in Tuesday's win over the Stars. It snapped a personal three-game losing streak for Quick and moved him to 6-3-2 with a 2.03 GAA and .942 SV% on the season. He takes on the 7-5-0 Islanders at home, where he is 5-1-0.

Quick turned aside 33 of 34 shots in Tuesday's win over the Stars. It snapped a personal three-game losing streak for Quick and moved him to 6-3-2 with a 2.03 GAA and .942 SV% on the season. He takes on the 7-5-0 Islanders at home, where he is 5-1-0.

Quick allowed three goals on 32 shots in a 3-2 loss to the Hurricanes on Sunday. After a sizzling five-game winning streak, Quick has dropped his last three starts while posting a 3.31 GAA and .908 SV%. He will try to record his first road win of the season tonight, he is 0-2-2 away from Staples Center so far.