Earlier this season the Los Angeles Kings starting goaltender Jonathan Quick went down with an injury, and he was replaced as the Kings starter by Ben Scrivens who came over from Toronto in a trade last summer for Jonathan Bernier. While Quick played outstanding for LA in 2011-2012 with a 35-21-13 record with a 1.95 goals against average and a .929 save percentage and 10 shutouts, and led them to the Stanley Cup, he has not played up to those standards since.  This year while he had 10 wins his save percentage was only .905.  Now Scrivens was a backup in Toronto, so for the first time the 27 year old was thrust into a starting goalie position.  He started off well going 4-0-1 in his first 5 games.  But then he went 1-4 in his next 5 games, and his Coach Darryl Sutter became unhappy with some of his fundamentals, particularly edge control and certain technical deficiencies.  Because of these concerns Sutter decided to play the new backup Martin Jones.  Mr Jones is only 23 years old, but he does have good size at 6'4" and 187 pounds.  He positions well and he is very quick. His numbers in the minors are very interesting.  He had phenomenal years in the WHL, and a couple of decent years in the AHL, but this year he was playing extremely before his call up as he was 9-2-2 with a 2.24 goals against and a .927 save percentage.  Since being a starter for the Kings he is 4-0-0 with a 0.74 goals against a .974 save percentage and 2 shutouts.  It would seem that Sutter would have no choice but to play this guy until Quick comes back.  Even then it may be interesting if he continues to play this well.  This means that Scrivens is likely the odd man out, especially if Jones has a couple of more solid performances.  He looks like a good short term pick, albeit with some risk because his NHL resume is so short. Stick Saves: Well New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist had another brutal night yesterday allowing 3 goals on only 13 shots in the first period. Lundqvist is having a nightmare season with only a 9-14-1 record a 2.71 goals against and a .910 save percentage.  These are all mediocre numbers, and while the Ranger team is sort of average, Lundqvist has been allowing a lot of goals that he would not haven given up in the past.  He is only 31 years old, so he should be in his prime, but he is not looking that way this season.  His backup, Cam Talbot, is 6-2 with a 1.74 goals against and a .934 save percentage and 2 shutouts.  Now the Rangers just gave ...

The Chicago Blackhawks seem to be running on all cylinders as they demolished the Philadelphia Flyers 7-2 last night. Even with starting goalie Corey Crawford who is out with a groin injury, the Hawks are rolling right along. On Sunday, October 27th in my SUNDAY MORNING COFFEE article, I mentioned that it was a good time to get Patrick Sharp. All he has done since that day is go 14-13-27 points in 23 games.  With 8 points in his last 3 games, perhaps now is the time to "Sell High" on Sharp, but that may be tough to do on this high-flying Blackhawk team that leads the entire NHL with 51 points....If Antti Raanta is somehow still available in your league, grab his ASAP as he will get the bulk, if not all, of the starts until Crawford returns to the lineup. All Raanta has done so far this season is go 5-0-1 with a 2.12 GAA and .926 SP. Not too shabby.... Marian Hossa had a 3 assist night, and although he is past his prime, on this potent Chicago team, he will still get you decent points. He is scoring at just under a point-per-game pace with 27 points in 29 games played.... More Fantasy Game Notes: There is a new ‘boy wonder' in the nets and his name is Martin Jones. All Jones has done since getting a spot start for the Los Angeles Kings is go 4-0-0 with a 0.74 GAA and .974 SP, and has 2 shutouts to boot.  Ben Scrivens might not see the blue paint of the crease until Jonathan Quick returns the way Jones is playing. Now, we all know that he won't be able to keep up this ridiculous pace, reminds me ofPatrick "Lalime the Dream" in 1996-1997 with the Penguins when he started his career with a 14-0-2 record, but the way the Kings are playing now, Jones wouldn't be such a bad fill-in until then.  Pick him up short-term....The Ducks are keeping pace with the aforementioned Blackhawks, staying 2 points behind the Western Conference leaders as they tamed the Wild 2-1 last night behind Jonas Hiller's 23 save effort. The Ducks have now won 4 straight and show no signs of slowing down.  Hiller is now 12-4-4 and is well entrenched as the No. 1 in Anaheim....With all three Western Conference teams winning, with 2 against Eastern Conference teams, the West's record improved to 115-50-20 this season.

The Chicago Blackhawks seem to be running on all cylinders as they demolished the Philadelphia Flyers 7-2 last night. Even with starting goalie Corey Crawford who is out with a groin injury, the Hawks are rolling right along. On Sunday, October 27th in my SUNDAY MORNING COFFEE article, I mentioned that it was a good time to get Patrick Sharp. All he has done since that day is go 14-13-27 points in 23 games.  With 8 points in his last 3 games, perhaps now is the time to "Sell High" on Sharp, but that may be tough to do on this high-flying Blackhawk team that leads the entire NHL with 51 points....If Antti Raanta is somehow still available in your league, grab his ASAP as he will get the bulk, if not all, of the starts until Crawford returns to the lineup. All Raanta has done so far this season is go 5-0-1 with a 2.12 GAA and .926 SP. Not too shabby.... Marian Hossa had a 3 assists night, and although he is past his prime, on this potent Chicago team, he will still get you decent points. He is scoring at just under a point-per-game pace with 27 points in 29 games played.... More Fantasy Game Notes: There is a new ‘boy wonder' in the nets and his name is Martin Jones. All Jones has done since getting a spot start for the Los Angeles Kings is go 4-0-0 with a 0.74 GAA and .974 SP, and has 2 shutouts to boot.  Ben Scrivens might not see the blue paint of the crease until Jonathan Quick returns the way Jones is playing. Now, we all know that he won't be able to keep up this ridiculous pace, reminds me ofPatrick "Lalime the Dream" in 1996-1997 with the Penguins when he started his career with a 14-0-2 record, but the way the Kings are playing now, Jones wouldn't be such a bad fill-in until then.  Pick him up short-term....The Ducks are keeping pace with the aforementioned Blackhawks, staying 2 points behind the Western Conference leaders as they tamed the Wild 2-1 last night behind Jonas Hiller's 23 save effort. The Ducks have now won 4 straight and show no signs of slowing down.  Hiller is now 12-4-4 and is well entrenched as the No. 1 in Anaheim....With all three Western Conference teams winning, with 2 against Eastern Conference teams, the West's record improved to 115-50-20 this season.

ALL GOALIES CONFIRMED UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED AT TIME OF PRINT Ray Emery returns to Chicago to face his former team, the Blackhawks, as Steve Mason will sit this one out after a few rough starts. With Corey Crawford nursing a groin injury, Antti Raanta (LIKELY) gets the start as the Hawks seem to have turned it up a notch on offense. It will be a rude homecoming for Emery....Ben Scrivens must be buried deep inside the coach's doghouse as Martin Jones (LIKELY) will get his fourth straight start and the 2nd game of back-to-back as well. Former King, Jonathan Bernier, will look to show that the Kings made a mistake in trading him away, but with the way the backups are filling in for injured starter Jonathan Quick, I don't think they are too concerned. Jones who has back-to-back shutouts in 3 starts. The Kings were flawless against the Habs last night but tonight will be a different story.  LA gets "Bern"-ed....Josh Harding (LIKELY) has been brilliant this year for the Minnesota Wild and he will need every bit of that brilliance against eh Anaheim Ducks. Jonas Hiller looks to extend his personal winning streak to 3 and the team's streak to 4 against a Wild team looking to avenge its early season loss to the Ducks. The Ducks are flying high this season and do not see them dropping this one. FANTASY MUST STARTS Jonas Hiller, Anaheim vs. Minnesota SLEEPER ALERT None. DAILY GOALIE PICKS Steve (39-27) Jonas Hiller Ray (35-30) Jonas Hiller Mike (34-27) Antti Raanta

Alex Ovechkin scored 4 goals, including a last-minute game-tying tally, in Washington's 6-5 come-back win over Tampa Bay. With 26 goals in 29 games, the absence of Steven Stamkos makes the chances of anyone catching "Ovie" for the Maurice Richard Trophy slim to none. Nicklas Backstrom actually finished with more points in the contest, collecting a goal and 4 assists. After going scoreless in seven straight, the talented center has 7 points in the last three games. Regardless of a scoring drought, you never sit Backstrom out of your fantasy lineup.... Patrick Kane continues his ascent up the fantasy elite with another three points (1G/2A) in the 6-2 Chicago win over Dallas, giving him 12 points in the last 6 games. With 40 points on the season, the slick winger sits second in the NHL in scoring. For all of those pundits, including myself, that thought Kane would take a step back after hoisting the Cup, he is making a huge statement.  Patrick Sharp continues his hot streak with 2 goals.... Martin St. Louis extended his point streak to three games with a goal and two assists in the OT loss to Washington. Even without Stamkos, the ageless wonder is just barely out of the top-ten in scoring with 30 points. Don't discount him as he is still an elite fantasy forward who will get "hotter" when Stamkos returns. For now, marginal players like Tyler Johnson have seen a boost in fantasy value playing alongside St. Louis....The dynamic trio in Edmonton- Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins- combined for 6 points in the Oiler's OT win over Carolina. Eberle provided the overtime heroics with his 11th goal and 27th point in 32 games. His recent hot streak will have him over a point-per-game pace real soon, so trade for this guy if you can.  As for Hall, only injuries stand in his way as a permanent top-five fixture amongst fantasy forwards.... While playing for a "lousy" team, superstar John Tavares keeps notching the points, two more assists last night in the improbable 2-1 Islander win over San Jose.... Detroit's Pavel Datsyuk seamlessly returned from a concussion, scoring a goal and an assist in the 3-2 loss to Florida. He now has 25 points in as many games, so activate him ASAP.... Easy win for Los Angeles last night 6-0 over Montreal. Rookie goaltender Martin Jones had his second straight shutout with 31 saves, and with Jonathan Quick out, and Ben Scrivens in Coach Darryl Sutter's dog house, this guy is a great short term pickup. Young center Tyler ...

Alex Ovechkin scored 4 goals, including a last-minute game-tying tally, in Washington's 6-5 come-back win over Tampa Bay. With 26 goals in 29 games, the absence of Steven Stamkos makes the chances of anyone catching "Ovie" for the Maurice Richard Trophy slim to none. Nicklas Backstrom actually finished with more points in the contest, collecting a goal and 4 assists. After going scoreless in seven straight, the talented center has 7 points in the last three games. Regardless of a scoring drought, you never sit Backstrom out of your fantasy lineup.... Patrick Kane continues his ascent up the fantasy elite with another three points (1G/2A) in the 6-2 Chicago win over Dallas, giving him 12 points in the last 6 games. With 40 points on the season, the slick winger sits second in the NHL in scoring. For all of those pundits, including myself, that thought Kane would take a step back after hoisting the Cup, he is making a huge statement.  Patrick Sharp continues his hot streak with 2 goals.... Martin St. Louis extended his point streak to three games with a goal and two assists in the OT loss to Washington. Even without Stamkos, the ageless wonder is just barely out of the top-ten in scoring with 30 points. Don't discount him as he is still an elite fantasy forward who will get "hotter" when Stamkos returns. For now, marginal players like Tyler Johnson have seen a boost in fantasy value playing alongside St. Louis....The dynamic trio in Edmonton- Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins- combined for 6 points in the Oiler's OT win over Carolina. Eberle provided the overtime heroics with his 11th goal and 27th point in 32 games. His recent hot streak will have him over a point-per-game pace real soon, so trade for this guy if you can.  As for Hall, only injuries stand in his way as a permanent top-five fixture amongst fantasy forwards.... While playing for a "lousy" team, superstar John Tavares keeps notching the points, two more assists last night in the improbable 2-1 Islander win over San Jose.... Detroit's Pavel Datsyuk seamlessly returned from a concussion, scoring a goal and an assist in the 3-2 loss to Florida. He now has 25 points in as many games, so activate him ASAP.... Easy win for Los Angeles last night 6-0 over Montreal. Rookie goaltender Martin Jones had his second straight shutout with 31 saves, and with Jonathan Quick out, and Ben Scrivens in Coach Darryl Sutter's dog house, this guy is a great short term pickup. Young center Tyler ...

Just the smell of coffee stirs my senses from their slumber! Let's hope that yesterday's 4 goals let in by Steve Mason doesn't happen too often. He is having a great season. The Flyers had a complete meltdown in just over a minute's time in the 2nd period against Dallas. In his second game back from injury, Seguin gets a hattie, his second one of the year. This kid can be soooo good. I guess Pascal Dupuis won't duplicate that 59-point season from two years ago. But Chris Kunitz is going to have a career-best season. Carey Price is having a most wonderful season. Dion Phaneuf had 5 SOG yesterday. That's correct, 5.  He actually had 4 the other day against San Jose too.  Erik Karlsson had 9 SOG, so take that Phaneuf!   LOL The Red Wings could only score 1 goal against Tim Thomas and the Florida Panthers? I know they were without Datsyuk and Zetterberg, but 1 goal? That was the game where former Panther Stephen Weiss was supposed to go off. He must not have gotten that memo. Nashville isn't helping with the Western Conference's dominance over the Eastern Conference. That Jay Bouwmeester is 6th among defensemen scoring. Who woulda thunk it? Jason Garrison has been reborn, and in the same season. The Rangers were lucky to get a point out of last night's game against the Devils. The Ducks really showed the Blues yesterday, huh? You just might be seeing a little more of Brian Elliott in net for St. Louis over the next stretch of games. The Oilers can score 8 goals against Colorado, but only 1 against Calgary? Wasn't that supposed to be the other way around? When Martin Jones shuts you out, you know you need to be ripped into by the coach. Come on Islanders, you're better than that, aren't you? With Jones' shutout and the way Ben Scrivens has been playing, Jonathan Quick can take all the time he needs to get back. Colonel Klinkhammer had an assist on Friday night. Yeah baby! For the most part, both Conference standings are settling into how they should look. With such little fanfare, Bryan Little has been quietly having a very good season with 27 points in 31 games played. Have a great week!

UPDATE: According to Hockeybuzz.com, Henrik Zetterberg of the Detroit Red Wings will miss 2 weeks with a herniated disk. AND, according to TSN, Vancouver Canuck Alex Burrows is out indefinitely with a broken jaw. With only 3 assists in 17 games played, tha's not the only thing broken.  We wish both speedy recoveries. Even though he had lost 2 in a row and the team 4 in a row, Josh Harding was back in net for the Minnesota Wild and continued his stellar goaltending despite the losses by blanking the Philadelphia Flyers. It was Harding's 3rd shutout of the season in just 19 starts. He also lowered his GAA to 1.45 and saw his save percentage rise to .939.  If you haven't already done so and he is still available in your league, grab him ASAP as he has proved he can handle the Number 1 goaltending job in Minnesota....Jason Pominville ended his 5-game goal-less streak with a goal I nthe 3rd period that proved to be the game-winner. Pominville is as streaky as they get and when he gets hot, he gets on a roll.  Perhaps you can get him on the cheap....Charlie Coyle also broke a 5-game goal-less streak. Coyle is counted on to provide offense, but at 21 years old he still lacks the consistency. More Fantasy Game Notes: NY Ranger backup goalie Cam Talbot earned his consecutive start after his stellar effort against the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday. Talbot didn't fare as well and saw his 6-game winning streak come to an end.  He also saw his streak of not allowing more than 2 goals in a game end at 7, which is a Ranger record.  He is a more than capable backup but that is all that he will be as long as the King reigns on Broadway....Olli Jokinen was the offensive hero for the Winnipeg Jets in their win over the Rangers with 2 goals and an assist but this Jokinen is past his fantasy prime so don't go rushing out to grab him hoping that he returns to his glory days. Although, he does have 17 points in 29 games played but only 2 power play assists....Except for his one clunker against Chicago, (and could anyone blame him?), Jets' G Ondrej Pavelec has not allowed more than 2 goals in 6 of his last 7 starts. There may be still be a disgruntled owner around if you need a 2nd tier goalie...Destiny is thy name but it is shared by Max Pacioretty and David Desharnais. Since being put back together, these two have been dynamite.  In last night's 3-2 victory against the New Jersey Devils, Max Factor had a power play goal while Double D had 2 assists to continue their ...

Even though he had lost 2 in a row and the team 4 in a row, Josh Harding was back in net for the Minnesota Wild and continued his stellar goaltending despite the losses by blanking the Philadelphia Flyers. It was Harding's 3rd shutout of the season in just 19 starts. He also lowered his GAA to 1.45 and saw his save percentage rise to .939.  If you haven't already done so and he is still available in your league, grab him ASAP as he has proved he can handle the Number 1 goaltending job in Minnesota....Jason Pominville ended his 5-game goal-less streak with a goal I nthe 3rd period that proved to be the game-winner. Pominville is as streaky as they get and when he gets hot, he gets on a roll.  Perhaps you can get him on the cheap....Charlie Coyle also broke a 5-game goal-less streak. Coyle is counted on to provide offense, but at 21 years old he still lacks the consistency. More Fantasy Game Notes: NY Ranger backup goalie Cam Talbot earned his consecutive start after his stellar effort against the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday. Talbot didn't fare as well and saw his 6-game winning streak come to an end.  He also saw his streak of not allowing more than 2 goals in a game end at 7, which is a Ranger record.  He is a more than capable backup but that is all that he will be as long as the King reigns on Broadway....Olli Jokinen was the offensive hero for the Winnipeg Jets in their win over the Rangers with 2 goals and an assist but this Jokinen is past his fantasy prime so don't go rushing out to grab him hoping that he returns to his glory days. Although, he does have 17 points in 29 games played but only 2 power play assists....Except for his one clunker against Chicago, (and could anyone blame him?), Jets' G Ondrej Pavelec has not allowed more than 2 goals in 6 of his last 7 starts. There may be still be a disgruntled owner around if you need a 2nd tier goalie...Destiny is thy name but it is shared by Max Pacioretty and David Desharnais. Since being put back together, these two have been dynamite.  In last night's 3-2 victory against the New Jersey Devils, Max Factor had a power play goal while Double D had 2 assists to continue their resurgence after a slow start.  It may be too late to get either, but you still might have a shot at getting Desharnais. ...For now and for the future, if you are looking for a star in the making, look no further than Montreal's Alex Galchenyuk. Click here for his 5-year stats with both the Sarnia Sting and Montreal ...

Quick has been out since November 12 and is not expected to return until after Christmas. The move was made so the Kings could activate Jeff Carter without sending anyone down. Ben Scrivens will continue to man the crease until Quick recovers.