Jordan Staal So let me get this straight. Eric is now Jordan and Jordan is now Eric. Well, the numbers tell the story of Jordan's sudden transformation into the Canes top scoring center and with Eric rumored to be traded soon, then maybe this point surge can last longer than usual.    Benoit Pouliot I told you to pick up Connor McDavid's most consistent line mate last week, but he is still available in many leagues. Snatch him as he is playing with the next Coming...   Andre Burakovsky 17 points over the last 16 games.. plays on arguably the best 2nd line in the NHL with budding superstar Evgeni Kuznetsov,.. Enough said.    Michael Stone  The youngster is coming into his own with 6 points in his last 8 games and should be a lock for his first 30-point season. OEL left the Anaheim game early last night so Stone could be in for a short-term jolt in fantasy value.    Jonas Hiller  I was going to suggest him as a solid add in the wake of Kari Ramo's season ending injury, but his play if late has left much to be desired. Joni Ortio might still be in the picture, so tread with caution here.

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 ...

The biggest news to come out of last night's action was Claude Giroux getting the back of his leg sliced by a Justin Faulk skate in the 3rd period of the Flyers-Hurricanes matchup. Giroux left the ice with assistance, not being able to put any weight on his leg.  The word is that the Philly Captain is fine and expected to be in tonight's game in New Jersey.  Giroux is tied for third in league scoring.  Whew! After losing their captain, the Flyers fought back to get within one but that was all as they lost for the fourth straight time. Wallowing near the bottom of the Metropolitan Division, it would take an incredible run to qualify for the playoffs.  Carolina G Cam Ward (23/24 SV) has played excellent of late, this time being on the positive side of a close game. Ward could be an excellent number 2 fantasy goalie.  With Jordan Staal returning from a broken leg and Eric Staal looking like he is starting to heat up, it may be worth it to have a few Canes on your fantasy squad now.... Roberto Luongo continues to enjoy life in sunny F-L-A as he shut out the Buffalo Sabres 2-0 behind a 30-save effort making 2 first period goals stand up. Bobby Lu raised his record to 15-7-7 with a 2.22 GAA and a .926 SP.  Continue to start Luongo with confidence while we wait for the young offense to pick up.... P.K. Subban was the story for Montreal last night against New Jersey assisting on 3 goals. The Habs built a 3-0 early in the 3rd period before the Devils made it interesting. The Devils ship is sinking fast and there is no land in sight.  New Jersey has gone 2-7-3 in last dozen games.  Ugh! You just knew it was going to be a high-scoring affair in Pittsburgh as the Penguins took on the Lightning of Tampa Bay. It was all Pens early as they built a 3-0 in the first period chasing starter Ben Bishop from the net. The bolts tried to stage a comeback but Steve Downie put the final 2 nails in the coffin of a 6-3 win for the Penguins. Sidney Crosby with 4 assists in the game almost matched his total output for November where he had 5 total points. Look for Sid to pick up his game from here on out.... The return to early season form for Minnesota G Darcy Kuemper was what the Wild needed against the high-scoring Toronto Maple Leafs who came into the game as the highest scoring team in the NHL. Kuemper turned aside 34 of 35 SOG as Minnesota won for just the second time in the past 8 games....With a power play assist, perhaps Thomas Vanek is ready to heat up as he has been very...

The biggest news to come out of last night's action was Claude Giroux getting the back of his leg sliced by a Justin Faulk skate in the 3rd period of the Flyers-Hurricanes matchup. Giroux left the ice with assistance, not being able to put any weight on his leg.  The word is that the Philly Captain is fine and expected to be in tonight's game in New Jersey.  Giroux is tied for third in league scoring.  Whew! After losing their captain, the Flyers fought back to get within one but that was all as they lost for the fourth straight time. Wallowing near the bottom of the Metropolitan Division, it would take an incredible run to qualify for the playoffs.  Carolina G Cam Ward (23/24 SV) has played excellent of late, this time being on the positive side of a close game. Ward could be an excellent number 2 fantasy goalie.  With Jordan Staal returning from a broken leg and Eric Staal looking like he is starting to heat up, it may be worth it to have a few Canes on your fantasy squad now.... Roberto Luongo continues to enjoy life in sunny F-L-A as he shut out the Buffalo Sabres 2-0 behind a 30-save effort making 2 first period goals stand up. Bobby Lu raised his record to 15-7-7 with a 2.22 GAA and a .926 SP.  Continue to start Luongo with confidence while we wait for the young offense to pick up.... P.K. Subban was the story for Montreal last night against New Jersey assisting on 3 goals. The Habs built a 3-0 early in the 3rd period before the Devils made it interesting. The Devils ship is sinking fast and there is no land in sight.  New Jersey has gone 2-7-3 in last dozen games.  Ugh! You just knew it was going to be a high-scoring affair in Pittsburgh as the Penguins took on the Lightning of Tampa Bay. It was all Pens early as they built a 3-0 in the first period chasing starter Ben Bishop from the net. The bolts tried to stage a comeback but Steve Downie put the final 2 nails in the coffin of a 6-3 win for the Penguins. Sidney Crosby with 4 assists in the game almost matched his total output for November where he had 5 total points. Look for Sid to pick up his game from here on out.... The return to early season form for Minnesota G Darcy Kuemper was what the Wild needed against the high-scoring Toronto Maple Leafs who came into the game as the highest scoring team in the NHL. Kuemper turned aside 34 of 35 SOG as Minnesota won for just the second time in the past 8 games....With a power play assist, perhaps Thomas Vanek is ready to heat up as he has been very...

With two dominating wins over Colorado in their home-and-home series to start the season, the Minnesota Wild are off and running as a rising contenders in the highly contested Western Conference. While goaltending is their most often discussed concern, young Darcy Kuemper has silenced the critics for now after posting consecutive shutouts and stooping all 46 Avalanche shots he faced over the two games. Many fantasy leagues still had Kuemper sitting on the waiver wire prior to this stretch, so kudos to all owners who scooped him up. The Wild will be in the mix for playoff contention all season long, so owning their starting goalie just makes plenty of fantasy sense. Their is no guarantee that he will keep the job for the entire campaign, but he has made a bold statement with the hot start... When you think Arizona and fantasy, the first two names that should roll off your tongue are Oliver-Ekman Larsson and Keith Yandle. These two are arguably the premier scoring tandem on the blueline, asserting themselves once again with elite showings in their gritty 3-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings. OEL ended the contest with a power-play goal while Yandle dished out three helpers to ice the much-needed victory. Both should be amongst the top ten in scoring defenseman this season, but Larsson should be a serious candidate for the Norris trophy. He should have plenty of competition from fellow countryman Victor Hedman, who is busting out at the seams as well with an overtime game winner of his own plus another marker last night. The changing of the fantasy guard on defense is well underway.. There were plenty of fireworks on Long Island, as John Tavares continued his dominant play with a goal and an assist for an overall 5 points in two games. We have him surpassing the 100-point mark this season in our fantasy guide, so we will stand by our thoughts. So who is Johnny Boychuk anyway? Right now, he is the power-play quarterback who is showing off his offensive ability with four points in two games. While his scoring prowess was stifled in Boston due to the lack of opportunity, he is being unleashed so far with the Islanders. If he can hold off the oft-injured Lubomir Visnovsky and Nick Leddy, he holds true 40+ point upside. Start him while he is hot. Ditto for Brock Nelson, who continues to light it up as the second-line center and down-low presence on the primary power-play unit. While his scoring pace will not be maintained, 50 points and 20 goals is not out of the...

Staal had a bad year in 2013-14 and the Hurricanes were looking for a bounce-back season, but this is not a good start. The injury likely means that Elias Lindholm will be thrust into a larger role this season. Don't expect to see Staal until late December or mid-January.

Not the way you want to start a new hockey season, never mind a new fantasy hockey season. Already we are seeing some stars being shelved due to some unlucky breaks.  Detroit's Pavel Datsyuk, out 4-6 weeks with a separated shoulder, NY Rangers' Derek Stepan out at least 4 weeks due to a broken leg, Carolina's Jordan Staal out from a broken leg, Tampa Bay Jonathan Drouin out 3-4 weeks with a fractured thumb. All should be fantasy relevant once they return to their respective lineups....What is one man's misfortune is another man's opportunity and so it seems to be the case of the Carolina Hurricanes who scored 3 power play goals without the services of Staal in last night's tilt against the NY Islanders.  Jeff Skinner should benefit from some more playing time with Staal out and with a power play goal and assist last night, he could be in store for a nice breakout as long as he stays out of the infirmary. D Ryan Murphy could be poised for a nice breakout if he continues with what he did last night by scoring a power play goal and adding an assist on the power play as well. The time is now to recognize this talent may be ready for your fantasy squad....The Toronto Maple Leafs dropped both ends of split squad contest against Ottawa last night but saw James van Riemsdyk continue his spectacular pre-season play adding another goal and assist to his goal the previous night. JVR had 10 SOG which is sure indication that he is ready to make a mark in the NHL this year.....Keep your eye very closely on this 18-year old LWer on Edmonton who made a bit of a splash last night with 2 assists in the Oiler comeback over the Winnipeg Jets.  Everyone's attention is on this year's 1st round pick Leon Draisaitl, but if Vladimir Tkachev continues to impress, he just may be what the Oilers need, if not at the start of the season, in the very near future.

Jordan Staal suffered a broken bone in his right leg during Carolina's game at Buffalo. Obviously, this is a huge blow to the team and fantasy owners alike. The exact timetable on how long he will be out of action has yet to be determined, so more news should come out shortly. A few more injuries to mention: Logan Couture got a bit banged up during San Jose's 4-2 split squad loss to Vancouver and was taken out of the game, albeit more for precautionary reasons.. Vancouver defenseman Alex Edler left his game with an upper body injury. We have him pegged for a nice comeback season.. Tampa Bay star prospect Jonathan Drouin will miss 3-4 weeks due to a fractured thumb. This means that he won't start the season alongside Steven Stamkos, buy you can bet that will happen sooner than later.. Pavel Datysuk is getting an MRI on his shoulder today, but for now is set to miss a week. Game Bits: Both Alex Stalock and John Gibson started the first games for their respective teams, San Jose and Anaheim. They both came up short as they allowed a combined 6 goals. There will be interesting goaltending battles for starting supremacy involving both, as Antti Niemi and Frederik Andersen hold the early edge entering camp. In Stalock's case, the road might be tougher but Niemi will be a UFA at season's end so the Sharks will be prompted to give him a serious look.. Another goal and an assist for Cam Atkinson, giving him four points in two games. The major breakout hasn't happened yet, but there is still time for the youngster.. Buffalo's Jhonas Enroth starts the pre-season on a high note with a 35-save shutout of Carolina... Jonathan Toews scores the game-winner in OT for Chicago over Detroit. What else is new? Always clutch and forever a consistent point-per-game guy. Very safe top-four round pick.. Joe Thonton starts his post-captain era in San Jose with two goals. Expect him to play with a chip on his shoulder as much of the team's collapse was blamed on his leadership or lack therof.

Staal was injured in a collision with Sabres' defenseman Josh Gorges. He left the ice unable to put any weight on his leg and was seen leaving the rink on crutches with a cast on his ankle/foot. Head coach Bill Peters did not have an update on Staal, but did say "I'm concerned, for sure." Stall will return to Carolina to be reevaluated.

Ales Hemsky, RW Ottawa (Owned in 57.5% of ESPN leagues) Let's keep him on the MUST ADD list, as the injury-prone winger has reaped huge fantasy dividends while playing in his new Canadien home Ottawa. Prior to tonight's matchup, Hemsky had collected 7 points in 3 games on a line with new center Jason Spezza. Hopefully you heeded our advice last week, as he needs to be owned in all fantasy formats. Tyler Ennis, C and Drew Stafford, RW Buffalo (Owned in 52.9% and 23.2% of ESPN league) After the smoke has cleared with Buffalo's fire-sale at the trade deadline, two valuable fantasy assets still don Sabre uniforms: Ennis and Stafford. These two underrated forwards will continue to provide the bulk of the scoring for the goal-starved Sabres, as both are currently on 4-game point streaks. Ennis has 20 points dating back to the last 22 games, while Stafford has 15 in the last 17 games. They can help your fantasy squads, even if there is no sniff of playoff motivation the air. Jordan Staal, C Carolina  (Owned in 52.9 % of ESPN leagues) With 9 points (3G/6A) in the last 6 games, the less fantasy-friendly Staal brother has outperformed his brother Eric in the scoring department. Ever since coach Kirk Muller's line-shifted which resulted in winger Alex Semin being dropped to Jordan's line, the two have performed magic together while Eric Staal has been mired in a huge slump. Coincidence? I don't think so, as both centers have provided optimal scoring returns this season when lining up with Semin. David Desharnais, C Montreal ( Owned in 22.0% of ESPN leagues) This one is easy to figure out, as the diminutive center has reaped the rewards of centering Max Pacioretty to the tune of 8 points in the last 8 games. His last-second tally to sent Montreal into overtime during Saturday night's clash against Ottawa is a perfect example of his increasing confidence and rising fantasy value. Pick him up while he is hot. Kris Letang, D Pittsburgh ( Owned in 43.4% of ESPN leagues) The word is out that Letang will be set to practice fully with the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday. While the team will probably proceed with caution in regard to his return to the line-up since suffering from a stroke, this new is very encouraging for his fantasy owners. His return date is unclear as so is his level of offensive productivity if indeed he is back before the end of the regular season, but he is worth stashing away with the news of him skating with his team. An obvious elite fantasy...