Hockey fans, we are on the verge of getting some quality live-action NHL hockey with the qualifying set to get under way.  The New York Rangers and Carolina Hurricanes will kick off the qualifying round at 12:00 PM EST followed by 4 other matchups that day.  And then Sunday follows up with another 5 games so there is something for everyone on the re-opening weekend on this wacky 2019-2020 season.  It’s usually around this time that I am wrapping up my Fantasy Hockey Draft Guide, but that will have to wait.  Now  let’s go into the predictions.   EASTERN CONFERENCE MATCHUPS #5 Pittsburgh Penguins vs. #12 Montreal Canadiens Pittsburgh in 5 When you have the Chipotle group (CMG-Crosby-Malkin-Guentzel), hard to bet against such talent and experience even if Montreal has G Carey Price to keep them in the series.  Too much Penguin firepower will overcome the Price factor.  CMG is the stock symbol for the chipotle corporation for those who did not know.  Just like the food, this Pittsburgh team is soooo good.   #6 Carolina Hurricanes vs. #11 New York Rangers New York Rangers in 4 Probably a little hyped after watching Googly Eyed Scorpion’s YouTube video of the Rangers road to the 1994 Stanley Cup but if D Dougie Hamilton is out of the Carolina lineup, the Canes’ defensive corps will be stressed.  If indeed he does return to action, and do not forget playoff wonder RW Justin Williams, then the Canes will have enough to win in 5 games.   #7 New York Islanders vs. #10 Florida Panthers New York Islanders in 4 I remembered how hard the Panthers played in their last playoff appearance in 2015-2016 against these very same Islanders team and expect the same level of competitiveness but the Islanders play a stifling defensive game and have Barry Trotz behind the bench. That’s all there is to know unless somehow Sergei Bobrovsky rises from the horrible funk he’s been in and brings his Vezina-winning form to the ice.   #8 Toronto Maple Leafs vs. #9 Columbus Blue Jackets Toronto Maple Leafs in 5 This is going to be a fierce battle between two teams that finished the truncated season with the same amount of points, 81, but got there in different ways.  Columbus more of a blue-collar work ethic while Toronto has a load of flash,  Again, most series on determined on the backs of the goaltending and this series will be no different.  Slight edge to Toronto in that department even with Elvis in their building.     WESTERN CONFERENCE MATCHUPS   #5 Edmonton Oilers vs. #12 ...

ADD’EM: Mikhail Sergachev-D-TBL (20.6% owned in ESPN), Jake Muzzin-D-LAK (67.8), Mike Cammalleri-LW/RW-LAK (3.1), Dustin Brown-RW/LW-LAK (58.6), Jordan Staal-C-CAR (11.1), Justin Williams-RW-CAR (27.6), Derick Brassard-C-OTT (46.4), Sam Reinhart-RW-BUF (35.7), arcy Kuemper-G-LAK (0.7) 10/22/2017 Looking for help this week?  Take a look at what’s on the table for you to pick from.  The goaltending looks pretty thin but if you are desperate and in need of a fill-in goalie, perhaps you take a chance on LA’s Darcy Kuemper who is hardly owned and rightfully so, but with 4 games on the slate this week and 1 back-to-back set in the beginning of the week, perhaps you can get two starts out of the backup to Jonathan Quick. Up on defense you have two choices; veteran Jake Muzzin or rookie Mikhail Sergachev, both of which have gotten off to solid starts.  Muzzin is having a rebound season after last year’s disappointment. With 5 points in past 3 games and 8 in all 7 games, and only owned in 67.8% of ESPN leagues, there is a chance he is still available in your league. Jump on that quickly.  For those in dynasty leagues in particular, and even straight up points only leagues, Sergachev proves to be an interesting addition as the Lightning seem to be an offensive juggernaut and with Sergachev’s limited ice time (13:00 mins/gm) he still has managed 6 points in past 3 games and 8 in 9 games total.  Owned in just 20.6 percent of leagues. We are sticking with our Kings theme for the forwards because of the 4 game schedule against somewhat loose defensive teams in Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Boston even though they are all on the road.  Mike Cammalleri (3.1) and Dustin Brown (58.6) are capable candidates for a starting slot on your fantasy squad.  Cammalleri has been a consistent point-getter but injuries always seem to derail him when the going gets good.  Brown on the other hand has not been on many fantasy team’s radar the past few seasons with his lack of contribution but this year he seems to have found the fountain of youth with a 5-6-11 line in 7 games, a +11 rating and 30 SOG.  Both worthy of a starting slot. Two Carolina forwards make the cut this week with a 4-game schedule also with 3 at home.  Justin Williams and Jordan Staal are solid veterans who can produce somewhat consistently.  Williams has 3 points in past 3 while Staal has 5 in past 3 with 2 points coming on the pp. Sam Reinhart had gotten off to a bad start in the first 5 games of the season with ...

Justin Williams, Washington- Mr Game 7 is actually having a  fantasy impact early on with his new team as he collected 8 points over the first 10 games. Whether his production is sustainable or not largely depends on whether Nicklas Backstrom remains as his pivot. If he moves back to Ovie's line or Williams is shuffled out of top six, then his fantasy value could plummet.    Marcus Johansson, Washington- This guy has more of a shot to maintain some fantasy relevance as he has been a top six fixture for the Capitals over the last few years. The additions of Oshie and Williams puts a mild dent in his value but off to a decent start with 6-points in 10 games.    Frans Nielsen, New York- that's a four game point streak- 4G/2A- for the Isles second line center who flourished in a unit with Kyle Okposo and Josh Bailey . Coming off a 43-point season, there is little reason to believe he can't build on those numbers and surpass the 50-point plateau.    David Pastrnak, Boston- The youngster has been getting big minutes with one of the NHL's most underrated centers in David Krejci. While he possesses true 35-goal upside, he might be a year away. Or if you are lucky, maybe not. Give him a shot of still available.    Darnell Nurse, Edmonton- Dont sleep on this 20-year old who is one of the better defensive prospects out there. Since being recalled from the minors, he had picked up a goal and an assist. This one is simple as he will continue to log more minutes if he keeps producing like an NHLer. Nurse is well worth the risk. 

Williams missed Thursday's game with blurred vision, but will be back in the lineup tonight vs. the Canucks. He is expected to skate on the top-line with Anze Kopitar and Marian Gaborik. He has just one goal and two assists in 13 games this year.

Williams missed Thursday's game because of blurred vision after taking a highstick near his eye on Tuesday vs. the Stars. Williams was a full participant in the Kings practice on Friday and said he feels good and should be in the lineup on Saturday.

Williams was cut near his eye when he was clipped with a high stick last night in Dallas. The Kings will take on the Islanders on Thursday, so monitor his status during tomorrow's morning skate.

Williams was cut near his eye by a high stick on Tuesday and says he is dealing with blurred vision this afternoon. The injury will keep him out of the lineup, which means Andy Andreoff will draw back into the lineup.

After the Kings 4-0 loss to the Sharks on opening night, head coach Darryl Sutter elected to switch the lines up already and the switch has Williams playing with Kopitar and Gabo. This was the line that Williams played with in his tremendous playoff run and should lead to more goal scoring opportunities for him in the regular season. He was a minus-2 with five shots in 15:31 on Wednesday.

After an exciting set of Conference championship battles, fantasy owners in playoff pools need to determine who to add to their final rosters. With two defensive teams with suprisingly strong offensive showings ready to face off, tough decisions need to be made.Do you stock up your fantasy line-up with Kings or Rangers? I am not completely sure of who the sure-fire picks are, but I am willing to make a few key observations: 1. Four of the top five leading NHL playoff scorers hail from the Kings(Kopitar, Carter, Gaborik, and Williams), averaging nearly 21 pts. On the contrary, the leading point-getters from the Rangers are tied for 15th place with 13 pts.apiece (St. Louis, Stepan, and McDonagh). The Kings have been getting it done on the offensive end but will now be facing arguably the hottest goalie on the planet in Lundqvist. Can you expect them to average 4 goals-per-game in the Championship round like they did against the high-octane Blackhawks? I say not, as both teams will play it closer to the vest. In addition, the Kings could be a bit fatigue to start the series as they just became the first team in NHL history to advance to the Cup Finals after winning three Game 7's. 2. Usually, defensemen are not the way to go but both teams have blue-chippers that need to be starting. For New York, Ryan McDonagh busted out of his post-season slump by collecting 10 points in the Montreal series, second most ever by a Ranger's blueliner in the playoff. While it's reasonable to expect a dropoff after this explosion, the rising star looks to be in the middle of much of the "Blueshirts" offensive production. On the LA side, how can you not love Drew Doughty? He collected 7 points in the seven game 'classic' against Chicago, giving him 16 pts. in the playoffs. After a 37-point regular season, the 24-year old always seems to save his best offense for the games that count. 3. If you are scraping the "bottom of the barrel" and reaching for wild-card picks, look no further than some of the usually reliable King veterans, such as Dustin Brown and Mike Richards. These type of players seem to excel in the most pivotal moments, so it's no surprise that Brown has posted 6 points in the last 4 games despite just 12 points in 21 overall playoff contests. Playing on the top line with Kopitar, the captain is beginning to surge, so fantasy owners need to take notice. Richards has not fared as well, but he is due to bust out so you can do alot worse than this perenially strong ...

After an exciting set of Conference championship battles, fantasy owners in playoff pools need to determine who to add to their final rosters. With two defensive teams with suprisingly strong offensive showings ready to face off, tough decisions need to be made.Do you stock up your fantasy line-up with Kings or Rangers? I am not completely sure of who the sure-fire picks are, but I am willing to make a few key observations: 1. Four of the top five leading NHL playoff scorers hail from the Kings(Kopitar, Carter, Gaborik, and Williams), averaging nearly 21 pts. On the contrary, the leading point-getters from the Rangers are tied for 15th place with 13 pts.apiece (St. Louis, Stepan, and McDonagh). The Kings have been getting it done on the offensive end but will now be facing arguably the hottest goalie on the planet in Lundqvist. Can you expect them to average 4 goals-per-game in the Championship round like they did against the high-octane Blackhawks? I say not, as both teams will play it closer to the vest. In addition, the Kings could be a bit fatigue to start the series as they just became the first team in NHL history to advance to the Cup Finals after winning three Game 7's. 2. Usually, defensemen are not the way to go but both teams have blue-chippers that need to be starting. For New York, Ryan McDonagh busted out of his post-season slump by collecting 10 points in the Montreal series, second most ever by a Ranger's blueliner in the playoff. While it's reasonable to expect a dropoff after this explosion, the rising star looks to be in the middle of much of the "Blueshirts" offensive production. On the LA side, how can you not love Drew Doughty? He collected 7 points in the seven game 'classic' against Chicago, giving him 16 pts. in the playoffs. After a 37-point regular season, the 24-year old always seems to save his best offense for the games that count. 3. If you are scraping the "bottom of the barrel" and reaching for wild-card picks, look no further than some of the usually reliable King veterans, such as Dustin Brown and Mike Richards. The those type of players seem to excel in the most pivotal moments, so it's no surprise that Brown has posted 6 points in the last 4 games despite just 12 points in 21 overall playoff contests. Playing on the top line with Kopitar, the captain is beginning to surge, so fantasy owners need to take notice. Richards has not fared as well, but he is due to bust out so you can do alot worse than this perenially ...