The Kings are looking more and more like the Western Conference team that no one would want to face in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Ever since the Olympic break they are 14-4-0 thanks in most part to goaltender Jonathan Quick who shutout the fading Phoenix Coyotes behind a relatively easy 17-save performance. That's his 3rd shutout since the O-break. Another team that is starting to heat up besides all the injuries to key personnel are the Detroit Red Wings. Although his stats since the O-break aren't that great (7-5-2), Jimmy Howard has performed much better in his last few starts as the Red Wings are trying to nail down their 23rd consecutive playoff appearance. And defeating the hottest team in the NHL in these Boston Bruins is no small feat.  It helps when you have the hottest goal-scorer on the planet in Gustav Nyquist. NYKE (pronounced Ni-kee like the sneaker) was held at bay much of the game but midway through the 3rd period, NYKE used his speed to score the eventual game-winner on a breakaway. There sure seems to be no stopping him. It took a long time, and some brilliant goaltending from G Frederik Andersen (30/32 SV), but the Anaheim Ducks awoke in time to come from a 2-goal deficit to defeat the Edmonton Oilers. Thank you Mr. Corey Perry once again as he scored two goals to tie the game before assisting on the game-winning goal, all in the third period.  With 6 games left he won't come close to his career high of 98 points in 2010-2011, but it has been a magical year nonetheless. Want a sleeper for next year? Look no further than Long Island's Ryan Strome who has been putting up points in the absence of not only John Tavares, but Kyle Okposo as well. Strome should be a lock to start the season with the Islanders and play alongside JT.  With 2 assists in last night's 2-1 road victory over Ottawa,  that gives him 6 points in last 5 games.

The Kings are looking more and more like the Western Conference team that no one would want to face in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Ever since the Olympic break they are 14-4-0 thanks in most part to goaltender Jonathan Quick who shutout the fading Phoenix Coyotes behind a relatively easy 17-save performance. That's his 3rd shutout since the O-break. Another team that is starting to heat up besides all the injuries to key personnel are the Detroit Red Wings. Although his stats since the O-break aren't that great (7-5-2), Jimmy Howard has performed much better in his last few starts as the Red Wings are trying to nail down their 23rd consecutive playoff appearance. And defeating the hottest team in the NHL n thee Boston Bruins is no small feat.  It helps when you have the hottest goal-scorer on the planet in Gustav Nyquist. NYKE (pronounced Ni-kee) was held at bay much of the game but midway through the 3rd period, NYKE used his speed to score the eventual game-winner on a breakaway. There sure seems to be no stopping him. It took a long time, and some brilliant goaltending from G Frederik Andersen (30/32 SV), but the Anaheim Ducks awoke in time to come from a 2-goal deficit to defeat the Edmonton Oilers. Thank you Mr. Corey Perry once again as he scored two goals to tie the game before assisting on the game-winning goal.  With 6 games left he won't come close to his career high of 98 points in 2010-2011, but it has been a magical year nonetheless. Want a sleeper for next year? Look no further than Long Island's Ryan Strome who has been putting up points in the absence of not only John Tavares, but Kyle Okposo as well. Strome should be a lock to start the season with the Islanders and play alongside JT.  With 2 assists in last night's 2-1 road victory over Ottawa,  that gives him 6 points in last 5 games.

Okposo will miss his fourth consecutive game when the Isles take on the Senators tonight in Ottawa. The details on Okposo's injury have been extremely vague. The Isles are 2-0-1 in the last three without KO, and with their season all but over, they are going to risk him getting more injured in meaningless game.

Okposo will miss his third straight game on Tuesday with a lower-body injury. The Islanders are well out of the hunt for the playoffs, and frankly, they are playing OK hockey without Okposo and John Tavares. There is no need for them to get him in the lineup with the season virtually over for them. Consider him day-to-day still.

The only change the Islanders will make from their lineup on Thursday is their goaltender. Okposo will sit for a second straight night, he is listed as day-to-day.

Okposo has been battling a lower-body injury, but it has not cost him any games until tonight. He will be out of the lineup tonight which makes an already shorthanded Isles team even more shorthanded.

Okposo left practice early on Friday, but the Isles did not recall anyone from Bridgeport, so Okposo should be in the lineup. Okposo is having the breakout season people have been waiting for for years. He currently sits tied for 7th in NHL scoring with 69 points (27G / 42A) in 69 games, so make sure he is active in all formats when he is officially declared in.

Okposo left practice this morning after about 20 minutes and did not return. He is listed as day-to-day, which puts his status for Sunday's meeting with the Blue Jackets in jeopardy.

Good morning and a Happy St. Patrick's Day to all! No worries, my coffee isn't green but it may be Irish. Jarome Iginla and David Krejci have been one hot pair of late. And Milan Lucic too. Steve Mason came up huge against Pittsburgh yesterday. Will he come back again today in the back end of the home-and-home series with the Pens? Carey Price returned but he needed the help of his team mates in a huge comeback over Ottawa last night. The best two defensemen, or tow of the best defensemen in the NHL, put on a show last night. Erik Karlsson with 2 assists and P. K. Subban with 3. Ben Bishop and Martin Brodeur were putting on a show for a while last night. The old and the new. It looks like Kyle Okposo is doing just fine without John Tavares. It's safe to say Ryan Miller is enjoying his time in St. Louis. Minnesota plays too many games decided by 1 goal. You have to admire the way the Calgary Flames have been playing this year even though it has been labeled a rebuilding year. Kudos! Colonel Klinkhammer knows that for him to get on SMC, he needs to show up on the score sheet. HE scored his tenth last night. Last night's Battle of Los Angeles was decided by not the usual cast of characters. Anaheim is not giving up the President's Cup so easily to St. Louis Is it me or does Dallas and Phoenix have a race every year to see who gets into the playoffs? I can see Florida making a big turnaround next year now that they have Luongo back. I would have loved to see where Tavares would be in the scoring race if not for his injury at the Olympics. Have a great week!

The Boston Bruins pounded the Hurricanes yesterday afternoon 5-1, and the Lucic, Krejci, Iginla line was all over the ice, and all over the scoreboard. Left wing Milan Lucic had a goal and 2 assists, while center Dave Krejci had 3 assists and right wing Jarome Iginla had 2 goals. This line is on fire and you should grab any one of these guys if you can.  Krejci has 59 points and is a plus 31.  Wow!  Tough game in goal for Cam Ward of Carolina who allowed all 5 goals with 36 saves.  Ward is really struggling to find his game right now after missing so much of the season with injury.  Nice shutout for Steve Mason of Philadelphia as the Flyers beat the suddenly staggering Penguins 4-0. Mason had 25 saves and improved his record to 27-16-6.  Good game for me because I have him in one of my pools.  Right wing Matt Read had 2 goals for Philadelphia, but with only 33 points on the season we can't recommend him.  Pittsburgh center Sydney Crosby had a game to forget with no points and a -3 rating.  Forward Claude Giroux had 2 assists for the Flyers, and after a brutal start to the seasonhe now has 67 points in 66 games. Expect him to have a great finish on the year. Nice game for Montreal defenseman P K Subban as he had 3 assists in the Canadiens 5-4 win over Ottawa in OT. Subban has 48 points on the season, and he is a premier fantasy defenseman pick.  Senators forward Jason Spezza had a goal and an assist, and he is smoking hot right now with 8 points in his last 3 games, and now has 55 points on the year. Tampa Bay goaltender Ben Bishop continued his fantastic season with a 3-0 shutout of New Jersey. Bishop's record is 31-11-6 with a 2.10 GAA and a .929 SP.  Amazing season. The New York Islanders beat the terrible Buffalo Sabres 4-1 as defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky had 3 assists. Good for me because I own him.  He has only 11 points on the season though because he had been hurt.  Islander right wing Kyle Okposo continued his breakout year with a goal and an assist. Okposo has 69 points on the season.  St. Louis beat Nashville 4-1.  Remember when Nashville used to be hard to defeat?  Not any more.  Center Patrik Berglund had 2 goals for the Blues, but he has only 31 points on the season. St Louis center Alexander Steen had a goal and he does have 53 points on the year, but he has cooled off considerably from his hot start. Maybe he will heat up again.  The NHL season is a long grind, and tends to wear players down.  Blues goaltender Ryan Miller had another ...