Been a busy week as I was involved in another draft that I had to set up on a new site with the draft in motion. I got it done and the draft was a success so it was worth the aggravation.  I hope to give you a rundown of that Dynasty league draft this weekend. Right now let's get caught up to date. The 2018-2019 PrimePuck Fantasy Hockey Draft Guide has been updated through the signings of EDM D Darnell Nurse and BUF RW Sam Reinhart, injuries to VAN LW Loui Eriksson and OTT C Jean-Gabriel Pageau.  Download the most recent Guide before your hockey draft. Darnell Nurse and Sam Reinhart signed 2 year deals with their respective clubs as they headed into training camp and the pre-season games.  Look for both players to be an integral part of their teams this season.  Nurse may provide some offense with D Andrej Sekera out with a n injury while Sam Reinhart is counted on to breakout up in Buffalo. New Montreal Canadien Max Domi took a page out of his father's book with a sucker punch on FLA D Aaron Ekblad.  Fortunately Ekblad wasn't;t seriously injured, especially with his concussion history.  Domi was suspended for the remainder of the pre-season, so in essence he got off light. Veteran Vancouver LW Loui Eriksson is out week-to-week with a lower body injury.  No reason for you to be concerned with Eriksson unless your draft is way deep,  but if you're drafting Eriksson these days, I hope it's in like one of those senior leagues like they have in golf. Carolina forward Victor Rask is out indefinitely with a wrist injury after having surgery.  Rookie C Martin Necas should benefit with increased ice time. Dallas rookie Ty Dellandrea signed a 3-year entry deal.  Look for him to develop in the minors for a year or two.  

SMC 11-22-2015 Good morning everyone!  The cold, crisp air of autumn has finally arrived making a hot cup of coffee taste even better. Lots of non-scoring on Saturday night with 5 shutouts in 11 games. Rangers’ Rick Nash with a hat trick!  You just knew he was due to break out sooner or later. Flyers are playing for the top pick in the June 2016 NHL Entry Draft it seems. I can see Big Z being traded from the Boston Bruins by the trade deadline.  Loui Eriksson before that. Maybe all that Ben Bishop needed was to play the NY Rangers to get his season on track. Tampa has had a lot of injuries and everyone will tend to forget about them this year and they will get healthy, make the playoffs and be a threat with all the talent they possess. That Jaromir Jagr never seems to get old.  5 shots on goal last night against the Rangers and he even scored a goal. Aleksander Barkov is back from injury and has 2 goals and an assist in 3 games back. The Pittsburgh Penguins have problems and if they don’t shore up their defense, they may miss the playoffs.  I don’t think Sidney Crosby will like that very much. San Jose’s D-man Brent Burns had 7 SOG last night against the Pens.  Who does he think he is, Alex Ovechkin? Kessel, Hornqvist, and Letang had 5 SOG or more and Sid the Kid and Malkin only had one apiece.  That’s not gonna cut it. Washington scored 7 goals last night against Colorado in only 32 SOG.  The Avalanche’s goaltending is not as good as previously thought. Columbus and Anaheim slowly but surely creeping back up the standings. The race for the President’s Cup will be very interesting this year. I think everyone can forget about St. Louis defenseman Colton Parayko now that Kevin Shattenkirk is back from injury and in mid-season form already. I am thinking that Detroit Red Wing Teemu Pulkkinen can start to put up some decent numbers now that the team is sorta back to full staff.  Plus he is playing with Tomas Tatar and Brad Richards. What is going on with Jonathan Drouin? This goaltending sharing policy on Dallas is killing fantasy players but doing wonders for the actual team. Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin are an insane scoring duo!  I didn’t need to tell you that, did I? One would’ve thought that the way the Minnesota Wild were playing of late that they would’ve been the team that was shutout on Saturday and not Nashville. Ryan Suter is having himself a year, isn’t he? It’s nice to see the Sedin twins have a game like they did against Chicago every once in a...

Loui Eriksson-LW-Boston: Boston fans have been waiting for Eriksson to contribute to the offense on a consistent basis, especially so since the player they traded away to acquire him will probably lead the NHL in scoring this season.  It appears that the former Dallas Star let winger is heating up with 5 goals and 2 assists in his last 7 games along with a plus 4 and 13 SOG.   Three games on the schedule for the week with a tough matchup at San Jose before two home games with LA and Detroit.  Mats Zuccarello-RW-NY Rangers: When you're hot, you're hot and the Rangers are certainly hot with winning 8 in a row and Zuccarello has been a part of that streak with 2 goals and 5 assists in his last 7 games.  Only owned by 32.5% of ESPN leagues, the diminutive winger will be playing against Dallas and Florida on the road and then home against Buffalo.  Mark Scheifele-C-Winnipeg: Ever since Scheifele was drafted I have been waiting for the young talent to get his opportunity and that time may have arrived.  Scheifele did have a good stretch before getting injured last season and now, with the Jets being decimated on defense forcing them to put Dustin Byfuglien back on D, Scheifele is getting his chance. With 6 points in last 6 games and owned by just 19.3%, those in need of forward depth could do worse than putting this Jets center in their lineup.  The Jets have a favorable schedule for the week with 3 home games against Minnesota, the NY Islanders and Toronto. Kevin Connauton-D-Columbus: If you are seeking a defenseman for the week, take a chance on Columbus Blue Jacket Connauton.  The Jackets are the hottest team in the NHL right now and the unknown D-man has 5 points in last 6 games but has a minus 3 in those 6 games.  He doesn't have a lot of NHL experience but he does seem to have a knack to get involved in the scoring. Connauton is getting good ice time of around 17 minutes in the last 2 games plus and good portion of power play time as well.  # games on the schedule this week with Minnesota at home before heading on the road to Arizona and Colorado. Michael Hutchinson-G-Winnipeg: We already know about the favorable 3-game home stand mentioned above, but Hutch's numbers are spectacular lately, 1.99 GAA and a .936 in last 4 starts, and it's probably just a matter of time before the streaking Winnipeg Jets (6-1-3 in last 10) go with the hotter hand in net.  Owned by just 36.2% but his time is coming and maybe, just maybe, he gets 2 of the three starts this ...

Sorry for the brief fantasy notes, but plenty of Christmas shopping to still do!! One quick note- IN STEVE'S DEFENSE will be up for the special holiday date of next Tuesday, December 30. Starting 2015, you can again catch ISD every Thursday afternoon. *Semyon Varlamov returned to the Colorado crease in grand fashion, turning aside all 26 shots in the 5-0 rout of St. Louis. While numbers are way off the pace he had set last season- 3.00 GAA/ 5-6-5 record- you can bet that the recent hot play of backup Calvin Pickard will light a fire under the struggling Russian netminder. A great-buy low candidate for the holidays.. *Tyler Johnson is having a heck of a sophomore campaign for the Lightning, collecting a "hat trick" against the Penguins and in the process, extending his point streak to five games (5G/3A). With 37 points in 35 games, he has exceeded all fantasy expectations so far but should continue to roll on the Steven Stamkos-led prolific offense.. *So much for his 11-game point streak coming to an end as winger Rick Nash continues to show superb form in his monster comeback year by scoring two goals and an assist in the Ranger's 4-2 win over Washington. He is the real deal with 36 points on the season ranking 10th in the NHL scoring race. He might fall short of the 80-point mark, but 40+ goals is a realistic possibility.. * Not many goalies will frustrate fantasy owners with their tremendous "ups and downs" more than Toronto's Jonathan Bernier who stifled Dallas with a 43-save shutout. Just one start before, he gave up 7 to Philly so it's tough to depend on him as a legit starting option but his streaks can help bolster your fantasy teams.. *Boston's Loui Eriksson has yet to realize his offensive potential that he had displayed as a 70-point Dallas Star standout, but he has been trending upward. His two goals gives him six points over the last four games. He hasn't panned out as a top-line replacement to the departed Jarome Iginla, but he could get bumped up if his production continues to improve. Watch him..

It was the "Night of the Mask" as two of the three NHL games o the docket were decided by 2-0 shutout and the Boston-Minnesota game went to overtime. Plus, yours truly had one of those sleep study tests overnight at the hospital to monitor my breathing and let's just say that my night with the mask did not go as well as these professionals. The Devils woes continue as they were blanked by Craig Anderson (34 SV) and the Ottawa Senators 2-0 at home. New Jersey's Cory Schneider only saw 15 shots on goal and made 14 saves but it wasn't his fault as Anderson was on his game last night. The Sens scored on the power play early in the first and then potted an empty-netter with a tick left on the game clock.... It was Loui Eriksson and Carl Soderberg with a goal and an assist each that carried the Boston offense last night as they beat Minnesota 3-2 in overtime. With David Krejci back, if this line can get on a roll, the Bruins should be back to what we've been used to over the past 2 years... Dallas Stars G Kari Lehtonen had a tidy 27-save, 2-0 shutout of the Vancouver Canucks and has now won 3 of last 4 and 6 of past 9. Lehts may not be one of the top goalies in the NHL, but as long as he stays healthy he proves to be a solid a no. 2 fantasy goalie as there is.

The TEAM RANKINGS have been updated for thestart of the season. See where your favorite team stacks up against the rest of the NHL in the PrimePucks Team Rankings located in the right margin in the TOP RANKINGS Section. ***Check out our new daily feature where PrimePucks gives you what we believe are the top fantasy players for the night. The section is entitled "Daily Roto Hockey Value Picks" and will be updated each and every day that there are NHL games being played. Remember that these are the best "value" picks for that night's games.  We hope you like our changes. Four games on the NHL slate debut the 2014-15 season, which feature several interesting fantasy-worthy matchups. All eyes will be on the Vancouver Canucks and whether they can recapture the glory days under new coach Willie Desjardins. Gone is former All-Star goalie Roberto Luongo and taking his place is perennial Vezina hopeful Ryan Miller. The Sedin brothers looked poised for a comeback year as they will have newly acquired Radim Vrbata flanked on their right side to start the season. All four players are premium value picks in daily fantasy leagues for tonight's matchup against Calgary. I would pack my lineup with the key Canucks.. If you are looking for a short-term value pick, Boston's Ryan Spooner might fit the bill. While the prospect was initially sent packing back to the AHL, a supposedly minor injury to top center David Krejci might have him skating between Milan Lucic and Loui Eriksson in tonight's game against the Philadelphia Flyers. On the other side, LW Wayne Simmonds has skated the last two days and should be available tonight. He looks safe to insert into your starting lineup, but monitor the situation leading up to game-time. Toronto's RW Phil Kessel is probable for tonight's rival clash with Montreal. His linemate James van Riemsdyk is coming off a spectacular pre-season which can catapult him in the upper-echelon of scoring left wingers. He flashed his brilliance with a solid 30-goal/ 61-point campaign last season but can he click with Kessel on a more consistent basis? If he does, here comes 75-80 points. Look for the two to start the season strong. In Los Angeles, the Cup champs will raise the banner while facing a team they own in the playoffs- the San Jose Sharks. Something tells me that fantasy owners will get serious returns in 2014-15 on spurned star forwards Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau who were stripped of their leadership roles in the off-season. While ...

Four games on the NHL slate debut the 2014-15 season, which feature several interesting fantasy-worthy matchups. All eyes will be on the Vancouver Canucks and whether they can recapture the glory days under new coach Willie Desjardins. Gone is former All-Star goalie Roberto Luongo and taking his place is perennial Vezina hopeful Ryan Miller. The Sedin brothers looked poised for a comeback year as they will have newly acquired Radim Vrbata flanked on their right side to start the season. All four players are premium value picks in daily fantasy leagues for tonight's matchup against Calgary. I would pack my lineup with the key Canucks.. If you are looking for a short-term value pick, Boston's Ryan Spooner might fit the bill. While the prospect was initially sent packing back to the AHL, a supposedly minor injury to top center David Krejci might have him skating between Milan Lucic and Loui Eriksson in tonight's game against the Philadelphia Flyers. On the other side, LW Wayne Simmonds has skated the last two days and should be available tonight. He looks safe to insert into your starting lineup, but monitor the situation leading up to game-time. Toronto's RW Phil Kessel is probable for tonight's rival clash with Montreal. His linemate James van Riemsdyk is coming off a spectacular pre-season which can catapult him in the upper-echelon of scoring left wingers. He flashed his brilliance with a solid 30-goal/ 61-point campaign last season but can he click with Kessel on a more consistent basis? If he does, here comes 75-80 points. Look for the two to start the season strong. In Los Angeles, the Cup champs will raise the banner while facing a team they own in the playoffs- the San Jose Sharks. Something tells me that fantasy owners will get serious returns in 2014-15 on spurned star forwards Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau who were stripped of their leadership roles in the off-season. While the duo will play with something to prove, don't expect huge stats in tonight's game as King's starting goalie Jonathan Quick should be the best player on the ice. A solid sleeper pick to insert in your daily lineups is King's center Tyler Toffoli. The second line could be involved in a few goals if all defensive attention is diverted on the Anze Kopitar/Marian Gaborik unit.

Our summer fantasy lists begin with a few names from the Atlantic Division that should be considered or overlooked when your fantasy leagues start up in September. For actual point predictions and comprehensive fantasy player analysis, make sure to get your hands on our 2014-15 PrimePucks Fantasy Guide available on August 15th. Also, make sure to read our fantasy overviews on each team during our NHL in 30 series coming in September. For now, here is a brief look at what we foresee for the upcoming NHL season: THE ELITE 3 (The top three fantasy players to own in any position) 1. Steven Stamkos C, Tampa Bay   2. Erik Karlsson D, Ottawa 3. Tuukka Rask G, Boston GREAT BET TO REBOUND (Three players who are solid bounce-back candidates in 14-15') 1. Loui Eriksson RW, Boston   2. Tyler Myers D, Buffalo 3. Bobby Ryan RW, Ottawa HERE THEY COME.. (Three players who should be breaking out with career seasons) 1. Gustav Nyquist C, Detroit 2. Kyle Turris C, Ottawa 3. Jonathan Bernier G, Toronto SLEEPER ALERT (Three players who should be late-round fantasy draft bargains) 1. Morgan Reilly D, Toronto   2. Dougie Hamilton D, Boston   3. Tomas Tatar LW, Detroit BUYER BEWARE (Three players who will be overvalued in most fantasy leagues) 1. Zdeno Chara D, Boston 2. Johan Franzen RW, Detroit 3. Dion Phaneuf D, Toronto

Loui Eriksson, RW Boston (Owned in 47.5% of ESPN leagues) His 4-assist performance playing in place of Jarome Iginla on the Bruin's top line should serve notice that he is arguably the most valuable waiver-wire grab of the final week. The B's have nothing to play for, meaning the older veterans such as Iginla and Zdeno Chara will be receiving much needed rest. I suggest all "Iggy" owners pick up Eriksson for good measure and monitor the situation closely until you need to set your starting rosters. The talented forward was a proven NHL scorer for Dallas and he did receive top-line minutes prior to Iginla's arrival, so his insertion should do little to hurt their scoring chemistry. Carl Soderberg, C Boston (Owned in 28.2% of ESPN leagues) The 28-year old rookie has been quite productive on the Bruin's third line, scoring 18 points in the last 21 games. If Coach Claude Julien decides to rest any key forwards, Soderberg will be in the mix for top-six forward minutes, including an expanded role on the power-play. He is well worth a flier and could pay off in a big way. Travis Zajac, C New Jersey  (Owned in 60.9 % of ESPN leagues) With 6 points in his last 4 games, the underrated pivot has elevated his offensive production just in time to get the Devils back in the thick of the playoff race. With Patrik Elias and Adam Henrique out of the lineup, Zajac should continue to lead the offense along with the ageless Jaromir Jagr and push toward playing some meaningful games beyond mid-April. He is well worth a flier with the postseason on the line for the suddenly streaking Devils. Alec Martinez, D Los Angeles ( Owned in 49.9% of ESPN leagues) Speaking of falling under the radar, all the 26-year old defenseman has done is post 15 points in the last 18 games, which represents upper-tier fantasy production in any format. With Drew Doughty injured and the Kings exercising caution with the eye to the playoffs, Martinez should see expanded minutes over the last week, including on the top power-play unit. I can't vouch for his fantasy value beyond this season, but for now he is "money". Ilya Bryzgalov, G Minnesota ( Owned in 28.4% of ESPN leagues) Since being traded to the Minnesota Wild, Bryzgalov has been elite between the pipes with a 5-0-3 record, a 1.87 GAA and a .920 SP. Coming off his 4-0 blanking of Pittsburgh and Darcy Kuemper still ailing, there is a decent chance that the enigmatic goalie will play all four games for this defensive juggernaut during ...

Good morning! Coffee in hand and ready to go! Congrats to the Boston Bruins, who clinched the Eastern Conference title yesterday afternoon! Loui Eriksson has found fortune in the misfortune of Jarome Iginla's injury with 4 points playing on the top line; and he had 7 SOG. T-Rask is a monster of a goalie. Are Varlamov and the Avalanche peaking at the right time? You betcha! Lots of PIMs doled out in the third period of that Colorado-St. Louis match yesterday. Paul Stastny with 7 SOG last too. It took half a game against the NY Islanders for the Capitals to realize their season was hanging in the balance if they didn't wake up, but they did to win in a shootout. Funny to say Holtby played a great game yesterday because he hasn't all season long. Cal Clutterbuck had 7 SOG last night also. What's going on? With last night's 4-2 loss to the Winnipeg Jets, the Toronto Maple Leaf season is over for all intents and purposes. Shame really. The Canadiens got a scare when Detroit stormed back with 3 goals in the 3rd period to tie but the Habs woke up and recovered to win 5-3.  The Red Wings are going to be scary come playoff time. Niklas Kronwall had 7 SOG last night for the Wings. Unbelievable! Jamie Benn didn't have 7 SOG but he did score 2 goals and an assist in beating the Bolts last night. I can't see John Tortorella behind the Vancouver bench come the start of next season. Ottawa always gives the Rangers fits. Always. It was Z-night in the NHL as Zajac, Zubrus (2G), Zibanejad, and Zuccarello (2G) all hit the twine last night. Zidlicky had an assist. New Jersey is fighting hard to make the playoffs. Don't count them out, especially with Schneider in net. Rick Nash had 7 SOG.   That's 5 so far. Patric Hornqvist is on fire! Good luck on the final week of the regular season. You may need a hot cup of coffee to keep you up for the late games.