Got a cup filled to the brim and piping hot..... For as far back as I can remember, the Tampa Bay Lightning always had the Philadelphia Flyers number. The Bolts won yesterday afternoon 6-3. Claude Giroux has made it into the top 20 in NHL scoring. He'll definitely finish in top 10.  And he had such a sloooooooow start. Voracek is continuing his steady pace of hotness. Andrej Meszaros has arisen from the dead! Anaheim is continuing to amaze me. First overall in the NHL. Tomas Plekanec had 11 SOG last night. Patrick Kane has only 1 assist in past 6 games. Hmmmmmmmmm.  But he had 23 points in 14 December games so I wouldn't be worried. A lot of 2-1 games and low-scoring games on Saturday. Marek Zidlicky is having a nice rebound season for the Devils. In fact, the last time Zids hit the 40-point mark was the year of the last Winter Olympics in 2009-2010 with 43 for the Minnesota Wild.  I wonder if he is turning into an every-4-year fantasy player. Tim Thomas has been playing lights out since his return from injury. Craig Anderson and the Ottawa Senators are playing like they mean it now.   They are 6-2-2 in last 10 and Anderson has earned the win in all 6 of those. May be too late to grab any of these 3 goaltenders who were struggling until just a few games ago; Anderson, Lundqvist, and Howard. T-Rask with a brilliant 1-0 shutout of the San Jose. Jimmy Howard with a 3-1 victory over the LA Kings. Is the Eastern Conference turning the tide form the early season domination from the Western Conference? Eastern Conf was 6-0 against Western Conf yesterday. I think Ryan Ellis will explode one day. He has so much offensive talent.  Maybe he needs to go elsewhere like Cody Franson did a few years back. Columbus is 7-3-0 and in the hunt for a playoff spot people. Heed the warning Eastern Conf. Something big is going to happen in Winnipeg soon methinks. Will J-S Giguere get back in the net for Colorado soon after his 4 straight losses? Paul Stastny was having such a good season. Let's hope his injury isn't too serious. Minnesota almost had their third hat trick of the week with Charlie Coyle getting 2 within seconds of one another. He would have joined Justin Fontaine and Ryan Suter with a hattie. This Anaheim team is like a true duck. They paddle hard underneath but you don't see the effort.  Flawless. Mathieu Perreault has 6 points in past 3 games. Could this be the start of a breakout?  He has the talent. Colonel Klinkhammer was held off the board yesterday. The ...

Ten games in the NHL yesterday. Tampa Bay and the Flyers kicked things off as the Lightning beat Philadelphia 6-3.  Valtteri Filppula had a goal and an assist for Tampa. He now has 18 goals and 36 points on the season.  His name is hard to spell, and he is a waiver wire type player.  Flyer goaltender Steve Mason had a night to forget as he allowed 5 goals on only 17 shots. Sometimes you have games like that.  He is still having a good year with 18 wins.  Jakub Voracek had 2 goals for the Flyers, and while he has only 32 points on the season, he has been hot lately with 5 points in his last 4 games...Montreal beat Chicago 2-1 in OT as veteran defenseman Andre Markov scored both goals for the Canadians. Markov has been overshadowed by fellow defenseman P K Subban, but he can still bring it with 24 points on the season... New Jersey beat Florida in OT as well as defenseman Marek Zidlicky scored the game winner. Like Markov, Zidlicky is an old veteran who can still rack up points.  He has 24 on the year.  Devils forward Michael Ryder scored the other goal. He has scored a goal in 4 straight games, and he has 7 points in his last 7 games.   He once scored 62 points for Dallas.  Grab him while he's hot....Ottawa beat Nashville 2-1 in a shootout, as Senators goalie Craig Anderson was outstanding with 32 saves.  After a brutal start to the season, Anderson has been steadily improving, and he now has 15 wins on the year.  Ottawa's Kyle Turris scored a goal, and with 34 points on the season he is worth a look as a 6th forward option. At 24 years old he can still get better...Columbus pounded Winnipeg 6-3.  Bryan Little had a goal and an assist for the Blue Jackets. Little is a lot like Turris, just on the edge of being fantasy worthy...  Colorado beat the Wild 4-2 as young forward Ryan O'Reilly had 2 goals for the Avalanche. We like O'Reilly, but with only 30 points on the season we can't recommend him yet.  He is only 22 years old.  He has 70 point potential in a year or two.  Paul Stastny left the game with an injury...Anaheim continued its winning ways with a 5-3 win over Phoenix. Ryan Getzlaf left the game with a LBI. Mathieu Perreault had 3 assists for the Ducks, and while he has only 25 points on the season, he has been hot lately with 6 points in his last 3 games. Radim Vrbata had 3 assists for Phoenix. Vrbata is another one of those marginal 6th forwards...In a tight close checking game Pittsburgh beat Calgary 2-1 as Penguin forward Chris Kunitz scored a ...

Although he had a fairly easy night against an anemic Calgary offensive attack, Ben Bishop posted a 19-save shutout in the Lightning's 2-0 road win over the Flames. His omission from the United States Olympic squad is quite glaring, considering his staggering numbers of 22-5-3, 1.83 GAA and a .936 SP are among the best in the NHL. Bishop fantasy owners have hit the "jackpot" with this mid-late round pick in most fantasy drafts, but this gift will continue giving as Tampa Bay superstar Steven Stamkos is on the verge of returning to the line-up. Given probable more goal support in the second half and the motivation of being snubbed by Team USA, there is no reason to suggest that Bishop will not remain an elite fantasy goalie option for the rest of the season.Despite the absence of Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang, the Pittsburgh Penguins keep rolling on offense with a 5-2 beat-down on the New York Rangers. All eyes have been on Sidney Crosby (1G/2A) and James Neal (1A), but their quiet star by association Chris Kunitz keeps putting up elite fantasy numbers. With 2 goals and 1 assist, the underrated winger has collected 46 points in 43 games, good for fourth in the NHL. Not a sexy name by any means in fantasy circles, Kunitz have followed up his marvelous 52-point performance in '12-13 with another big year so far. As long as the top-line forward continues to get primary power-play time, he will keep producing at a high level. The perpetual injury bug that has been hampering the Pen's skaters has also lend a hand in keeping Kunitz high up the "food chain" in Pittsburgh. Keep riding him!If you are a Patrick Sharp fantasy owner, you can be a little thankful that Team Canada has yet to announce it's Olympic roster. The high-scoring winger was initially thought to have just an outside chance of making the team, but his recent stretch of incredible scoring and undeniable chemistry with Chicago captain Jonathan Toews is making him hard to ignore. You can bet your bottom dollar that his recent scoring surge, where he has scored 2 "hat tricks" and 9 overall points in the last five games, is at least partially a result of Sharp proving that he belongs in the Sochi games. Unfortunately, it doesn't always work out as two streaking USA forwards, Bobby Ryan and Kyle Okposo, were snubbed despite great numbers. Big advantage for Sharp- TOEWS. Enough said. Keep scoring Patrick!Devil's defenseman Marek Zidlicky has been on a point binge lately, scoring two goals last night ...

Don't look now, but the New Jersey Devils just may be finding their offense. With 18 goals in the last 5 games, the Jersey goalies are finally getting some support.  Martin Brodeur, coming off a shutout, was the beneficiary of a 5-goal outburst from the Devils in their 5-2 win over the Ottawa Senators. Rookie defenseman Eric Gelinas shows no sign of slowing as he scored a goal and added an assist in the contest. Gelinas now has 15 points in 26 games matching Marek Zidlicky's output and just 1 behind Andy Greene among Devil defensemen. If the Devils offense is picking up, Gelinas just may be the one you should be picking up as well....Patrik Elias (22 pts. in 27 games) with 2 assists and Jaromir Jagr (29 pts. in 35 games) with his 12th, this one on the PP, are proving that they can still contribute at a decent clip even at their age. They are definitely the leaders on offense for the Devils and are good bottom tier forwards for your fantasy team.....Ottawa goalie Robin Lehner keeps coming up short in his bid to take over the starting job for the Senators. Giving up 5 against the Devils did not help his cause.  The Senators are waiting for either Craig Anderson to regain his form or Lehner to establish himself as the undisputed No. 1. The waiting continues. More Fantasy Game Notes: The New York Rangers have been looking for someone to step up and have a big game for them on this 9-game home stand; a home stand in which they have only won once in 6 games so far and that was against the Calgary Flames in a shootout. Everyone was expecting Henrik Lundqvist to rise to the occasion especially after signing a 7-year contract extension but he is still floundering trying to find his ‘A' game. So here they were last night against the Mighty Pittsburgh Penguins who were without the services of top stars Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and James Neal. They were staring another loss in the face being down 3-1 late in the third when they got the unlikeliest of heroes, well somewhat of a hero, in Mats Zuccarello. Mats scored with a little over 7 minutes left in the contest to bring the Blueshirts within 1 and then assisted on the tying power play goal by Derick Brassard with just under 2 minutes left. The Rangers couldn't put anything past Marc-Andre Fleury in the shootout but the Rangers gained a much valuable point. Zuccarello now has 8 points in 8 December games.  If you need a Ranger on your fantasy roster, He may be the one to have with 23 points in 34 games (9 on ...

Don't look now, but the New Jersey Devils just may be finding their offense. With 18 goals in the last 5 games, the Jersey goalies are finally getting some support.  Martin Brodeur, coming off a shutout, was the beneficiary of a 5-goal outburst from the Devils in their 5-2 win over the Ottawa Senators. Rookie defenseman Eric Gelinas shows no sign of slowing as he scored a goal and added an assist in the contest. Gelinas now has 15 points in 26 games matching Marek Zidlicky's output and just 1 behind Andy Greene among Devil defensemen. If the Devils offense is picking up, Gelinas just may be the one you should be picking up as well....Patrik Elias (22 pts. in 27 games) with 2 assists and Jaromir Jagr (29 pts. in 35 games) with his 12th, this one on the PP, are proving that they can still contribute at a decent clip even at their age. They are definitely the leaders on offense for the Devils and are good bottom tier forwards for your fantasy team.....Ottawa goalie Robin Lehner keeps coming up short in his bid to take over the starting job for the Senators. Giving up 5 against the Devils did not help his cause.  The Senators are waiting for either Craig Anderson to regain his form or Lehner to establish himself as the undisputed No. 1. The waiting continues. More Fantasy Game Notes: The New York Rangers have been looking for someone to step up and have a big game for them on this 9-game home stand; a home stand in which they have only won once in 6 games so far and that was against the Calgary Flames in a shootout. Everyone was expecting Henrik Lundqvist to rise to the occasion especially after signing a 7-year contract extension but he is still floundering trying to find his ‘A' game. So here they were last night against the Mighty Pittsburgh Penguins who were without the services of top stars Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and James Neal. They were staring another loss in the face being down 3-1 late in the third when they got the unlikeliest of heroes, well somewhat of a hero, in Mats Zuccarello. Mats scored with a little over 7 minutes left in the contest to bring the Blueshirts within 1 and then assisted on the tying power play goal by Derick Brassard with just under 2 minutes left. The Rangers couldn't put anything past Marc-Andre Fleury in the shootout but the Rangers gained a much valuable point. Zuccarello now has 8 points in 8 December games.  If you need a Ranger on your fantasy roster, He may be the one to have with 23 points in 34 games (9 on ...

Since we are amidst our annual year-ending holiday season, I felt it to be appropriate to "toast" a handful of defensemen who deserve special recognition as studs or duds on our fantasy teams. I would love to write about 20 or so guys, but I will keep the list tight and concise. Enjoy! CHEERS: Duncan Keith Let's start with the unbelievable season that the Chicago defender is having by leading the entire NHL with points (32). While Erik Karlsson will still be the odds-on favorite to win the d-man scoring crown, Keith has re-emerged among the elite fantasy ranks and should be able to get close to his career-high of 69 points. JEERS: Mike Green Despite the Washington Capitals leading the NHL with 32 power-play goals and ranking seventh in overall scoring, the normally prolific blueliner sits with just 16 points in 31 games. This pro-rates his offensive production to near the 40-point mark over an 82-game season. Fantasy owners deserve more, but Green is probably playing through injuries. CHEERS: Jason Garrison After failing miserably to live up to his huge contract signing last season, the Vancouver defenseman has lit up the scoreboard with 22 points in 36 games in '13-14. With Alex Edler having a "down" season, Garrison has become a border-line elite fantasy option while quarterbacking the top power-play unit for the Canucks. Playing with the Sedins does have it's perks. JEERS: Lubomir Visnovsky Not entirely his fault, the former 68-point producer had high hopes of putting big numbers with the John Tavares-led New York Islanders, but he has been sidelined with a concussion since the eighth game of the season. Fantasy owners banking on "Lubo" as an elite fantasy defender will have to look elsewhere, as he is not close to returning to live game action. Just imagine how much better Tavares' numbers would have been if Visnovsky was healthy and igniting their anemic power-play attack? Plenty of fantasy owners hurt with this one. CHEERS: Eric Gelinas The 22-year old has emerged from total obscurity to become a key offensive cog on the back-end for New Jersey. With 4 points in the last 5 games, the hulking defender has amassed 15 points in 26 games. Veteran Marek Zidlicky has become an afterthought, as the real fantasy prize on the Devil's "D" is Gelinas. JEERS: Tobias Enstrom With 10 points in 36 games, the two-time 50-point producer has played plenty of minutes for Winnipeg, but little offense to show for it. It's hard to score just 2 points in the last 20 ...

Zidlicky was scratched on Saturday vs. New York, but will be in the lineup tonight in Columbus. Peter Harrold did not make the trip to Ohio so Zidlicky will draw in for him and pair with Anton Volchenkov. He has three goals and 11 assists in 30 games.

When considering which fantasy defensemen are worth owning, "going young" seems to be the way to go when you look at the overall production of the top-twenty blueliners in the NHL. 7 of them are below the age of 25, while 9 players between the ages of 26-30 represent the majority of the group. The "Over-Thirty Club" has a few members in the top 20, starting with Marek Zidlicky (12th with 11 points), Derek Morris tied for 14th with 10 points along with Andrei Markov and Niklas Kronwall. Brian Campbell, Florida's 34-year old blueliner, is just on the outside looking in with nine points (2G/7A). However on the apparent fantasy decline after the age of thirty, Kimmo Timonen has floundered badly for the Flyers- 1 assist in 16 games- even after scoring 29 points in 45 games last season. That seems to be the biggest issue in hitting the fantasy "jackpot" with the older guys in the later rounds- one great year doesn't guarantee the next, as the scoring consistency fades with age. Zidlicky is a perfect example of the inconsistencies with the "over-thirty" defensemen that make it tough for fantasy owners to accurately project their scoring production. In his first six full seasons, the Czech defender collected over 40 points five times and over 50 once. All of sudden, his point totals diminished drastically after the '10-11 season, when a few injuries started taking their toll. Zidlicky has been a mere shell of his former self, accounting for a combined 63 points over the last 3 years. Most fantasy owners had given up on him for this season, especially given the fact that Ilya Kovalchuk had bolted for the KHL. So far, Zidlicky has turned back the clock with a quick start to the campaign with 11 points in 17 games. Many insiders have speculated that because of the absence of Kovalchuk on the point, the power-play offense now flows through Zidlicky, who seems to excel when he is prime facilitator with the man-advantage. No matter what, the constant grind in the plus-30 years make it difficult for the above-mentioned players to remain elite fantasy options every year, but they have the ability and the drive to put together a "dream" season, even when the signs of decline are clear and near. The best way to handle players like Zidlicky who have bounced back after hitting rock-bottom, is to repeatedly remind all of your fellow fantasy owners of their past greatness, and "sell high" when you have a chance to maximize on what could be risky value the rest of the way. ...

I have my coffee and ready to roll. What happened to Joey Crabb? Where did he go? A wild shootout in the desert yesterday afternoon.  I didn't know the Coyotes had it in them.  Oilers, yes.  Coyotes, no. RNH has rebounded nicely after last year's lost season. Rob Klinkhammer is more of a wrestling name than a hockey name. It's shame he didn't score in that Edmonton/Phoenix game. That's three games in a row with 6 SOG for David Perron. What a devil! Speaking of the devil, New Jersey pulled an unlikely upset of the Boston Bruins last night. Or was it old-timers day as Jarome Iginla (G, 2A), Jaromir Jagr (2A), Marek Zidlicky (G) & Martin Brodeur (W) all were prominent figures in the game. Give them the day off today, pleeease! Big shutdown night as Crosby and Ovechkin were both held without a point with Stamkos & Malkin only 1 assist each. That Phil Kessel is something else. Logan Couture is heating up for what should be a career year. Antti Niemi and Tuukka Rask will surely battle until the very last day for top goaltender honors, barring injury of course. Carey Price was terrific in net again last night, but his team couldn't gain any momentum in the game. Once Pacioretty returns, Price will get on a winning streak if he continues to play this way. Jimmy Howard has been struggling since his return from injury. He's lost 4 in a row.  Try to grab him on the cheap. There are only 8 teams with a record under .500 in the NHL. Johan Franzen had 7 SOG in the game against the Rangers; showing that he's not so stubborn to shoot the puck after two straight games with none. Top shooter on the Rangers? Anton Stralman. Yikes. Patrick Roy has done an amazing job in Colorado so far. Let's see how long this lasts. The Sabres just can't score. Perhaps they need to change coaches again. Poor Thomas Vanek. The Philadelphia Flyers are turning it around and Steve Mason is finally getting the wins that he deserves.   It helps that everyone is back in the lineup too. These young Islanders are looking good so far this year: Kyle Okposo and Frans Nielsen. You know besides JT & Matt Moulson. Nielsen is tied for third in league scoring.  Just thought you'd like to know that. I think Lecavalier likes playing in Philly. What do you think? Standings are finally forming into what they should be except I have to do a double take each time I see the Avalanche at the top of the Central. I definitely did not expect to see a 2-1 Shootout game in the Winnipeg/Dallas game. There are too ...

As the NHL season approaches the 10-game mark, many defenseman are off and running in the scoring department; some very familiar and some not so much. As we glance at the top of the rankings, fantasy owners need to realize who is the "real deal" and who is a just a "flash in the pan" in assessing their future fantasy values for the remainder of the season.      PK Subban has picked up where he left off as the Norris Trophy winner last season, collecting 10 pts in 8 games. He has clearly passed Andrei Markov as Montreal's primary fantasy option on defense....Despite all the talk of weight issues and lack of dedication to his overall game, Winnipeg's Dustin Byfuglien is off a solid start with 7 points in 9 games and looks poised to challenge the 60-point mark. Don't forget about his partner Tobias Enstrom, who always has flown under the fantasy radar but barring injuries, should be a lock for 50-point prioduction....Alex Pietrangelo also has the look of a potential top-five fantasy d-man this season, bouncing back with 6 pts in 7 games. His first of many 50+ seasons is coming, so treat him as a legit no. 1 fantasy option....It's important to remind us all that Kris Letang would certainly be among the scoring leaders if not for his injury. How do I know for sure? Matt Niskanen, who replaced Letang on the Pen's power play, is in the top ten with 6 points. Enough said... Oh yeah, Erik Karlsson is coming on strong too with 4 points in the last five games. Ottawa's franchise player will be one of the elite scoring blueliners by season's end.      While many fantasy owners passed over Marek Zidlicky partially because of New Jersey's anemic offense and his waning production in recent years, the veteran has stepped up in the exodus of Ilya Kovalchuk to provide more stability on their power play. He is just a few years removed from three straight seasons of 40+ points. A proven track record makes him a safer bet than most to post good numbers....Another forgotten defenseman was new Calgary captain Mark Giordano, who has exploded out of the gate with 9 pts in 7 games. Apparently, he has re-dedicated himself to staying healthy and he had been rewarded with top power play minutes. He was on the rise a few years ago with a 43-point season, but injuries and lack of pp time hurt his production. Not anymore, but can he keep it up? I say that 40 points is likely, but a spot in the top ten?.. Probably not. By the end of the year, Dennis Wideman and T.J Brodie will get ...