ADD’EM 1/8/2017 CALL OF THE WILD PENGUINS? Here we are at the midpoint of the season, so it’s all downhill from here.  And we all know what happens when we reach the crest that is the halfway mark?  The season starts to pick up speed as we near the playoffs, with teams fighting harder, playing harder and faster to earn a right to play in the dance come April.  And what players usually pick up their game?  Mostly veterans who have been there before and knows what it takes to get there.  You can sprinkle in a few rookies who may be given the opportunity to play on the same line as the team’s superstar, but chemistry has to be explosive from the start. So who does PrimePucks™ think you should focus on for the upcoming period?  Let’s take a look and see who’s available.  Teams that have played the most games through Saturday, January 7th are the Boston Bruins, Calgary Flames, Chicago Blackhawks, NY Rangers, Vancouver Canucks and Winnipeg Jets with 42.  There are 5 teams with the least amount of games played with 38 and they are Minnesota Wild, Columbus Blue Jackets, Pittsburgh Penguins, Ottawa Senators and the NY Islanders. Taking a look at the 5 teams with the least amount of games played, Pittsburgh (3.5 goals per game) and Columbus (3.42 GPG) have scored the most amount of goals with 133 & 130 respectively.  Minnesota (3.18 GPG) has 121 goals and rounds out the 3 teams who have been very productive in the least amount of games played.  Ottawa is the least productive of the 5 with a 2.47 GPG average. We spoke about Columbus in last week’s article, so let’s look at the Pittsburgh Penguins.  We all know how explosive the Penguins can be and there are a few forwards available.  Conor Sheary, last year’s playoff sensation, is owned by just 33.0% even though he plays on a line with Sid the Kid.  Chris Kunitz is getting up there in age and is only owned by 23.6% and can be that veteran who gets his second wind and gets his motor running with the playoffs coming into view. Defensively, Ian Cole (26.3%) and Trevor Daley (27.2%), although not offensive stalwarts, can provide some intermittent production along with good +/- numbers. Minnesota has a well-rounded scoring offense but there are some pretty good options still available.  Mikael Granlund has been pretty productive of late with 11 points in past 8 games and is owned by just 63.3%.  Looking for a player with more experience, then Mikko Koivu, at 68.6% owned, could be your man.  Jason Pominville is ...

* Superstar Evgeni Malkin returned to the Pittsburgh lineup after missing six games, paying immediate fantasy dividends with two assists. Also back was Patrick Hornqvist, which is great news for his fantasy owners. However, the injury to defenseman Kris Letang after a Shane Doan hit does a take bite out of the Pen's power-play and would have an adverse effect on the team's overall scoring over the last two weeks of the regular season. We will update you with info on Letang's status when we get it.. *To put it mildly, Henrik Lundqvist was rusty upon his return to the Ranger's crease the Boston Bruins beat him four times in the 4-2 win. With the B's really needing the W to stay in the playoff hunt, "King Henrik" was in a tough spot after the long layoff but Cam Talbot will be in net Sunday afternoon against Washington. With his starting days numbered for the rest of this campaign, I would expect a great start from Talbot as he looks to go out with a bang.. *Goalie Devan Dubnyk continues to be the NHL's top fantasy surprise of the year, prevailing once again as the Minnesota Wild down the Los Angeles Kings 4-1. Thats 35 straight starts and counting for the breakout net minder who has registered 26 wins during this prolific stretch. Mikko Koivu collected two goals and an assist, giving him six points over the last five games. Give him serious starting consideration for the upcoming week.. *There was a Toronto revival at least for one night, as Toronto's top line of Tyler Bozak-Phil Kessel-James van Riemsdyk dominated the stat sheet with a combined 10 points. The trio were fantasy duds for much of the season, but maybe, just maybe, this super effort perks them up for the last few games.. *Huge shutout effort by Detroit's Petr Mrazek in the 4-0 win over the Lightning, temporarily delaying their late-season slide but is a change in goal in order for the Wings? With Jimmy Howard struggling mightily, you can expect Mrazek to be starting on Sunday against the Isles. If he wins again, he might be worth starting next week as the Wings should ride the "hot" hand... *Frederik Andersen has taken the Anaheim starting job back from young John Gibson, turning aside 29 saves for his second straight win over tough Eastern conference opponents on the road. Having said that, one bad effort and coach Boudreau can easily turn back to Gibson as his playoff guy, so the Duck's goalie situation is far from settled.. *Tyler Seguin finished with a goal and an assist in the Dallas 4-...

* Superstar Evgeni Malkin returned to the Pittsburgh lineup after missing six games, paying immediate fantasy dividends with two assists. Also back was Patrick Hornqvist, which is great news for his fantasy owners. However, the injury to defenseman Kris Letang after a Shane Doan hit does a take bite out of the Pen's power-play and would have an adverse effect on the team's overall scoring over the last two weeks of the regular season. We will update you with info on Letang's status when we get it.. *To put it mildly, Henrik Lundqvist was rusty upon his return to the Ranger's crease the Boston Bruins beat him four times in the 4-2 win. With the B's really needing the W to stay in the playoff hunt, "King Henrik" was in a tough spot after the long layoff but Cam Talbot will be in net Sunday afternoon against Washington. With his starting days numbered for the rest of this campaign, I would expect a great start from Talbot as he looks to go out with a bang.. *Goalie Devan Dubnyk continues to be the NHL's top fantasy surprise of the year, prevailing once again as the Minnesota Wild down the Los Angeles Kings 4-1. Thats 35 straight starts and counting for the breakout net minder who has registered 26 wins during this prolific stretch. Mikko Koivu collected two goals and an assist, giving him six points over the last five games. Give him serious starting consideration for the upcoming week.. *There was a Toronto revival at least for one night, as Toronto's top line of Tyler Bozak-Phil Kessel-James van Riemsdyk dominated the stat sheet with a combined 10 points. The trio were fantasy duds for much of the season, but maybe, just maybe, this super effort perks them up for the last few games.. *Huge shutout effort by Detroit's Petr Mrazek in the 4-0 win over the Lightning, temporarily delaying their late-season slide but is a change in goal in order for the Wings? With Jimmy Howard struggling mightily, you can expect Mrazek to be starting on Sunday against the Isles. If he wins again, he might be worth starting next week as the Wings should ride the "hot" hand... *Frederik Andersen has taken the Anaheim starting job back from young John Gibson, turning aside 29 saves for his second straight win over tough Eastern conference opponents on the road. Having said that, one bad effort and coach Boudreau can easily turn back to Gibson as his playoff guy, so the Duck's goalie situation is far from settled.. *Tyler Seguin finished with a goal and an assist in the Dallas 4-...

Winnipeg sleeper alert; Ottawa goalie makes good in first start; Carter and Toffoli keep rolling; and more.. Quick thoughts on Mathieu Perreault's long-term injury- A huge blow to the Winnipeg Jets given his offensive production over the last two months and his power-play work. However, you can't help to think that his injury might have opened the door for Drew Stafford to be a key contributor in their top-six and possibly on the top power-play. I have owned the enigmatic winger in many leagues and his ability to get streaky is second to none. If you are in desperate need of forward help, keep tight tabs on Stafford... Ottawa’s Bobby Ryan was held off the score sheet in the 4-2 win over Montreal but expect Ryan to get right back on track in the next contest against Florida on Saturday….What was really impressive was rookie goaltender Andrew Hammond in just his 3rd NHL game and fist NHL start defeated the Montreal Canadiens.  That’s something he can brag to his kids about….Mark Stone, an UNDER THE RAYDAR feature in January had a goal and 2 assists and is having a fine rookie season with 14 goals and 22 assists.  A good candidate for keeper leagues…. It was what you would expect from a Detroit-Chicago matchup this late in the season as the Red Wings toughed out a 3-2 win in a shootout.  You need to watch the moves both Gustav Nyquist and Tomas Tatar made in the shootout.  Makes you wonder what a Stanley Cup Finals matchup between these two teams…. Mikko Koivu played hero for the Wild with his overtime tally to seal the 3-2 win in Calgary. His four points in his last four games has him again on the cusp of fantasy relevance but his overall offensive output has fallen short of expectations. Speaking of overachiever, Devan Dubnyk continues to summon his inner Patrick Roy and stonewall every opponent as he saved 35 of 37 shots. His stellar play since being traded to Minny is the single most reason why the Wild are in playoff contention and also a huge late-season boost for many fantasy owners.. Amidst one of his famous hot streaks, Jeff Carter scored two goals to lead the Kings to their six straight victory in Colorado. Another forward you should target in your leagues is Tyler Toffoli who also picked up two points and has registered 11 points in his last 10 games. If available, grab him ASAP as his partnership with JC is flourishing at the moment and carrying the King's offense.. I feel way more comfortable as a Ben Bishop owner, given how well he played in ...

Congrats to New York Islander’s goalie Jaroslav Halak who earned his 30th win on the season, as he continues on a career year….Halak was helped by rookie Anders Lee who scored twice to up his goal total to 18 on the season.  No too shabby.  Lee may be worth a shot as a sixth forward on your fantasy squad…. The return of John Gibson to the Anaheim crease went as well as could be expected as he turned aside 35 of 36 SOG for the 2-1 win over Carolina.  Anaheim is blessed with fantastic goaltending for years to come… The Edmonton Oilers have been playing much better of late but of course their season ended around the holidays so they can play a lot looser now.  Jordan Eberle has come alive and has points in 3 straight games and 8 points in past 6 games….Interesting to see that Oiler defenseman Oscar Klefbom has 5 points in the last 6 games and 8 in last 10.  Klefbom is not really noted for his offensive prowess.  Maybe Justin Schultz can take a few pointers…. Pittsburgh was cruising to what seemed like an easy victory being up 3-0 going into the 3rd period but then Ottawa fought back with 4 goals sending the game into overtime and eventually being decided in the shootout….Bobby Ryan returned after missing a game and notched two assists in the loss.  Ryan is heating up as that was his 5th 2-point game in last 8. I was a bit surprised that St. Louis was able to handle the Tampa Bay Lightning so easily, winning by a score of 6-3.  The game was never really close….Alex Steen is probably the hottest player in the NHL right now as he had 3 points in the win giving him 8 points in 7 February games and 25 points since the beginning of 2015…. Tyler Myer's debut for Winnipeg went something like this: 21.23 minutes played, a -1 rating, and a painful stinger after blocking a Shea Weber slapper. Given how fragile he has been, would you be shocked if he missed the next game?...Just in case you haven't noticed, Nashville rookie Filip Forsberg is darn good. No hitting the wall here.. Another win for Minnesota Wild goalie Devan Dubnyk who stopped 26 of 27 Florida shots for his 9th win in 11 starts for his latest team. Way better than his Arizona days and light years ahead of his Edmonton beginnings. His fantasy stock just keeps improving exponentially..Mikko Koivu is heating up. Two more assists for seven points in his last five contests.. A few multi-point efforts for the Blueshirts, most notably Rick Nash and Ryan McDonagh, in their 6-3 road win over Colorado but I am all...

The Philadelphia Flyers are just in a bad state right now as they lost for the 8th time in their last 9 games, losing again to the New York Rangers in the back end of a home-and-home series. The Story for the Rangers offense was their depth as Derick Brassard scored twice and Jesper Fast and J.T. Miller potted their first of the season with Fast's being his first NHL goal with both adding assists as well. I wouldn't be surprised if Philadelphia didn't make some sort of move like replacing Craig Berube behind the bench or pulling off a big trade to shake things up..... For those lucky enough to draft Tyler Bozak, you have been rewarded with the best start to a season in his career. With 22 points in 23 games this season, Bozak is on pace to obliterate his season high of 49 points last year, and that was in 58 games.  Playing alongside Phil Kessel (2A) doesn't hurt. James van Riemsdyk (2A), who after a somewhat slow start to the season, now has 13 points in 13 November games. All three should be in your starting lineups... Don't look now but the Buffalo Sabres are thundering back into legitimacy as they won for the 5th time in the past 6 games with a 4-3 shootout win over the Montreal Canadiens, who lost both ends of the home-and-home series. Jhonas Enroth was the story as he stopped 41 of 44 for his 4th win in past 5 starts. The Sabres now will face Tampa Bay in a home-and-home series this week so the schedule doesn't lighten up.... Speaking of Tampa, G Ben Bishop raised his record to 14-3-2 with a 4-1 win over the Ottawa Senators, where he had played briefly in 2012-13, to keep him apace with the league leaders. Bishop has developed into a go-to guy in fantasy circles playing with the Bolts..... Jaroslav Halak has won for the ninth straight time defeating the New Jersey Devils 3-1, making Halak a must-start in fantasy circles as the Islanders are for real this season. When you have a superstar like John Tavares leading the way, and back that up with some steady goaltending, you know you have a chance every night.... It's time to take notice of Calgary's Jiri Hudler, carried the offense with a goal and two assists in their 3-0 win in Arizona. The 30-year old extended his point streak to four games and has been basically a point-per game producer with 23 points in 24 games. Coming off a 54-point effort in his second year with Calgary, Hudler has become the veteran centerpiece of a young but talented forward corps, so give him a look. His 50.5 % ownership ...

it's nice to finally talk about how players are performing in games, but keep mind in that statistics in exhibition contests are entirely misleaading. As a fantasy owner, you are paying attention to possible line combinations and power-play units that are clicking during the pre-season. A few notable performances to mention during the first night of live game action: Justin Schultz scored a goal and an assist for Edmonton in the 3-1 intra-squad victory over Calgary. Here is a rising defenseman who should easily build on his mini-breakout season of 33 points. With the Oiler's young guns poised to take a big step forward, Schultz will move into the top 15-20 tier of fantasy defensemen. Love his upside.. Vladimir Tarasenko is also one to watch for St. Louis, collecting a goal and an assist. Even on a balanced offense where coach Hitchcock evenly rolls out three lines, the young stud winger is easily the most talented and can make a run at 50-55 points... Keep your eye on Columbus RW Cam Atkinson (2 goals), as he should play big minutes while Nathan Horton recovers from injury. And even if he does, the oft-injured winger should miss enough games to allow Atkinson to be the top RWer for an extended period of time. Ryan Johansen gets all the love, but Atkinson is a pure goal scorer. He will bust out soon. Solid late-pick. -Bobby Ryan apparently got his "bell rung" after colliding with Kyle Turris during an Ottawa practice. Speaking to reporters after the incident, Ryan appeared to be ok and is listed as 'day-to-day' and will likely miss their exhibition opener.. Jonathan Drouin missed another scrimmage for Tampa Bay due to an upper body injury. Coach Cooper stated that the youngster should be ready to go for their exhibition games. The Lightning start Tuesday night against Nashville.. Christian Ehrhoff has been paired with Paul Martin during Pittsburgh's first few days of camp. The former Buffalo rearguard should be highly regarded in fantasy as a return to his 40-point days are coming.. Minnesota coach Mike Yeo has been pleased with the Thomas Vanek-Mikko Koivu pairing so far. The Wild are loaded at left wing, as Zach Parise should be primed for another big year. In terms of fantasy worth, regardless of where these two wingers line up, both figure to get time on the primary power-play unit.

Don't look now, but veteran center Mikko Koivu has been a fantasy difference-maker once again with his recent scoring explosion. Reunited with winger Zach Parise on the primary line, the diminutive Finn is currently riding a six-game point streak (2G/7A) highlighted by last's night crucial game-winning goal and also an assist in the 3-2 road win over the Los Angeles Kings. The emergence of young center Mikael Granlund coupled with Koivu's injury issues resulted in him being dropped to the second line with Matt Moulson, drastically lessening his fantasy value. However, Koivu seems to be back in stellar form and Coach Mike Yeo has him back with "Zach". You know what that means? Start him with confidence as the Wild seem destined for the playoffs and the top line should continue rolling. Much-maligned goalie Ilya Bryzgalov back-stopped the Wild to another huge victory last night, running his record with Minnesota to 3-0-2 with a .910 SP and a 2.19 GAA. If you need goalie help, look no further than "Bryz", considering that he is the most viable goaltending option on a probable playoff team. The Wild will need to ride him in the playoffs in wake of Darcy Kuemper's late season collapse. Bryzgalov should see plenty of starts in order to get him ready for the postseason. Marian Gaborik is definitely trending up these days. With another assist, the King's streaky winger is currently on a four-game point streak(1G/4A) and enjoying life playing with the underrated Anze Kopitar. This duo needs to keep building up scoring chemistry for their playoff run, so Gaborik looks to be a strong fantasy start for the remainder of the season. What happened to perennial second-half "fantasy beast" Eric Staal? With Carolina out of playoff contention, the normally reliable center has been a fantasy disappointment to say the least, collecting only 56 points in 72 games. I would be wary of starting him the rest of the way. I would be remiss if I didn't mention the scoring exploits of Travis Zajac (3G/1A) and Jaromir Jagr(1G/3A) as the Devil's duo combined for 8 points against the woeful Florida Panthers. Both would be legit fantasy options if the Devils had a realistic shot of making the playoffs, but obviously that is not the case. SPECIAL NOTE: IN STEVE'S DEFENSE WILL BE FEATURED ON THURSDAY THIS WEEK, FOCUSING ON THE TOP TEN FANTASY DEFENSEMEN OVER THE LAST 15 DAYS.

Don't look now, but veteran center Mikko Koivu has been a fantasy difference-maker once again with his recent scoring explosion. Reunited with winger Zach Parise on the primary line, the diminutive Finn is currently riding a six-game point streak (2G/7A) highlighted by last's night crucial game-winning goal and also an assist in the 3-2 road win over the Los Angeles Kings. The emergence of young center Mikael Granlund coupled with Koivu's injury issues resulted in him being dropped to the second line with Matt Moulson, drastically lessening his fantasy value. However, Koivu seems to be back in stellar form and Coach Mike Yeo has him back with "Zach". You know what that means? Start him with confidence as the Wild seem destined for the playoffs and the top line should continue rolling. Much-maligned goalie Ilya Bryzgalov back-stopped the Wild to another huge victory last night, running his record with Minnesota to 3-0-2 with a .910 SP and a 2.19 GAA. If you need goalie help, look no further than "Bryz", considering that he is the most viable goaltending option on a probable playoff team. The Wild will need to ride him in the playoffs in wake of Darcy Kuemper's late season collapse. Bryzgalov should see plenty of starts in order to get him ready for the postseason. Marian Gaborik is definitely trending up these days. With another assist, the King's streaky winger is currently on a four-game point streak(1G/4A) and enjoying life playing with the underrated Anze Kopitar. This duo needs to keep building up scoring chemistry for their playoff run, so Gaborik looks to be a strong fantasy start for the remainder of the season. What happened to perennial second-half "fantasy beast" Eric Staal? With Carolina out of playoff contention, the normally reliable center has been a fantasy disappointment to say the least, collecting only 56 points in 72 games. I would be wary of starting him the rest of the way. I would be remiss if I didn't mention the scoring exploits of Travis Zajac (3G/1A) and Jaromir Jagr(1G/3A) as the Devil's duo combined for 8 points against the woeful Florida Panthers. Both would be legit fantasy options if the Devils had a realistic shot of making the playoffs, but obviously that is not the case. SPECIAL NOTE: IN STEVE'S DEFENSE WILL BE FEATURED ON THURSDAY THIS WEEK, FOCUSING ON THE TOP TEN FANTASY DEFENSEMEN OVER THE LAST 15 DAYS.

HEARING THIS IS OFFICIAL The long awaited re-trade of LWer Matt Moulson has taken place with a move to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for a couple of draft picks and a swap of other players. Moulson goes to a team with much more firepower in their lineup and will probably slot on a line with Mikko Koivu. What an uptick!  Moulson enjoyed his best seasons playing alongside the NY Islanders' John Tavares, so being traded to Buffalo was almost the equivalent of being cast off to Siberia in this year's NHL. However, Moulson has to be jacked to play alongside Koivu, who is one of the premier dishers in the league. Can you imagine the production you can get out of Moulson over the last 20 games playing on a power play unit that includes both Koivu and ZachParise? Not to mention D Ryan Suter? Overall, he will be surrounded by better talent.  Huge upside for new Wild winger!