SMC 12-20-2015 A good hot cup of coffee to get the sleep out of one’s eyes and the chill out of the air! Colonel Klinkhammer made a cameo then went to the infirmary.  I appreciate the effort mein commandant! Jonathan Bernier making it a statement game against the LA Kings with a 5-0 shutout.  It will be interesting to see when James Reimer gets back in action. Sabres played the Blackhawks tough going to a shootout before losing 3-2.  It seems like the Hawks should never lose with the way Patrick Kane is going this season. The Calgary Flames have been playing great of late by winning 7 in a row before losing to the St. Louis blues 3-2 on Saturday.  They beat some good teams in that streak too. In case you haven’t noticed, Vladimir Tarasenko has woken up something fierce with 9 points in 5 games.  He has a 5-game goal-scoring streak! The Rangers were good to get off to a solid start to begin the season because they have looked like garbage the past 12 games or so. Over the last 10 games the Rangers aren’t the worst NHL team at 3-5-2.  The Montreal Canadiens are a bit worse at 2-7-1 but they aren’t playing with Carey Price in net where the Rangers have Henrik Lundqvist playing. I know the Anaheim Ducks are in last place in the entire Western Conference, but did you know that they are only 3 points behind 3rd place in the Pacific Division? That Pacific Division is going to be a dogfight until the end. Pittsburgh is fading. They have changed the coach already.  Some players will be the next to part ways. Carolina’s Jeff Skinner was on a torrid scoring pace of late but didn’t register a point on Saturday against The Pens.  He didn’t even get a shot on goal.  Hot or cold.  Or injured. That’s Skinner’s M-O. What is going to happen with Columbus’ Ryan Johansen?  He’s safe for the holidays.  Or is he? Patrick Sharp was cold for a while but Saturday’s game just might be the beginning of a hot spell for the streaky winger. Pekka Rinne finally got a win after 3 straight losses, and losing 6 of last 7.  So unlike Rinne to go into a long dry spell. I guess it’s time to start taking Arizona a bit more seriously.  I mean we are almost at Christmas time and they are playing solid hockey and sit in a playoff spot. In an Edmonton-Colorado matchup, you would expect a lot of scoring.  Well, Saturday night saw Colorado live up to their end of the commitment with a 5-1 victory. Taylor Hall did have 8 SOG in the loss so you know he was playing at a high level. You just have to ...

MONDAY, MONDAY (STARTING YOUR WEEK OFF ON THE RIGHT FOOT) Now that we are well into the start of the NHL season, all fantasy poolies are anxious to make sure their starting lineups for the upcoming week are just about perfect.  Most fantasy pools are weekly with starting lineups due by opening faceoff Monday night (or afternoon if it’s a holiday).  Some leagues give the owner the option of making nightly changes but most of the ones I am in concentrate just on weekly lineup changes, so that;s where  iwill focus on in this article.  First thing I look at when going my team before Monday’s deadline is to look over my team and see if I have any injuries.  Some are minor while others could be a little more serious.  All depending on the nature of the injury, or if the player is an injury prone one will influence my decision on either just benching said injured player or scanning the waiver wire and see if there is a suitable replacement. Regardless if I have an injured player or not, I always browse through the league transactions first to see if any of my opponents dropped a nice morsel of talent onto the wire.  As is the case this week, Patrick Sharp is sitting out there but right now I sit in 6th position on the waiver wire so my chances of getting him are slim.  But you never know, so regardless of how low your chances of landing a solid forward such as Sharp, you have to put a claim in if you have a marginal player on your roster you can drop.  Even if you have no use for Sharp in your starting lineup, building up your assets with more valuable assets will only give you more firepower to pull off a trade for a player who could put your team over the top later on.  After making a note of acceptable players on the waiver wire, the next step is to look at the weekly number of games each player has on your roster.  Players with 4 games are so tempting to put in your lineup but it’s all a matter of what teams they are playing.  It also depends on the caliber of player that you may be starting.  If you have elite players on your roster, they should be in your starting lineup even if they have 2 games that week.  The only exception is one game weekly schedule. If it came down to Tyler Seguin with 2 games versus Derek Stepan with 4, I would go with Seguin because the young talent could net you significant points in just those two games whereas Stepan may give you probably the same amount of points in his four games but the potential from Seguin is greater than...

#8 CHICAGO What more can you say about a team that has won 3 Stanley Cups in the matter of 6 years?  And the amazing part about them winning those Cups is that they needed to overhaul their team because of salary cap reasons and still managed to remain competitive enough and return to the Cup Finals without too big of gap in between in terms of years.  The team’s cap issues this year led to the team trading away one of their better young talents in Brandon Saad to the Columbus Blue Jackets.  In that deal they were able to get back a few needy pieces and a good young forward in Marko Dano.  Some believe Dano to be the next Marian Hossa, who the Blackhawks still have on their roster.  Patrick Sharp was also a victim of the cap and was traded to the Dallas Stars, who also acquired defenseman Johnny Oduya via free agency.  D-man Trevor Daley was the other side of that Sharp trade so the Hawks managed to fill in critical pieces as they were losing them.  Thank you Brad Richards!  Enjoy your ring, now take care!  All those pieces were crucial to the Hawks Stanley Cup hoisting, but knowing them, they will return there in short order as the core of the team remains intact. GOALIES He probably doesn’t get the respect he deserves but Corey Crawford has been exactly what the Blackhawks have needed as he won both times the hawks went to the Cup finals with him as their #1.  He may not be the flashiest of net minders, nor may he be one of the elite goaltenders, but he has been a part of all three Chicago Championship teams, although he didn’t get any playoff time during their first Cup run with Antti Niemi.  Crawford will return as the #1 and the fans will grumble about his performance when he gets in one of his funks, but the team is a dynasty and he is a major part of that.  His metrics may be average, but he knows how to come up big in the big games. Backup Scott Darling is the local flavor and favorite and has performed admirably as he is getting his feet wet as an NHL goalkeeper. 2014-2015                      GP      GAA       W        L        OTL       SP Corey Crawford            57         2.27       32       20         5         .924   DEFENSE Two-time Norris Trophy-winning defenseman Duncan Keith is about all you need to say about the Chicago defense.  He was just masterful during the Cup run of 2015 and received the playoff Conn Smythe MVP trophy for his efforts.  Build your fantasy defense around this superstar and you won’t be sorry.  He is joined by ...

DALLAS STARS Lindsey Ruff hopes that the upcoming season, his 3rd as Dallas head coach, will have a happier ending than last as the Stars failed to get into the playoffs. Despite having the 2nd best offense in the NHL, inconsistent goaltending plus shoddy defensive play were the main factors behind their underachieving effort. Free agent acquisition G Antti Niemi and D Johnnu Oduya were brought in to fortify both areas of weakness while a potent scoring attack got even scarier with the addition of Patrick Sharp. On paper, the Stars are full of high level fantasy options as the team looks ready to maintain a spot amongst the elite offensive units. Whether this translates into team success could be another story.   Goalies One big question facing many fantasy owners is how to deal with the newly created two-headed monster in the crease with Kari Lehtonen and Antti Niemi. Both have been capable # 1's in recent years, but Lehtonen's clear regression last season led to adding Niemi. A muddling fantasy situation for sure given that the Stars have minimal shutout potential and both will be in the running for the top gig until one stands out to Ruff's liking. If you have already taken two starting goalies, picking up one or both of these underachievers could be a worthwhile late-round gamble.   Defense The emergence of rookie John Klingberg as a scoring machine really swayed many fantasy leagues but the question remains whether he can continue to build on his numbers or suffer a sophomore setback. A loaded staple of elite forwards on the power-play plus Trevor Daley out of the picture and you would think that Klingberg will get loads of chances to rank up points. Think 40-50 pts. with the potential for a lot more the following season. Alex Goligoski is a threat to steal premium power-play time but had been inconsistent at best. Still, the offensively skilled rearguard warrants mid-round consideration as he is a safe bet to collect 35-40 points while playing top-four minutes for this high scoring outfit.    Forwards  On top of the fantasy food chain, you will find Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn ranked as high as 1-2 by many fantasy owners, but for the sake of our purposes, let's consider them safe top 5 selections. This electrifying duo can be good for  200 combined points if all the cards fall right. The addition of Patrick Sharp was supposed to bolster the second line, but he is being tried on the top line early in camp.. Look for a huge rebound season for Sharp ...

DALLAS STARS Lindsey Ruff hopes that the upcoming season, his 3rd as Dallas head coach, will have a happier ending than last as the Stars failed to get into the playoffs. Despite having the 2nd best offense in the NHL, inconsistent goaltending plus shoddy defensive play were the main factors behind their underachieving effort. Free agent acquisition G Antti Niemi and D Johnnu Oduya were brought in to fortify both areas of weakness while a potent scoring attack got even scarier with the addition of Patrick Sharp. On paper, the Stars are full of high level fantasy options as the team looks ready to maintain a spot amongst the elite offensive units. Whether this translates into team success could be another story.   Goalies One big question facing many fantasy owners is how to deal with the newly created two-headed monster in the crease with Kari Lehtonen and Antti Niemi. Both have been capable no 1's in recent years, but Lehtonen's clear regression last season led to adding Niemi. A muddling fantasy situation for sure given that the Stars have minimal shutout potential and both will be in the running for the top gig until stands out to Ruff's liking. If you have already taken two starting goalies, picking up one or both of these underachievers could be a worthwhile late-round gamble.   Defense The emergence of rookie John Klingberg as a scoring machine really swayed many fantasy leagues but the question remains whether he can continue to build on his numbers or suffer a sophomore setback. A loaded staple of elite forwards on the power-play plus Trevor Daley out of picture and you would think that Klingberg will get loads of chances to rank up points. Think 40-50 pts with the potential for a lot more the following season. Alex Goligoski is a threat to steal premium power-play time but had been inconsistent at best. Still, the offensively skilled rearguard warrants mid-round consideration as he is a safe bet to collect 35-40 points while playing top-four minutes for this high scoring outfit.    Forwards  On top of the fantasy food chain, you will find Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn ranked as high as 1-2 by many fantasy owners, but for the sake of our purposes, let's consider them safe top 5 selections. This electrifying duo can be good for  200 combined points if all the cards fall right. The addition of Patrick Sharp was supposed to bolster the second line, but he is being tried on the top line early in camp.. Look for a huge rebound season for Sharp who has ...

SMC 3-15-2015 The weather is turning and the smell of playoff fever is starting to fill the air.  Nice cup of java to get teh day started off right! There are some really hot teams out there right now.  Boston, Ottawa and the NY Rangers in the East all at 8-1-1 in last ten.  In the West it’s Colorado and Minnesota at 7-3-0. Philadelphia’s offense exploded against the Detroit Red Wings but where was it for the longest time?  They still need defense though. Wayne Simmonds had everything yesterday.  A goal, two assists and 14 PIMs.  Not a bad fantasy day for the RWer. If Chicago’s Patrick Sharp can expound on his 2-goal night, the Blackhawks are going to be tough once again in the playoffs. San Jose is a hard team to figure out sometimes. Congratulations to New York Ranger goaltender Mackenzie Skapski who got his second win in only his second start, both against Buffalo, with last night being a 2-0 shutout.  With the way both Skapski and Cam Talbot have been playing, Henrik Lundqvist may not be needed until the end of the regular season to warm up for the playoffs. Vancouver is definitely not Eddie LACK-ing in the net after Ryan Miller went down as they are 6-3-1 in last ten. Montreal helped out the Rangers with a 3-1 win over the Islanders and they also helped themselves to stay tied with the Rangers atop the Eastern Conference.  Could be another amazing Conference Final come May? You just gotta love the way the Florida Panthers have played this entire season.  Jaromir Jagr is making a difference. Devan Dubnyk with 27 straight starts.  Who woulda thunk it in September? I bet Arizona’s Mike Smith can’t wait for this season to be over. Okay, now Pekka Rinne has won two of his last three starts. That’s more like it! The Predators offense has sure dried up quickly. This is going to be some race for the NHL Scoring title in the next few weeks.  Any of 15 players have a legitimate shot at it, especially if one player gets red-hot.  For a while it was Boston feeling the pressure of securing that last wild card slot in the East but now that has switched to Washington.  Gotta love the race! Detroit has looked real sloppy of late. 3 teams mathematically eliminated from the playoffs.  It’s not hard to guess which three. Have a great week and may all your fantasies come true!

A few noteworthy goalie efforts stood out for teams who needed them the most, none more impressive than Devan Dubnyk's 41 saves in St. Louis. The Wild held up for the 3-1 road win, but easily could have been down a few goals early if not for "Dubie's" heroics in net. Check this out- He has started 27 straight games while allowing three or more goals only six times during that stretch. How one can come out of nowhere and become arguably the best fantasy goalie seemingly overnight is astounding. Those fortunate to have scooped up Dubnyk have been in for some surprise. Game-changer for sure.. After falling off the map with five straight losses, Nashville's Pekka Rinne has found his elite form once again, stopping 23 of 24 shots in the 2-1 win in LA. The All-World goalie has given up just a single goal in each of the last three starts so he seems safe to ride again as the Predators dig out of their late-season doldrums.. We need to talk up the reigning Vezina winner a bit more in fantasy circles, as Tuukka Rask continues to ascend to the top of the goalie ranks with his fourth straight win, a 30-save shutout in Pittsburgh. Surely it helped that Sidney Crosby was a late scratch with an illness and Evgeni Malkin was hurt early in the game, but the Penguins generated many prime scoring opportunities only to be stymied over and over by Rask. With the Boston Bruins further cementing a wildcard spot, look for the Finnish netminder to keep up his elite ways moving forward... Guess who scored the game-winner for the Rangers? None other than newly-acquired Keith Yandle who took six games to score his first point for the Blueshirts. Now that the weight has been lifted off his shoulders, expect the high-scoring rearguard to drastically pick up the scoring pace over the final stretch... His 19-game goal-scoring drought is no more as Chicago's Patrick Sharp scored two key goals in the 6-2 win over San Jose. He was expected to carry much of the Blackhawk's offense since the Patrick Kane injury, but this hasn't exactly come to fruition as he struggled mightily since the beginning of February- 4 points in 18 games. It's tough to recommend him once again based on one great performance, but Sharp is as streaky as they come so watch him over the next few games.. Speaking of streaky, Winnipeg's Drew Stafford scored a power-play goal in the 2-1 victory over the Lightning, his fourth in the last six games. The inconsistent winger bears watching as he could be a key offensive cog...

Cory Schneider (41/43) did all he could for the New Jersey Devils to win but the Pittsburgh Penguins managed to find a way to win with a late third period goal to tie and an overtime goal to put damper on a fine effort by Schneider.  The Devils goalie has been playing well of late but the team is fading fast in the playoff race.  His metrics are fine but he's just not getting the wins....Zac Rinaldo may have done more than knock Kris Letang silly right before the All-Star break. He may have knock the life back into him as he been on a rampage with 7 assists in his last 3 games, getting 2 last night against the Devils.  Letang is enjoying a fine season and when healthy, ranks right up there with the best in the league.  He now has 39 points in 43 games played this season just 2 points behind defensive points leader Mark Giordano. Semyon Varlamov and the Colorado Avalanche have climbed their way to within two points of a wild card spot as they continue their second half surge up the standings after beating the Nashville Predators 3-0. There was a Nathan MacKinnon sighting as he posted 2 assists and ranks as probably the best "buy-low" candidate because of his vast potential, not only for this season but for keeper leagues as well. It is safe to insert your Avalanche players as they have something to play for the rest of the way when earlier it looked like they were buried under a slow start.... After building a quick 2-0 lead, the St. Louis Blues managed to eke out a 3-2 shootout win over the Carolina Hurricanes. The Blues chased latest hot goalie Anton Khudobin just 3:35 in. On came Cam Ward and kept the Canes in it until they could tie it up only to lose in the shootout. It may be too hasty to pull the reins on Khudobin just yet, but if he falters a little, Ward is always waiting on the bench.... Known more for his goal-scoring, Patrick Sharp contributed an assist on all 4 Chicago goals as they beat the Anaheim Ducks 4-1 last night. Sharp has played under his career average pace but seems to have picked up his game of late wit h9 points in past 5 games.  The window for buying low on Sharp is closing fast, so take a last swipe at trying to snag a good goal-scorer on a good team for the balance of the season.

* Andre Burakovsky- The 19-year old paid huge dividends after being promoted to Washington's top line, scoring the game-winning goal in the 4-3 win over Florida. Whenever a talented youngster has the opportunity to strut his stuff alongside Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom, he needs to be on all fantasy radars. Monitor this situation as the young Burakovsky could be worth a flier if he can exhibit chemistry with the two superstars. **Brandon Dubinsky- The Columbus center has been very injury prone this season, but his two goals in the win over Colorado gives him nine points in 11 games. A big second half could be coming for a healthy Dubinsky who is more than a capable offensive performer and is essential the heartbeat of this team. If available on the waiver wire, you would be wise to snatch him up. ***Patrick Sharp- After collecting the game-winning goal and an assist during the 6-5 triumph over Dallas, the premier left winger has been flourishing with nine points in his last seven games. The injury rust has been totally shaken off, so fantasy owners should bank on Sharp being an elite fantasy option moving forward. If you can snag him via a trade, I would give it a shot. ****Mike Ribeiro- What a comeback season thus far for the underrated Ribeiro, as he has delivered legitimate first-line center play for the rising Predators. His three assists improves his numbers to seven points in his last five games and 18 in the last 16 overall. Start him if you have him- he has PPG potential the rest of the way. *****Tyler Johnson- 43 points in 40 games- are you kidding me? With two goals in the road win over Ottawa, the second-year center has clearly overshadowed Steven Stamkos but expect a statistical correction during the second half. That being said, Johnson is the real deal and 70-75 points should be a safe bet for arguably the biggest fantasy surprise of the 2014-15 season.

While this year's verson did not get the media hype of past year's, the New Year Day Winter Classic between Chicago and Washington was as spectacularly done and as well played as any other. The home team ended up on top thanks to a late game tally by Troy Brouwer and superb goaltending by Braden Holtby (33/35 saves). Alex Ovechkin was easily the most dangerous forward on the ice, causing havoc with every shift and resulting in a dominant two-point effort. For Chicago, Patrick Sharp was also a "beast", scoring a power-play goal and racking up 10 SOG. Kris Versteeg left the game due to a hand injury and according to Chicago coach Joel Quenneville, "will be out for awhile". Last night's 3-2 win for the Kings over the Canucks featured three unanswered tallies for the road team in the third period. Of fantasy conswquence, winger Radim Vrbata paced the Canucks in the losing effort with a goal and an assist, raising his totals to 28 points in 34 games. With five points in his last five games, the streaky winger should be able to surpass his career-high of 62 points with the Sedin twins as his line-mates. Start him as a solid no.4/5 fantasy forward option..