After a stretch of 10 consecutive seasons of reaching the playoffs, the Sharks found it hard to keep afloat towards the end of last season, missing a playoff berth by 8 points.  That disappointing finish spelled the end of Head Coach Todd McLellan who piloted the team to six straight appearances in his 7-year tenure.  McLellan and the team parted company and he quickly was hired by the Edmonton Oilers.  The Sharks brought in Peter DeBoer, who has held stints behind the bench in Florida and New Jersey over the past 7 seasons, in hopes of righting the ship.  Fans also thought there would be major changes with expectations that Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau would be traded during the off-season, especially after missing the playoffs but they still remain with the team.  In a surprise move, goaltender Antti Niemi was traded to the Dallas Stars for a pick in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.  Brought in were Martin Jones, previously the backup goaltender in Los Angeles, Paul Martin, a defenseman who last played for Pittsburgh, and RW Joel Ward of the Washington Capitals.  All were acquired to solidify each of their respective positions.  Changes were made in every aspect of the team from the coach to the goalie but it will all depend on how DeBoer manages to mix in the young talent with the aging veterans and return the Sharks to the playoffs.   GOALIES The team sought a new direction by signing free agent Martin Jones after trading away Niemi to the Dallas Stars.  The question will be if Jones can handle the starter’s role and if he can be better than Niemi being an average goaltender. The jury is still out on Jones as he had a very good rookie season in 2013-2014 but a mediocre one last year.  Backup Alex Stalock has had a similar run in the NHL as Jones with a solid rookie year in 2013-2014 and then faltering in his second season.  Let’s take a look at their numbers; 2013-2014         GP       GAA     W         L          T          SP Martin Jones     22         2.13      16         3          3          .928      Alex Stalock     24         1.87      12         5          2          .932   2014-2015         GP       GAA     W         L          T          SP Martin Jones     15         2.25      4          5          2          .906 Alex Stalock     22         2.62      8          9          2          .902 All the Sharks need is for one of them to return to their rookie form and they should be fighting for a playoff spot come March.  Our bet is on Jones to ...

After a stretch of 10 consecutive seasons of reaching the playoffs, the Sharks found it hard to keep afloat towards the end of last season, missing a playoff berth by 8 points.  That disappointing finish spelled the end of Head Coach Todd McLellan who piloted the team to six straight appearances in his 7-year tenure.  McLellan and the team parted company and he quickly was hired by the Edmonton Oilers.  The Sharks brought in Peter DeBoer, who has held stints behind the bench in Florida and New Jersey over the past 7 seasons, in hopes of righting the ship.  Fans also thought there would be major changes with expectations that Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau would be traded during the off-season, especially after missing the playoffs but they still remain with the team.  In a surprise move, goaltender Antti Niemi was traded to the Dallas Stars for a pick in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.  Brought in were Martin Jones, previously the backup goaltender in Los Angeles, Paul Martin, a defenseman who last played for Pittsburgh, and RW Joel Ward of the Washington Capitals.  All were acquired to solidify each of their respective positions.  Changes were made in every aspect of the team from the coach to the goalie, it will all depend on how DeBoer manages to mix in the young talent with the aging veterans and return the Sharks to the playoffs.   GOALIES The team sought a new direction by signing free agent Martin Jones after trading away Niemi to the Dallas Stars.  The question will be if Jones can handle the starter’s role and if he can be better than Niemi being an average goaltender. The jury is still out on Jones as he had a very good rookie season in 2013-2014 but a mediocre one last year.  Backup Alex Stalock has had a similar run in the NHL as Jones with a solid rookie year in 2013-2014 and then faltering in his second season.  Let’s take a look at their numbers; 2013-2014         GP       GAA     W         L          T          SP Martin Jones     22         2.13      16         3          3          .928      Alex Stalock     24         1.87      12         5          2          .932   2014-2015         GP       GAA     W         L          T          SP Martin Jones     15         2.25      4          5          2          .906 Alex Stalock     22         2.62      8          9          2          .902 All the Sharks need is for one of them to return to their rookie form and they should be fighting for a playoff spot come March.  Our bet is on Jones to get...

There is no doubting that the Pittsburgh is the goldmine of fantasy hockey especially when you have Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin to start you off. There has been a lot of talk over the past few years about how the Penguins can't seem to get it together for the Stanley Cup playoff run.  The knock on goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury was that he was a great regular season goalie, but come the playoffs, he was lacking that extra gear. Some changes were made in the off-season with the Draft Day trade of James Neal for Patric Hornqvist, and letting Brooks Orpik and Matt Niskanen leave via free agency. Christian Ehrhoff was signed to add support for Kris Letang. Letang needs to play a full season and stay away from injury.  GOALIES When it comes to fantasy hockey goaltending, having a number 1 who starts just about every game and gives you decent enough metrics is all you care about. When it comes to playoff hockey, it's the rabid fan that cares more about the goaltender's performance than the fantasy poolie which makes Fleury the perfect fantasy goaltender.  He starts every game, gets you close to 40 wins, has decent metrics and pitches in a few shutouts and rarely gets injured.  It doesn't hurt that he has a powerhouse offensive club in front of him.  Thomas Greiss was brought in to serve as backup and if he proves more than capable, he might steal a few more starts from Fleury than Jeff Zatkoff did last season. DEFENSE The Pittsburgh defense flows through Letang, but help is on the way. Ehrhoff was signed to take some of the offensive pressure off Letang and with last season's sensation Olli Maata recovering from an off-season shoulder surgery, Ehrhoff's presence was sorely needed. He will also act as an insurance policy if Letang should go down to yet another injury.  Letang was once considered one of the top 2 or 3 fantasy D-men in the league but injuries have taken their toll.  Maata will have to ward off not only the sophomore jinx, but pursuit from other young talent such as Derick Pouliot (recovering from his own off-season surgery) and Simon Despres, who may get an extended look this time around. Those are your potent offensive defensemen with Paul Martin and Rob Scuderi providing the defensive support. FORWARDS There is not much to say about Crosby and Malkin that poolies don't already know. What will be interesting to see is if Hornqvist will take the role vacated by Neal and be that 40 goal scorer.  Chris Kunitz enjoys life on the wing of ...

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.

That's why they play the games! The San Jose Sharks imploded after taking a 3-0 series lead.  I wonder if they will shake things up out there? The Chicago Blackhawks look determined to make it back to the big dance in June, don't they? If you're like me, you forgot that the Montreal Canadiens were still in the playoffs. They have had 10 days off since sweeping the Lightning out.  It's almost like starting the season all over again. It's not odd that the NY Rangers ousted the Philadelphia Flyers in seven games. It's just odd that they beat the Flyers in all the odd games.  Odd. The Flyers have to be ecstatic that it looks like they have a franchise goalie after a long hiatus. I'm sure that deep down inside very one of us, there was a glimmer of hope that the Columbus Blue Jackets would have beaten the Pittsburgh Penguins in Round 1. Except for Penguins' fans of course. Congratulations to Patrick Roy and the Colorado Avalanche on a successful season even though they didn't advance. They will be tough to play against for a long while. Matt Niskanen is having some season, eh? He is tied for the playoff lead in points for a defenseman with Paul Martin.  I know Duncan Keith and Drew Doughty will have something to say about the two Pens atop the point charts. Nathan MacKinnon is to be feared. This is why Martin St. Louis was acquired at the trade deadline. Forget his regular season drought with the Rangers.  It's playoff time. I betcha Tampa Bay wishes they had Marty back now. Montreal is still in this, right? I'm always afraid when the Boston Bruins get a few extra days to rest up. I think I will root for a NY-Montreal Conference Finals matchup. Just like old times. Battle of Los Angeles starts this weekend with LA going against Anaheim. Perhaps I'll watch the movie first to get an idea of how explosive this series can be. What are the St. Louis Blues going to do now? Is Ryan Miller not the answer? Was the Miller the answer?  Will they move some pieces around? Congratulations to "Iron Mike" Keenan who won the KHL Gagarin Cup with the Metallurg Magnitogorsk becoming the first coach to win both the Stanley Cup and the Gagarin Cup. He will now be known as "Behind the Iron Curtain Mike" Keenan. Rask and Price, Kopitar and Toews, Niskanen and Keith. Tops at their positions for the playoffs so far. Dan Girardi, Ryan McDonagh, Anton Stralman and Marc Staal had done an amazing job shutting down Claude Giroux. The Rangers won the series without Rick Nash potting a ...

Without Bishop you knew that the Lightning were going to struggle, but to be swept out by the Canadiens, Canada's only hope to bring home the Stanley Cup this year? The Sharks can match the Habs' effort with a sweep of their own of the LA Kings. What happened to all the Kings' men? I was saying to Steve and anyone else who cared to listen last night that the Blue Jackets could have been in control of this series if Sergei Bobrovsky was Sergei Bobrovsky. The key to that series is to let the other team grab the lead and then come from behind to win. Vladimir Tarasenko, with 4 goals, is having a tremendous series against the Chicago Blackhawks. Could you imagine the numbers he could put up if he weren't playing in Coach Hitchcock's system? Semyon Varlamov is proving that his regular season performance is here to stay. Poor Minnesota Wild. Odd thought of the morning- The Minnesota Wild goaltending situation can almost possibly go in reverse order of how the goaltending played out during the regular season. Backstrom, Harding, Kuemper, Bryzgalov during the regular season.  Bryzgalov, Kuemper, ??? during the first three games of this playoff series.  It's not going to play out that way.  Like I said, odd thought. This Anaheim-Dallas series sure looks to be a home series. That's good for the Ducks, bad for the Stars. As good as Zetterberg is, I think Boston is just too good and too deep for the Red Wings to overcome even if he does return early. Paul Martin leads all scorers with 8 points. Paul Martin.  Not Martin St. Louis.  Paul Martin. If Nathan MacKinnon hasn't won you over by now...... Can Steve Mason keep the Flyers in the series Friday night? It's a game I'm sure not going to miss, that's for sure. If you had thought Chicago was going to go away easily.....Now they have some momentum on their side. Tuukka Rask is playing phenomenally and so is Henrik Lundqvist. That would be an awesome series.

Without Bishop you knew that the Lightning were going to struggle, but to be swept out by the Canadiens, Canada's only hope to bring home the Stanley Cup this year? The Sharks can match the Habs' effort with a sweep of their own of the LA Kings. What happened to all the Kings' men? I was saying to Steve and anyone else who cared to listen last night that the Blue Jackets could have been in control of this series if Sergei Bobrovsky was Sergei Bobrovsky. The key to that series is to let the other team grabbed the lead and then come from behind to win. Vladimir Tarasenko, with 4 goals, is having a tremendous series against the Chicago Blackhawks. Could you imagine the numbers he could put up if he weren't playing in Coach Hitchcock's system? Semyon Varlamov is proving that his regular season performance is here to stay. Poor Minnesota Wild. Odd thought of the morning- The Minnesota Wild goaltending situation can almost possibly go in reverse order of how the goaltending played out during the regular season. Backstrom, Harding, Kuemper, Bryzgalov during the regular season.  Bryzgalov, Kuemper, ??? during the first three games of this playoff series.  It's not going to play out that way.  Like I said, odd thought. This Anaheim-Dallas series sure looks to be a home series. That's good for the Ducks, bad for the Stars. As good as Zetterberg is, I think Boston is just too good and too deep for the Red Wings to overcome even if he does return early. Paul Martin leads all scorers with 8 points. Paul Martin.  Not Martin St. Louis.  Paul Martin. If Nathan MacKinnon hasn't won you over by now...... Can Steve Mason keep the Flyers in the series tonight? It's a game I'm sure not going to miss, that's for sure. If you had thought Chicago was going to go away easily.....Now they have some momentum on their side. Tuukka Rask is playing phenomenally and so is Henrik Lundqvist. That would be an awesome series.

Even when you lose you win in the modern NHL as the Detroit Red Wings gained the valuable point from the shootout loss to the Penguins to clinch their 23rd consecutive playoff appearance. A few weeks ago it didn't look promising for a team who had been hit by injuries to their top players, but the up-and-coming young guns in Gustav Nyquist and Tomas Tatar added speed and offensive support when the going got tough. These two should be on your fantasy radar for next season...... Pittsburgh has also been hit hard by the injury bug this season but when you have a healthy Sidney Crosby in your lineup day-in and day-out, the Pens were able to overcome a lot of it. Just ask James Neal who has missed some time this season but scored twice on the power play last night. The Pens are starting to get healthy just in time for the playoffs as Paul Martin returned to the lineup last week and Kris Letang got back in the lineup last night after a lengthy stint on the IR; both figuring in the Penguin scoring. Kudos to the Pitt d-men on their return.... Chicago is another team who has been without their top two superstars the past few games but that hasn't derailed the Blackhawks from continuing to win. Patrick Sharp was the star in last night's game with the game-winning goal and assisting on the tying goal. Sharp is perhaps the most underrated player in the NHL as he is a consistent 30-goal scorer for the last 3 full regular seasons.  Don't forget him come draft day...... Congratulations to the Columbus Blue Jackets who have qualified for the playoffs for just the second time in franchise history. Sergei Bobrovsky has shown why he won the Vezina Trophy last season as he has draped the Jackets on his shoulders and has carried the team since April 1st...... It looks like the last playoff position in the Western Conference just may come down to Sunday night's showdown between the Phoenix Coyotes and Dallas Stars. The Stars lead the Coyotes by 2 points in the standings but Phoenix has a game in hand and 3 left to play while the Stars have 2 remaining.  Now that will be some game to watch. Karri Ramo continued his hot play in net for the Calgary Flames, winning for the 6th time in his past 9 starts. Ramo turned aside 41 of 44 SOG and raised his record to 17-13-4 with a 2.54 GAA and .915 SP.  Ramo should be a solid 2nd starter in fantasy leagues next season as the Flames will improve in the standings..... Anaheim is back atop the Western Conference as they defeated the San ...

Even when you lose you win in the modern NHL as the Detroit Red Wings gained the valuable point from the shootout loss to the Penguins to clinch their 23rd consecutive playoff appearance. A few weeks ago it didn't look promising for a team who had been hit by injuries to their top players, but the up-and-coming young guns in Gustav Nyquist and Tomas Tatar added speed and offensive support when the going got tough. These two should be on your fantasy radar for next season...... Pittsburgh has also been hit hard by the injury bug this season but when you have a healthy Sidney Crosby in your lineup day-in and day-out, the Pens were able to overcome a lot of it. Just ask James Neal who has missed some time this season but scored twice on the power play last night. The Pens are starting to get healthy just in time for the playoffs as Paul Martin returned to the lineup last week and Kris Letang got back in the lineup last night after a lengthy stint on the IR; both figuring in the Penguin scoring. Kudos to the Pitt d-men on their return.... Chicago is another team who has been without their top two superstars the past few games but that hasn't derailed the Blackhawks from continuing to win. Patrick Sharp was the star in last night's game with the game-winning goal and assisting on the tying goal. Sharp is perhaps the most underrated player in the NHL as he is a consistent 30-goal scorer for the last 3 full regular seasons.  Don't forget him come draft day...... Congratulations to the Columbus Blue Jackets who have qualified for the playoffs for just the second time in franchise history. Sergei Bobrovsky has shown why he won the Vezina Trophy last season as he has draped the Jackets on his shoulders and has carried the team since April 1st...... It looks like the last playoff position in the Western Conference just may come down to Sunday night's showdown between the Phoenix Coyotes and Dallas Stars. The Stars lead the Coyotes by 2 points in the standings but Phoenix has a game in hand and 3 left to play while the Stars have 2 remaining.  Now that will be some game to watch. Karri Ramo continued his hot play in net for the Calgary Flames, winning for the 6th time in his past 9 starts. Ramo turned aside 41 of 44 SOG and raised his record to 17-13-4 with a 2.54 GAA and .915 SP.  Ramo should be a solid 2nd starter in fantasy leagues next season as the Flames will improve in the standings..... Anaheim is back atop the Western Conference as they defeated the San ...

While Marc-Andre Fleury was undoubtedly the fantasy star of Pittsburgh's 3-2 road win in Colorado with 39 saves, an important side story for owners was that both Sidney Crosby and Chris Kunitz were scratches. Like Boston, the Pens don't have much to play for and will pull out all the stops to enter the playoffs on a healthy note. This truly means that any fantasy owners starting any key Pittsburgh players will be doing so at their own risk. Defenseman Paul Martin could be the possible exception, considering he is working his way back through an injury. In the case of Edmonton, their young players have been performing very well even though the team has been out of playoff contention for seemingly forever. With three home games in the final week, fantasy owners should consider starting their key Oilers. Last night, Taylor Hall collected a goal and 2 assists, giving him 77 points in 72 games on the season. With 9 points in his last 5 games, the youngster is a must-start this week. The same should hold true for Jordan Eberle who has disappointed for much of the campaign but has come back strong lately. He chipped in with a goal and an assist, raising his totals to 8 points in the last 5 games. It's unbelievable that the underachieving Eberle will have a crack at the 70-point mark if he could end the season with 6 points in the last 3 games. I would also like to mention arguably the biggest underachiever of Edmonton's talented young nucleus, d-man Justin Schultz, who scored a goal and an assist, giving him 32 points in 70 games despite being maddenly inconsistent all season. This guy should get 40+ points in his sleep. He might be worth a flier as well, as the young guns in "Oil Town" seem destined to end this debacle of a season on a high note. Columbus grabbed an important 2 points last night as Sergei Bobrovsky turned aside all 31 shots he face for a 4-0 blanking of the NY Islanders. That's 2 shutouts in the past three games for the Blue Jacket goalie, clearly indicating that he is up to the task of carrying the team to the playoffs.  Start him with extreme confidence for this last week, and also for the next few seasons to come. Steve Mason had a fairly easy game in net for the Philadelphia Flyers as they defeated the Buffalo Sabres 5-2. Mason was staked to a 4-0 lead heading into the third period and only faced 19 SOG.  Even though the victory didn't clinch the Flyers a playoff position, it would take a total collapse for them not to get in.  The way ...