Alex Ovechkin scored 4 goals, including a last-minute game-tying tally, in Washington's 6-5 come-back win over Tampa Bay. With 26 goals in 29 games, the absence of Steven Stamkos makes the chances of anyone catching "Ovie" for the Maurice Richard Trophy slim to none. Nicklas Backstrom actually finished with more points in the contest, collecting a goal and 4 assists. After going scoreless in seven straight, the talented center has 7 points in the last three games. Regardless of a scoring drought, you never sit Backstrom out of your fantasy lineup.... Patrick Kane continues his ascent up the fantasy elite with another three points (1G/2A) in the 6-2 Chicago win over Dallas, giving him 12 points in the last 6 games. With 40 points on the season, the slick winger sits second in the NHL in scoring. For all of those pundits, including myself, that thought Kane would take a step back after hoisting the Cup, he is making a huge statement.  Patrick Sharp continues his hot streak with 2 goals.... Martin St. Louis extended his point streak to three games with a goal and two assists in the OT loss to Washington. Even without Stamkos, the ageless wonder is just barely out of the top-ten in scoring with 30 points. Don't discount him as he is still an elite fantasy forward who will get "hotter" when Stamkos returns. For now, marginal players like Tyler Johnson have seen a boost in fantasy value playing alongside St. Louis....The dynamic trio in Edmonton- Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins- combined for 6 points in the Oiler's OT win over Carolina. Eberle provided the overtime heroics with his 11th goal and 27th point in 32 games. His recent hot streak will have him over a point-per-game pace real soon, so trade for this guy if you can.  As for Hall, only injuries stand in his way as a permanent top-five fixture amongst fantasy forwards.... While playing for a "lousy" team, superstar John Tavares keeps notching the points, two more assists last night in the improbable 2-1 Islander win over San Jose.... Detroit's Pavel Datsyuk seamlessly returned from a concussion, scoring a goal and an assist in the 3-2 loss to Florida. He now has 25 points in as many games, so activate him ASAP.... Easy win for Los Angeles last night 6-0 over Montreal. Rookie goaltender Martin Jones had his second straight shutout with 31 saves, and with Jonathan Quick out, and Ben Scrivens in Coach Darryl Sutter's dog house, this guy is a great short term pickup. Young center Tyler ...

Alex Ovechkin scored 4 goals, including a last-minute game-tying tally, in Washington's 6-5 come-back win over Tampa Bay. With 26 goals in 29 games, the absence of Steven Stamkos makes the chances of anyone catching "Ovie" for the Maurice Richard Trophy slim to none. Nicklas Backstrom actually finished with more points in the contest, collecting a goal and 4 assists. After going scoreless in seven straight, the talented center has 7 points in the last three games. Regardless of a scoring drought, you never sit Backstrom out of your fantasy lineup.... Patrick Kane continues his ascent up the fantasy elite with another three points (1G/2A) in the 6-2 Chicago win over Dallas, giving him 12 points in the last 6 games. With 40 points on the season, the slick winger sits second in the NHL in scoring. For all of those pundits, including myself, that thought Kane would take a step back after hoisting the Cup, he is making a huge statement.  Patrick Sharp continues his hot streak with 2 goals.... Martin St. Louis extended his point streak to three games with a goal and two assists in the OT loss to Washington. Even without Stamkos, the ageless wonder is just barely out of the top-ten in scoring with 30 points. Don't discount him as he is still an elite fantasy forward who will get "hotter" when Stamkos returns. For now, marginal players like Tyler Johnson have seen a boost in fantasy value playing alongside St. Louis....The dynamic trio in Edmonton- Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins- combined for 6 points in the Oiler's OT win over Carolina. Eberle provided the overtime heroics with his 11th goal and 27th point in 32 games. His recent hot streak will have him over a point-per-game pace real soon, so trade for this guy if you can.  As for Hall, only injuries stand in his way as a permanent top-five fixture amongst fantasy forwards.... While playing for a "lousy" team, superstar John Tavares keeps notching the points, two more assists last night in the improbable 2-1 Islander win over San Jose.... Detroit's Pavel Datsyuk seamlessly returned from a concussion, scoring a goal and an assist in the 3-2 loss to Florida. He now has 25 points in as many games, so activate him ASAP.... Easy win for Los Angeles last night 6-0 over Montreal. Rookie goaltender Martin Jones had his second straight shutout with 31 saves, and with Jonathan Quick out, and Ben Scrivens in Coach Darryl Sutter's dog house, this guy is a great short term pickup. Young center Tyler ...

Datsyuk skated on the Red Wings' top line with Johan Franzen and Todd Bertuzzi and also centred the top power-play unit. Datsyuk missed seven games, over that stretch the Red Wings went 5-2-0. There will be a lot of pressure on Datsyuk to carry the team while Henrik Zetterberg remains out.

Datsyuk will have missed seven games due to a concussion suffered November 23 on an elbow to the chin from Ottawa defenseman Jared Cowen. Datsyuk has skated a few times this week and said on Wednesday that he is symptom-free. He just needed a few good practices to get his conditioning back. Barring something unforeseen, Saturday's home game against Florida will the final game he sits out. Datsyuk has a team-leading 12 goals, along with 11 assists, in 24 games.

This is a good sign for the Red Wings and Datsyuk owners, he missed the morning skate yesterday and has been ruled out for tonight's game. Wings GM Ken Holland said that he needs a good week of practice before he can return to the lineup, so if Datsyuk can continue to practice he should be back by next week. It seems highly unlikely that he will play this weekend, but monitor his status regardless.

This is great news for the Red Wings and Datsyuk owners. He will not play tonight and I suspect he won't play on Friday either, but maybe Saturday back at home vs. Florida. Monitor his status throughout the week and into the weekend.

The Red Wings said yesterday that Datsyuk will need a good week of practice before he can return to the lineup. Not practicing today is not a good sign that he will be back this week. The Red Wings announced today that they will be without Henrik Zetterberg for at least two weeks, so the return of Datsyuk is vital to the Wings' offence.

Datsyuk is highly doubtful to play on Wednesday, and probably won't play at all this week. It sounds like Datsyuk is feeling OK, just not quite ready to jump back into practice. He is one of the best players in the NHL and the Red WIngs are not going to rush him back and risk getting injured again. The fact that the Red WIngs are 4-0 without him makes the decision not to rush him even easier.

    Marek Mazanec- Nashville Predators, G (Owned in 35.6% of ESPN leagues) Fantasy owners have been hesitant to jump on the Mazanec bandwagon, but he continues to provide stellar goaltending for Nashville during Pekka Rinne's absence. He has allowed 2 goals or fewer in regulation for eight straight starts, while his GAA and SP stand at 2.00 and 932 respectively. With not many starting goalie options readily available in most leagues, he is definitely worth a shot if you need short-term help. ~~Ryan Johansen-Columbus Blue Jackets, C (Owned in 35.4% of ESPN leagues) It's been a long time coming, but it appears that the player tabbed as the future franchise center for Columbus is finally playing up to his vast potential. With 6 points in the last 4 games and 19 points overall, the 22-year old is joining the ranks of the fantasy relevant. He has found a niche on the power-play, as his 8 points with the man-advantage in 27 games have already surpassed his career total of 5 in the previous 2 seasons. With 60-point upside for this season, you should snatch up this rising star. Gustav Nyquist- Detroit Red Wings, C (Owned in 36.9% of ESPN leagues) Nyquist has been an offensive catalyst for Detroit since his AHL call-up, collecting 4 goals and 1 assist in 6 games. He continues to get top line honors with Henrik Zetterberg and Johan Franzen, so fantasy owners need to scoop him up while the Detroit offense is on a tear. A quick note- even when Pavel Datsyuk returns from injury, Coach Babcock has hinted that he would continue playing him and Zetterberg on separate lines, so Nyquist's fantasy value should not be adversely affected. Nick Bonino- Anaheim Ducks, C (Owned in 22.1% of ESPN leagues) The 25-year old pivot is currently on a four-game point streak (1G/4A) and is on pace to easily establish a career-high in points with 19 points in 27 games. With the Ducks deep in the center position, Bonino has been getting mostly third-line minutes, but his promotion to the top power-play unit has boosted his offensive production. Known as a streaky scorer, this could be a great time to utilize him while he has been hot. Mark Giordano- Calgary Flames, D (Owned in 16.5% of ESPN leagues) Giordano has been out for the Flames with a broken ankle since October 21, but the talented defenseman practiced with the team over the weekend. He could be back as early as later in the week, which would be a big boost to a Calgary power-play which is missing the services of Dennis Wideman ...

Cowen did not receive a suspension for the hit that knocked out the skilled forward. Continue to ride Tatar and Nyqvist for the increased opportunity.