Jaroslav Halak and the NY Islanders keep on rolling along as they pasted the Philadelphia Flyers 7-4 yesterday afternoon on Long Island. I'm sure the All-Star break is coming at a most inconvenient time as the Isles have gone 7-3-0 in last ten games as they haven't scored less than 3 goals in each of their last 6 games.  John Tavares is starting to raise his game to another level and is bringing the rest of the crew with him as Nikolai Kulemin had his best game in an islander's uniform yesterday with 2 goals and an assist. If the likes of Kulemin and company get heated up, the Islanders will be a handful for any team.... Could we have a changing of the guard in Carolina? Anton Khudobin got his 3rd start in the Hurricanes' last 4 games and has won all 3. In fact, AK has won his last 4 starts and seems to have regained last year's form that made people stand up and take notice.  Carolina is clearing playing for the future as they are out of the playoff picture, so look for Khudobin to get more starts from here on out...Eric Staal has always been a second half performer and this year is no exception. With 2 goals last night giving him 6 goals and an assist in January, look for Staal to continue as he is probably showcasing for a future team. The haul that the Hurricanes can get from a trade of Eric should be bountiful as they look to rebuild.... Is this the beginning of the end of Florida's hopeful season as they now have lost 4 in a row, losing to Ryan Miller and the Vancouver Canucks 2-1 on home ice? With such a young team, you can expect some growing pains along the way.  Perhaps the All-Star break will be a good breathing point for the young Cats.... Columbus defeated Devan Dubnyk and the Minnesota Wild 3-1 last night as Double D only stopped 20 of 23 SOG. Is Dubnyk's short fantasy run over already in Minny?  I thought Darcy Kuemper would get the start tonight but he will have to wait until after the break.  His return performance could go a long way in determining who will get the majority of stats for the rest of the season.... Cory Schneider and the New Jersey Devils win again in California with a 5-2 win in San Jose. Is there something in the air on the West Coast that is pleasing to the Devils as they have won 2 of 3 in California? The return home for a 5-game home stand after the break and will need to win all 5 in order to get back into the playoff race, but it might be a case of "too little, too late".... Calgary continues to stay in the hunt ...

The hard luck loser award goes to Tampa Bay rookie Andrei Vasilevskiy, who was unpenetrable for most of the game against the Isles with 45 saves but gave up three goals over the last four minutes. Ben Bishop is close to returning, but the youngster has made a strong case for backup duties over the struggling Evgeni Nabokov... Calvin Pickard has performed well above expectations in the Colorado crease while subbing for the injured Semyon Varlamov, turning aside 28 of 29 Buffalo shots for his 5th win of the season. With a 2.16 GAA and .936 SP, the youngster should have little difficulty in maintaining back-up status when 'Varly returns... Don't look now, but a fantasy star is quickly taking center stage for the Montreal Canadiens as Alex Galchenyuk is making the most of his opportunity of centering the top line. Another goal and assist gives him 7 points in his last five games, raising his overall numbers to 24 points in 34 games. The third-year pivot could still be available in many leagues so snatch him ASAP before it's too late... I would hesitate to write that a veteran forward not named Jarome Iginla is Colorado's most consistent fantasy option on offense these days, but Alex Tanguay has been real solid with 22 points in 30 games. He led the way last night with two goals and an assist. Maybe worth a flier as a borderline starter... Here is to stating the obvious, but Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek are the best fantasy tandem in NHL. With a combined 8 points in the 7-4 win over the Leafs, these two have kept many fantasy squads afloat with no end in sight. Expect the good times to continue much longer... With 34 points in 32 games, Nicklas Backstrom has been the far superior fantasy asset over Alex Ovechkin for Washington. Another 3-point night gives him 9 points in his last 6 games. As undercover a superstar as one can be in today's NHL. Perenially a lock for a PPG clip... Maybe it's time to buy low on Chicago winger Patrick Sharp as he is slowly shaking off his early season rust with two goals in the last three games. Coming off a career-high 78 points in 2013-14, he could be in line for a huge second half. I know many fantasy owners who have soured on him... Watch out for Thomas Vanek in Minny, as the struggling winger has begin to hit his offensive stride while riding shotgun to Zach Parise on the top line. His goal and an assist in the loss to Nashville gives him 9 points in the last ten games. With Parise streaking with 26 points in 26 games, I...

Last season, Jimmy Howard and the Detroit Red Wings struggled throughout, as much with injuries as well as him playing up to his career averages. Howard had in fact won 35+ games three straight seasons and also won 21 games in 42 starts in the Lockout season.  Clearly he would have won 35+ for a fourth straight season if not for the Lockout.  Unfortunately for fantasy fans, Howard had an off-year the following season where he struggled to match the previous season's, the Lockout season of 48 games, win total of 21. This season, Howard is a huge part of the Red Wing's success. Howard sported numbers of 2.66 GAA and a .910 SP, not his worst but close to it. In fact his worse season was his second full season where he posted a 2.79 GAA and a .908 SP.  Yet, he still managed to win 37 games that year.  So, after last year's step back, poolies gave up on the Red Wing net minder figuring he was near the end even though he was only 30-years old, or more likely that they were just suspect of his abilities and shied away from him in the draft.  With the way Detroit handles their players, and that they are perennial participants in the playoffs, you should have had a feeling that they would stick with Howard knowing that he just had an off-year sprinkled with a few minor injuries.  They really had no other options, and they probably weren't even considering other plans. Patience, and perhaps a calculated gamble, has paid off for fantasy owners as Howard has returned to more common levels in his game.   The Detroit goalie has gone 13-5-4 with a 2.21 GAA and a .917 SP with one shutout.  Howard usually starts 4 to 5 games in a row before getting a breather by either Petr Mrazek or Jonas Gustavsson. Mrazek is up with the big club while "the Monster" recovers from his injury and has won all three starts.  Howard's play, along with the backups, has the Red Wings tied atop not only the Atlantic Division but the Eastern Conference with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Congratulations who stuck with Howard or took a shot in the draft as you have been rewarded already and should continue as he is in store for perhaps a record season awaits with a little bit of luck. POST MARKS: MILLER'S TIME--I'm sure Ryan Miller is quite happy that his hockey life has settled down this season after last year's trials and tribulations. First, he had to deal with playing on a poor Buffalo Sabres team and then moving on to St. Louis where they were counting on a savior.  Well that didn't happen and ...

Cam Ward continues to put last season behind him as he bested probably the NHL's best goaltender this season in Pekka Rinne 2-1 last night. Ward evened his record at 8-8-2 after starting out the season 0-3-1. Carolina still remains near the bottom of the conference but is slowly working their way back into the middle of the pack..... One of the hottest goalies in the league right now is NY Islanders' goalie Jaroslav Halak who won his tenth straight by beating Ottawa 3-2 in overtime. That's 13 wins for Halak, just 3 behind leaders Rinne & Miller. Start him with confidence as the Islanders are on a roll, especially with Halak in net.  These two teams will rematch on Thursday night in Ottawa.... Marc-Andre Fleury pitched a 1-0 shutout against the NJ Devils for his fifth of the season and that leads the league. Fleury continues to be a premier fantasy goalie and has been adding shutouts to his stat line over the past 2 seasons. The most shutouts he had in a season was 5 and he accomplished that twice in his career.... One of the most consistent lines this season has been the Vancouver Canuck line of Daniel Sedin-Henrik Sedin-Radim Vrbata as the trio continued their fine season with a combined 7 points in the Canuck 4-3 win over the Washington Capitals. Ryan Miller earned his 16th win, tying atop the league with Rinne. With the victory, Vancouver now sits atop the Western Conference tied with the Anaheim Ducks with 35 points.  This has been a nice bounce back season for Vancouver.... Even though they still languish near the bottom of the Eastern Conference, the Buffalo Sabres are inching back to respectability as they have won 6 of their last 7 games, gaining 12 of a possible 14 points.....Jhonas Enroth has been on fire lately going 5-1-0 so if you are in need of goaltending help, take a shot with Enroth while he's hot.... Roberto Luongo was brought in to provide stability in the net for the Florida Panthers while their young talent gets some experience. Well, it is paying off already as the Cats have been in just about every game this season and surprised the Detroit Red Wings by going into their building and coming away with a 4-3 victory.  Luongo has been a decent depth goalie to have this year, and can be used as a spot starter every now and then.....Keep an eye on Panther Vincent Trocheck (G, 2A) as he now has 5 points in last three games. He does have the skill set but may not be consistent enough, yet.... The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Dallas Stars ...

I think the Philadelphia Flyers will be happy ‘not' to see NY Rangers' backup goalie Cam Talbot (26 SV) after they lost twice by shutout to the Ranger backup goaltender in the past 9 days. However, they will be facing a fresh Henrik Lundqvist on the back end of a home-and-home series, which is not a good way to snap out of a team slump where the Flyers have lost 7 of their last 8....Derek Stepan assisted on all three Ranger goals and with 7 points in last 5 games, it is safe to say that he is on fire right now....Martin St. Louis had a goal and an assist giving him 1,000 points in his 1,082 game career. Congratulations Marty!...After getting injured in his first game as a New York Ranger, D Dan Boyle has shown just how dynamic he can be for the Ranger power play as he scored his 2nd pp goal in past 2 games. There had been concerns about Boyle's age and his play diminishing, but I think he is answering those....Speaking of Ranger D-men, Ryan McDonagh returned to the lineup after leaving the Nov. 1st game against the Winnipeg Jets. It may take a few games to get back into rhythm, but it shouldn't take long..... Patrick Kane scored twice against the Anaheim Ducks as the Chicago Blackhawks took it to the Ducks early and never let them into the game....Kris Versteeg has been on fire lately as he notched 2 assists giving him 9 points in last 6 games. If in need of forward depth or a back end starter, grab Versteeg on a high-powered offensive team like the Blackhawks.... After a slow start with his new team, D Matt Niskanen had 3 assists against the NY Islanders making it points in three consecutive games and 10 points in 22 games. If available, pick him up as it appears that Niskanen is starting to heat up.... Ryan Miller is loving life in Vancouver as he blanked the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-0 for his second consecutive shutout and his 15th victory, tying him with Pekka Rinne of Nashville for the league lead in wins. Miller has been nothing less than spectacular since signing as a free agent over the summer and taking the reins as the Canucks no. 1 in net....Nick Bonino had 3 assists in the game and now has 19 points in 22 games. He has been the model of consistency with points in 14 of those 22 games.  Good depth forward for your fantasy team.... The Carolina Hurricanes finished their 5-game road trip with an improbable win over the Penguins in Pittsburgh 4-2. Jiri Tlusty was the catalyst on offense for the Canes and there is speculation that Mr. Tlusty may ...

Poor Mike Smith out there in Arizona, as a promising start against Colorado last night just blew up in his face after the Colorado Avalanche rallied for four unanswered goals to register the 4-3 win. Despite Head coach Dave Tippett defending his play recently, the "ice cold" goalie has not won in his last seven starts while posting an overall 3.26 GAA and a .893 SP. We been endorsing Devan Dubnyk as a quality sleeper pickup for goalie-starved fantasy owners, as Mike Smith continues to distance himself from his huge breakout season from a few years back. On the injury front, I hope all of you Brian Elliott owners stashed away Jake Allen early on as Elliott left the game last night with a lower-body injury and did not return. Our own 'Razor spoke wrote about Allen being on the cusp of fantasy relevance in his BTP yesterday, so maybe his time is now if Elliott is out for awhile. No word yet on the severity of his injury.. Now on to our top-five: 1. Ryan Miller- An emotional night in Vancouver starting with a stirring ceremony for the late Pat Quinn and marked by the return of goalie Cory Schneider, but the late headlines belonged to Ryan Miller in the end. The Canuck's back-stopper saved all 20 shots his way for his 31st career shutout and his league-leading 14th win. I don't see much of a letdown coming for Miller, but keep in mind that his peripheral stats- 2.47 GAA &.908 SP- are just above average, so any prolonged slumps for Vancouver could hurt his fantasy value at some point. 2. John Klingberg- For those starting the young Dallas defender this week, he reaped immediate dividends with a goal and an assist, raising his totals to eight points in games. Obviously, the point-per-game "madness" will have stop sooner or later but the 22-year old has legit offensive upside. 3. Gabriel Landeskog- We told you to "buy low" on either him or Nathan McKinnon, as the tandem are showing real signs of busting out of an early-season slump. Landeskog led the Colorado Avalanche to a furious 4-3 comeback victory over Arizona, scoring two huge goals and stretching his point streak to four games. 4. Evander Kane- The fantasy enigma known as EK was enormous in Winnipeg's 4-2 win over Columbus, striking twice on the power-play. While the overall stats appear meager at 8 points in 15 games, he has registered 7 in the last 10 games. In his sixth NHL season, fantasy owners are running out of patience for his long-awaited break-out. All the high-end skill in the world, but ...

*** PRIME 120+ RANKINGS have been updated. Take a look at your favorite players and see where they are ranked in our RANKINGS Section in the right hand side of your home page. .*Ranger's goalie Henrik Lundqvist was the fantasy star of the night in MSG, snapping a three game skid with his 21-save shutout in 5-0 win over Montreal. Although his peripheral numbers are not what they used to be-2.51 GAA/ .914 SP- he can still be dominant in long stretches and is a solid no 1 fantasy option. It just seems other goalies have caught up.. Martin St. Louis led the offense with a goal and an assist, extending his point streak to four games. With 11 points in his last ten contests, he should be starting in all formats. *Jannik Hansen provided the bulk of Vancouvers offense in the 5-1 victory over Chicago, collecting a "hat trick". Not much fantasy value here, but goalie Ryan Miller continued to stake to claim to elite honors with another impressive effort, winning three of his last four starts. *For St. Louis, defenseman Alex Pietrangelo chipped on with two more assists, giving him four in last 2 games. He earned that he could heat up in a hurry, so target him I'm trade talks if you can. We think he is still getting to the 50.. *Ryan Kesler assisted on both goals in Anaheim's 2-1 win over Arizona, while goalie Federik Andersen was only beaten once in 26 shots. Mike Smith performed amirably in the Arizona crease, but the trend continues- Smith Keeps losing and Devan Dubnyk keeps winning. Something has to give here.. WHO'S HOT, WHO'S NOT Featured every week i nthe right margin======> Who's Hot as of 11/23 PLAYER               GP   G  A  +/-  PIM  SOG Steven Stamkos   8     6   4    3     4      21 Kris Versteeg       7      4   5    3     9      21 Jori Lehtera         7      4    5    5     0      19 Jaden Schwartz 7      2    7    4     0      16 Marian Hossa      7      1    8    2     0      18 Patrick Kane       7      4    5     1     0      22   Nick Bjugstad     6      5    3     5     0      19 Who's Not as of 11/23 PLAYER             GP   G   A    +/-   PIM  SOG Kris Letang         6      0   1    -2       6       22 Thomas Vanek   6     0    2    -2       0        9  Tomas Fleischmann 6 1 0     -1       0       8 Henrik Zetterberg 6   0   1    -4        0     20 Bryan Little         7      1   0     -2       0       9 Nail Yalupov       7      1   0     -4       0      17 Scott Hartnell     6     0    0     -3       6      16

Just as Tuesday night was good to be the home team with 10 of 11 teams winning at home, Friday night was good to be out on the road with 5 of the 6 visiting teams taking home the 2 points. The night was sandwiched around shutouts, first by New Jersey's Cory Schneider who seems to be getting into a groove after a rough 4 game stretch and then by, of all goalies, Arizona's Devan Dubnyk. I'm not too surprised by Schneider's 1-0 blanking of the Washington Capitals but Dubnyk?  I guess with the way Mike Smith has been playing of late, even last year's Holey Goalie was a better option. I would continue starting Schneider but don't have a lot of faith in Dubnyk.  Dubnyk may have earned another start, but Smith will be their starter....Schneider played well but the Devils caught a break when Mike Cammalleri intercepted a pass from Washington G Braden Holtby and fired the miscue into the net for his seventh goal and the game-winner. Cammalleri has provided the offense the Devils were lacking last year.  Good signing Lou!.... Arizona D-man Keith Yandle continues to be a somewhat undervalued beast on defense as he scored a goal and 2 assists and now leads the Coyotes in scoring with 14 points in 17 games. Yandle has led the team in scoring the past two seasons and it looks like he is heading for the trifecta....Hats off to Martin Hanzal who had a hat trick in the 5-0 pasting of the Vancouver Canucks. Hanzal is a decent depth fantasy forward but that's about it....I guess you could say that Vancouver's G Ryan Miller was due for a clunker after an 11-2-0 start. Expect Miller to return to form in his next start..... IT was quite a matchup between two teams who have been frequent exchangers of players over the past few years. Steve Mason didn't fare as well as he would have liked against his former team, losing 4-3 and only stopping 34 of 38 SOG. Mason has not fared as well as last season, but the young goalie should shake off the inconsistency.... Jakub Voracek, another ex-Blue Jacket, had a better game with goal and an assist to continue his torrid start to the 2014 season. He now has 24 points in 17 games and is 1 point behind league leader Sidney Crosby. WOW!...Ex-Flyer Scott Hartnell tried his darnedness to get on the score sheet as he took 6 SOG, but Mason gobbled those up....Ryan Johansen had a 4 assist night and along with Nick Foligno (2G, A) are your best options for offense on Columbus....Blue Jacket D-man James Wisniewski scored his first 2 goals on the ...

Miller allowed four goals on 22 shots in the Canucks loss to the Kings on Saturday. After taking Sunday off, Miller will be back between the pipes tonight vs. the Senators. After one bad start there is no reason to panic, he has won 10 of 12 with a 2.42 GAA and .913 SV%, get him in your lineup tonight.

A few miscellaneous notes about some NHL goaltenders who have surprised so far, both good and bad - SUNDAY MORNING COFFEE style. Ryan Miller has certainly been a pleasant surprise so far as he leads the NHL with 10 wins. Good for Vancouver as they have recovered nicely from last year's Tortorella debacle. It is no surprise that Pekka Rinne is at the top of the win category as he is definitely recovered from last year's hip surgery/infection fiasco. His save percentage could be a tad better, but give the guy a break, he is sporting a sparkling 1.81 GAA. Probably the biggest surprise, to me at least, is the performance by Winnipeg's Ondrej Pavelec. He has started every game but one and his numbers back up that decision with a 1.98 GAA and .928 SP.  I never thought he would put up those kind of numbers.  I always wished he would when I had him on my fantasy teams, but it took him a few years I guess. Darcy Kuemper would have topped Pavelec especially after his 3 shutouts in his first 4 games of the season, but the bloom has fallen off that rose as he has given up 4 goals in each of the past 2 starts. Josh Harding has returned to practice after his team suspension for breaking his foot in the off-season. Harding may be a few weeks away from wrestling the starting job back. It took a few years, and a few teams, but Ben Bishop has finally landed in the right spot as Tampa Bay's no. 1. Since taking over the starter's job last year, Bishop has been nothing less than terrific.  37 wins last year and will probably reach 40+ this season. Cam Ward was left for dead after last season but one bad season, especially an injury-riddled one, should not be the reason to cast aside an established NHL starter.  After starting out 0-3-1 this season, most of those critics were probably rubbing their hands with satisfaction but true competitors always rise to the occasion.  November started a new month and a new life for Ward as he rattled off 5 wins in a row.  Ward is back as the no. 1 in Carolina. I would've expected better metrics out of Cory Schneider but he does have a 6-5-2 record and has started every game a la Martin Brodeur, so you know you have to stick with him. His numbers, 2.91 GAA and .906, should improve as the season progresses.  His play has been up and down already this season but should flat line soon. You may have recalled that there was a goaltending controversy brewing in San Jose at the beginning of the year about Alex Stalock getting a lot more starts ...