Just one game on the Thanksgiving NHL slate, with the Nashville Predators blanking the Edmonton Oilers 1-0 behind a perfect night in the crease from Pekka Rinne (37 saves) and an overtime game-winner from rookie Filip Forsberg. These two rising Predators have made Nashville a team to watch for all fantasy owners, given that Shea Weber has been their only elite fantasy option in recent years. Rinne has also been there, but there were concerns whether he can bounce back successfully from last season's injury-plagued debacle. Well, he has responded with a resounding "yes", having won 15 of his 19 starts with a 1.82 GAA and a .932 SP. Continue to treat him like one of the better fantasy goalie options, as he hasn't showed any signs of slowing down. As for Filip Forsberg, the young forward treated his fan-base to a spectacular game-winner in OT, raising his point totals to 23 points in 22 games. This boy has flourished under coach Peter Laviolette's watch, and is emerging as a Calder Trophy favorite right under our eyes. Keep starting him until further notice..

As we have approached the season's quarter-mark, astute fantasy owners should be creating shopping lists of potential fantasy bargains they would love to acquire, whether via trade or off the waiver wire. A few defenders have started way off their normal scoring pace, which makes perfecting the "buy low" strategy essential toward maximizing your fantasy squad's potential the rest of the way. Here are two names to think about as their respective games begin to round into the shape: Roman Josi- The Nashville defender turned many heads with a 40-point effort in his third season last year as he benefitted from being paired with Shea Weber both even strength and on the power-play. The Swiss import did not enjoy the same level of success to begin this year, but he has been streaking over the last month with ten points in his last 14 games. His ownership percentage in ESPN fantasy is quickyl rising, but he is still available in a quarter of most fantasy leagues. Now that Josi has "righted" the ship, you can expect him to make a serious push toward a career-high in points. James Wisniewski- Nobody gets "written" off quicker than "the Wiz" but truth be told, only injuries can prevent him from ending up as top-ten fantasy option at season's end. After a sluggish start and a short injury hiatus, the hard-shooting defender has racked up eight points in his last ten games despite playing for a struggling Columbus squad. His 51 points last season was definitely not a fluke, so it makes no sense that a fantasy option with clear massive upside is still available in over 25% of leagues. Don't make that mistake; get him on the "cheap" and reap the rewards as he can blow up the rest of the season. Parting Shots- Speaking of rising fantasy stock, look no further than 18-year old Aaron Ekblad who is developing quicker than expected for a young and hungry Florida team. He has been paired off with veteran Brian Campbell on the top unit including the power-play and the results have been increasingly positive- nine points in his last 13 games. How this dynasty league stud is only owned in 29% of ESPN leagues is amazing, so do thr right thing and snatch him.. Ryan McDonagh could be returning to the New York Rangers for this afternoon tilt in Philadelphia, as he has been practicing on a pairing with Dan Girardi. Fresh off a "breakout" season where he racked up 43 points in 2013-14, the 25-year old will be joining a power-play unit that boasts a streaking Rick Nash and a ...

Boston Bruins stopped the red-hot Blues 2-0 behind Tuukka Rask's 33-save effort. Rask also stopped red-hot players such as Jori Lehtera, Jaden Schwartz and Vladimir Tarasenko which has been no small feat lately...Patrice Bergeron continued with his 4th goal and 9th point in 8 November games. His goal was the game-winner.  Bergeron is the definition of pure consistency and leadership..... Marc-Andre Fleury notched his fourth shutout on the season, blanking the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre 4-0. Not really known as A shutout goalie, Fleury has raised his game over the past two seasons, so look for his strong play to continue....Beau Bennett had a goal and 2 assists in the game, showing signs that he is getting his game in order. Bennett is still not getting a lot of ice time, but as long as he continues to have games like this, he will be relied upon more.  Remember that this is only his fourth game back after missing the start of the season.  Perhaps he will be the winger that the team needs to fill out their top-six.....Sidney Crosby scored his first goal in 9 games. That's sort of news.... Jimmy Howard continued his 2014 resurgence with a 5-0 shutout of the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Red Wings played a solid game without their superstar center Pavel Datsyuk who is sidelined again with a groin injury. Age is catching up to the talented Centerman, but is still very productive when in the lineup...5 different goal scorers for the Wings, most from their young forward core; Nyquist, Tatar, Jurco and Sheahen all scoring for the Red Wings.... The New York Islanders turned the page on the Tampa Bay Lightning who beat the NY Rangers 5-1 last night but lost to the Isles 5-2. There was an emotional letdown for the Bolts and the Islanders took full advantage by beating ex-Islander goaltender Evgeni Nabokov, who only saw his 4th start of the year... Like the Red Wings, the Isles had 5 different goal scorers and what was surprising was that John Tavares was held off the score sheet. Nothing to worry about though..... Buffalo did it again to the San Jose Sharks, beating them for a second time this season, this time by a score of 4-1. Sabres' starter Michal Neuvirth (LBI) had to leave the game and Jhonas Enroth held the Sharks at bay. Brian Gionta was the scoring star with 2 goals and an assist, but I would steer clear of any Sabres until you see more stability from the team as a whole.... The days of being a defensive-style team is long gone as the Nashville ...

Sorry for the delay, but I've been bogged down by the flu all day. Only able to muster a sip or two of coffee.  Well, here goes........ Lots of scoring yesterday which makes most fantasy fans very happy. Sid the Kid with 5 assists, proving once again that he is the No. 1 fantasy player on the planet. The Calgary Flames are an exciting team to watch. Flames D Mark Giordano leads all NHL defensemen in points with 18, followed by Brent Burns and T.J. Brodie. Where is Erik Karlsson? One thing about Karlsson is that he can catch up in a hurry. Kris Letang is back! Patric Hornqvist probably pinches himself every day to make sure his life is real playing in Pittsburgh. That Toronto-NY Ranger game on Saturday was a great game to watch. A classic back and forth battle. You can immediately tell how much Derek Stepan means to that offense. Montreal's 4 goals against Minnesota was the most they scored in the past 10 games. Ondrej Pavelec continues to prove me wrong. He has been brilliant in goal the last 7-8 games. Tampa Bay scored 7 agaisnt Columbus an Stamkos only had 1 assist. A bit disappointing to fantasy owners who saw the score and were probably salivating. Ryan Callahan could be gold playing alongside Stamkos as not only will he get points by attrition, but will also get you some PIMs too. Good to see Cam Atkinson taking 9 shots last night. Jakub Voracek is staying close to Sid in the scoring race with 3 points last night. From here on out, Claude Giroux should have a spectacular season. The NY Islanders won three straight on the road against LA, Anaheim and Arizona. Who wudda thunk it? The Carolina Hurricanes are for real after they came back down 2 goals to the Washington Capitals before losing in OT. They have gotten 9 out of a possible 10 points in November. What is up with Shea Weber this year? Wake up buddy. You're in a new system that should benefit your offense. I kind of miss that magic that Tomas Hertl had last year. That's it for me today. I gotta rest up.  Enjoy your week and I hope all your fantasies come true.

THE ELITE 3 (The top three fantasy players to own in any position) 1. Tyler Seguin C, Dallas   2. Patrick Kane RW, Chicago 3. Shea Weber D, Nashville GREAT BET TO REBOUND (Three players who are solid bounce-back candidates in 14-15') 1. Pekka Rinne G, Nashville   2. Jason Spezza C, Dallas 3. Tobias Enstrom D, Winnipeg HERE THEY COME.. (Three players who should be breaking out with career seasons) 1. Matt Duchene C, Colorado 2. Jamie Benn LW, Dallas 3. Brandon Saad LW, Chicago SLEEPER ALERT (Three players who should be late-round fantasy draft bargains) 1. Mikael Granlund C, Minnesota   2. Darcy Kuemper G, Minnesota   3. Trevor Daley D, Dallas BUYER BEWARE (Three players who will be overvalued in most fantasy leagues) 1. Duncan Keith C, Chicago   2. Jonathan Toews C, Chicago   3. James Neal LW, Nashville

As we enter the third day of free agency, most of the coveted UFA's have been signed and whisked away by the highest bidder, including defenseman Matt Niskanen. He was signed by Washington to the tune of a 7-year/$40.25M deal. However, I need to issue a word of caution to all fantasy owners who think that such a financially lucrative signing automatically signals Niskanen's ascent to the upper echelon of fantasy d-men. While it does appear he is entering a very fantasy-friendly situation with Alex Ovechkin's Capitals, there are clears signs to make fantasy pundits pause. As I was glancing through Niskanen's career stats, I did notice that the 27-year old clearly had his breakout campaign last season with Pittsburgh. His 46 points ranked 12th in the NHL, with a huge assist to Kris Letang who missed a bunch of games due to several ailments. Prior to his prolific campaign, Niskanen had only surpassed 30 points once and 20 points three times in six full seasons. Not much of a past scoring pedigree to draw upon, but maybe, just maybe his monster season is a sign of things to come. Well, I decided to look at the career stats of the 11 defensemen that ranked ahead of him in points last season, and noticed something very interesting. Here is the list of each defenseman and in which full season (over 40 games) in their career did they collect 40+ pts. For example, it took the great Alex Pietrangelo his first full year on the job to surpass the 40-point mark. In comparison, Niskanen accomplished the feat for the first time in his seventh season. Let's see how the rest of the top 11 fared: Erik Karlsson, Ottawa            2nd yr. Duncan Keith, Chicago           4th yr. Shea Weber, Nashville            2nd yr. Dustin Byfuglien, Winnipeg     4th yr. Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay    5th yr. PK Subban, Montreal             4th yr. Keith Yandle, Phoenix            3rd yr. James Wisniewski, Columbus 5th yr. Niklas Kronwall, Detroit          3rd yr. Mark Giordano, Calgary         4th yr. With the exception of Hedman and Wisniewski, the rest of the d-men had their classic breakout season within four years of the start of their NHL career. The fact that Niskanen had his "coming out" party in Year 7 raises a red flag for myself. Also, he had been a member of the Penguins for three years prior, so obviously something just clicked last season. Maybe the dreaded contract year which brings the best out of so many chronic underachievers. I was also alarmed by the fact that he ...

BREAKING NEWS: The Nashville Predators have announced that they will not be extending the contract of Head coach Barry Trotz next season. The regular season was wrapped up yesterday with many fantasy owners hanging on the outcomes of mostly inconsequental games. Having to dance around key players being rested and AHLers being called up is part of the fantasy routine over the last few days. If you were lucky enough like myself to pull out a close win with some of your better guys not on the ice, more power to you. In terms of fantasy implications, the biggest news of the night was Daniel Sedin's injury in the Vancouver-Calgary game. After being hit from behind by the Flame's Paul Byron, the star winger was taken off the ice with a stretcher and briefly hospitalized. Thankfully, Sedin is in stable condition and considering Vancouver has missed the playoffs, he will have the offseason to recover. He was having one of his better games of the season with 2 goals, ending what was a miserable campaign for the usually consistent point-getter. Sedin should bounce back in a big way in '14-15, especially if John Tortorella is replaced by a more offensive-minded coach. What about the sudden emergence of Tampa Bay's Anders Lindback? The Lightning goalie was downright dreadful all season while backing up Ben Bishop, but now appears to be heating up at the most opportune time. His 18-save shutout of Washington gave him his second blanking in the last three starts, all wins. Coach John Cooper doesn't sound overly optimistic that Bishop will be able to play during the first round of the playoffs, making Lindback an interesting late-round possibility in your playoff pools.The Lightning don't figure to make it past a couple of rounds, but he can pack decent value in the short-term. Carolina's Eric Staal decided to show up yesterday, scoring two goals in the Hurricane's 6-5 SO win over the Flyers and finishing what was a very uneven season for the star center. His 61 points on the season marks the first time in 8 full seasons that he did not reach the 70-point mark. While the reports of his rapid demise is greatly exaggerated, most of his dip in offensive production was related to a woeful Carolina power-play which was ranked 28th in the NHL. Staal should also be targeted as a solid fantasy bounce-back option in next year's drafts. The Nashville Predators finished the season strong in the scoring department, racking up 14 goals over the two weekend games. Despite the ...

BREAKING NEWS: The Nashville Predators have announced that they will not be extending the contract of Head coach Barry Trotz next season. The regular season was wrapped up yesterday with many fantasy owners hanging on the outcomes of mostly inconsequental games. Having to dance around key players being rested and AHLers being called up is part of the fantasy routine over the last few days. If you were lucky enough like myself to pull out a close win with some of your better guys not on the ice, more power to you. In terms of fantasy implications, the biggest news of the night was Daniel Sedin's injury in the Vancouver-Calgary game. After being hit from behind by the Flame's Paul Byron, the star winger was taken off the ice with a stretcher and briefly hospitalized. Thankfully, Sedin is in stable condition and considering Vancouver has missed the playoffs, he will have the offseason to recover. He was having one of his better games of the season with 2 goals, ending what was a miserable campaign for the usually consistent point-getter. Sedin should bounce back in a big way in '14-15, especially if John Tortorella is replaced by a more offensive-minded coach. What about the sudden emergence of Tampa Bay's Anders Lindback? The Lightning goalie was downright dreadful all season while backing up Ben Bishop, but now appears to be heating up at the most opportune time. His 18-save shutout of Washington gave him his second blanking in the last three starts, all wins. Coach John Cooper doesn't sound overly optimistic that Bishop will be able to play during the first round of the playoffs, making Lindback an interesting late-round possibility in your playoff pools.The Lightning don't figure to make it past a couple of rounds, but he can pack decent value in the short-term. Carolina's Eric Staal decided to show up yesterday, scoring two goals in the Hurricane's 6-5 SO win over the Flyers and finishing what was a very uneven season for the star center. His 61 points on the season marks the first time in 8 full seasons that he did not reach the 70-point mark. While the reports of his rapid demise is greatly exaggerated, most of his dip in offensive production was related to a woeful Carolina power-play which was ranked 28th in the NHL. Staal should also be targeted as a solid fantasy bounce-back option in next year's drafts. The Nashville Predators finished the season strong in the scoring department, racking up 14 goals over the two weekend games. Despite the ...

Since his heroic shootout exploits against Team Russia in the Olympics, American winger T.J. Oshie hasn't followed up with the same success in his return to the NHL. After enduring a brief slump of 4 straight games without a point, the Blues forward had himself a heck of a night with a "hat trick" and 6 shots on goal. That gives him 6 points in the last two games and 60 on the season. His recent "hot" streak has helped him eclipse his previous career-high of 54 points set in 2011. Amongst the "potpourri" of interchangeable forwards utilized in Ken Hitchcock's balanced offensive scheme, Oshie has stood out as perhaps the most consistent forward option to own on St. Louis. So is it really much warmer in St. Louis than Buffalo? Well, if you ask Ryan Miller, I am sure he would agree. After turning aside 27 of 28 shots in the 5-1 demolition of Minnesota, the streaking goaltender has amassed an incredible 9-2-1 record since being traded to the Blues, along with a 2.03 GAA and a .918 SP. Maybe the elite goalie option in the NHL right now. Nashville's Shea Weber scored 2 more goals, raising his season total to 20, which is lofty by anyone's standards for a defenseman. With his career-high of 23 goals on the verge of being eclipsed, there are only a few fantasy blueliners better than the best Predator of all. What can you say about Tuukka Rask? Bouncing back after a tough home loss to Montreal, the Boston goalie prodigy stopped all 28 shots in the 3-0 shutout win over Chicago. With a 9-0-1 record over his last 10 starts, he is nearly unbeatable these days, but keep in mind that back-up Chad Johnson will get more starts over the last few weeks with Boston having nothing to play for. With Anders Lee stealing much of the rookie spotlight for the Islanders in the absence of the injured John Tavares, fantasy owners need also keep the more highly-skilled Ryan Strome on their fantasy radar for next season. His goal last night gives him 13 points in 28 games, but more importantly, he is gaining invaluable experience as he gobbles up big minutes with JT out. He could be poised for a huge jump next season, maybe 55-60 points. Anton Khudobin delivered another monster effort in the crease for Carolina, blanking Florida with 35 saves. His numbers are far superior to Cam Ward's, as he has gone 16-12 with a 2.20 GAA and a .929 SP. The Hurricanes would be wise to hand over the reigns to the young netminder for the remainder of the season. After being irrelevant for most of the ...

Since his heroic shootout exploits against Team Russia in the Olympics, American winger T.J. Oshie hasn't followed up with the same success in his return to the NHL. After enduring a brief slump of 4 straight games without a point, the Blues forward had himself a heck of a night with a "hat trick" and 6 shots on goal. That gives him 6 points in the last two games and 60 on the season. His recent "hot" streak has helped him eclipse his previous career-high of 54 points set in 2011. Amongst the "potpourri" of interchangeable forwards utilized in Ken Hitchcock's balanced offensive scheme, Oshie has stood out as perhaps the most consistent forward option to own on St. Louis. So is it really much warmer in St. Louis than Buffalo? Well, if you ask Ryan Miller, I am sure he would agree. After turning aside 27 of 28 shots in the 5-1 demolition of Minnesota, the streaking goaltender has amassed an incredible 9-2-1 record since being traded to the Blues, along with a 2.03 GAA and a .918 SP. Maybe the elite goalie option in the NHL right now. Nashville's Shea Weber scored 2 more goals, raising his season total to 20, which is lofty by anyone's standards for a defenseman. With his career-high of 23 goals on the verge of being eclipsed, there are only a few fantasy blueliners better than the best Predator of all. What can you say about Tuukka Rask? Bouncing back after a tough home loss to Montreal, the Boston goalie prodigy stopped all 28 shots in the 3-0 shutout win over Chicago. With a 9-0-1 record over his last 10 starts, he is nearly unbeatable these days, but keep in mind that back-up Chad Johnson will get more starts over the last few weeks with Boston having nothing to play for. With Anders Lee stealing much of the rookie spotlight for the Islanders in the absence of the injured John Tavares, fantasy owners need also keep the more highly-skilled Ryan Strome on their fantasy radar for next season. His goal last night gives him 13 points in 28 games, but more importantly, he is gaining invaluable experience as he gobbles up big minutes with JT out. He could be poised for a huge jump next season, maybe 55-60 points. Anton Khudobin delivered another monster effort in the crease for Carolina, blanking Florida with 35 saves. His numbers are far superior to Cam Ward's, as he has gone 16-12 with a 2.20 GAA and a .929 SP. The Hurricanes would be wise to hand over the reigns to the young netminder for the remainder of the season. After being irrelevant for most of the ...