Just the smell of coffee stirs my senses from their slumber! Let's hope that yesterday's 4 goals let in by Steve Mason doesn't happen too often. He is having a great season. The Flyers had a complete meltdown in just over a minute's time in the 2nd period against Dallas. In his second game back from injury, Seguin gets a hattie, his second one of the year. This kid can be soooo good. I guess Pascal Dupuis won't duplicate that 59-point season from two years ago. But Chris Kunitz is going to have a career-best season. Carey Price is having a most wonderful season. Dion Phaneuf had 5 SOG yesterday. That's correct, 5.  He actually had 4 the other day against San Jose too.  Erik Karlsson had 9 SOG, so take that Phaneuf!   LOL The Red Wings could only score 1 goal against Tim Thomas and the Florida Panthers? I know they were without Datsyuk and Zetterberg, but 1 goal? That was the game where former Panther Stephen Weiss was supposed to go off. He must not have gotten that memo. Nashville isn't helping with the Western Conference's dominance over the Eastern Conference. That Jay Bouwmeester is 6th among defensemen scoring. Who woulda thunk it? Jason Garrison has been reborn, and in the same season. The Rangers were lucky to get a point out of last night's game against the Devils. The Ducks really showed the Blues yesterday, huh? You just might be seeing a little more of Brian Elliott in net for St. Louis over the next stretch of games. The Oilers can score 8 goals against Colorado, but only 1 against Calgary? Wasn't that supposed to be the other way around? When Martin Jones shuts you out, you know you need to be ripped into by the coach. Come on Islanders, you're better than that, aren't you? With Jones' shutout and the way Ben Scrivens has been playing, Jonathan Quick can take all the time he needs to get back. Colonel Klinkhammer had an assist on Friday night. Yeah baby! For the most part, both Conference standings are settling into how they should look. With such little fanfare, Bryan Little has been quietly having a very good season with 27 points in 31 games played. Have a great week!

Mason gave up two goals on 34 shots in a win over the Red Wings on Wednesday. It was his third straight win and his 10th of the season. He is still yet to allow more than three goals in all 26 starts as a Flyer. He goes this afternoon against a Stars team who rank 12th in the NHL in scoring (2.70 G/PG).

ALL GOALIES CONFIRMED UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED AT TIME OF PRINT The Philadelphia Flyers, having won 3 of their last 4, head into Big D this afternoon to take on the Stars. Steve Mason gets the start and will be up against Kari Lehtonen (LIKELY) who has started 18 of the last 19 games for Dallas. Both goaltenders playing very well so toss a coin...Let's hope that 13 is not a bad sign for Marek Mazanec (LIKELY) who will be making his 13th consecutive start for Nashville tonight against Braden Holtby and the Washington Capitals. Even though he has lost 4 in a row, Maz has been playing well as the Preds await the return of Pekka RInne. The Capitals offense may be a bit too much for Mazanec.  Holtby should be able to backstop the Caps to a win....The Winnipeg Jets are off to Tampa Bay to take on Anders Lindback and the Lightning. Backup Al Montoya takes the reins for the Jets, a team that has lost 6 of the last 9 so playing against the Bolts is going to be a tough task....Jonas Gustavsson, who is playing lights out this season, may be gaining the edge for the No. 1 goaltending job in Detroit.   Gustavsson will be facing a revitalized Florida Panther team, but the Cats have lost 5 of their last 7, and with the incentive to grab the starter's role, the Monster may be too much for the Panthers to handle.  Tim Thomas should keep them in the game but Gustavsson is on fire....Craig Anderson gets another shot at keeping the starter's job tonight against the Toronto Maple Leafs who have been struggling of late. Hit with a rash of injuries at the Center position, the Leafs have lost 9 of 13 heading into tonight. Perhaps playing against an erratic Anderson will boost the Leafs' offense.  Jonathan Bernier (LIKELY) is coming off an impressive 3-2 overtime victory over Dallas and should get the best of the Sens...Carey Price has been playing lights out all season long and it is starting to show in his record. His metrics have been above average throughout the year so far and that should continue.  The Habs have a chance to share in the Conference lead if the Pens lose to the Boston Bruins in regulation.  Playing against the Buffalo Sabres, with Jhonas Enroth in net, should give them a very reasonable shot at that...Tuukka Rask (LIKELY) and the Boston Bruins are out to get right back in to the Conference battle for the top spot as they host the Pittsburgh Penguins. Marc-Andre Fleury and Rask will be on their game tonight as the battle between Yellow-and-Black should be a ...

SURPRISE 1 SORTA: Well, the first game on the night wasn't much of a surprise as the Montreal Canadiens behind backup Peter Budaj earned the extra point in a shootout victory over the New Jersey Devils and goaltender Cory Schneider. It was Schneider's first loss after winning three in a row but the surprising thing about this match was that 5 of the 6 goals scored in regulation were scored in the 3rd period.  The Habs took both matches of a home-and-home series....David Desharnais has found the confidence since being reunited with Max Pacioretty. DD has points in six of the last 8 games helping the Canadiens win 7 of those 8 games.  It may be your last chance to grab Desharnais from a disgruntled owner but that may have been easier a week ago.  The streak has them in 3rd place of the Eastern Conference with Boston and Pittsburgh ahead of them. They have a chance to move into a tie for first place if they win tonight over the Bruins and the Penguins lose in regulation to the San Jose Sharks.....SURPRISE 2: The Detroit Red Wings, without the services of Pavel Datysuk and Henrik Zetterberg because of injuries, took a 3-1 lead late into the second period before Jimmy Howard let in 5 unanswered goals (4 of those in the 3rd period) by the Philadelphia Flyers, stunning the Joe Louis Arena crowd with the Flyers winning 6-3.  Howard's play has at best erratic this season as he has been counted on to carry this talented Red Wing team.  Backup Jonas Gustavsson has a better record and better numbers so far this season. If you need goaltending help, and want to take a chance that Howard will return to form, then this is your best shot at getting him on the cheap...Philly G Steve Mason continued his superb season by turning aside 32 of 35 SOG, raising his record to 10-8-2. He has been the beneficiary of the resurgent Flyers offense as he has kept them in games even when they started the season off horribly.  Continue to start Mason with extreme confidence.... C Sean Couturier was the offensive star of the game with 2 goals and 2 assists in the contest. With only 14 points in 28 games, he hasn't been what the team hoped he would be, but he does have 10 points in his last 9 games.  Might be worth a, pardon the pun, flier....Matt Read and Scott Hartnell both chipped in with a goal and 2 assists each. Keep an eye on these two as they could get more involved in the Flyer offense....SURPRISE 3: After Coyote D-man Keith Yandle scored early in the first period, it was all ...

Well, the first game on the night wasn't much of a surprise as the Montreal Canadiens behind backup Peter Budaj earned the extra point in a shootout victory over the New Jersey Devils and goaltender Cory Schneider. It was Schneider's first loss after winning three in a row.  The Habs took both matches of a home-and-home series....David Desharnais has found the confidence since being reunited with Max Pacioretty. DD has points in six of the last 8 games helping the Canadiens win 7 of their past 8 games.  It may be your last chance to grab Desharnais from a disgruntled owner but that may have been easier a week ago.  The streak has them in 3rd place of the Eastern Conference with Boston and Pittsburgh ahead of them. They have a chance to move into a tie for first place if they win tonight over the Bruins and the Penguins lose in regulation to the San Jose Sharks.....The Detroit Red Wings, without the services of Pavel Datysuk and Henrik Zetterberg because of injuries, took a 3-1 lead late into the second period before Jimmy Howard let in 5 unanswered goals by the Philadelphia Flyers, stunning the Joe Louis Arena crowd with the Flyers winning 6-3. Howard's play has at best erratic this season as he has been counted on to carry this talented Red Wing team.  Backup Jonas Gustavsson has a better record and better numbers so far this season. If you need goaltending help, and want to take a chance that Howard will return to form, then this is your best shot at getting him on the cheap...Philly G Steve Mason continued his superb season by turning aside 32 of 35 SOG, raising his record to 10-8-2. He has been the beneficiary of the resurgent Flyers offense as he has kept them in games even when they started the season off horribly.  Continue to start Mason with extreme confidence.... C Sean Couturier was the offensive star of the game with 2 goals and 2 assists in the contest. With only 14 points in 28 games, he hasn't been what the team hoped he would be, but he does have 10 points in his last 9 games.  Might be worth a, pardon the pun, flier....Matt Read and Scott Hartnell both chipped in with a goal and 2 assists each. Keep an eye on these two as they could get more involved in the Flyer offense....After Coyote D-man Keith Yandle scored early in the first period, it was all Karri Ramo as he turned aside the other 29 SOG to earn his first victory after 4 straight losses. The surprising number is that Phoenix backup G Thomas Greiss let in 4 goals on only 18 SOG, ...

Mason allowed two goals on 26 shots in Saturday's 3-2 win over the Predators. It was a great game for Mason who moved to 4-1-0 in his last five. He will take on a depleted Red Wings squad in Detroit tonight - Mason is 3-2-2 with a 1.82 GAA and .943 SV% on the road.

ALL GOALIES CONFIRMED UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED AT TIME OF PRINT There are only three games tonight in the NHL. Montreal will play New Jersey in the first game. Corey Schneider has been confirmed as the starter for the Devils. We are big fans of Schneider's abilities, and regret that he is languishing in New Jersey which is going nowhere, and continues to view that old veteran Martin Brodeur as their starting goalie. At 41 years old Brodeur has begun to struggle lately losing his last three games.  His .906 save percentage is disconcerting considering how few shots he usually has to face.  Expect Schneider to get a number of starts in a row now.  His 1.71 goals against and .927 save percentage are just better than Brodeur.  That being said we like Carey Price tonight for Montreal. Price is having a solid season with 12 wins a 2.00 goals against and a .937 save percentage.  Montreal is just the better team, and Max Pacioretty and David Desharnais have begun to heat up, but expect Schneider to keep the game close. Jimmy Howard has been confirmed tonight for Detroit. The Red Wings have been on a tear lately with 4 straight wins, and 5 of their last 6.  Unfortunately, most of those wins have come from backup goaltender Jonas Gustavsson who at 7-0-1 has more wins than Howard. This is an important game for Howard if he wants to remain the starter.  His 6-7-6 record 2.57 goals against and .915 goals against are not impressive. With both Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg out, and Howard in goal we like Steve Mason in goal for Philadelphia, who has just been confirmed. After a miserable start, the Flyers have started to get hot, and Mason has been outstanding in goal with a 2.09 goals against and a .934 save percentage. We are very high on him. In the final game Phoenix goes against Calgary.  Karri Ramo has been confirmed in goal for Calgary, but we prefer Mike Smith for the Coyotes. Smith has 13 wins on the season, althought his goals against is only 3.02.  But Ramo's save percentage is only .890. FANTASY MUST STARTS Steve Mason, Philadelphia vs. Detroit Carey Price, Montreal vs New Jersey SLEEPER ALERT Karri Ramo, Calgary vs Phoenix DAILY GOALIE PICKS Steve: (35-26) Carey Price Ray: (31-28) Carey Price Mike: (30-26) Steve Mason           

ALL GOALIES CONFIRMED UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED AT TIME OF PRINT There are only three games tonight in the NHL. Montreal will play New Jersey in the first game. Corey Schneider has been confirmed as the starter for the Devils. We are big fans of Schneider's abilities, and regret that he is languishing in New Jersey which is going nowhere, and continues to view that old veteran Martin Brodeur as their starting goalie. At 41 years old Brodeur has begun to struggle lately losing his last three games.  His .906 save percentage is disconcerting considering how few shots he usually has to face.  Expect Schneider to get a number of starts in a row now.  His 1.71 goals against and .927 save percentage are just better than Brodeur.  That being said we like Carey Price tonight for Montreal. Price is having a solid season with 12 wins a 2.00 goals against and a .937 save percentage.  Montreal is just the better team, and Max Pacioretty and David Desharnais have begun to heat up, but expect Schneider to keep the game close. Jimmy Howard has been confirmed tonight for Detroit. The Red Wings have been on a tear lately with 4 straight wins, and 5 of their last 6.  Unfortunately, most of those wins have come from backup goaltender Jonas Gustavsson who at 7-0-1 has more wins than Howard. This is an important game for Howard if he wants to remain the starter.  His 6-7-6 record 2.57 goals against and .915 goals against are not impressive. With both Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg out, and Howard in goal we like Steve Mason in goal for Philadelphia, who has just been confirmed. After a miserable start, the Flyers have started to get hot, and Mason has been outstanding in goal with a 2.09 goals against and a .934 save percentage. We are very high on him. In the final game Phoenix goes against Calgary.  Karri Ramo has been confirmed in goal for Calgary, but we prefer Mike Smith for the Coyotes. Smith has 13 wins on the season, althought his goals against is only 3.02.  But Ramo's save percentage is only .890. FANTASY MUST STARTS Steve Mason, Philadelphia vs. Detroit Carey Price, Montreal vs New Jersey SLEEPER ALERT Karri Ramo, Calgary vs Phoenix DAILY GOALIE PICKS Steve: (35-26) Carey Price Ray: (31-28) Carey Price Mike: (30-26) Steve Mason           

Mason stopped 25 of 26 shots in a win over the Jets yesterday. Mason gets the call again tonight to take on the Predators. During his time with the Blue Jackets, Mason saw a lot of the Predators. Tonight will mark his 17th career starts against Nashville, he is 5-7-4 with a a 2.40 GAA and .913 SV% in the 16 previous.

Maosn allowed three goals on 31 shots in a loss to the Panthers on Monday. He gets the nod today in an unusually early puck-drop vs. the Jets. It is a solid matchup for a goalie who has been playing great this season. He is ranked ninth in SV% (.931) and 12th in GAA (2.17), continue to roll him.