After a lengthy absence, Stamkos is reportedly close to making his way back into Tampa Bay's lineup. How would his possible return impact the team's playoff push?

SMC 3/12/2017 THE FINAL COUNTDOWN! As spring approaches the days are getting colder….no worries, I got my hot cup of coffee at the ready! With spring also comes the end of the NHL regular season.  This will be my last SMC for this year. AS always it was a pleasure so I hope you enjoyed it as well.  I’ll be back at the start of the 2017-2018 season and hope that you will be back too. The big, bad Boston Bruins are looking pretty good of late. Better watch out for them in the playoffs! Tuukka Rask could be huge in the B’s run for the Cup this year. I know that Brad Marchand is having another stellar year but Patrice Bergeron goes unnoticed all the time.  It sucks being taken for granted. PrimePucks™ had David Pastrnak for 58 points and 27 goals this season.  Not too shabby as he has 58 points with 28 goals in 61 games.  Boo-ya! Nashville is a funny team.  They have looked somewhat disinterested all season but have gone on a 5-3-2 run of late and are picking up the offense too. Viktor Arvidsson has had himself a career year this season with 24 goals and 48 points in 66 games.  didn’t expect his much out of him even though he had a good 2016 playoff run which stuck in my mind but couldn’t rationalize giving him more than the 20 points because there was so much depth in front of him.  Missed this one which just goes to show that you should trust your gut Ray. Buffalo beat Columbus on Saturday 5-3 doing what so few teams have been able to do this season against the Blue Jackets, score 4 or more goals.  In the Blue Jackets 18 losses, 12 of those the opposition has scored 4 or more goals. Oliver Bjorkstrand is a talented right winger for Columbus that you should remember for next season’s fantasy hockey draft as he has 9 points in just 17 games this season, and he likes to shoot the puck with 36 total so far. Tampa Bay is inching closer to a playoff spot….and Steven Stamkos is inching closer to a return to the lineup… Ondrej Palat picked up his game with a few players missing action on Saturday night.  Palat usually picks up his game near the end of the season. Toronto-Carolina used to be one of those ‘who cares?” match ups.  Not anymore, especially for Leaf fans. Who shot JVR?  No one.  He’s got 4 points in last 5 games with 20 shots on goal.  Duck! Is Calgary and Brian Elliott hot or what? 9-0-1 in last 10….and 14-2-1 in last 17 games. Ottawa not struggling to make the playoffs this year.  But how far can they go? The Islanders were definitely tired in St. ...

W.W.O.R.D.  The Dog Paddle  11/26/2016 So the NNHL season is past the 1uarter mark and your fantasy team seems to be treading water with most of your top selections not carrying their own weight, the weight that you expected would carry you to victory from Day 1.  But what happens along the way can always be frustrating especially so early in the season.  Events like injuries, rookie sensations, line chemistry (both good & bad), and players just having off seasons.  In the case of my 3 fantasy teams, I am mired in last place in one, 3-3 in another and 2-4 with my last team with all three dealing with any combination of the aforementioned events. So what am I doing about it?  I am trying to hold faith in my core players and wait for them to gravitate to their normal averages, while the others are fill-ins unless something better comes along on the waiver wire.  In the case of your core players, sometimes they are battling an injury that has not been made public.  You are frustrated by their lack of production and for the life of you, you don’t understand why.  It could very well be they are hiding an injury, but since it is an unknown, you just have to keep your faith and hope that they will turn their season around and get close to career averages. If you have a key player lost to an injury for an elongated period of time, say 3-4 weeks or more, then there isn’t much you can do unless you can predict who will pick up for the lost production on the NHL team, but sometimes it is better to just take a chance on a top forward on a lesser NHL team.  In most fantasy leagues, teams shy away from certain teams because of their lack of production and their poor plus/minus numbers.  If their upcoming schedule looks favorable, then you just might want to take a chance on some of those players.  Those lost for practically the remainder of the season, i.e., Steven Stamkos, then you just have to hope that your bench can give you good results on a weekly basis depending on who you fill in the spot with. It’s a long fantasy season and it doesn’t feel good to be chasing the teams above from the start, but if you drafted well, you just have to let the players play and for the most part they will get you close to the production that you were expecting.  For those talented players who are not producing so far this season, perhaps the approaching New Year will give them the change they need to spark them. So if you see some players who aren’t living up to standards, perhaps...

Have a few names to throw out there... the Steven Stamkos injury has produced opportunities for Valtteri Fillipula to get more minutes on the top power-play unit. Watch him as he can benefit from the Bolts firepower... Sam Gagner hasn't been fantasy relevant in years, but he has been clicking on the surging Columbus power-play. They are bound to slow down, but SG offers decent short-term upside... I guess Tyler Bozak didn't need Phil Kessel as much as originally thought as he is scoring close to a point-per-game clip. Lots of credit goes to rookie Mitch Marner who has been grabbing many of the headlines away from Austen Matthews. Both are worthy fantasy assets...not much on defense standing out but am loving goalie Chad Johnson on a suddenly rising Flames squad. I wasn't as big in Brian Elliott as most were when he signed with the Flames as I felt Johnson could steal some starts. Well the time is now...

Steven Stamkos is in a great spot as the Tampa Bay Lightning take on the New York Islanders tonight. Which other players should we check out for NHL DFS?

Steven Stamkos is the most expensive skater of the day, but he should be well worth the cost. Who else should you include in your lineups?

St. Louis: The emergence of d-man Colton Parayko gives the blue line much needed top-heavy depth but the question remains whether Jake Allen can carry the sole burden of manning the crease with Brian Elliott now in Calgary. The balanced offensive attack should continue to provide enough firepower, but it should be time for Vladimir Tarasenko to enter elite territory as a sniping forward. What will the Nail Yakupov addition do for the team? If he can finally fulfill his potential, look out. Playoffs: Another deep run Tampa Bay: Absolutely our odds-on favorite to represent the Eastern Conference in the Cup Finals. The Bolts are stacked on offense with Steven Stamkos back healthy and Nikita Kucherov on the verge of being signed. Look for new coaching assistant Todd Richards to bolster the power-play by heavily riding the top guns. A surplus of riches in goal can yield huge dividends if Ben Bishop is traded during the season. Playoffs: Cup bound Toronto: Auston Matthews will be a legit superstar before you know it, but the rebuilding Leafs are far from playoff contention. Federik Andersen will bring some skill and stability to the goal while Morgan Rielly will be the defensive cornerstone for years to come. Pre-Mike Babcock holdovers JVR and Nazem Kadri need to take the next step in their offensive development while the youngsters continue to gel. Easier said than done. Playoffs: No chance Washington: A disappointing playoff exit at the hands of the Penguins should not take away from what a tremendous team coach Trotz leads into the season. Elite in all areas from forwards(Ovechkin, Backstrom, Kuznetsov), defense (John Carlson) to goaltending(Brayden Holtby). The addition of Lars Eller helps the bottom-six depth while Justin Williams' intangibles bodes well for playoff success. Playoffs: Deep run but will Lightning strike? Winnipeg: The young Jets will be exciting to watch with the rookie Laine and 2nd-year Ehlers wowing their fans with their sublime offensive ability. Add Mark Scheifele breaking out and you have the looks of a massively improved scoring attack. Dustin Byfuglien will lead the D while a goaltending competition lessened a bit with the waiving of Ondrej Pavelec. Adios to the most overrated goaltender around. Many bright spots but a postseason berth not a lock. Playoffs: maybe 

The way I look at it, getting the Sedin twins into your lineup along with Jannik Hanson after their explosion in Columbus might depend on their opponent. Well, I like my chances against Craig Anderson and an Ottawa squad giving up tons of goals and really struggling at home... I mean, Steven Stamkos and company need to break out. Right? Here's hoping that Karri Ramo and the slumping Flames help the superstar get back on track.. Matt Duchene has been on the rise lately, so lets keep riding him with the reasonable price tag... Perhaps no forward in the NHL is streakier than Thomas Vanek, so you need to take notice after his scoring outburst a game back. No Zach Parise means more Vanek. Play him...  I dont usually spend too much on defense, so I am extremely happy with OEL and Edler against defensively challenged teams.. Can the Devils replicate their winning form against Chicago at the "Mad House On Madison"? Nah, Corey Crawford will shut down this overachieving bunch. STEVE'S PICKS C Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay C Henrik Sedin, Vancouver W Daniel Sedin,Vancouver W Jannik Hansen,Vancouver W Thomas Vanek, Minnesota D Alex Edler,Vancouver D Oliver-Ekman Larsson, Arizona G Corey Crawford, Chicago U Matt Duchene, Colorado

A lot of good matchups tonight with some struggling teams in Pittsburgh and Edmonton looking for their first wins while Montreal & Nashville look to remain unbeaten with games against the NY teams. We all know that the Penguins are ready to burst out in a big way with the amount of offensive talent they have but can they break thorugh against red-hot Ottawa goalie Craig Anderson?  Ottawa did play last night in Columbus and scored 7 goals.  That usally results in a lack of production the next game, so we shall see.  Dallas-Tampa Bay can be very explosive as well with both teams sporting some high octane talent up front.  RAY'S PICKS G: Roberto Luongo-FLA ($8,400) D: Alex Pietrangelo-STL ($5,500) D: Colton Parayko-STL ($3,000) LW: Jonathan Huberdeau-FLA ($5,000) LW: Jonathan Drouin-TB ($4,600) RW: Vladimir Tarasenko-STL ($8,200) RW: Phil Kessel-PIT ($7,900) C; Steven Stamkos-TB ($8,500) C: Teuvo Teravainen-CHI ($3,800)  

The Tampa Bay Lightning had their hands full with Philadelphia in their home opener, but they won't be playing too tight in today's road contest in Buffalo. Steven Stamkos was held off the scoreboard but his line-mates Ryan Callahan and Jonathan Drouin combined for four points. I had a feeling that the top line was going to come out like gang-busters to open season, so Game 2 should be no different. Play Stamkos at top value while the other two can still be had on the cheap. With Robin Lehner out of the Buffalo goal and the much weaker Chad Johnson to take his place, look for the Bolts to give Jack Eichel's Sabres a butt whipping.. Newsflash- the Leafs have hired an elite coach who has inherited quite possibly the weakest squad in the NHL. Look for Kyle Turris and company to hand them a decisive loss in this heated provincial rivalry.. As long as Victor Hedman is healthy, he warrants top fantasy consideration every night as long as the price stays right... Great value with Washington's Matt Niskanen who can pick up an odd assist or two against the rebuilding Devils in their second game in two nights.. MAF in goal should be among the safest bets as the Penguins will exact revenge on the lowly Coyotes after suffering a shutout loss in their opener in Dallas. STEVE'S PICKS C STEVEN STAMKOS, TAMPA BAY C KYLE TURRIS, OTTAWA LW JONATHAN DROUIN LW MIKE HOFFMAN RW RYAN CALLAHAN RW MARIAN HOSSA D VICTOR HEDMAN D MATT NISKANEN G MARC-ANDRE FLEURY