After the whole Lightning team laying a "goose egg" in the 5-0 defeat to Boston in their last time out, superstars Steven Stamkos and Martin St. Louis combined for 6 points in the come-from-behind victory over the Chicago Blackhawks. Stamkos's 4 points gives him 8 in the last five games, while the OT game-winner by St. Louis plus an assist is 7 points in his last five. There is a perfect blend of fantasy "magic" between the 23-year old center, who is entering his prime and the 39-year old, who continues to defy the odds at his advanced age. Continue to roll both players with extreme confidence, as their team's success is completely tied to them leading the offense.. Not a great start for Chicago defenseman Nick Leddy, who played a season-low 11:26 minutes tonight, and now has gone scoreless in seven of the last eight games. Fantasy owners will not reap the complete rewards of Leddy's fantasy potential until he enhances his reputation as defensive liabilty. Stay patient, as the youngster is too talented not to keep scoring for long. Rask Shines In Goalie Duel: Even though David Krejci sealed the Boston win with one second left in the game, it was goalie Tuukka Rask who earned top fantasy honors with his brilliant 38-save performance. Shark's counterpart Antti Niemi was not nearly that busy, facing 17 shots but allowing two goals in the loss. It's a tossup between the netminders on who is the better fantasy option, but Rask has the early edge with a 1.26 GAA( 3rd in NHL) and .957 SP(2nd in NHL). If I had to take one.. give me a heavy dose of "TUUKKA"! My reasoning is entirely based on the fact the Boston Bruins usually perform better down the stretch, which is also known as "fantasy crunch-time". Get my point? All kidding aside, not much separation between the two.. With forward Loui Eriksson out indefinitely, veteran RW Jarome Iginla slides up the fantasy rankings as he will be leaned on more heavily to provide goals for the "B's". With his first goal of the season, he now has three points in the last two games. Iginla is starting to heat up, so get him in your lineups. Other Fantasy Game Notes: Anze Kopitar scored his first goal in 27 games for Los Angeles, including two assists in their 7-4 win over Phoenix. Despite his scoring drought, our fantasy outlook has not changed on the slick Slovenian pivot, who is a perennial draft bargain in the 4-5 rounds with point-per-game numbers every season... it's safe for Dallas goalie Kari Lehtonen to be activated ...

After the whole Lightning team laying a "goose egg" in the 5-0 defeat to Boston in their last time out, superstars Steven Stamkos and Martin St. Louis combined for 6 points in the come-from-behind victory over the Chicago Blackhawks. Stamkos's 4 points gives him 8 in the last five games, while the OT game-winner by St. Louis plus an assist is 7 points in his last five. There is a perfect blend of fantasy "magic" between the 23-year old center, who is entering his prime and the 39-year old, who continues to defy the odds at his advanced age. Continue to roll both players with extreme confidence, as their team's success is completely tied to them leading the offense.. Not a great start for Chicago defenseman Nick Leddy, who played a season-low 11:26 minutes tonight, and now has gone scoreless in seven of the last eight games. Fantasy owners will not reap the complete rewards of Leddy's fantasy potential until he enhances his reputation as defensive liabilty. Stay patient, as the youngster is too talented not to keep scoring for long. Rask Shines In Goalie Duel: Even though David Krejci sealed the Boston win with one second left in the game, it was goalie Tuukka Rask who earned top fantasy honors with his brilliant 38-save performance. Shark's counterpart Antti Niemi was not nearly that busy, facing 17 shots but allowing two goals in the loss. It's a tossup between the netminders on who is the better fantasy option, but Rask has the early edge with a 1.26 GAA( 3rd in NHL) and .957 SP(2nd in NHL). If I had to take one.. give me a heavy dose of "TUUKKA"! My reasoning is entirely based on the fact the Boston Bruins usually perform better down the stretch, which is also known as "fantasy crunch-time". Get my point? All kidding aside, not much separation between the two.. With forward Loui Eriksson out indefinitely, veteran RW Jarome Iginla slides up the fantasy rankings as he will be leaned on more heavily to provide goals for the "B's". With his first goal of the season, he now has three points in the last two games. Iginla is starting to heat up, so get him in your lineups. Other Fantasy Game Notes: Anze Kopitar scored his first goal in 27 games for Los Angeles, including two assists in their 7-4 win over Phoenix. Despite his scoring drought, our fantasy outlook has not changed on the slick Slovenian pivot, who is a perennial draft bargain in the 4-5 rounds with point-per-game numbers every season... it's safe for Dallas goalie Kari Lehtonen to be activated ...

The 2013-2014 PrimePucks Fantasy Hockey Draft Guide has been updated as of September 30th, 7:38 pm.  The Guide is revised with all the latest developments so that you can be prepared for your fantasy hockey draft.  As we near the start of the season, the Guide is updated more frequently so that you can be assured you have the most current and relevant information at your hands.  Just access the updated Guide through the FILES link in "My Account".  Get it now and WOW your fantasy opponents! Training Camp Notes: Veteran defenseman Ryan Whitney has found a home in Florida, signing with the Panthers for a one-year/ $900,000 contract. The new ownership continues to add complimentary pieces to improve the defense around starting goalie Tim Thomas.. As expected after the Cody Franson signing, the Toronto Maple Leafs have waived defenseman John-Michael Liles. Maybe a team in need of some help on the power-play will take a chance on him, but he has become a defensive liability these days.. A mild surprise in Tampa as hot-shot prospect Jonathan Drouin did not make the Lightning and will be returned to the juniors. Tremendous dynasty league upside, but there were preliminary plans to try him out with center Steven Stamkos .His time has not arrived yet, but the 18-year old has a bright future in the NHL..The Los Angeles Kings have opted to sent winger Tyler Toffoli to the minors. He impressively filled in for an injured Dustin Brown on the first line during training camp, but the team felt he was not ready yet.. According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Kris Letang's lower-body injury might not be that serious. Considering his track history of getting banged up, Letang owners need to cross their fingers, as a fantasy player of his elite stature cannot be replaced. He can easily be the top fantasy defenseman in '13-14....The Washington Capitals traded C Mathieu Perreault to the Anaheim Ducks for a minor league player and a draft pick. Perreault should get a chance with the Ducks as they look for some secondary offense.  Also in Perreault's favor is the familiarity with Anaheim Head Coach Bruce Boudreau, where he played in parts of 2+ seasons with Boudreau behind the Caps' bench.  Keep in mind that he did have 2 straight seasons of over 100 points in the QMJHL....RW Jannik Hansen signed a 4-year extension with the Vancouver Canucks. Fans, and management, are patiently waiting for a breakout.  Don't expect anything huge.

Veteran defenseman Ryan Whitney has found a home in Florida, signing with the Panthers for a one-year/ $900,000 contract. The new ownership continues to add complimentary pieces to improve the defense around starting goalie Tim Thomas.. As expected after the Cody Franson signing, the Toronto Maple Leafs have waived defenseman John-Michael Liles. Maybe a team in need of some help on the power-play will take a chance on him, but he has become a defensive liability these days.. A mild surprise in Tampa as hot-shot prospect Jonathan Drouin did not make the Lightning and will be returned to the juniors. Tremendous dynasty league upside, but there were preliminary plans to try him out with center Steven Stamkos .His time has not arrived yet, but the 18-year old has a bright future in the NHL..The Los Angeles Kings have opted to sent winger Tyler Toffoli to the minors. He impressively filled in for an injured Dustin Brown on the first line during training camp, but the team felt he was not ready yet.. According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Kris Letang's lower-body injury might not be that serious. Considering his track history of getting banged up, Letang owners need to cross their fingers, as a fantasy player of his elite stature cannot be replaced. He can easily be the top fantasy defenseman in '13-14.

FLYERS SIGN LECAVALIER: It won't be official until Friday, but the Philadelphia Flyers have won out over 15 teams reportedly interested in Vincent Lecavalier's services, by signing him to a five-year/ $22.5 million deal. Even though he will probably be the team's second-line center, Lecavalier should pack a decent one-two scoring punch up the middle with Claude Giroux. He did score 32 points in 39 games last season playing behind Steven Stamkos, so he has the ability to rack up points even when he is not the prime scoring threat. It might be too soon to tell, but landing in Philly doesn't appear to provide a huge fantasy upgrade for Lecavalier. read more

FLYERS SIGN LECAVALIER: It won't be official until Friday, but the Philadelphia Flyers have won out over 15 teams reportedly interested in Vincent Lecavalier's services, by signing him to a five-year/ $22.5 million deal. Even though he will probably be the team's second-line center, Lecavalier should pack a decent one-two scoring punch up the middle with Claude Giroux. He did score 32 points in 39 games last season playing behind Steven Stamkos, so he has the ability to rack up points even when he is not the prime scoring threat. It might be too soon to tell, but landing in Philly doesn't appear to provide a huge fantasy upgrade for Lecavalier. read more

It is too early, Stamkos said, to tell how the injury will affect his participation at the World Championship. Stamkos had committed to play for Canada earlier in the week.

I first have to say that my partner Ray created SMC, and he has faithfully done it every week, but unfortunately for all of you he had to travel to the midwest for a family issue, so the SMC has fallen to the B team. Be kind. Martin wins the title...Lightning forward Martin St. Louis is like a bottle of fine wine as he gets better every year. Congratulations to him on winning the NHL scoring title. Playing with Steven Stamkos, and having Sidney Crosby miss 12 games helped. The Price is not right...With an important seeding game against Toronto the Canadiens played Peter Budaj in goal last night instead of Carey Price? Methinks something is not right with Price. Suter or later...Minnesota Coach Mike Yeo said yesterday that Ryan Suter should be the unanimous choice for the Norris Trophy. Considering how well Suter played in the second half, he may be right. read more

Stamkos likely won't own up to the injury and miss time but if you're wondering why he only has 2 goals in April, this may be the reason.

BENOIT POULIOT LW- TAMPA BAY THE FACTS: The 26-year old has collected seven goals and 10 assists in 27 games.. Although he was held scoreless in yesterday's contest against Washington, he has three points in the last three games. THE VERDICT: After missing most of March due to a shoulder injury, the crafty winger is back on the top spot with Steven Stamkos and Martin St. Louis. With Vincent Lecavalier also back in the mix on the second line, look for Tampa Bay to be more prolific offensively. This should bode well for Pouliot to pick up his scoring again, as he had shown chemistry with his high-profile teammates prior to his injury. read more