Kyle Okposo- NY Islanders, RW (Owned in 38.7% of ESPN leagues) It's the third consecutive week that Okposo has made our list, which basically means that most fantasy owners have not bought into the hype yet. Well, it might be time as the underachieving winger has cashed in on his first line duties for the Islanders with 8 points in the last 6 games, including three multi-point efforts in the last four. Playing with John Tavares has its' privileges, but their new-found chemistry should result in a breakout season for Okposo. Hopefully, he stays on the no. 1 line, but considering how well he has fit in with Tavares and Moulson, he should be picked up in all fantasy formats. Mark Arcobello- Edmonton , LW-C (Owned in 15.2% of ESPN leagues) Because of a flood of injuries to key Oiler forwards at the onset of the season, the 25-year old has made the big team and has delivered thus far with 8 points in 9 games. He is proving that his 68-point season in the AHL last year was no fluke, playing with the likes of Hopkins, Eberle, and Hall for the Oklahoma City Barons during the lockout. He has been mostly penciled on the 2nd line with Eberle and Ryan Smyth, but should remain a fixture in the top-six while Sam Gagner and now, Taylor Hall heal up and return to the line-up. Arcobello should be a solid short-term fix for your fantasy forward crop, as long as he stays on a scoring line for the Oilers. Tim Thomas- Florida, G (Owned in 25.5% of ESPN leagues) "Timmy T" is giving the Florida Panthers a nice boost in goal after returning from short-term injury. In his last two starts, Thomas nearly earned the win against his former team, the Boston Bruins with a 37-save effort and then stymied the Wild after stopping 30 of 31 shots for a 2-1 SO win. Granted, Florida is not a good team just yet and his 3.36 GAA/.901 SP is reflective of their overall shortcomings, but look for his numbers to improve as the season moves on. Don't be surprised if the former Vezina winner ends up as a decent no. 2 fantasy goalie option by the end of the season. Sami Salo- Tampa Bay, D (Owned in 46.4% of ESPN leagues) The 39-year old Finn has always shown the ability to put up points, but is notoriously prone to injuries. So far this season, Salo has taken over as the power-play quarterback for the high-scoring Tampa Bay Lightning, collecting five points in 7 games. You can't count on him to stay healthy for too long, but he is definitely a decent stopgap for fantasy teams that have a few ...

The Oilers and Hall owners are hoping that an MRI in Edmonton reveals no structural damage to his injured knee. Leaving the team on the road trip isn't exactly a good sign, but we'll have to wait and see what the MRI reveals.

Morning! Not a good week for defensemen in the NHL as quite a few well-known and prominent d-men went down from being hit from behind; Dan Boyle, Niklas Kronwall and Lubomir Visnovsky. I thought this hybrid icing was supposed to prevent all this? Nothing like playing against the Rangers to bring out the best in the Devils, who finally got their first win last night. Okay, so each team now has a win and regulation loss except the San Jose Sharks. You just might have seen this year's Stanley Cup matchup when Vancouver played Pittsburgh Saturday afternoon. I think it's safe to say that Sidney Crosby is heating up as he has averaged 3 points per game over the last 4 games. RNH is definitely having a bounce back season. He may have more points already than he did all of last year.   It just seems like it, doesn't it? Let's hope that Taylor Hall's knee injury isn't that serious. I like that they sent a message to Nail Yakupov by sitting him a few games. You just have to love that Colorado Avalanche team and the way Head Coach Patrick Roy has them playing. He has practically raised G Semyon Varlamov from the dead. Every once in a while Ryan Miller throws in a stinker of a game just like every goaltender, but for the most part this season, he has played fairly well. Too bad the Sabres can't score. This year's #1 overall draft selection C Nathan MacKinnon is off to a fine star with 7 points in his first 8 games. No surprise that both goals for the Nashville Predators last night came from the sticks of defensemen Shea Weber and Seth Jones. Get used to that. Brendan Gallagher is not letting the sophomore jinx play in his head as he took 9 SOG and scored the lone goal in Montreal's loss to the Preds. T-Rask showed Ben Bishop who's the boss as he blanked the Bolts last night. The B's finally offered some support by scoring 5 goals in that contest. I think Minnesota is glad to be done with visiting the Sunshine State teams now that they have lost both games there. Kyle Okposo just may have that breakout year that everyone has been waiting for. So far, and we're not even 10 games into the season, but Carolina is playing a lot better than I had thought they would. Caps Goalie Braden Holtby is starting to round into form after a shaky start to the season. I believe Chicago is really serious about winning back-to-back Stanley Cups. And they can do it. The Sharks have scored 39 goals so far. The next team is Toronto with 30.  Philly and the Rangers have scored the least ...

Good news as Hall did not return to the game in the second period. Stay tuned to see if Hall will be forced to miss any time.

The Hall centre experiment is over with the return of Nugent-Hopkins. Hall has shifted back to his natural position of LW with RNH and Eberle. Hall has one assist but is a minus-5 in two games so far.

Don't look now, but there might be a goaltending controversy brewing in New Jersey. Martin Brodeur has been tabbed as the Devil's starter, but Cory Schneider continues to play "lights out" in the crease. last night, he stopped 22 of 23 shots in the 2-1 win over the Philadephia Flyers. The goal allowed ended Schneider's 158:29 minutes streak of shutout netminding. Fantasy owners need to steer away from this murky goaltending situation, or at least know that Brodeur's undisputed position as the clear no.1 goalie will be seriously challenged by the newcomer... Claude Giroux returned to the Flyer lineup, recording an assist and playing a superb all-around game. He is safe to draft early, since he looks good to go for their season opener... Keep your eye on San Jose rookie Tomas Hertl, who continues to impress on Joe Thornton's line with two more goals. The Sharks have upped their preseason record to 5-0 and are clicking on all cylinders... Amidst all their injuries to key offensive players, the Edmonton Oilers will need to rely heavier on Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle, who collected a goal and two assists in the 5-3 win over the Rangers. Everyone is talking about Hall's potential breakout in '13-14, but don't sleep on Eberle. Great middle-round value pick in all fantasy formats. Training Camp Update: After a successful stint in camp so far, Damien Brunner has been signed by the New Jersey Devils to a multi-year deal. He will figure prominently on one of their top two scoring lines, making him a decent late-round sleeper. Plenty of skill for the 27-year old Swede, but can he last 82 games?... Jaromir Jagr returned to the morning skate for New Jersey on Tuesday. He will need to shake off the rust and get into some live action before the real games begin.. The Toronto Maple Leafs dodged a major bullet when learning that Phil Kessel's supension will only last through the preseason. Treat him as an elite RW fantasy option, as he is on the cusp of breaking the 90-point barrier. The 2013-2014 PrimePucks Fantasy Hockey Draft Guide has been updated.  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! PrimePucks™ continues to...

Phil Kessel scored two goals in the Toronto Maple Leaf's 5-3 victory over Buffalo last night, but his performance was overshadowed by a huge brawl that broke out which can result in David Clarkson getting a 10-game suspension to start the season because he left the bench. Kessel also received a match penalty because he retaliated with his stick against Buffalo enforcer John Scott. He will be automatically suspended until a further ruling is given by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman. Because of the nature of the incident, it's entirely possible Kessel misses a few games.... Colorado goalie Semyon Varlamov was outstanding in the 2-1 win over Anaheim, making 37 saves. With HOFer Patrick Roy behind the Avalanche bench, there will be pressure on the enigmatic Russian to push his game to a higher level after a ho-hum '12-13 season. So far, so good....Pekka Rinne looked sharp in his debut performance in the preseason, stopping all 13 shots in Nashville's 2-0 victory over the New York Islanders. Tough season for Rinne in '12-13, so this was an encouraging sign for his fantasy owners. Training Camp Update: The Edmonton Oilers are now reeling at center with the news that Sam Gagner will be out indefintely due to a broken jaw. With RNH also missing from the lineup, there is a chance that Jordan Eberle and Taylor Hall can both be utilized at center, dismantling one of the better fantasy tandems in the NHL. Monitor this situation, as things are getting tough up the middle in the City of Champions. PrimePucks™ continues to bring you the NHL IN 30 every day in the month of September, bringing you in-depth team analysis for the upcoming season. Today's featured team: The St. Louis Blues!  Don't forget to check back each and every day for the latest featured team!

Phil Kessel scored two goals in the Toronto Maple Leaf's 5-3 victory over Buffalo last night, but his performance was overshadowed by a huge brawl that broke out which can result in David Clarkson getting a 10-game suspension to start the season because he left the bench. Kessel also received a match penalty because he retaliated with his stick against Buffalo enforcer John Scott. He will be automatically suspended until a further ruling is given by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman. Because of the nature of the incident, it's entirely possible Kessel misses a few games.... Colorado goalie Semyon Varlamov was outstanding in the 2-1 win over Anaheim, making 37 saves. With HOFer Patrick Roy behind the Avalanche bench, there will be pressure on the enigmatic Russian to push his game to a higher level after a ho-hum '12-13 season. So far, so good....Pekka Rinne looked sharp in his debut performance in the preseason, stopping all 13 shots in Nashville's 2-0 victory over the New York Islanders. Tough season for Rinne in '12-13, so this was an encouraging sign for his fantasy owners. Training Camp Update: The Edmonton Oilers are now reeling at center with the news that Sam Gagner will be out indefintely due to a broken jaw. With RNH also missing from the lineup, there is a chance that Jordan Eberle and Taylor Hall can both be utilized at center, dismantling one of the better fantasy tandems in the NHL. Monitor this situation, as things are getting tough up the middle in the City of Champions. PrimePucks™ continues to bring you the NHL IN 30 every day in the month of September, bringing you in-depth team analysis for the upcoming season. Today's featured team: The St. Louis Blues!  Don't forget to check back each and every day for the latest featured team!

Phil Kessel scored two goals in the Toronto Maple Leaf's 5-3 victory over Buffalo last night, but his performance was overshadowed by a huge brawl that broke out which can result in David Clarkson getting a 10-game suspension to start the season because he left the bench. Kessel also received a match penalty because he retaliated with his stick against Buffalo enforcer John Scott. He will be automatically suspended until a further ruling is given by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman. Because of the nature of the incident, it's entirely possible Kessel misses a few games.... Colorado goalie Semyon Varlamov was outstanding in the 2-1 win over Anaheim, making 37 saves. With HOFer Patrick Roy behind the Avalanche bench, there will be pressure on the enigmatic Russian to push his game to a higher level after a ho-hum '12-13 season. So far, so good....Pekka Rinne looked sharp in his debut performance in the preseason, stopping all 13 shots in Nashville's 2-0 victory over the New York Islanders. Tough season for Rinne in '12-13, so this was an encouraging sign for his fantasy owners. Training Camp Update: The Edmonton Oilers are now reeling at center with the news that Sam Gagner will be out indefintely due to a broken jaw. With RNH also missing from the lineup, there is a chance that Jordan Eberle and Taylor Hall can both be utilized at center, dismantling one of the better fantasy tandems in the NHL. Monitor this situation, as things are getting tough up the middle in the City of Champions.

19-year old defenseman Hampus Lindholm netted the game-winning goal for Anaheim in the 4-1 win over Colorado. According to the Orange County Register, Ducks Coach Bruce Boudreau has been very impressed early on with their '12 first-round pick. With Sheldon Souray out long-term, the opportunity is there for either Lindholm or Sami Vatanen to make the team right out of camp... A couple of our favorite bounce-back candidates for '13 were on the offensive last night, as Jordan Eberle(G/2A) and Marian Gaborik(2G) were dominant in victories for their respective teams, Edmonton and Columbus. The question regarding Eberle is which pivot will line up with him and Taylor Hall to start the season. Among the various options discussed by Oiler's Coach Dallas Eakins is temporarily shifting Hall to center. This situation is worth monitoring closely. Meanwhile, the "on-off" theory suggests a motivated Gaborik during his contract year should be strong after a disappointing '12-13 campaign... Carolina goalie Cam Ward played the entire game in a 5-4 loss to Columbus, stopping only 26 of 31 shots. After missing most of last season, early rust should be expected for one of the NHL's true workhorses. However, play it smart and also consider adding backup Anton Khudobin to your fantasy squads. Just in case Ward falters, the youngster has shown the abilty to be stingy in net during his time playing behind Tuukka Rask in Boston. Huge upgrade over last season's backups Dan Ellis and Justin Peters. Training Camp Update: Joffrey Lupul(back) returned to practice for Toronto. He was back on the top line with Phil Kessel and Tyler Bozak. Point-per-game upside, but huge injury concerns when drafting him.. One of our prime deep sleepers, Cal Clutterbuck, will be out indefinitely for the New York Islanders due to a leg laceration. He had huge success with John Tavares back in their OHL days, but we will have to wait awhile to see if the two can rekindle their past scoring chemistry.. Detroit's Johan Franzen is day-to-day with a hip injury. Until further notice, pencil him on the second line. Let's see how camp plays out. ***ATTENTION FANTASY HOCKEY LEAGUE COMMISSIONERS*** If you are the commissioner of an upcoming fantasy hockey league and will be holding a draft soon,  PrimePucks has some goodies for you to distribute to your league members.  Look even better to your league members by giving them free stuff.  Who doesn't like free stuff?  Contact cj@primepucks.com to find out more. ...