One day after signing a 3-year/$17.4 million contract extension with St. Louis, forward Alexander Steen continues his "dream" season by scoring two goals in the 5-1 win over Montreal. With 24 tallies on the year, he only trails Alex Ovechkin for the NHL goal-scoring lead, but don't expect that to happen. As we approach the half-way mark of the season, fantasy owners should be tickled "pink" about the fantasy emergence of Steen, but based on his traditional scoring pedigree, you should strongly consider "selling high" on him. Despite the big game last night, his offensive production has decreased each of the last three months, albeit by a small margin: 16 pts(Oct.), 15(Nov.), and 7(Dec.). In his 5+ seasons with the Blues, his career-highs in a single season in goals and points are 24 and 51. The scoring-by-committee approach in St. Louis keeps individual scoring stats in check, so expecting Steen to be one of your elite fantasy forwards during the second half could be a risky proposition. Shop him and see what you can fetch in return. Any established 75-80 pt forward should do... Trust me. Play the numbers game in this situation. More Fantasy Game Notes: A dominant night in Philly for Claude Giroux, as the surging star scored 2 goals and 2 assists in the huge comeback win over Columbus. That's 10 points in his last five games, as he has turned around his season with the latest power surge. Forget about acquiring him on the cheap, but we told you to get his line-mate Jakub Voracek (1G/2A) before it's too late. Well, the window is closing fast as he is also "on fire"....Don't look now, but Matt Duchene is "killing it" lately with 9 points (4G/5A) in the last 5 games. It took a few games for the rising center to recover from his injury, but now he is back on the elite track.. Martin Jones wins again for the Kings, stopping 31 of 32 shots in the win over the Sharks. 7-0 record. A fantasy must-start for now.... Rookie Valeri Nichushkin scores again for Dallas. Watch him. Huge upside.... With a power-play goal, Calgary's Mark Giordano has 14 points in 17 games. The d-man has benefited from plenty of time with the man-advantage, so career numbers will be in store....30 in 30 for Taylor Hall, who continues to be a dominant offensive force for the woefully bad Edmonton Oilers with another big game (1G/1A).... Scott Clemmensen wins his fourth straight start for Florida, but his fantasy value is limited by the impending return of Tim Thomas from his third injury on...

One day after signing a 3-year/$17.4 million contract extension with St. Louis, forward Alexander Steen continues his "dream" season by scoring two goals in the 5-1 win over Montreal. With 24 tallies on the year, he only trails Alex Ovechkin for the NHL goal-scoring lead, but don't expect that happen. As we approach the half-way mark of the season, fantasy owners should be tickled "pink" about the fantasy emergence of Steen, but based on his traditional scoring pedigree, you should strongly consider "selling high" on him. Despite the big game last night, his offensive production has decreased each of the last three months, albeit by a small margin: 16 pts(Oct.), 15(Nov.), and 7(Dec.). In his 5+ seasons with the Blues, his career-highs in a single season in goals and points are 24 and 51. The scoring-by-committee approach in St. Louis should keeps individual scoring stats in check, so expecting Steen to be one of your elite fantasy forwards during the second half could be a risky proposition. Shop him and see what you fetch in return. Any established 75-80 pt forward should do... Trust me. Play the numbers game in this situation. More Fantasy Game Notes: A dominant night in Philly for Claude Giroux, as the surging star scored 2 goals and 2 assists in the huge comeback win over Columbus. That's 10 points in his last five games, as he has turned around his season with his latest power surge. Forget about acquiring him on the cheap, but we told you to get his line-mate Jakub Voracek(1G/2A) before it's too late. Well, the window is closing as he is also "on fire".. Don't look now, but Matt Duchene is "killing it" lately with 9 points (4G/5A) in the last 5 games. It took a few games for the rising center to recover from his injury, but now he is back on the elite track.. Martin Jones wins again for the Kings, stopping 31 of 32 shots in the win over the Sharks. 7-0 record. A fantasy must-start for now.. Rookie Valeri Nichuskin scores again for Dallas. Watch him. Huge upside.. With a power-play goal, Calgary's Mark Giordano has 14 points in 17 games. The d-man has benefited from plenty of time with the man-advantage, so career numbers will be in store..30 in 30 for Taylor Hall, who continues to be a dominant offensive force for the woefully bad Edmonton Oilers with another big game (1G/1A).. Scott Clemmensen wins his fourth straight start for Florida, but his fantasy value is limited by the impending return of Tim Thomas from his third injury on the season. The...

Thomas is eligible to return to the lineup next Friday vs. the Winnipeg Jets.

Thomas will accompany the Panthers on their four-game road trip that starts tomorrow in Montreal. Coach Peter Horachek said they are just being cautious. WIth Thomas out Scott Clemmensen will make the start tonight vs. the Capitals and Jacob Markstrom will serve as his backup.

Ten games last night in the NHL. First Florida goaltender Tim Thomas hurt himself in practice, and it was serious enough for the Panthers to recall Jacob Markstrom from the AHL. Looks like Scott Clemmensen will get the next few starts for the Panthers. Jay Feaster was fired as General Manager of the Calgary Flames and it looks like the Flames are seeking ex Dallas General Manager Joe Nieuwendyk to replace him.  Carolina activated Alex Semin off the IR list. Semin was having a quiet year with only 9 points in 20 games.  Maybe he will step it up now...New York Ranger goaltender Henrik Lundqvist continued to struggle last night allowing 3 quick goals against Columbus on only 13 shots and being replaced  by Cam Talbot. Lundqvist just signed a huge contract, so he is the Rangers man.  Young Columbus forward Ryan Johansen scored a goal, and he has a 7 games scoring streak. He is going to be a big fantasy player.  Columbus goaltender Curtis McElhinney had to leave the game with an injury and he was replaced by Mike McKenna, so Columbus is down to its 3rd string goaltender...Philadelphia beat the Canadiens as Flyer forward Claude Giroux continues to wake up this season after a very slow start. He had a goal and an assist last night and now has a respectable 23 points on the season.  Expect him to be a point per game player the rest of the season...Ottawa forward Bobby Ryan had a goal and an assist last night in the Senators win against Buffalo. Ryan has 30 points on the season, and you can expect him to continue scoring at this pace. Senators goaltender Craig Anderson finally had a big game with 40 saves. He may get a couple of starts based on yesterday's game, but we still lean toward Robin Lehner as the starter...Nice effort by Tampa Bay goaltender Ben Bishop with 28 saves in a 2-1 shootout win over Detroit. Bishop is having a great season with 16 wins and a 2.05 goals against and a .931 save percentage...Alex Steen continued his amazing season with a goal and an assist in the Blues 6-3 win over Toronto. He has 22 goals and 35 points on the season.  David Backes had 2 goals for St. Louis, and he is quietly putting up a good season with 15 goals and 29 points. Brian Elliott had 19 save in goal for the Blues with his second straight start. Expect Jaroslav Halak to be back in net for St. Louis for the next few games...Big night for Matt Duchene for Colorado as he had 2 goals and an assist in their 4-3 shootout win, plus he scored the winner in the shootout. ...

Ten games last night in the NHL. First Florida goaltender Tim Thomas hurt himself in practice, and it was serious enough for the Panthers to recall Jacob Markstrom from the AHL. Looks like Scott Clemmensen will get the next few starts for the Panthers. Jay Feaster was fired as General Manager of the Calgary Flames and it looks like the Flames are seeking ex Dallas General Manager Joe Nieuwendyk to replace him.  Carolina activated Alex Semin off the IR list. Semin was having a quiet year with only 9 points in 20 games.  Maybe he will step it up now...New York Ranger goaltender Henrik Lundqvist continued to struggle last night allowing 3 quick goals against Columbus on only 13 and being replaced  by Cam Talbot. Lundqvist just signed a huge contract, so he is the Rangers man.  Young Columbus forward Ryan Johansen scored a goal, and he has a 7 games scoring streak. He is going to be a big fantasy player.  Columbus goaltender Curtis McElhinney had to leave the game with an injury and he was replaced by Mike McKenna, so Columbus is down to its 3rd string goaltender...Philadelphia beat the Canadiens as Flyer forward Claude Giroux continues to wake up this season after a very slow start. He had a goal and an assist last night and now has a respectable 23 points on the season.  Expect him to be a point per game player the rest of the season...Ottawa forward Bobby Ryan had a goal and an assist last night in the Senators win against Buffalo. Ryan has 30 points on the season, and you can expect him to continue scoring at this pace. Senators goaltender Craig Anderson finally had a big game with 40 saves. He may get a couple of starts based on yesterday's game, but we still lean toward Robin Lehner as the starter...Nice effort by Tampa Bay goaltender Ben Bishop with 28 saves in a 2-1 shootout win over Detroit. Bishop is having a great season with 16 wins and a 2.05 goals against and a .931 save percentage...Alex Steen continued his amazing season with a goal and an assist in the Blues 6-3 win over Toronto. He has 22 goals and 35 points on the season.  David Backes had 2 goals for St. Louis, and he is quietly putting up a good season with 15 goals and 29 points. Brian Elliott had 19 save in goal for the Blues with his second straight start. Expect Jaroslav Halak to be back in net for St. Louis for the next few games...Big night for Matt Duchene for Colorado as he had 2 goals and an assist in their 4-3 shootout win, plus he scored in the winner in the shootout. Duchene...

The Panthers recalled Jacob Markstrom on an emergency basis, suggesting that Thomas will not be available for Friday's game.

Thomas stopped 22 of 23 shots in a 2-1 win over the Red Wings on Saturday night. He will be back in the cage tonight vs. Detroit again tonight, but Pavel Datsyuk will be in the lineup this time around. HE will look for his third straight win, but it is not the best matchup.

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!

It is crazy that at 39-years-old he can make 14 straight starts, but the Panthers are leaning on him heavily and he has been solid. He broke a three-game losing skid on Thursday stopped 29 or 31 shots. The Flint, Michigan native will get the call in his home state tonight when the Panthers take on the Red WIngs.