Jeff Carter and his linemates -- Tyler Toffoli and Tanner Pearson -- have a great home matchup against the Maple Leafs. Which other stacks should be on your radar for tonight's 10-game slate?

SMC 2/26/20017 QUICK RETURNS AT TAX TIME! Goooooooooood morning Hockeynam!  Got my coffee and ready to go!  My apologies for not writing last week as I was away with the family on a ski weekend. Back now with about 6 weeks remaining the regular season. Jonathan Quick is back and that means the LA Kings should be rolling on all cylinders to gain a playoff spot, barring any key injuries of course. Tyler Toffoli took a few games but lit the lamp twice in Saturday’s tilt against crosstown rivals, the Anaheim Ducks. Don’t worry Duck fans, if John Gibson is out longer than expected, they are in capable hands of Jonathan Bernier. 7-11 is Tanner Pearson’s lucky number with 11 points in past 7 games.  Breaking out!  He had the assist hat trick against the Ducks. It was that LA 70’s Show with Jeff Carter, Toffoli and Pearson amassing 7 points appropriately enough. With 5 points in last 3 games it appears that New Jersey Devil Kyle Palmieri is turning around his dreadful fantasy season.  Well, dreadful compared to last season. The NY Rangers are one of the hottest teams in the NHL at the moment with an 8-1-1 record over the past 10.  They are getting scoring from all 4 lines again just like early in the season. The Nashville Predators are a strange team to figure out this season.  They should make the playoffs but it feels like they shouldn’t because of their inconsistent play this season. Speaking of the inconsistency and the Preds, will they rely on Juuse Saros more next season in the slow transition to their #1? Viktor Arvidsson is having the type of season fantasy owners love to predict as their dark horse before the season and take him in one of the last rounds of the draft and puff out their chest when things work out.  I don’t think many had Arvidsson in their sights though. The Columbus Blue Jackets seem well rested in their return from that NHL mandatory break and blew the NY Islanders out of the water with a 7-0 cannon blast. Did Alex Ovechkin not record a shot on goal against Nashville on Saturday?  Has this ever happened before?  I’m stunned. John Carlson was the hog with 10 SOG though….maybe OV was deferring to JC’s accuracy. Seth Jones didn’t record a single point in that 7-0 win over the Islanders. Toronto and Montreal had a tightly fought contest for Hockey Night in Canada with the Habs prevailing in OT 3-2. The battle of Pennsylvania went to the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-2 as Matt Murray helped the Pens keep pace in the Metropolitan division. It will ...

SMC 2/26/20017 QUICK RETURNS IN TAX SEASON! Goooooooooood morning Hockeynam!  Got my coffee and ready to go!  My apologies for not writing last week as I was away with the family on a ski weekend. Back now with about 6 weeks remaining the regular season. Jonathan Quick is back and that means the LA Kings should be rolling on all cylinders to gain a playoff spot, barring any key injuries of course. Tyler Toffoli took a few games but lit the lamp twice in Saturday’s tilt against crosstown rivals, the Anaheim Ducks. Don’t worry Duck fans, if John Gibson is out longer than expected, they are in capable hands of Jonathan Bernier. 7-11 is Tanner Pearson’s lucky number with 11 points in past 7 games.  Breaking out!  He had the assist hat trick against the Ducks. It was that LA 70’s Show with Jeff Carter, Toffoli and Pearson amassing 7 points appropriately enough. With 5 points in last 3 games it appears that New Jersey Devil Kyle Palmieri is turning around his dreadful fantasy season.  Well, dreadful compared to last season. The NY Rangers are one of the hottest teams in the NHL at the moment with an 8-1-1 record over the past 10.  They are getting scoring from all 4 lines again just like early in the season. The Nashville Predators are a strange team to figure out this season.  They should make the playoffs but it feels like they shouldn’t because of their inconsistent play this season. Speaking of the inconsistency and the Preds, will they rely on Juuse Saros more next season in the slow transition to their #1? Viktor Arvidsson is having the type of season fantasy owners love to predict as their dark horse before the season and take him in one of the last rounds of the draft and puff out their chest when things work out.  I don’t think many had Arvidsson in their sights though. The Columbus Blue Jackets seem well rested in their return from that NHL mandatory break and blew the NY Islanders out of the water with a 7-0 cannon blast. Did Alex Ovechkin not record a shot on goal against Nashville on Saturday?  Has this ever happened before?  I’m stunned. John Carlson was the hog with 10 SOG though….maybe OV was deferring to JC’s accuracy. Seth Jones didn’t record a single point in that 7-0 win over the Islanders. Toronto and Montreal had a tightly fought contest for Hockey Night in Canada with the Habs prevailing in OT 3-2. The battle of Pennsylvania went to the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-2 as Matt Murray helped the Pens keep pace in the Metropolitan division. It ...

SMC 11-8-2015 If anyone hasn’t noticed yet, the Buffalo Sabres are going to be a tough opponent this year. Especially once Robin Lehner returns and gets into mid-season form. Rasmus Ristolainen is going to be a force for the Sabres power play someday soon. Along with Jake Eichel and Sam Reinhart amongst others, this team will be quite competitive for some time. The LA Kings seem to be on a mission this year which doesn’t bode well for the Western Conference. The window of opportunity of getting any Anaheim Duck player on the cheap is quickly closing with the 4-game winning streak.  They dug themselves a bit of a hole but they are the team who can overcome that in a hurry. Anze Kopitar is going for the CY Young award this season with 5 goals and an assist at this point in the season. Panther fans are still waiting for that late season magic displayed last year with the arrival of Jaromir Jagr.  Growing pains with young talent will always be the case no matter what. Tyler Toffoli with 7 points in past 6 games has arrived.  Mike Condon is almost a splitting image of Carey Price, but not really. Who would’ve thought that the Philadelphia Flyers were going to shut out the mighty Winnipeg Jets?  And can Michal Neuvirth get a win without shutting out the other team?  All three of his wins have come by shutout. Toronto keeps losing but they are playing better.  Just looks bad seeing all those red ‘L’s in a row. Nazem Kadri with 7 SOG still couldn’t beat out Mr. SOG Alex Ovechkin who had 8. Kris Versteeg is leading the Carolina Hurricanes in points with 10.  Shame on you Eric Staal. St. Louis has started Jake Allen 6 games in a row and he has won 5 of those.  Looks like he is ready for full-time #1 duties. Remember Magnus Paajarvi?  He played last night for the Blues.  That’s the second game he has played this season. This Colton Parayko is something else.  Scored on the PP even though Kevin Shattenkirk returned to the lineup last night. Since Filip Forsberg isn’t grabbing the headlines like he did last year, some owners may think he doesn’t have it this season, but he still has 8 points in 13 games.  One good streak and he is on his way.  Buy low? No Parise?  No Problem says Devan Dubnyk.  Just let me go back in time to a year ago and play like I know I can; a 1-0 shutout of the Tampa Bay Lightning. No small feat. I think Tampa’s Nikita Kucherov is ready to break out. The NY Rangers know what they had in their grasps last year and are determined to get back ...

Winnipeg sleeper alert; Ottawa goalie makes good in first start; Carter and Toffoli keep rolling; and more.. Quick thoughts on Mathieu Perreault's long-term injury- A huge blow to the Winnipeg Jets given his offensive production over the last two months and his power-play work. However, you can't help to think that his injury might have opened the door for Drew Stafford to be a key contributor in their top-six and possibly on the top power-play. I have owned the enigmatic winger in many leagues and his ability to get streaky is second to none. If you are in desperate need of forward help, keep tight tabs on Stafford... Ottawa’s Bobby Ryan was held off the score sheet in the 4-2 win over Montreal but expect Ryan to get right back on track in the next contest against Florida on Saturday….What was really impressive was rookie goaltender Andrew Hammond in just his 3rd NHL game and fist NHL start defeated the Montreal Canadiens.  That’s something he can brag to his kids about….Mark Stone, an UNDER THE RAYDAR feature in January had a goal and 2 assists and is having a fine rookie season with 14 goals and 22 assists.  A good candidate for keeper leagues…. It was what you would expect from a Detroit-Chicago matchup this late in the season as the Red Wings toughed out a 3-2 win in a shootout.  You need to watch the moves both Gustav Nyquist and Tomas Tatar made in the shootout.  Makes you wonder what a Stanley Cup Finals matchup between these two teams…. Mikko Koivu played hero for the Wild with his overtime tally to seal the 3-2 win in Calgary. His four points in his last four games has him again on the cusp of fantasy relevance but his overall offensive output has fallen short of expectations. Speaking of overachiever, Devan Dubnyk continues to summon his inner Patrick Roy and stonewall every opponent as he saved 35 of 37 shots. His stellar play since being traded to Minny is the single most reason why the Wild are in playoff contention and also a huge late-season boost for many fantasy owners.. Amidst one of his famous hot streaks, Jeff Carter scored two goals to lead the Kings to their six straight victory in Colorado. Another forward you should target in your leagues is Tyler Toffoli who also picked up two points and has registered 11 points in his last 10 games. If available, grab him ASAP as his partnership with JC is flourishing at the moment and carrying the King's offense.. I feel way more comfortable as a Ben Bishop owner, given how well he played in ...

Congrats to New York Islander’s goalie Jaroslav Halak who earned his 30th win on the season, as he continues on a career year….Halak was helped by rookie Anders Lee who scored twice to up his goal total to 18 on the season.  No too shabby.  Lee may be worth a shot as a sixth forward on your fantasy squad…. The return of John Gibson to the Anaheim crease went as well as could be expected as he turned aside 35 of 36 SOG for the 2-1 win over Carolina.  Anaheim is blessed with fantastic goaltending for years to come… The Edmonton Oilers have been playing much better of late but of course their season ended around the holidays so they can play a lot looser now.  Jordan Eberle has come alive and has points in 3 straight games and 8 points in past 6 games….Interesting to see that Oiler defenseman Oscar Klefbom has 5 points in the last 6 games and 8 in last 10.  Klefbom is not really noted for his offensive prowess.  Maybe Justin Schultz can take a few pointers…. Pittsburgh was cruising to what seemed like an easy victory being up 3-0 going into the 3rd period but then Ottawa fought back with 4 goals sending the game into overtime and eventually being decided in the shootout….Bobby Ryan returned after missing a game and notched two assists in the loss.  Ryan is heating up as that was his 5th 2-point game in last 8. I was a bit surprised that St. Louis was able to handle the Tampa Bay Lightning so easily, winning by a score of 6-3.  The game was never really close….Alex Steen is probably the hottest player in the NHL right now as he had 3 points in the win giving him 8 points in 7 February games and 25 points since the beginning of 2015…. Tyler Myer's debut for Winnipeg went something like this: 21.23 minutes played, a -1 rating, and a painful stinger after blocking a Shea Weber slapper. Given how fragile he has been, would you be shocked if he missed the next game?...Just in case you haven't noticed, Nashville rookie Filip Forsberg is darn good. No hitting the wall here.. Another win for Minnesota Wild goalie Devan Dubnyk who stopped 26 of 27 Florida shots for his 9th win in 11 starts for his latest team. Way better than his Arizona days and light years ahead of his Edmonton beginnings. His fantasy stock just keeps improving exponentially..Mikko Koivu is heating up. Two more assists for seven points in his last five contests.. A few multi-point efforts for the Blueshirts, most notably Rick Nash and Ryan McDonagh, in their 6-3 road win over Colorado but I am all...

ALL THE RANKINGS HAVE BEEN UPDATED. LOOK IN THE RANKINGS SECTION FOR THE LATEST RANKINGS OF ALL THE NHL TEAMS, DEFENSEMEN, GOALIES, ETC. Washington continues to roll and Braden Holtby continues to start, with his 25th in a row. Holtby raised his record to 21-8-7 as the team seems to have fully embraced Head Coach Barry Trotz' system as they defeated the Colorado Avalanche 2-1.  Don't look for Holtby to slow down any as the team is playing terrific team hockey......Colorado's Semyon Varlamov's return to DC didn't go as well as he wanted but he continued to play well and is the key component in the Avs' hopes of making the playoffs....Alex Tanguay (ppg) and Jarome Iginla (ppa) continue to key the Colorado offense with 28 points apiece in 41 and 43 games played respectively. Iginla, a notorious slow starter now has 10 points in his last 12 games while Tanguay has slowed down as bit with just 4 points in last 10 games..... The Philadelphia Eagles, I mean Flyers, scored 7 goals with 7 different goal-scorers as they blasted the Tampa Bay Lightning 7-3. Don't worry! Ben Bishop had the night off. D-man Mark Streit had a goal and 2 assists to lead the parade. Streit is having himself a fine year on the Philadelphia back end with 31 points in 43 games.  Playing alongside All-Stars Jakub Voracek and Claude Giroux, you are just bound to accumulate points with the productive years they are having....G Rob Zepp earned his 2nd NHL win in just his second NHL start as he fills in for the injured Steve Mason. Zepp will probably get most of the playing time unless he stumbles badly as Ray Emery is having a poor statistical season.... Back-up Martin Jones earned a 19-save shutout for the Kings against the Maple Leafs, snapping a three-game losing skid. Anze Kopitar and Jeff Carter led the way with two points apiece, while Marian Gaborik scored his 14th goal of the season. With Tyler Toffoli and Tanner Pearson out for an extended period of time, expect this forward trio to be heavily involved in the bulk of the scoring for the Kings. As for the Leafs, game three under new coach Peter Horachek displayed little momentum leading from the Columbus victory. Still looking for Phil Kessel to gain that elite consistency that his fantasy owners had expected. So far decent but mixed results from Kessel...

Anaheim goaltender Frederik Andersen remains undefeated at 5-0-0 after blanking the St. Louis Blues 3-0 in the Ducks' home opener last night.  Andersen turned aside all 28 shots he faced but the big story of the night was defenseman Sami Vatanen who netted 2 power play goals and looks to be a solid choice in your fantasy lineup with 5 points in 6 games. Vatanen led all defensemen in power play time with 3:48, almost a minute more than Cam Fowler. Grab Vatanen if he's still available as Head Coach Bruce Boudreau has been using him more and more... The New York Rangers beat the San Jose Sharks 4-0 last night at the garden behind Henrik Lundqvist's 33-save effort giving the Rangers a modest 2-game winning streak. The Sharks, who were playing their 3rd game in four nights, came out flying but lost the game when they let up 2 goals 4 seconds apart late in the 2nd period that made the score 3-0. Rick Nash continued his torrid scoring pace and leads the NHL after scoring his 7th goal of the young season. Martin St. Louis scored his 1st of the year so look for him to get back on track as key players start returning to the lineup.... Mason Raymond was the story for the Calgary Flames last night with a goal and two assists giving him 7 points in 7 games. Those 7 points tie him for the team lead with Defenseman T. J. Brodie who has shown some consistency so far this season. Start both with confidence as they are main parts of the upstart Flames.... The 70's Line for the Los Angeles Kings continues to roll early on this season with another fine effort in the Kings 2-1 win over Minnesota. The line figured in both LA goals as Tyler Toffoli and Tanner Pearson netted the goals and Jeff Carter notching an assist. Start them while they are hot.  G Jonathan Quick raised his record to 3-1-1 with another fine effort turning aside 40 of 41 shots quieting any concerns about his off-season surgery.

Minnesota signs 21-year old defenseman Jonas Brodin to a 6-year extension. Although the young defenseman won't give you much in terms of fantasy points, he is a solid defender and is now locked up for 6 more years...... Another sloppy loss, this time 6-3 to the Maple Leafs, for the defending Eastern Conference champs who have had a hard time getting the newcomers implemented into their system. It doesn't help that players are getting injured like Dan Boyle who was brought in to run the power play and is out 4-6 weeks with a broken hand, or Mats Zuccarello who sat out last night's tilt against Toronto. The severity of his injury is not known.  With already losing Derek Stepan at the beginning of the season with a broken leg, all lines have been jumbled to find a fit as they bring up rookies like Kevin Hayes. It may be a while before the offense starts to click for the Rangers. So, in a few weeks if the Rangers continue to struggle, that is the time to grab them from frustrated owners as the core of the Rangers returns to health.... The Maple Leaf offense gelled last night so look for that to continue especially for the t op line of Phil Kessel (G, 2A), Tyler Bozak (G, A) and James van Riemsdyk (G, A), all of which should enjoy solid production for fantasy owners from here on out.....What caused their production to suddenly click? Perhaps it was the return of defenseman Cody Franson, who started his first game of the year and punched in a power play goal and power play assist. If he is available on the waiver wire, grab him immediately.... Are you worried Rick Nash only played a tad over 11 minutes in last night's game? Not to worry, he left to be with his wife who was giving birth to their first child.  He did score a goal before leaving the game.... It was the second line of the LA Kings that did the damage last night against the Winnipeg Jets who dropped to 1-2-0. Jeff Carter, Tyler Toffoli and Tanner Pearson each had a goal and an assist in the game. This line could be the most potent 2nd line in the NHL. We all know about Carter's propensity to be a very streaky scorer but we may not know about Toffoli's scoring prowess.  Toffoli scored 50+ goals two years in a row in the OHL.  Pearson emerged in last year's Stanley Cup playoffs by scoring 12 points in 24 games after scoring 7 in 25, all as a rookie.  If you need some depth forwards with lots of potential, these are your guys.

Some of the top fantasy forwards were held off the score sheet last night while some other top forwards put last year's nightmare behind them. Claude Giroux, Milan Lucic, Phil Kessel, Joe Thornton and Anze Kopitar all were pointless in their team's season opener. Now, one game does not a fantasy season make, so don't sweat it... If you believed that the Sedin twins and the rest of the Vancouver Canucks' statistics suffered last year being under the tutelage of John Tortorella and that they should return to form under new Head Coach Willie Desjardins, then you were rewarded right off the bat last night as both Sedins had an assist, with Henrik getting a goal as well.... New Canuck Radim Vrbata seems right at home playing alongside the Sedin twins as he potted his first goal of the season. Look for a return to the mid-30's in goals for Vrbata.... If your surname began with a "P" and you played for the Montreal Canadiens then it was your night. Max Pacioretty (G), Tomas Plekanec (2G, including the game-winner) and P.A. Parenteau (2A) all did their part in crashing the Toronto Maple Leafs home opener.... P.K. Subban had the game-winner along with 5 SOG last night. Monster year ahead for the talented d-man from Montreal.... James van Riemsdyk of the Leafs and Tyler Toffoli of the Kings had great training camps but they couldn't carry it over into the openers for their respective teams. Both forwards are expected to contribute greatly to their respective offenses.... Looking for a deep sleeper/rebounder? Alex Burrows had an injury-plagued year only playing in 49 games and notching 15 points. With a goal in the opener, perhaps Burrows is on his way to the 50-point level once again.... Antti Niemi stopped all 34 shots as the Sharks exacted a little bit of revenge against the LA Kings last night.  Niemi quieted some buzz going around that perhaps backup Alex Stalock will cut into his playing time as Niemi approaches free agency at the end of the year. Shutting out last year's Stanley Cup Champions is not a bad start.... Ryan Miller had a solid debut in net for the Canucks, stopping 23 of 25 in defeating the Calgary Flames 4-2 at the Saddledome. Miller should provide some consistency in net this year in Vancouver.