Dose: Saint Nick's hat trick

A few questions that dawned on me while writing Sunday's dose: Is it possible that the Anaheim Ducks aren't really this good and maybe the Buffalo Sabres aren't as bad as we all thought? Where does Tyler Seguin rank among the best players in the game? What about Eric Staal's future in Carolina? We'll find the answers to these and much more as the season progresses, but in the meantime, let's dive right in ...

FLYERS 5, HURRICANES 1

— Philadelphia has earned points in five of six December games, and it’s won three of it’s last four. Notable, because the Flyers basically had just one win in in the second half of November.

— Twenty-year-old Scott Laughton scored his first career goal, and tallied his first career multi-point game, with an assist on Wayne Simmonds’ marker. Laughton was the team’s first-round pick in 2012 and has displayed a scoring touch throughout the levels — OHL and AHL. Most importantly, Laughton is getting time as the second-line center between Brayden Schenn and Simmonds. Top-six situations are always worth monitoring, as this could be a chance to grab a guy before everyone else jumps on the bandwagon.

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— Is this the year Schenn breaks out? It seems like we’ve been waiting on him forever. After his two assists, he has 22 points in 29 games. Schenn is still only 23 years old, and there’s a lot of ability here despite his slow on-the-job training.

— Jakub Voracek (goal, assist), Michael Raffl and Sean Couturier also scored for the Flyers. I’ve never really had questions about this forward group, it’s the defense that will be a problem.

— Steve Mason made 25 saves, and he’ll need these types of performances most of the year to keep the Flyers in it. In his last five games, he has posted save percentages of at least .926 three times.

— Quite the struggle for Anton Khudobin this season. I thought he’d end up carrying the load, but he’s been awful whenever he’s gotten a chance. Khudobin is 0-7-2 this year. He made just 18 saves.

— Eric Staal scored his seventh of the year. I understand the “it’s tough to sell the team to fans when you move your franchise player” thing, but I don’t see why this front office doesn’t at least listen to offers for its captain, who has a year after this one on his contract. The Hurricanes could get a boatload for him.

SENATORS 3, BRUINS 2

— Travis Yost at TSN wrote a great piece about what went wrong with Paul MacLean. Basically, it’s always been a team not great at suppressing shots, but one that didn’t have a lot of trouble generating offense. That changed lately. It will be interesting to see if Dave Cameron, who got his first win, can ignite the offense. I think this is a flawed roster and he’ll have a tough time doing that. Five-on-five Corsi: 51 Bruins attempts to 47 for the Senators.

— Mika Zibanejad stayed hot with another goal, his eighth of the year. Stunningly, five of his goals have come over the last five games. Need to see those shots-on-goal totals continue to climb, which it has over the past few weeks.

— A team that has struggled possession-wise will have no choice but to lean on its goalie more than it wants. Robin Lehner (29 saves) and Craig Anderson will have the pressure on them.

— Bruins winger Craig Cunningham scored his first career NHL goal — shorthanded — and played a career-high 15:36. He was called up when Simon Gagne went to visit his father, who is suffering from cancer. Cunningham could certainly carve out a larger role.

— Still can’t believe Loui Eriksson has only five goals and 15 points this season. At least two of those goals, and 10 shots, have come over the last three games.

SABRES 4, PANTHERS 3 (OT)

— Break up the Sabres? Buffalo has a 7-3-0 record in its last 10 games. Who said the Sabres were tanking? This hot streak has them comfortably in 27th place in the NHL with 26 points. Still don't expect Buffalo to finish higher than this when all is said and done, though.

— Even with this recent surge, it’s not a very kind environment to be grooming young NHL players. Nikita Zadorov picked up two points, including the game winner. The 19-year-old could be a good one in time, though it will come with more lows than highs for now.

— What the heck has happened to Cody Hodgson? He has only two goals and four points this season. My answer is easy: the Sabres. There’s simply not enough high-end talent on this roster.

— Jhonas Enroth has been a godsend to the Sabres this season. Not his sharpest outing (25 saves on 28 shots), but he has posted plus.-900 save percentages in eight of his last nine outings. He has been the Sabres’ best player.

— Jimmy Hayes’ goal was his first point since Dec. 2, a span of six games. He has seven goals and 13 points this season and looks like he could be a decent player. Gut instinct says his brother Kevin has the better career, though it’s incredibly early to say anything with certainty.

MAPLE LEAFS 4, RED WINGS 1

— What do you know? A win by the Maple Leafs in which they weren’t totally dominated territorially and didn’t need a goalie to totally save them. Fenwick had Toronto out-attempting the Red Wings: 41-35 and Corsi was 50-48.

— Toronto is 8-1-1 in its last 10 games, four points out of first place in the Atlantic Division. Not sure they are this good, but I definitely think the Leafs an improved team. Most importantly, the brass understands the process to get there.

— James van Riemsdyk picked up his 12th goal and has been on a tear lately, with points in six of his last seven games. He’s such a great player around the net. JVR should be set for a second straight 30-goal season; his 95 shots on goal show that he’s continuing to get chances.

— Not worth a pickup in any leagues, but hasn’t Richard Panik been a nice little addition for the Maple Leafs? The 23-year-old has six goals and seven points. The problem is he’s averaging less than nine minutes per game. You’d have to think the Leafs will look to expand his role in the future if he continues to play well.

— The Red Wings might’ve lost this game, but a larger takeaway is that they might finally have a competent backup. Petr Mrazek made 37 saves and has generally looked pretty good this season.

ISLANDERS 3, BLACKHAWKS 2

— In case you need a reminder of how good this Islanders team is, it goes out and overcomes two deficits, ends the Blackhawks’ eight-game winning streak and out-possesses them by a wide margin.

— Kyle Okposo has seven goals and 27 points this season, with points in three of his last for contests. At 26, he’s becoming a player you can count on for at least 25 goals and around 70 points. Scary thing is he’s scoring at a 7.4 percent clip, which is three percent lower than his career rate.

— Lubomir Visnovsky used to be one of the more reliable offensive contributors from the blue line in fantasy leagues. Just two goals and eight points this season. At 38, that elite offensive ability is waning.

— Jaroslav Halak made 23 saves, and halted two-game losing streak in which he gave up 11 combined goals. Every goalie goes through rough patches. Halak is a top-tier netminder with this team, and he comes without the big name.

— It’s a shame Scott Darling’s short tenure as the Blackhawks’ top netminder is soon coming to an end. Corey Crawford is set to return this week. Darling made 38 saves to snap a four-game winning streak. He’s posted a 1.97 goals-against average and .937 save percentage in seven games. He’s a must-add should Crawford go down again this season.

— Hard to imagine Patrick Kane is on pace for only his second 30-goal season. At least he could reach 40 this time.

CAPITALS 4, LIGHTNING 2

— Nicklas Backstrom recorded his first career regular season hat trick. This hat trick was his fist since April 17, 2010, which he recorded in Game 2 of a playoff series with the Canadiens. He teased us with 33 goals in his third full season, but he’s shown he’s not prolific goal scorer, but one of the game’s best passers. Players like this, with great vision, are underrated and underappreciated. Amid all of the Capitals’ problems, Backstrom has been a constant: 22 assists, 30 points this season and 524 points in 524 games in his career.

— Tom Wilson (two assists) starting to show he’s more than just a goon? I’ve knocked him because it seems like he’s cared more about dropping the gloves (which he did Saturday) than playing hockey, but if he can contribute a bit on offense, he could be a sleeper addition. Still not enough shots for my liking, though.

— Braden Holtby has helped the Capitals earn at least a point in five straight games, with four wins over that timeframe. He might be finally starting that anticipated breakout.

— Boy, is Tyler Johnson already such a good player: nine goals, 21 assists in what is his second full season.

BLUE JACKETS 4, PENGUINS 3 (shootout)

— The Blue Jackets have yet to lose in December (six games). This game featured a total of 88 penalty minutes, 29 of which went to Steve Downie. A performance like that can win you that category in weekly leagues.

— Nick Foligno is going to get paid this offseason. He has 14 goals and 27 points now, and will easily surpass his career highs. Best part for him was that he’s produced all year, even when the Blue Jackets were comprised of half an AHL team.

— Most of the credit needs to go to Sergei Bobrovsky for this team’s recent surge. He has been phenomenal. Thirty-three saves in his latest win.

— Kris Letang is playing his best hockey of the season. His two-goal performance extended his points streak to five games. He has eight of his 21 points during this span. Not many defensemen out there who can impact a game offensively like he can.

DUCKS 4, JETS 1

— Sure, I get that the Ducks lead the league with 47 points, but they are doing it with a lot of red flags. Entering the game, they were 20th in the league with a 50% five-on-five Corsi, 14th in scoring and 13th in goals against. Their plus-12 goal differential is also not really indicative of a 21-6-5 team.

— That being said, Ryan Getzlaf continues to produce as only one of the game’s best centers can. He has 10 goals and 33 points this year.

— Jakob Silfverberg has three of his four goals over his last five games, and looking closer, it shouldn’t be all that surprising as he has 82 shots on goal in 32 games. He has a bright future in this league.

— Frederik Andersen has won his last seven starts, though his season rates really aren’t that impressive: .2.38 goals-against average and .915 save percentage.

— If Michael Hutchinson (37 saves) weren’t a 24-year-old rookie, I’d say he’d easily supplant Ondrej Pavelec for the top job. As such, some ups and downs for a young player should be expected and his transition to the NHL should be gradual.

WILD 4, COYOTES 3 (shootout)

— The Wild played with only 17 players as Jared Spurgeon was a late scratch because of an undisclosed illness. He is second on the team in ice time, so this was a big loss. They also overcame two one-goal deficits.

— Zach Parise scored a power-play goal, just his third power-play point of the season. He’s normally been a big contributor on the power play, so the fact he has 23 points in 23 games is a very good sign for how good he’s been. He also had eight shots on goal.

— I don’t really know if the Wild have good enough goaltending. Niklas Backstrom (27 saves) and Darcy Kuemper have been pretty average this season.

— Oliver Ekman-Larsson is among the game’s most talented blueliners. Even after a goal-assist effort, he has just 14 points this season. Can’t help but point blame on a lack of offensive talent on this team.

— Devan Dubnyk (32 saves) did his part to get more starts. The Coyotes should stay far away from Mike Smith at this point.

STARS 4, DEVILS 3

— There isn’t a more dominant player in the league right now than Tyler Seguin. After his goal and an assist, he now has 23 goals and 38 points on the season, both NHL highs. He’s gone only nine games without a point this season. He also had seven shots.

— Jason Spezza matched Seguin on the score sheet and he’s pretty much been as advertised for Dallas. Not super elite numbers from a fantasy perspective, but close enough.

— Nice to see Kari Lehtonen (28 saves) get a win, but I’d only be starting him if I was desperate.

— Scott Gomez scored his first goal of the season, and his first as a Devil since March 28, 2007. I can’t believe he’s still playing in the NHL, let alone centering the Devils’ top line. That should say everything you need to know about this team.

— Cory Schneider got pulled for the start of the third period as he gave up four goals on 33 shots. Everyone assumed Schneider was going become a top-flight goalie this season, but not so fast.

BLUES 3, AVALANCHE 2 (OT)

— The Avs were lucky to escape with a point in this game as St. Louis out shot them 42-25. Calvin Pickard (39 saves) has the unenviable task of trying to keep this team in it night after night, and the rookie is doing a pretty good job of it.

— T.J. Oshie’s game is starting to awaken. Of his five goals and 12 points, three and six, respectively, have come over the last four games. He was essentially a non-factor early this season. I think he’ll be good for at least a half-point per game from here on out.

— The Blues also got goals from Kevin Shattenkirk and Alex Pietrangelo. Shattenkirk has been fantastic this season with 26 points.

— Erik Johnson scored twice and is on pace to easily shatter his career high of 10 goals. He shouldn’t be left unowned in any leagues.

RANGERS 5, CANUCKS 1

— Taking advantage of Canucks’ defensemen pinching, the Rangers jumped out to a 3-0 lead by 6:46 of the first period. The Rangers’ forward group is among the fastest in the league, the key is getting them the puck quickly, so they can create in transition. It’s what happened here.

— Ryan McDonagh and Marc Staal both scored their first goals of the season. McDonagh has all eight of his points over the last 10 games, so it looks like he’s getting more comfortable on the offensive end again. He also was a plus-four.

— Mats Zuccarello scored twice, just his sixth goal and 13th point of the season. It has been a slow start for Zuccarello after he broke out last year for 19 goals and 59 points. Worth noting he has no power-play points this year after 17 last season.

— Even after a strong outing from Henrik Lundqvist (29 saves), coach Alain Vigneault should stick to the plan and let Cameron Talbot start in Edmonton Sunday.

— Can’t blame all of this on Ryan Miller, who allowed five goals on 23 shots, but he has simply not been very good this year outside of the first month of the season. With a 2.69 goal-against average and .900 save percentage, his value is just in his name right now. Not saying he’d do a lot better, but the Canucks should give Eddie Lack a few starts in a row to let Miller work out some kinks in practice.

— Nick Bonino has done a pretty good job centering the second line. His goal was his first in seven games, though he’s still on pace for 20-plus goals and 50-plus points.

SHARKS 2, PREDATORS 0

— Would you take seven goals and 14 points in 32 games from a 21-year-old on your favorite team? I think most would. When you’re Tomas Hertl, however, it’s considered a bit disappointing. The growth toward becoming an everyday top-line winger will be ripe with ups and downs. Be patient.

— You’ve got to love those empty-net goals. Joe Thornton notched one Saturday, in addition to adding an assist. He’s another one of those underappreciated centers because he doesn’t post gaudy goal totals.

— After missing a few games because of an undisclosed injury, Antti Niemi records his second shutout of the season on 29 saves.

— Nobody owns James Neal for his affect on the penalty-minutes category, so tonight was a bonus. He was slapped with a fighting major and cross checking and embellishing minors. Neal also got four shots on goal. Still, just 11 goals and 18 points? Can’t say the dip is all that surprising, honestly.