Dose: Seguin Second to None

Welcome to the Wednesday Dose, where I regretfully inform you that things probably won’t get as weird as Paul MacLean’s exit press conference in Ottawa …

Quick note: it looks like Corey Perry is out about four weeks. Rough news, and it couldn’t have happened to a better … er, here’s hoping he returns at full strength in a month.

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WILD 5, ISLANDERS 4

-- Talk about a tale of two games. In the first period, the Islanders stormed out to a 3-0 lead and 11-3 shot advantage. Matt Martin's hit on Keith Ballard lit a fire in the Wild, however, as they outshot the Isles 27-8 through the final two periods and ultimately won 5-4.

-- Chad Johnson got the start because red-hot Jaroslav Halak has an upper-body injury. Certainly something to keep tabs on.

-- Thomas Vanek showed some signs of life with a goal and an assist. I expect better things from Jason Pominville, too.

-- Niklas Backstrom supposedly will get more reps, at least for a while.

MAPLE LEAFS 4, FLAMES 1

-- A quick glance at the scoreboard can be very misleading at times, as two Toronto tallies were empty-netters. That said, there aren’t many things that are sweeter in fantasy (or FanDuel) than getting those freebies.

-- I haven't been shy about expressing my love for Dion Phaneuf in deeper stat formats, because the excessively maligned blueliner does a little bit of everything. One goal, 14 assists, +14, 44 PIM, eight PPP, 43 SOG and 75 hits.

-- Maybe it's just the nature of Toronto Maple Leafs coverage, but I haven't always understood why some stats-minded people feel the need to slam Jonathan Bernier in James Reimer's name. They're both very capable goalies. Bernier's now 11-6-3 with a .918 save percentage. Considering the situations the Buds have often put their netminders in, that's a pleasant start.

-- Mason Raymond returned to action last night for his first game since Oct. 25. I hear he's fast.

BLACKHAWKS 3, DEVILS 2 (SO)

-- Keith Kinkaid didn't win against Chicago, but it's tough to complain about his efforts. He made 31 out of 33 saves in the loss against a quality team. I know that the Devils are convinced that riding Cory Schneider is the way to go, and thus they need to leave Kinkaid in the AHL where he can get reps, but why not see what they have in Kinkaid? An above-average backup is a highly underrated asset in the NHL; I find it baffling how little some teams invest in guys who could play about 20 games.

(Well, on normal teams, not really New Jersey.)

-- Steve Bernier collected two assists and has four of his seven points in the last four games. Remember when he was sort of a big deal/slightly relevant?

-- Nice return game for Patrick Sharp: one goal, -1 rating, five SOG. He played 17:22, including 2:15 on the PP.

-- So Scott Darling is now 4-1-0 with a .939 save percentage, only allowing nine goals in his five appearances. I'm not really sure what the well-traveled, towering goalie needs to do to get more chances as a backup over minimally useful No. 2 Antti Raanta at this point.

SABRES 1, KINGS 0

-- Previewing this game for PHT was challenging, but I eventually settled on a theme of the Sabres frustrating opponents and the Kings losing that way. That's pretty much what happened, as Jhonas Enroth continues his unconscious work with a 34-save shutout. I hate to be a curmudgeon about this, yet I just don’t see this working out for Enroth. I don’t think he’s worth the risk of wrecking your team’s numbers in the likely event that Buffalo hangs him out to dry on a regular basis.

That said, I applaud those bold enough to suck it up and give him a chance.

-- I was surprised to see people defend the Kings’ decision to keep Mike Richards so vociferously. Maybe losing a key supporting cast member due to a slowly climb cap - maybe one that really hurts, like Justin Williams? - will really drive the point home.

-- It's really too bad that Matt Moulson only got a contract from Buffalo, as he just seems like a weird fit as one of the best players on a really bad team. A bold GM might try to lift him and make Buffalo absorb some of his money.

CANADIENS 3, CANUCKS 1

-- It was the matchup of Names Americans Use to Refer to Canadians/teams I find hard to peg in the pecking order. Montreal, in particular, is a weird team to me in some ways.

-- Derek Dorsett's producing enough offense (10 points in 27 games) to be worth a look considering his 66 PIM. As I mentioned in an earlier Dose, my impression was that the plodding enforcers who truly bring nothing but fights to the table seems to be fairly accurate. Just about every guy in the top 10 in PIM can play.

(Evgeni Malkin is tied for 11th with 48 PIM, by the way. The Penguins star can have a short fuse at times.)

-- It's nice to see Tomas Plekanec producing regularly, as he has a nice 21 points in 30 games. He's still being leaned upon for tough duty zone starts-wise, though not as absurdly as in 2013-14.

Jump for the remaining recaps.

BLUE JACKETS 3, FLYERS 2 (OT)

-- Brandon Dubinsky was such a multi-category monster that my instinct is to say "rush out and get him right now." My only concern is that he might be a little tentative early on because of his lengthy bout on IR; his assist was promising last night, but he didn't deliver any hits and didn't register PIM.

... Still pretty excited about his value, though. I'd at least keep a finger hovering over "Add," as he's available in a little less than 40 percent of leagues at the moment.

-- Brayden Schenn showed flashes of being Dubinsky lite last season, and is first-round pedigree his promising. He scored two goals, fired four SOG and delivered two hits last night. He already might be worth owning in deep leagues.

-- Sean Couturier turned 22 on Dec. 7. He could be a really important piece if Philly can figure things out going forward. He's currently on a four-game point streak (one goal, three assists), although his true value is seen outside of fantasy.

CAPITALS 5, LIGHTNING 3

-- Alex Ovechkin scored two goals, giving him 14 on the season. He broke a four-game point streak with a seven SOG, two tally night. Nicklas Backstrom keeps assisting away, as he hit 22 with two apples.

-- Braden Holtby's now on a three-game winning streak. I've been a big proponent of his value, even if I've also been disappointed to his start of 2014-15. We'll see if he can make a run.

-- Victor Hedman collected three assists last night. I wonder where he'd be in the Norris running if he didn't miss so much time to injury. Could he still catch up?

-- Michael Del Zotto isn't fantasy relevant (eight points in 24 games), but hey, at least he's still in the NHL.

JETS 5, STARS 2

-- One of the many troubling things about the Dallas Stars' awful start is that Tyler Seguin is playing out of his mind. He went ahead of Sidney Crosby for the scoring lead by hitting his 36th point in 28 games, with a whopping 22 of those coming as goals. His shooting percentage is a little high (19.8), but he's absolutely among the very elite. (I thought he'd be a notch or two below that mark, which isn't an insult, mind you.)

-- Winnipeg has plenty of guys who are consistently good, but understandably get lost in the shuffle of its noted mediocrity. Blake Wheeler's one of those guys, as his one goal, five-assist run in the past three games attests.

(Andrew Ladd is an odd case too. There's something vaguely bland about how very good he can be.)

-- Antoine Roussel is one of those nice pest picks: 12 points, 62 PIM, 40 hits and 42 SOG. He was a touch more disruptive last season, yet he's still interesting if you're chasing PIM.

PREDATORS 3, AVALANCHE 0

-- Filip Forsberg keeps chugging along with a goal and an assist. James Neal hasn't been spectacular (10 goals, 16 points), but he still stuffs enough categories that he's an easy guy to recommend for a buy-low trade.

-- The Predators' PP is strangely bad, as they went 0-for-6 last night. I don't really understand why that unit performs so poorly ... maybe that's where they get hurt by what can be a scoring-by-committee approach? I don't know, honestly.

-- Cannot pin this one on "Captain" Calvin Pickard.

-- Pekka Rinne might just win the Vezina this season.

SHARKS 5, OILERS 2

-- I just can't help but fear the prospect of Edmonton getting Connor McDavid. I have no issue with the Oilers - especially since they're wearing their classic duds and not trying to modernize them in annoying ways - but jeez, come off it. They truly should be forced to change management if they get another top pick. More than being vaguely unfair, it just seems gross.

-- People expected a big decline from Joe Pavelski, as his 41 goals came on an 18.2 shooting percentage. It seems like he's avoided some of that drop-off by shooting even more: he has a ridiculous 104 SOG in 30 games, making his 14 goals seem pretty repeatable ... at least if he continues to bask in the glow of brilliant linemates.

(The "pumped up by Joe Thornton" comments are fair, but doesn't that apply to just about anyone who's played with him?)

-- David Perron continues to produce, with a five-game point streak (three goals, two assists). He hasn't been racking up PIM like last season, but with 60 SOG and 51 hits, he's still a nice peripheral guy.

-- Put Alex Stalock on your radar. He is starting to get reps again, and with a .924 save percentage, the Sharks would be foolish not to see what he can do.

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