Dose: Stars Emerging?

With a boatload of games, I’m going to go ahead and hop into recap action. As usual, I’d advise that you check the links at the very bottom of this column to stay attuned to injuries and other news, as a 12-game night only increases the chances of things falling through the cracks (not to mention that some developments will be far clearer later on in the day).

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STARS 3, RANGERS 2

-- I've hammered on scheduling a lot for what I think is an understandable reason: hockey is essentially a game in which you simply try to bundle as many positive things as you can in order to win more often than not, so factors like rest and "home cooking" can make a significant difference, especially beyond the elite and the truly lousy. The remarkable thing about the Stars' somewhat-sneaky run of late is that it's been heavy on road games; they've won six of seven despite five of those contests being on the road (and that loss came in Dallas).

I still think that things like back-to-back games and heavy road runs can work as tiebreakers, yet this is a good reminder that it's not an absolute thing.

-- With goals from Antoine Roussel, Ales Hemsky and John Klingberg, the Stars won without needing to lean too much on Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin. Good sign for Dallas.

-- Klingberg is still a guy who's worth monitoring, at minimum.

-- Kari Lehtonen's talented. I firmly believe that. I also believe that circumstances and his own fragility make him risky in fantasy, though.

-- If nothing else, I think J.T. Miller probably deserves to stick with the big club in 2014-15.

BLACKHAWKS 5, PREDATORS 4 (SO)

-- It's probably not wise to dismiss Nashville, although I'd still argue that the Predators are a step or two behind the Chicago's of the world. They're building something awfully intriguing, though.

It's also interesting that some of their low-risk moves have been masterful (signing Mike Ribeiro) and others have been mixed (Derek Roy was traded to Edmonton on Monday). More general managers should be willing to shrug their shoulders and see what works without breaking the bank like David Poile did last summer, even though I wonder how much of this is just dumb luck.

-- While he doesn’t have the richest statistical portfolio, Mike Ribeiro has 30 points in 35 games and is only owned in 45 percent of leagues. That math doesn’t add up, cats and kittens.

-- Colin Wilson's on fire lately: two assists last night, a four-game point streak in which he's scored four goals and three assists.

As far as I can tell, Wilson's getting some time with a mixture of Mike Fisher, Matt Cullen and James Neal lately, and he's taking advantage of opportunities. Much like Craig Smith, I like Wilson's talent yet it's honestly kind of tough to gauge where he really falls fantasy-wise.

I'll keep an eye on that, however ... and you should, too.

BRUINS 5, RED WINGS 2

-- The offensively offensive Bruins went into this game without Milan Lucic and Patrice Bergeron ... and proceeded to enjoy their first three-goal first period of 2014-15 and set a new season-high with 45 SOG. Sports are weird, folks.

-- Dare I wonder if Boston might at least want to see if David Krejci, Brad Marchand and Seth Griffith might be able to form a little chemistry? I'm not arguing short term, but hey, sometimes it pays to mix things up during such a marathon season.

-- Justin Abdelkader's done a very nice job of taking advantage of nice linemate luck. I really like what I've seen from him, even if he's still a fringe guy in many formats.

-- Speaking of fringe guys, Carl Soderberg had a nice three-point night. He's one of those guys who can win you games, especially if you're not asking him to do too much.

ISLANDERS 4, CAPITALS 3 (OT)

-- Johnny Boychuk's offense has really dried up. That OT GWG was his first point in five games. He only had three points since Nov. 18, although obviously an injury affected that. Still, he's getting decent SOG and while I'd like to see more PIM, he still has the potential to be a respectable depth defenseman in fantasy.

-- The problem with the Islanders, really, is that things are spread fairly evenly among some nice options. Lubomir Visnovsky (third goal of the season last night), Nick Leddy and Travis Hamonic can all conceivably bring something to the table. Great for Islanders fans, not as great for fantasy purposes.

-- The Isles' forwards group is deep-yet-a-bit-perplexing in its own right once you get beyond John Tavares and Kyle Okposo. Brock Nelson's a fun guy to discuss: four PIM and four SOG last night. He's on a three-game pointless streak with 14 SOG. With 14 goals on 102 SOG in 36 GP, he's sanding off the initial impression of being a puck luck guy and does enough to be worth keeping track of, if nothing else.

-- It looks like Tom Wilson's back with Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom, although that situation seems to change based on Barry Trotz's whims. Whether it be Wilson, Eric Fehr, Troy Brouwer or Marcus Johansson, the Capitals should be wise to keep someone with at least some finish with Washington's two big guns rather than dragging them down with a loveable but over-matched grinder like Jay Beagle. Just my two cents.

BLUES 3, AVALANCHE 0

-- I get the urge to make fun of Martin Brodeur for an easy shutout, something Patrick Roy seemingly did (though he was making fun of his own team as much as anything else). Still, it's not Brodeur's fault that he faced such a paltry effort, and some might say that his puckhandling skills limit attempts.

(I wouldn't venture much of an argument in that regard, mind you, as investigations in that area haven't turned up much. But maybe when hockey gets its SportsVu fix, we might know a little better ...)

-- I don't really dig the decision to go all Semyon Varlamov, all the time. Either justify that silly investment in Reto Berra from the 2014 trade deadline or see what Calvin Pickard can do for you here and there. Varlamov's season hasn't been that sterling so far, anyway.

-- Paul Stastny generated two assists last night and has three in two games. Maybe he'll surge after getting a holiday break?

DEVILS 3, PENGUINS 1

-- Jaromir Jagr scored his sixth goal of the season and 711th of his NHL career, which also happened to be the GWG. I wonder if he'd be even more effective with better linemates; there's always the possibility that he's even more effective the more he's needed.

-- Can we give the hysteria regarding any Sidney Crosby "slump" a rest already? Players hit lulls every now and then, especially if you only judge them by goals, as those don't come on a per-game basis for anyone (post-Gretzky), anyway.

-- Jordin Tootoo's two fights argue that savvy owners can still grab PIM if they pay attention to headlines, even if it's happening less and less. Not sure the reward matches the time spent in many cases, however.

-- Cory Schneider ended a six-game losing streak last night. He's well below .500 despite a very solid .918 save percentage. He can empathize with any good MLB pitcher who gets laughable run support.

Jump for more recaps.

CANADIENS 3, HURRICANES 1

-- In his first game of 2014-15, Jordan Staal generated an assist, two SOG, three hits and one injury scare.

-- Eric Staal had a nice night, too: a goal, five SOG and two hits. Not too shabby.

-- Very nice stats for Carey Price so far: 20-9-1 with .928 save percentage and two shutouts. He's won three in a row, giving up a single goal in each contest.

-- Sergei Gonchar has an assist in two straight games. He also only managed one SOG in the past four games. Hopefully you know to stay away.

SENATORS 5, SABRES 2

-- Bobby Ryan generated his first hat trick in almost four years last night while also notching a +2 rating and eight SOG. Remarkably, Mika Zibanejad didn't get in on any of those goals (despite sticking with Ryan and Mike Hoffman, unless I missed something).

-- Mark Borowiecki hurt himself during the goofy pregame soccer warmup last night. Not fantasy-relevant, but mockery-relevant. Also mockery relevant: known miscreant Patrick Kaleta punched himself in the face.

-- Chris Stewart is enjoying a five-game point streak. He can bring a rare combination of points and PIM to the table when the lights are on, so I'd say at least watch list him.

-- Craig Anderson is just 9-9-5 despite a strong .927 save percentage in 2014-15. He's had an odd career in many ways.

LIGHTNING 3, MAPLE LEAFS 2

-- Hammering this point a lot, but yes, Toronto's road-heavy schedule really does seem foreboding. Especially since the Maple Leafs' luck is thinning out. Tampa Bay heavily outshot them and eventually James Reimer couldn't keep the lead.

-- Reimer might have been shaken up by one moment. Keep an eye open for details in that regard.

-- Victor Hedman's been less impressive (at least scoring-wise) since returning from his injury in late November, but with two assists in 24:20 TOI last night, maybe he's returning to form. I'd like to see fewer shot-less nights, though.

WILD 3, JETS 2

-- Darcy Kuemper stopped the bleeding by putting aside 28 out of 30 shots last night, including making some pretty tremendous stops. No denying that 12-10-0 with a .903 save percentage is a big disappointment, but not every potential bargain can work out. On the bright side, he can still salvage the second half of the season.

-- Michael Hutchinson didn't get the win, yet it's still been an impressive run for him.

-- Mathieu Perreault is still on one heck of a surge. He has 12 points in 12 December games after only managing six points in his previous 24 contests.

-- Such a Dustin Byfuglien game: -1, two PIM, five SOG, three hits and six blocks in 27:17 of ice time. Winnipeg should embrace reality and leave him on defense full-time.

FLAMES 2, KINGS 1

-- Johnny Gaudreau: still magic. I gladly endorse the idea of merely adding him as incentive to watch him play more often.

-- Tyler Toffoli's not as hot as he was during that impossible 70's run, but he has three points in his last four games. He has the makings to be a solid enough scorer for some time, if you ask me.

-- Jonas Hiller's now on a three-game winning streak. Solid start to his Flames career so far: 12-10-2, .919 save percentage and one shutout.

-- Jiri Hudler keeps producing: six points during a four-game point streak, just one point short of a point-per-game in 37 games played this season. Impressive stuff. If his career shooting percentage wasn't fairly high, I'd be worried about a big dip, but instead I expect him to still be solid enough.

(Just not this good.)

COYOTES 4, FLYERS 2

-- Antoine Vermette almost had a hat trick, but settled for two goals and one assist. He has a solid 25 points in 36 games so far in 2014-15 (slightly edging Mikkel Boedker's 22 points, in case that weirdly angry commenter is still harboring some bitterness about my preference for Vermette ... the Internet's weird).

-- Does anyone outside of the Coyotes organization disagree with the notion that every context-appropriate Mike Smith start (i.e., not during a heavy road trip or back-to-back set) is basically Arizona's way of punting away points? Devan Dubnyk's now on a three-game winning streak, making the gulf between himself and Smith that much more pronounced.

(I wonder if Ben Scrivens is watching on with jealousy in Edmonton, aka the place where goalie stats die.)

-- The kind of games that made Martin Hanzal quite useful: one assist, four SOG and eight hits.

-- Jakub Voracek went pointless and had a -3 rating and Claude Giroux suffered the same fate. That's a pretty rare sight for Philly so far in 2014-15.

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