Wednesday's NHL Fantasy Hockey News

I write this today knowing the one person I could rely upon to pickup the slack for my dribble Dosage the night prior will no longer be there to save me. Yes it is true, MoP has other responsibilities to take care of but worry not, I think we found an adequate replacement that will fit right in. But you'll have to wait until tomorrow to find out who. Until then, need a cure for insomnia? I have it for you right here so read on and find out what happened last night around the NHL.

Tyler Bozak (2G, 1A, 3SOG, 3BS) now has 16 points in 11 of his last 12 games played, dating back to November 27th. He missed nearly 4 weeks due to injury somewhere in the middle there but seems to have picked up where he left off. He now has 22 points in 24GP. A statement night for the often ridiculed Regina kid as he helped power the Leafs to a 4-3 victory over the Bruins

Tampa Bay defeated the Rangers 2-1 and Victor Hedman (1G, 2SOG, 1BS) continues to contribute on a regular basis now giving hope to those that have hung onto him. He now has goals in B2B games and 6 points in his last 8 games. I tend to agree with a @FantasyHockeyDK tweet the other day where he sees Hedman as a top 10 D option in standard formats next year. Bold statement no doubt. I'm just glad I didn't say it though.

It was the Sharks defeating the Capitals 2-1 in a shootout. Antti Niemi stopped 35-36 to improve to 24-10-6 and now sports a .915SV% and 2.35GAA.

Steve Mason allowed 3 goals on 19 shots but it was the Flyers with a last minute goal to defeat the Sabres 4-3 last night. Scott Hartnell (1G, 2A, 3SOG, 1Hit, 1BS) had an 8 game point streak snapped a few games ago but I wouldn't be surprised to see him go on another run. By the way, Steve Downie was a healthy scratch for the second straight game. What gives?

Jaromir Jagr (1G, 1A, +2, 3SOG) surpassed Messier for 7th all-time with his 695th goal en route to a 4-1 Devils victory over the Canadiens.

It was the Florida Panthers with a 4-2 win over the Islanders last night, thanks to the kids. Drew Shore, Aleksander Barkov and Nick Bjugstad each with 1G on the night. Get used to seeing these names a lot on the scoresheet down the road along with the likes of Huberdeau. Give them a few years to gel together and mature and then look out.

Honorable mention to someone I mentioned last week and who continues to show up on the scoresheet. Calvin De Haan (1A, 6PIM, 1SOG, 2 Hits) now has 7 points in his last 5 games. Give the guy some PP time already!

What a night for Semyon Varlamov stopping 46-48 shots to help the Avalanche defeat the high scoring Blackhawks 3-2. As of last night he faces the 3rd most shots in the league (1048-1130) so with a .927SV% and 2.33GAA, his numbers more then enough speak for his great year so far.

TJ Oshie (2G, +1, 2SOG, 1 Hit) and the Blues defeated the Coyotes 2-1. This snapped a 3 game pointless streak for Oshie which matched his longest of the year but this is the second time it has happened in the past month.

Nashville defeated the Flames 4-2 last night and it was Ryan Ellis (1G, 1A, +2, 4SOG, 1BS) leading the way.

Honorable mention to David Legwand (3A, +2, 1BS) for snapping a 3 game slump here.

Robin Lehner stopping all 27 shots he faced for a 3-0 win over the Wild. This is his first win since December 16th and after allowing 5 goals against in each of the last 2 games he played. Hopefully this outing will turn things around for him even though I still see Anderson getting the next start.

Ryan Garbutt (1G, 2A, +3, 2SOG, 1 Hit, 1BS) helped the Stars down the Oilers 5-2 last night. He doesn't receive much ice time with nearly 15 minutes TOI last night but he does have 5 points in his last 3 games now.

That's it for me this week but as always, feel free to mention any notables I did not discuss below. And don't forget to follow @TheScouts for regular updates from around the NHL or myself @Pope604 for the random well spaced out thoughts.