Both games between the Blues and Blackhawks have been brutal, physical games that have gone to overtime. Alexander Steen scored the winner in the first game of the series almost 30 seconds into the third overtime period. Barret Jackman did the deed in the second game to put the Blues in a comfortable position heading back to Chicago.
 

 
Patrick Sharp was great in the first game launching 11 shots, six of which tested Blues goalie Ryan Miller. Miller allowed three goals on seven shots in the first period but bounced back and denied Sharp’s breakaway attempt in double-overtime. An unsung hero for the Blues was Maxim Lapierre who had the best possession numbers on the team despite playing mostly in the defensive zone. In the second game of the series he played almost 16 minutes and was solid in his own end  as the Blues prevailed again. The Blackhawks generally use their fourth line of Bollig, Kruger, and Ben Smith for defensive zone face-offs as only one if their 18 face-offs was in the offensive zone.

The first two games of the series have been really tight and hard-hitting. The Blues will be thrilled to head to Chicago with a 2-0 series lead, and have showed their resilience so far in the playoffs after ending the season on an awful drought.

Paul Stastny was the hero in game one for the Avalanche as he scored with 14 seconds left in regulation to tie before scoring the overtime winner to give the Avalanche a 1-0 series lead. He added two assists through the first two periods of the second game and looks to be full of confidence as the Avalanche commence their playoff run. The Avalanche youngsters are showing how impressive they are as rookie Nathan Mackinnon has five assists through two games along with his first period goal Saturday night. He has spent most of his time in the playoffs thus far playing with Parenteay and O’Reilly, but joins Stastny when the Avalanche look to increase the pressure on Minnesota.
 

 
Avalanche head coach Patrick Roy relies heavily on his top two lines as the fourth line of Bordeleau, Carey, and Malone combined for nine minutes of ice-time. Landeskog plays over twenty minutes per game and has demonstrated his leadership early on in these playoffs already notching three goals.

Pominville was the most threatening Wild player with six shots on goal. Minnesota need to be more responsible in their own end if they want to win a game at home this week.
 

Since left winger Rene Bourque joined the Montreal Canadiens from Calgary he has not exactly been a prolific scorer. With 37 points in 128 regular season games, he was not expected to lead the way against the Tampa Bay lightning in the second game of their first round series. He surprised with two goals in their 4-1 win to give the Canadiens a 2-0 series lead. Both goals triggered memories of his three 20-goal season due to the fact that they required great individual effort. Bourque can turn into quite the wildcard for those who selected him in their fantasy pool.
 

 
One Canadiens player who can always be counted it on to lead the way is Carey Price. Teddy Purcell of the Lightning broke his shutout with two minutes remaining but it takes nothing away from Price’s brilliant effort stopping 26 of 27 shots. Price bounced back after allowing four goals in the opening game of the series. His counterpart, Anders Lindback, however, was pulled after allowing three goals on 23 shots. He was replaced by Latvian rookie Kristers Gudlevskis who did not fair any better allowing a goal on just three shots. It is evident that without Ben Bishop the Lightning are at a serious disadvantage and risk being swept by the Canadiens as both teams head to Montreal.

Even though the Lightning have a strong possession game the Habs are the clear favourites to progress, but cannot afford to be complacent with the likes of Stamkos and rookie Ondrej Palat up front.

Switching to another intriguing playoff series, the Boston Bruins were upset by a fantastic solo effort by Pavel Datsyuk with three minutes left on the clock. The Red Wings now lead the series 1-0. All hockey fans knew that the Wings could give Boston a run for the money since they beat them three times during the regular season. However, no one expected the Red Wings to have 58% of possession on the road against the President’s trophy winners. Boston’s top line of Lucic, Krejci, and Iginla struggled against the underrated Riley Sheahan, Tomas Tatar, and Gustav Nyquist. Frustration lead Lucic to spear Danny DeKeyser and get fined by the league for his conduct. Even Bruins stalwart, Zdeno Chara, struggled against Datsyuk.
 

 

Jimmy Howard’s inconsistency was not an issue as he made 25 saves in the shutout. Howard has a save percentage of .919 through 43 career playoff games and will need to continue his stellar playoff play in order to give his team a chance against the Bruins. Everyone in the lineup for the Red Wings contributed by playing over 12 minutes. With their depth they have the ability to match the Bruins’ aggressive, physical game and progress to the next round.
 

The 2013 – 2014 regular season is over and the same goes for the fantasy season. We saw lots of ups and downs up to now in the season and the playoffs are projected to be highly competitive. Although most fantasy owners are already cooking up their plans for the next season, it would be interesting to see some players who can make the difference during the 2014 NBA playoffs. These sleepers can stay under your scope and they could be great options for your fantasy team next season.

Chris Andersen

We all know that the Miami Heat have one big weakness, the center spot. The defending champs have tried a bunch of different centers since the formation of the Big Three. The Birdman seems to be the best one of all those. He was a big factor for the Heat’s championship course last year and he will most probably be a key player for Miami this season, too. Chris Andersen put up 6.6 PPG to go along with 5.3 RPG and also 1.3 BLKPG in 19.4 minutes per contest.

Shaun Livingston

The Brooklyn Nets are the strongest underdogs in the Eastern Conference and one of the strongest black horses in the entire NBA. Jason Kidd’s group surprised with its performance during the second half of the season and so has Shaun Livingston. He responded to the urgency call in the best way possible, when Deron Williams had injury issues early on and ever since he has been a reliable contributor for the Nets. He is averaging 8.3 PPG to along with 3.2 RPG, 3.2 APG and also 1.2 STLPG. Expect him to be a factor for the Nets during the postseason and keep him under your scope.

J.J. Redick

Now, Redick might not actually be a sleeper. He is the fourth leading scorer of the Los Angeles Clippers this season, putting up 15.2 PPG to go along with 2.2 RPG and 2.1 APG while he is shooting 45.5 percent from the field and 39.5 percent from beyond the arc. However, he missed the biggest chunk of the season and most fantasy owners stayed away from him. However, he is expected to be a big factor in the Clips’ playoff course and of course, you can keep him in your plans for next season.

Omer Asik

It’s a common secret that the Houston Rockets want to trade away Omer Asik and it’s also a common secret that he is not happy playing behind Dwight Howard. Nonetheless, he continues to be a reliable and very capable center, especially when it comes to rebounding and defense. He is averaging 7.9 RPG and 0.8 BLKPG this season and also 5.8 PPG in just 20.2 MPG. A very good fantasy option especially for any team which needs a rebounding upgrade. Of course, Asik might not be in Houston next season.

Greivis Vasquez

DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry might be the names that come in mind when we talk about the Toronto Raptors. Nonetheless, Greivis Vasquez is also a solid contributor.  He is putting up 9.6 PPG, 4.1 APG and also 2.2 RPG in 22.5 minutes per game. Look for Vasquez to further improve his outputs next season.

The 2013 – 2014 NBA season is almost over and so is the fantasy season. It was a season that we saw several surprises happening, as teams experienced ups and downs but also some players unexpectedly played above or below expectations. With the season in the books, it’s time to have a first glimpse in the upcoming 2014 – 2015 campaign and some of the players that are expected to make the difference.

Eric Bledsoe

The Phoenix Suns missed the playoffs by just a bit but their course throughout the season has been impressive. One player fantasy owners should keep under their scope for the next season is guard Eric Bledsoe. The energetic guard missed the biggest chunk of the season due to an injury, but when he was active, he was really dominant. Bledsoe is an All-Star caliber player and he will certainly be emerging next season, assuming that he manages to avoid any more injuries. He averaged 18.0 PPG, 5.5 APG, 4.8 RPG and 1.6 STLPG and if he stays healthy, he can go even higher. He is just 24 years old and he is expected to emerge as a true star next season.

Victor Oladipo

Even if rookie guard Victor Oladipo doesn’t win the Rookie of the Year award this season, which will most probably go to Philadelphia 76ers’ guard Michael Carter – Williams, he still managed to make his presence felt. He is now considered as a superstar on the rise and his numbers show why. He is averaging 13.9 PPG, 4.1 APG and 4.1 RPG and he quickly emerged as the leader of the Orlando Magic. Look for Oladipo to further increase his role in the Magic’s rotation next season. Apparently, he will be the cornerstone the Magic will build around.

Al Horford

Atlanta Hawks’ big man Al Horford missed the biggest part of the season after going down with an injury. Misfortunes and severe injuries have struck the versatile big man over the last couple of season. Nonetheless, he is still considered one of the best in the business and of course a terrific fantasy option. Once he returns to action and assuming that he is at his 100 percent, he can be an 18.0 PPG, 10.0 RPG and 1.5 BLKPG type of player.

Kobe Bryant

Don’t forget about the Black Mamba. Kobe might have missed all but six games this season. However, he promised that he will come back and take revenge for the Los Angeles Lakers. Fantasy owners can simply believe him. Kobe was kept out of action for much longer than initially expect, in the team’s effort to have him back and healthy next season. Kobe is expected to put his usual, Kobe-like numbers in 2014 – 2015.

Ryan Anderson

Another star injury came from the New Orleans Pelicans this season. Ryan Anderson was recording an exceptional season before he suffered a scary neck injury. He appeared in just 22 games this season but he did put up 19.8 PPG, 6.5 RPG and 3.0 three-pointers before he went down. We are looking forward to having him back next season in good health. We are sure he can do wonders for many fantasy NBA leagues.

Cincinnati Reds speedster Billy Hamilton scored on a ‘sacrifice fly’ on Wednesday against the St. Louis Cardinals that only cleared the infield by no more than 25 feet.

Hamilton is a blazer.  Scouts have said about Hamilton that “he is so fast; he can outrun a shortwave radio.”  It is clear that if anyone can outrun a shortwave radio, it is Hamilton.  He can fly.

Speed is the most useful tool in the major leagues because it helps on offense and defense.

On offense, speed like Hamilton’s puts pressure on the defense.  The infield has to play shallower since they have less time to make the throw to first on a ground ball to retire him.  This allows more ground balls to get through the infield as the fielders have less reaction time.  Hamilton is nearly impossible to double up on a grounder so there will be times that he will drive in runs and extend innings with productive outs.  His speed will prove to be a distraction for every pitcher when he is on base. This will shift the focus off of the hitter causing more mistake pitches to be thrown.  Plus, where Hamilton does not have great power, many of his singles will be turned into doubles with a stolen base. He should score more runs than a similar hitting player with far less speed.  Outfielders will at times rush throws on fly balls and hits leading to more errors on the defense.

Defensively Hamilton’s speed will allow him to cover more ground and get to more balls in the outfield.  His speed will allow him to compensate for mistakes on reading the ball off the bat and getting a bad jump.

This young man has a chance to be a dynamic player.  He has a chance to be one of the most exciting players in the game.  But as they say, “You can’t steal first base.”  If is to truly impact the game as his tools would allow he is going to have to hit and walk his way to at least a .330 on base percentage.  If he can do that, then look out!

Stars and superstars always make the difference in the NBA. Fantasy basketball is not very different. Stars and the level of their performance can make a huge difference in your fantasy team. As we get close to the end of the 2013-2014 campaign, it’s a great time to take a look at some stars (but also some emerging stars) who made the difference with their respective performances this season.

Anthony Davis is first emerging star we’ll examine. If there was any doubt about the fantasy value of the 21-year old forward last season, this year, Davis silenced all his critics. He put up a superb season, recorded one great game after another and although the New Orleans Pelicans didn’t make the playoffs, Davis was one of the best players in fantasy basketball this season. He averages 20.8 PPG, 10.0 RPG and 2.8 BLKPG and he is just 21 years old. Isn’t this a wakeup call for fantasy owners, even when it comes to the next season? Keep him under your scope at all costs.
 
Anthony Davis

 

DeMar DeRozan is another emerging star, who made the difference this season. The Toronto Raptors have been impressive almost all season long and DeRozan has been the biggest factor in their breakaway season. The athletic guard earned his first All-Star selection this year and his career-high 22.8 PPG to go along with 4.4 RPG and 4.0 APG show why. Of course, the Raptors don’t stand many chances to make the difference during the postseason, however, fantasy owners should definitely have DeRozan in their plans for next season.
 
DeMar DeRozan

 
Now, the Utah Jazz are one of the worst teams this season. Nonetheless, they do have some valuable and very promising pieces. Derrick Favors is one of them and he is a player who is gradually improving. This season, he averaged 13.1 PPG, 8.8 RPG and 1.5 BLKPG. Whilst he wasn’t the main factor in the Jazz’s course this year, he will certainly be a top prospect and top target for several fantasy owners next season.
 
Derrick Favors

 
Derrick Rose made the difference, too, this season but in a totally different way than all the afore-mentioned stars. Although the Chicago Bulls have managed to stay alive this season and they continue to fight for the third seed in the East, if they had Rose onboard, things would have been totally different. Bulls fans along with lots of fantasy owners believed in Rose. They expected him to return to action and be dominant. Nevertheless, this season was nothing but a big disappointment for both sides.
 
Derrick Rose

 
Victor Oladipo might be a just rookie. However, he could be the player we will talk about more and more over the next few seasons. In his first season in the league and playing for a struggling team, he is averaging 14.2 PPG, 4.2 RPG and 4.2 APG. In addition, he has proven that he can be a leader and he will certainly be an attractive option for fantasy owners next season.
 
Victor Oladipo

The 23-year-old Duchene, who has a career-high 70 points, plus-8 rating and 217 shots on goal this season, is expected to miss about four weeks with a sprained MCL. It’s an injury that will severely alter the depth of the Stanley Cup Playoff-bound Avalanche and offensive production for fantasy owners around the globe.

With recent injuries to Duchene and PA Parenteau, Colorado has shifted Calder Trophy favourite Nathan MacKinnon from right wing to center and onto a line with Ryan O’Reilly and Jamie McGinn. Paul Stastny looks to remain the team’s second line center alongside Gabriel Landeskog but has John Mitchell — for now — lining up on his right.

Duchene, one of the top keeper assets League-wide, is one of 10 players with 70-plus points and 200-plus shots on goal in 2013-14. Only Sidney Crosby (29), Claude Giroux (23) and Phil Kessel (23) have more multi-point games than Duchene (21). His flair for late-game production has also been well-documented with nine of his 23 goals coming in the third period or overtime, and six of them game-winners (T-13th in NHL).

Duchene’s dual eligibility (C/LW) in Yahoo leagues made him all the more valuable. This injury forces keeper-league owners to bench or shelf him on injured reserve for the final two weeks of the regular season. Fantasy owners no longer have the lineup flexibility and consistent production of Duchene on their side, and those in one-year leagues have no choice but to drop a player who was a popular third-round fantasy draft pick (average draft position: 35.5).

Duchene is not a player who can easily be replaced, but fantasy owners will have to take their best shot. Here are some readily available options with dual eligibility and something to play for down the stretch.

Vincent Lecavalier (C/LW, Philadelphia Flyers)

Prior to Sunday, Lecavalier hadn’t had a multi-point outing since Nov. 12. He’s missed time due to injury this season and has been a disappointment since joining the Flyers, but being demoted to the fourth line Saturday served as a wake-up call. He scored three goals, including one on the power play, on 12 shots in two games over the weekend. His nine shots on goal Sunday was the most he’s had in a game since he had 12 on March 11, 2011.

Carl Soderberg (C/LW, Boston Bruins)

It’s rare to see third-liners warrant consideration in shallow-type fantasy leagues, but Soderberg has approached that territory given the steady, productive nature of his unit. He has emerged during his first full season after a brief NHL stint late last season and years playing in Sweden. He has 15 points in 18 games since the Olympic break and has been consistent alongside veteran Chris Kelly and former 70-point regular Loui Eriksson. With 13 power-play points, solid shot production and a positive rating, Soderberg is a safe bet who can lift your team in a number of categories during Duchene’s absence.

Tomas Tatar (C/LW, Detroit Red Wings)

Tatar, 23, had a quiet weekend but proved to be an explosive option off the waiver wire with three straight multi-point games from March 23-27. Although he’s been streaky for deep-league owners this season, he has assumed a top-six role for the Red Wings given their laundry list of injuries. Even if his linemate Gustav Nyquist sticks on the top line with David Legwand and Johan Franzen, Tatar has a chance to feed off the fellow youngsters around him (Tomas Jurco, Riley Sheahan) and be productive with Detroit being on the cusp on extending its postseason streak.

Beau Bennett (LW/RW, Pittsburgh Penguins)

Bennett, a preseason sleeper choice of mine, remains an intriguing option despite being limited to 14 games due to injury. With Evgeni Malkin out of the lineup, Jussi Jokinen has shifted to center and Bennett has moved onto that second line with Jokinen and James Neal. Bennett has two points (one goal, one assist) and a plus-3 rating in two games since returning from a lingering wrist injury and should be on your radar in deep leagues.

The 2013 – 2014 NBA season is almost over and so will soon be the fantasy season. It has been a season with lots of ups and downs, lots of surprises both from players, who under or over performed but also from teams around the league. Some fantasy owners found great success by risking with their roster selections. Some others were definitely hurt by superstars who underperformed but mainly got injured. Let’s break down some facts about the 2013 – 2014 fantasy season, as it comes to its end. We’ll examine some of the worst selections fantasy owners made this season.

We saw several players struggling with their respective performances, when they were projected to play well. Deron Williams is one of them. The superstar point guard was projected to play big for the Brooklyn Nets but his production wasn’t as big as lots of fantasy owners projected. Williams averages 14.5 PPG, 6.1 APG and 2.6 RPG in 32.2 MPG but he missed a bunch of games due to injury.

Josh Smith is another star who was expected to make the difference, being in a new team. However, both he and the Detroit Pistons did surprisingly bad. J-Smoove continued to take bad shots and his co – existence with Andre Drummond and Greg Monroe just didn’t work out this year in Detroit. His averages, 16.5 PPG, 6.9 RPG and 3.3 APG show that he was slightly overrated, when it comes to fantasy selections.

Marc Gasol is our last member of the “bad selections” list. The Spaniard center missed a big part of the season due to an injury. Now, that was just a misfortune for him, but still, he lost much of his fantasy value due to that fact. Of course, he didn’t hurt that badly any fantasy team, as especially during the second half of the season, he played well. However, he wasn’t a great as he was supposed to be in overall.

Injuries are always an issue, for any team and for any player. Dwyane Wade and the defending champs, Miami Heat are no exception. After the end of the previous season and also the playoffs, it was obvious that Wade would experience health and conditioning issues this season. For those who took the risk to select him for their teams, they certainly got hurt, at least at some point. Although Wade was productive in several games this season, he appeared in just 51 games up to now, while in some games he couldn’t reach that superstar level of performance.

Finally, we could say that Dwight Howard was a bad selection for fantasy owners this season. It’s not that he wasn’t solid. On the contrary, his 18.5 PPG, 12.3 RPG and 1.8 BLKPG prove that he helped lots of fantasy teams. However, he was slightly overrated. The Rockets expect even more out of him and so do fantasy owners. Hopefully Howard will be better next season for Houston.

We’ve seen Andrei Loktionov scratch at the surface of fantasy ownership before, but inconsistency always doomed his chances of sticking with highly skilled linemates for extended periods of time.

But since being traded from the New Jersey Devils to the Carolina Hurricanes, Loktionov has earned his stripes one day at a time, leading to regular ice time in a more prominent role and, most importantly, production.

The 23-year-old has six points and 12 shots on goal over his past five games and is seeing more ice time with the Hurricanes (13:51 per game) than with the Devils (12:18). His eight points (three goals, five assists) in 14 games for Carolina trails only Ales Hemsky (12), Thomas Vanek (11),Marian Gaborik (10), David Legwand (10), Ryan Callahan (10), Lee Stempniak (9) and Matt Moulson (9) for the most points since March 5 among players traded on NHL Trade Deadline day.

It’s pretty safe to say Loktionov was not expected to produce points among those high-profile players who changed area codes on deadline day.

Loktionov has been most effective since seeing a jump to a top-six forward role centering perennial fantasy asset Eric Staal and Jiri Tlusty, who was on that unit before missing a game Tuesday due to injury. Staal was previously playing alongside Alexander Semin and Tlusty, a line that worked magic in 2012-13 but regressed significantly this season.

As Loktionov has become more and more acclimated to coach Kirk Muller’s system in Carolina, he has earned a role on a second power-play unit that has seen quite a bit of action over the past few weeks. During the shortened season of 2012-13, Loktionov was acquired by the Devils from the Los Angeles Kings and ultimately saw 1:27 per game with the man advantage, producing three power-play points in 28 games with New Jersey. This season, he took a big step back with a total of 26:31 in 48 games with the Devils. He had no power-play points to show for himself — that is, until after he was traded.

He has since built a rapport with Muller in Carolina that has led to a total of 34:38 of power-play ice time over 14 games with the Hurricanes, and he has answered the call nicely with four power-play points over that short span. Considering Loktionov had only five points with the man advantage in 135 career NHL games prior to this year’s deadline, this is a development worth monitoring as the fantasy season comes to a close.

 

 
The bottom line is that, based on his play over the past two weeks, Loktionov’s new coaching staff wants him to put those pointless streaks and the healthy scratches from New Jersey behind him and focus on the present. Loktionov is set to be a restricted free agent this summer, so it only makes sense to see a team that will miss the Stanley Cup Playoffs experiment with such a skilled forward down the stretch to see what they have in him.