If your league doesn't have a category for erection causing saves, you're doing it wrong.

*

I suppose this next save makes Martin Brodeur a cougar:

Brodeur's stat-line was underwhelming last night as he stopped just 22 of 25 but he saved New Jersey's bacon in overtime and more importantly has now won five in a row as well as seven of his last eight. His only loss was a disappointing 1-0 affair of despair against the Flyers.

My apologies to Brodeur and his fans who together share an inability to let go. He seems to still have something left in the tank, although I would much rather point to three straight years of below average play than to 12 games of average play when assessing Brodeur's viability going forward but that's just me.

Patrick Elias notched three points last night, his first three since returning to the lineup this month. He is a necessity for the fantasy viability of many players in New Jersey so it's great to see him back.

One guy who has been just fine without Elias is Jaromir Jagr, which is probably because Lou Lamorello somehow opened a portal to the Benjamin Button universe. Jagr scored last night to give him 17 points in 21 contests so far. We've seen this sort of start from Jagr before so you need to SELL HIGH because he cannot be counted on to skate in 82 games. Nor can he be counted on to be productive in the games he does play. Remember the Devils play an absurd number of back-to-backs this season.

Eric Gelinas got on the board for the first time in four games scoring a goal and an assist, both on the power play. Six of Gelinas' seven points this season have come with the man advantage so Elias' return will definitely help keep Gelinas viable for fantasy owners.

Travis Zajac scored the OT winner for the Devils, his fourth point in his last five games. He has been skating some big minutes but only alongside Jagr and Dainius Zubrus and on the second power play unit so if you are hoping for some kind of revival you really must believe in Lamorello's wizardry.

*

It should be mentioned that that was Mathieu Perreault getting robbed by Brodeur. Perreault has gone cold having not scored in six straight games. Isn't this his M.O. – come up, start hot then cool off until he gets benched/demoted?

Perreault skated just 12:15 last night although he was present on the second power play unit but it's clear that even Bruce Boudreau's patience can wear thin on this guy. But it should be noted that at least he is getting scoring opportunities so the puck luck just isn't going his way right now. I would probably kick him to the waiver wire until he shows signs of heating up once again.

It's possible that all of Perreault's luck has been tapped by Dustin Penner. He has scored seven points in his last eight games with Ryan Getzlaf in the lineup. We'll all just pretend those three without Getzlaf never happened. With two assist last night Penner now has 15 points on the year.

I don't think he can sustain this level of production. Hell, even 50-points seems like a long shot to me but it's clear that Penner is a fit with Getzlaf and Corey Perry. Those three can shield the puck from anyone in the league and rag valuable minutes in the opponents' zone. But Penner has been the second luckiest guy in the league so far this year by five-on-five on-ice shooting percentage so no matter how good the fit, Penner can't keep this up.

It helps that Penner has gotten a promotion to the top power play unit because that's where guys can really boost their point totals, especially guys who can carve out space in front like Penner. I would try to sell high if you can but odds are you won't find too many believers out there. It's probably best to just ride it out with Penner in the hopes that maybe he's this year's "net-presence" guy to go bonkers with the puck luck and superstar chemistry on his way to a 60-point season.

Cam Fowler has nine points in his last 11 games. I picked him up on a lark a couple of weeks ago, hoping to capitalize on his favourable schedule. Then he went out and posted back-to-back two-point games. He's been in my lineup ever since. I'll probably drop him eventually when this hot-streak runs out but if it runs long enough I might be able to sell him for someone I trust a little more.

Puck Daddy's Ryan Lambert wonders if the Ducks will make the right moves with their goaltending.

Jonas Hiller had yet another mediocre performance last night and really hasn't looked solid since opening the season with a four-game win streak. And if you really want to get into it he hasn't been the same since getting wiped out by vertigo a few years back.

That said, I would buy low. The Ducks have solid possession stats and it's virtually impossible for Hiller to remain in Anaheim and not get starts. So if his performance can rebound to even average then he'll put up wins behind an otherwise solid team.

I realize that Lambert's article suggests the Ducks should trade Hiller while they can but we all know how difficult it is to trade a goalie, especially mid-season. I don't see any viable destinations that the Ducks would actually consider for a reasonable price. So I’m in the buy low camp.

*

New Sabres management did something of a house-cleaning earlier this week as they sent four of their youngsters – Mikhail Grigorenko, Nikita Zadorov, Johan Larsson and Rasmus Ristolainen – down to various levels of the minors.

You can understand the logic behind the move. Buffalo probably accepts that they will be bad this season but they don't want to be embarrassingly bad. There's also not much sense in overextending these young guys in an environment not conducive to their success. It's one thing to bring one or two rookies along in a season, it's quite another to do so with five or six the way Sabres have.

As a youth coach I understand just how difficult it can be to indoctrinate new players into your program. Having to teach and re-teach all of the basics to a larger group of new players can be exhausting and at a certain point impossible. With too many new players some guys can get left by the wayside if they don't pick things up as quickly.

I know that NHL teams have nearly endless resources when it comes to player development and that includes a large coaching staff but even at that level it must be difficult getting new players up to speed with the team system and to learn the ins and outs of the NHL game in general, not to mention the constant spotlight that NHL teams are under, the pressure to get results on the ice, and the limited practice time available during the regular season.

I'm sure that what the Sabres are hoping for is to make better use of their AHL program to teach the fundamentals and values of their program at a level with more reasonable competition and lower stakes. It should be good for everyone involved… except Grigorenko.

In a strange turn the Sabres tried to send Grigorenko to the minors on a 14-day conditioning stint because he is still not eligible to go to the AHL full-time and his junior team, the Quebec Remparts, is already carrying two imports so they can't take him either. The NHL decided to block the Sabres' attempt so now he is essentially stuck with the big club.

I was already sour on Grigorenko's fantasy prospects and this just makes things worse. It's hard to think of anything the Sabres have done right with his development.

Grigorenko sticking in the NHL means one less spot for someone else. Maybe that means Zemgus Girgensons gets sent down or perhaps someone like Corey Tropp or Brian Flynn. It probably means Patrick Kaleta's path back to the NHL is blocked, which, I mean, good riddance, right?

Regardless, the Sabres were still able to call up Luke Adam and Brayden McNabb yesterday. It will be interesting to see if Adam can carve out a spot on a scoring line or not because he has shown flashes of upside in the past. He is scoring over a point per game in the AHL this season, which would seem to indicate he has mastered that level of competition but he also scored at that level three years ago before dropping to a point every two games over the last two seasons so it's hard to see Adam being anything but erratic at the NHL level.

*

NHL.com takes a look at Jay Bouwmeester and who is trending up and trending down in their fantasy defensemen rankings.

*

Elliotte Friedman's latest 30 Thoughts with some digs on Tyler Myers and the Buffalo Sabres:

Asked about the struggles of Sabres defenceman Tyler Myers, Pat LaFontaine brought up how the New York Islanders gave up on Zdeno Chara too early. “The thing that encourages me is that [Myers has] already proven what he can do. We need to create the environment so that he has everything he needs to go back where he was … If it’s something where we’ve tried everything to give him that environment [yet fails], then maybe a change is what is needed.” That said, Lafontaine stressed Myers will be given time under the new regime.

*

Arctic Ice Hockey takes a look at the different approaches the Jets and Flyers took to developing Mark Scheifele and Sean Couturier. You can find the second part of the comparison piece here.

At this point, I'd rather have Scheifele, especially in a fantasy league. He simply has more opportunity and upside.

*

Adrian Aucoin has officially retired. He was only a modest fantasy option for much of his career but was intriguing for leagues that offered bonuses for defensemen who could score goals. He once scored 23 goals in a season of which 18 came on the power play.

*

The Canucks Army blog held a contest to come up with a new hockey stat. The winning entry was the Bieska Rating, which is a measure of Don Cherry's preference for players. Needless to say this made my week.

*

Grantland's Sean McIndoe sets the story straight on five hockey facts.

*

You can follow me on Twitter @SteveLaidlaw.