Is Price merely average, buy low on Stastny and Steen, Klingberg is legit and more…

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The hottest line in hockey continues to sizzle as Vladimir Tarasenko, Jori Lehtera and Jaden Schwartz combined for the lone Blues goal last night. Unfortunately, that was probably the only positive for the Blues as they were dumped 4-1 by the Canadiens.

This is all going to slow down for that line eventually. Both Tarasenko and Lehtera rank in the top-25 for on-ice shooting percentage at even strength. I made the superstar case for Tarasenko earlier this year. I still believe he can get to 70 points this season though. What really hurts their chances of sustaining production is that the Blues roll their power play units indiscriminately whereas on other teams they might see the bulk of the power play shifts.

The flip side of that is what's happening to last year's blues darlings Alexander Steen, David Backes and TJ Oshie as well as their big free agent acquisition Paul Stastny. Those four are all at 6.06% for on-ice shooting percentage or less, which is extremely unlucky. You could argue that they were due to regress after the trio of Steen, Backes and Oshie sustained some +10% on-ice shooting for much of last season, they all eventually regressed towards league average. That's what's coming for Tarasenko, Lehtera and Schwartz.

Last night was particularly unfortunate for Stastny and Oshie as they each went minus-three. Those two have been skating predominantly with Steen while Backes has centered a third line with Joakim Lindstrom and Patrik Berglund. Consider Backes the loser in this whole scenario. I'd be making some hard pitches for Stastny and Steen though.

Jake Allen got the start for St. Louis and while he wasn't bad from what I saw, he also wasn't the start-stealing threat that he has looked like for much of this season. Little fist pump for all the Brian Elliott owners out there.

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Carey Price with an excellent bounce-back effort after getting picked apart by the Penguins the other night. Interestingly, Price's ratios this season are almost exactly in line with his career numbers. Check it out:

Price Career: 2.52 GAA, 0.917 Save Percentage

Price 2014-15: 2.49 GAA, 0.917 Save Percentage

I don't question Price's bonafides as an elite netminder but perhaps his reputation as an elite fantasy netminder is worth questioning. Since taking over as the full-time starter in 2011-12 Price has two seasons of elite play and two seasons of mere average performance. This is looking like another "average" season. I love the reliability of quality play but with this season looking more like an "average" one perhaps that's more of the norm.

Of course, it's only 17 games into the season for Price, which is hardly a large enough sample size to form any conclusions. I just figured it might be worth sparking the conversation.

PA Parenteau has not been the hit I expected coming over to Montreal but he has been productive when the Canadiens have used him on the top line with Max Pacioretty and David Desharnais. That's Parenteau in a nutshell. He can fit in with good offensive players and help make them better. Stick him on the third line and he'll give you nothing. He's like a watered down version of Thomas Vanek or Alex Semin. Check out this saucer to spring Pacioretty for a breakaway:

Movechkin!

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If you were counting on Trevor van Riemsdyk in some extremely deep league he'll miss the next 3-4 months after surgery on his left knee. The Blackhawks were a veritable lock to trade for a defenseman this season anyhow but this all but confirms it. In the meantime, it probably means more starts for David Rundblad, which isn't exactly a good thing even for Rundblad owners as it further exposes the reality that he isn't much of a fantasy asset right now.

Rundblad did not skate last night but the recently called up Adam Clendening did, which is extremely exciting news. I am a big fan of Clendening's game and fantasy upside. He may never really become a fantasy asset until either Duncan Keith moves on or he is moved to another team but the Blackhawks are one of those teams where a third-pairing defenseman can have fantasy value if he's skating on the second power play unit, which Clendening was last night when he scored his first NHL goal. He's a must have in keeper leagues with farm systems.

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That’s all for game thoughts from me. Sorry for skipping the late games. I'll toss a note up if I'm able to log on later with some updates.

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Tonight's contest between the Rangers and Sabres has been postponed due to the massive snow still causing transportation issues. No date has been determined for the rescheduling. That stinks for those of you who snapped up Rangers this week for their favourable schedule but those are the breaks. Adjust your rosters accordingly.

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Edmonton and Vancouver swapped minor-league pugilists yesterday with Kellan Lain heading to the Oilers while Will Acton will join the Canucks. I'd say that this amounts to shuffling the deck chairs but that's probably an insult to deck chairs. BOLD MOVES, am I right?

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Sean McIndoe bust out the thermometer to take the temperature of the NHL's various "hot seats."

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You can follow me @SteveLaidlaw.