Chris Nichols

­Chris Nichols is Sportsnet.ca's fantasy hockey writer.

@Nichols_NHLPool on Twitter for timely NHL & poolie info, along with occasionally snarky comments.

Live blogging nightly: line combos, defensive pairings, analysis, statistical trends and more from every game on the NHL docket. Refresh the 'Live NHL Recap' page while the games are on to get new info as it is added.

Send in a brief fantasy hockey question, including all relevant league info, and it may be included in a future Hockey Hearsay blog during the week. One per person, please. Send it via Twitter for a possible response in the blog, or send via email (include your first name and hometown to represent!) if you'd prefer. chris.nichols@sportsnet.rogers.com

According to Fire & Ice, injured New Jersey winger Zach Parise - slated to become an RFA this summer and then a UFA the following year, if not signed longer-term beforehand - dismissed the talk that he wants off the Devils as speculation based on the team’s poor season and his status a potential restricted free agent on July 1. The Devils have not yet made any move to initiate contract talks.

“I don’t know where they get that info,” Parise told me today via telephone. “Who is talking, I have no idea. I’ve never told anyone one way or another. It’s all speculation.”

When asked about how really feels about wanting to re-sign with the Devils, however, Parise chose his words very carefully.

“Of course, you play in a place and you get drafted by them and you play there your whole career and you’d love to play in one spot for your whole career,” he said. “So, we’ll see what happens, I guess. I do like playing here and I like living here and everything. We’ll see how all that stuff turns out, but ideally you’d like to stay.”

Still, Parise, 26, seemed to be acknowledging that things don’t always work out “ideally.”

Fire & Ice notes that when asked Sunday if the way the Devils’ season has gone would impact his thinking contract-wise, he cautioned against overreacting to what has transpired so far in 2010-11, but was again very measured with his words.

“It’s been a tough year. There’s no question,” Parise said. “I think you have to take a step back and take a look at everything that’s gone on. A lot of things have happened that no one expected. It’s easy to get caught up and jump to conclusions and make bad decisions. You kind of have to take a step back and evaluate everything the proper way rather than make any rash decisions or judgments. I don’t think anyone could foresee this happening this year.”

Parise has been doing physical therapy on his knee for about three weeks and said, “I’ve started to be able to work out a little more, so that’s good.”

But he’ll have to wait until March to see if he’ll get the green light to start skating. That makes it difficult to project whether he will be able to play again this season. With the Devils unlikely to make the playoffs, there might not be a point to him rushing back to play in a handful of games.

“Of course, I’d like to play,” Parise said. “My number one thing right now is making sure I’m healthy. I’m not going to rush back. Just seeing how things turn out with the season, it will depend on when I’m ready. If I’m ready with two games to go in the season, I don’t know. It’s too early to tell when I’ll be cleared to skate. But keep in mind, when you get cleared to skate, then that’s going to be the first time skating in four months. There’s still a lot of time after that.

“So, I guess you kind of got to see how it progresses and trying to build some strength back and get comfortable. You’d hate to try to come back early and force it just to get a couple of games in and then all of the sudden you take a step back. You don’t want that to happen.”

The Washington Post believes there are many factors contributing to 25-year-old Caps sniper Alex Ovechkin dramatic dip in goals, but the most obvious one is how opposing teams are going about shutting him down, and how little he's adjusted in response.

Ovechkin is being smothered like never before, particularly when he attempts to carry the puck into the offensive zone. Defensemen are brashly stepping up on him, while at the same time, one or more forwards are sneakily applying pressure from behind. As a result, when Ovechkin cuts from the outside to a more prime scoring area, opponents strip the puck from him.

"Yeah," Ovechkin acknowledged last week, asked if opposing forwards are applying more pressure than before. "If I have a puck, I have two guys around me all the time. And the third guy comes down behind me, slash me or do something like that."

Added veteran winger Mike Knuble, who has witnessed the ramped-up defensive tactics from just a few feet away: "Alex likes to get to the middle, on his forehand, and they're just not allowing him to go there."

The Post relays that the Capitals' coaching staff has implored Ovechkin to counteract the increased attention by carrying the puck to the outside and down the boards. That, presumably, would allow him easier entry into offensive zone and, just as important, make him less predictable.

From all appearances, though, Ovechkin has yet to embrace the advice.

Knuble offered this: "If anything, I'll give this minor critique: he's trying to put his shots through the eye of the needle. You don't have to pick corners. His shot is hard enough that they'll go in."

He acknowledged on Friday that there's a problem and that he's searching for answers, which, of course, is the first step.

"We just have to find a way [to do] what we have to do," Ovechkin said, referring to his linemates. "We've talked to [Coach Bruce Boudreau], we've talked to [centre Nicklas Backstrom]. It's something new for us because we never have this situation before.

"Again," he added, "time will move forward and we are going to find a way to play against this strategy.

Newsday indicates that Islanders general manager Garth Snow, who traded goaltender Dwayne Roloson to Tampa Bay on Saturday for defence prospect Ty Wishart, said he pulled the trigger because he felt the value of return was the best he could get.

"To me, that was the best offer we would have gotten for him,'' Snow said, "and I believe it was the best deal even if we had waited."

Although the move hardly is surprising, given the Islanders' spot in the standings - 14th in the Eastern Conference - and the fact that Roloson, 41, is in the last year of a two-year deal, the timing was a bit surprising. Led by some impressive goaltending performances, the Islanders have rattled off six wins in their last eight games, beating the top team in each conference, Pittsburgh and Detroit, in the last two games.

When asked if this is an indication that the Islanders have given up on the rest of this season - they are 17 points out of the eighth and final playoff spot in the East - Snow bristled.

"That's not true at all," he said. "With the Wisniewski trade, we had a situation where [Andrew] MacDonald and [Milan] Jurcina both came off injured reserve; [Travis] Hamonic has played at an extremely high level. With the combination of those three factors, it made me feel more comfortable making that trade.

"As for the Roloson trade . . . I think [Nathan] Lawson will surprise people with how well he'll play. It's also an opportunity for [Kevin] Poulin and [Mikko] Koskinen to develop in an environment where there isn't three goalies."

Newsday relays that Roloson is "elated" about the chance to reach the postseason, saying: "It would be great to play in the playoffs. Everyone always writes how old I am, but no matter what age you are, it means a lot to play in the playoffs. You have a chance to do something you've always dreamed of: to win the Stanley Cup."

The Tampa Tribune notes that Dwayne Roloson was with teammates watching a hockey game Saturday night when he received the phone call informing him he had been dealt to Tampa Bay.

"I think anytime you are traded you are shocked, surprised. But at the same time, after it sinks in, you are pretty happy that you are going to a team that wanted you and wanted you for a reason,'' Rolson said Sunday during a layover in Houston en route to Tampa. "I'm very excited about this situation, that's for sure.''

Roloson said his son, whose favorite player is Marty St. Louis, might be the most excited about the move. Roloson also said jumping into the middle of a playoff race with a first-place team excites him and he is looking forward to playing for a team with dynamic scorers such as Steven Stamkos, Vinny Lecavalier and St. Louis.

"Those guys are definitely an offensive force to be reckoned with,'' said Roloson, who stopped 34 shots in a 2-1 overtime victory against Tampa Bay on Dec. 22. "And the defensive corps is great from the guys that I know and played against. So, it's going to be great place to play. Hopefully we can go a long way into the spring and into the summer with it.''

The Tribune observes that the timing of the trade might seem odd considering the stellar play of Tampa Bay rookie Cedrick Desjardins, who allowed one goal in each of his first two career starts, both victories. Desjardins stopped 61 of 63 shots. In addition, Mike Smith put together two strong starts before suffering a minor knee sprain on Dec. 20 and Dan Ellis has a 3-0-1 record since Smith's injury.

But with the opportunity to solidify a position of perceived weakness throughout the first half of the season, Yzerman didn't hesitate to bring in a veteran he hopes will bring consistency.

"This trade didn't just happen like that,'' Yzerman said as he snapped his fingers. "We've been talking for some time. … We are very pleased with how Cedrick played and he's part of our future. But having said that, he's played two games in the NHL, and I'm not going to rush anybody into something. And this opportunity might not have been there had we waited longer.

"So, we feel we have the best of both worlds. We still have Cedrick Desjardins in our organization and available to us and we add Dwayne Roloson. So, we have strengthened our organization.''

The article says that for the time being, Yzerman will stick with three goaltenders. Smith likely will be out another week as he recovers from a knee sprain, leaving Roloson and Ellis for a four-game road trip that opens Tuesday in Washington. Once Smith is ready to play and activated from injured reserve, how the playing time will be divided is unclear, although Roloson figures to be in the mix regardless.

"We bring Dwayne in with the idea that it's going to improve our goaltending. That's the whole reason the deal is done, and we'll figure out what we do from here,'' Yzerman said. "We'll carry three (goaltenders) and (head coach) Guy (Boucher) will decide who plays.

"Obviously acquiring Dwayne, he's going to play games. Ultimately the best one is going to play, and that will work itself out.''

The Calgary Herald indicates that in the short term, Flames centre Mikael Backlund is pencilled in to play the next four games in Abbotsford. That's subject to change, and he could play for the big team as early as Wednesday in Vancouver. Regardless, the Swedish centre will be on the charter next Sunday when the Flames jet to Carolina to launch a four-game eastern road swing.

"At some point in time, there will be a candidate to come out of the lineup," acting GM Jay Feaster said. "When that happens, Mikael will get his chance. When he gets that chance, he needs to make sure he never gives Brent a reason to pull him out of the lineup going forward."

For Backlund, it's a matter of shaking off the inevitable rust that comes from eating popcorn with the reporters for five straight.

"I think this will be really good for him," Heat coach Jim Playfair said. "It gets Mike back in all situations - power play, penalty kill, five-on-five in back-to-back games. We can challenge him in all three areas of the game.

"I think he'll help some of our young kids. They know Mikael was here last year as a player. This will show our group just how hard you have to compete if you want to play in the NHL."

The Herald notes that in Backlund's mind, he wants to get back to the NHL as soon as possible.

"It was my goal to not have to go back down there again," he said. "So I failed in that. They told me to go down there, play a few games and then I'll be back in the lineup.

"I'm going to go down there and work hard. Hopefully, everybody will be happy."

The Boston Globe believes it's all but a certainty that Tim Thomas will get the start in net against the Leafs (although it should be noted that since then, Tuukka Rask was the first off the ice this morning). Coach Claude Julien, who hooked Tuukka Rask after he gave up three goals in the first period in Buffalo, re-emphasized that Rask will work with goalie coach Bob Essensa when the club returns to Boston following the game with the Leafs.

''I'd say it's more confidence now...head stuff,'' said Julien, asked if he felt Rask's struggles were rooted in mechanics or confidence. ''Mechanically, he's a sound goaltender...he needs to build his confidence back up.''

A classic chicken-and-egg: player needs to gain confidence, but coach reluctant to stick with him. All the harder for goalies to work their way out of it, of course, unlike being one of 12 forwards or six defencemen. Julien feels Michael Ryder is better this year because the winger is playing with confidence. Ryder showed little confidence and less production last season, but his assigned ice time was rarely adjusted.

''We had to settle the game down,'' said Julien, explaining why he hooked Rask, who was his chosen starter last season. ''With Tim in there [after the first period], we thought that would settle it.''

According to The Raleigh News & Observer, Zach Boychuk, the Canes' first-round draft pick in 2008, has impressed everyone with his zeal, some physicality and the ability to make the gritty little plays that help teams win hockey games.

Sure, goals are nice and Boychuk can score goals. But a timely chip out of the defensive zone, a tape-to-tape pass or a strong body check also are the things that might keep him in the Canes' lineup. Against the New Jersey Devils on Saturday, Boychuk did not have a goal or assist. But he had five hits. He hustled and again did his part in a 6-3 win.

"I've liked Boychuk's intensity," coach Paul Maurice said. "I know he's got the hands, and if he gets power-play time and enough offensive time eventually he will score. The question is how many shifts can he get?

"He's taking some hits, he's giving some hits. He's not playing a small man's game, which is the key to those guys being real good players - their size not being a factor. I don't expect [Boychuk] to be banging everything that moves, but he's got to compete like a grinder. And then his hands mean he's got something special."

The News & Observer points out that at 5 feet 10 and 185 pounds, Boychuk is about Jeff Skinner's size and is well-conditioned. He also has that willingness to go to the front of the net - one of those "dark areas" hockey coaches talk about.

Boychuk, with a positive attitude, got the job done in Charlotte and was second in the AHL in points when recalled.

"Starting on the fourth line, I knew I had to bring what I did in the AHL, my physical play," Boychuk said. "Once I played physical, everything else would come."

Boychuk was called up by the Canes after forward Jiri Tlusty was injured. The injury to Jussi Jokinen earned him more ice time. Now his intent is to stick around.

"If I had come up here and pouted a little bit and said, 'Oh, I'm only getting five minutes, this is not where I want to be" ... that's not what I did," Boychuk said. "I went out and worked hard and got some chances.

"I've got to keep doing what I'm doing, have strong practices and show them that I want to be here. One game isn't going to get you the ticket here for the year. It has to be consistency."

The Columbus Dispatch notes that it has been roughly three weeks since the Blue Jackets sent winger Nikita Filatov to minor-league Springfield with the hope that he would rediscover his offensive touch.

They're still waiting.

In eight games with the Falcons, Filatov has one goal, three assists, a plus-2 rating and just 14 shots on goal.

"(Filatov is) not dominating games at that level like you'd maybe like to see, but he's still a young player who's getting acclimated," said Blue Jackets assistant general manager Chris MacFarland, who keeps a close eye on the Falcons.

"His attitude has been fine. His work ethic has been fine."

The Dispatch says that because of injuries, Springfield has dressed 11 forwards on some nights, forcing coach Rob Riley to mix and match his lines from shift to shift.

Filatov, who played left wing while with the Blue Jackets, has played mostly on the right side with Springfield. He has skated with left winger Maksim Mayorov and center Chris D'Alvise, an undrafted player who spent last season in the ECHL.

"Nikita has been pretty good," Riley said. "He and Mayorov are a really dynamic duo. They teamed up the other day and had three breakaways. Filatov hit a bar and Mayorov got robbed twice.

"He has missed a few chances; otherwise, he would have better numbers."

“I think he’s in as good of shape as he should be right now, but it’s not as good as he will be as he continues to mature as a man," Terry Murray told LA Kings Insider of Kings franchise defenceman Drew Doughty over the weekend. "That will just evolve into a bigger, stronger player. He played a lot of minutes last night. He’s up around 28 minutes, and that’s where we want him to be. Can he handle those minutes? Yeah, sure he can. He’s such a gifted player that when you’re out in those situations, for those many minutes, you just learn how to play the game. You’re not going to be 100-percent intensity. That’s to be expected. You pace yourself at times. As long as your timing is good, away from the puck or going to get pucks with intensity and moving in the right way, those defencemen can play, every game, 30 minutes, 28 minutes, without any problem. We saw (Chris) Pronger over the years here. There’s a style, a way of doing it.

“I’m OK with his conditioning. We do all the skating drills, whenever we have those real hard-work drills. He’s pushing it as hard as anybody, and he’s right there with everybody else. I’m OK. But I know down the road, in several years, he will be a better physical specimen than what he is today.”

It was more precautionary than problematic, but The Minneapolis Star-Tribune reports that goaltender Niklas Backstrom was held out of Sunday's game. Part of the reason was Backstrom's sore knee, which was injured in a collision with defenceman Marco Scandella at the end of Thursday's practice.

Backstrom played against Nashville on Friday, but it appeared the knee bothered him at times.

"This gives Nik an extra day of rest," coach Todd Richards said. "We'll see what happens "

Richards said Backstrom's injury was not serious, that it was day-to-day and that he was assured Backstrom could have played Sunday had something happened to Jose Theodore.

The Nashville Tennessean points out that Preds winger Patric Hornqvist has a goal in each of his past two games, a bright sign for the Predators after he went pointless in the previous four games.

"I'm trying to be around the net, and the pucks didn't bounce my way for a couple of games," Hornqvist said. "Today, it landed on my stick, I pulled it into me and scored. Small details in front of the net. Sometimes you get lucky, sometimes not."

Trotz said he spoke with Hornqvist in the past few days about being more patient in front of the net.

"The pucks would be there and he would be trying to put it through the goalies," Trotz said. "I talked to him about having a second or two more patience and chipping pucks over pads."

That's exactly how Hornqvist scored against Columbus. He is now tied for the team lead in goals (10) with Steve Sullivan.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that Deryk Engelland, who has not only earned a spot as the Penguins' sixth defenceman but also has established himself as one of the NHL's premier fighters, has been rewarded with a three-year contract extension worth $1.7 million.

Engelland, 28, is in his first full NHL season and has two goals, five points and a team-high 76 penalty minutes. The extension begins with the 2011-12 season and averages $566,700 per season.

The Penguins have locked up the seven defensemen on their roster to contracts beyond this season -- Alex Goligoski through next season, Ben Lovejoy (2012-13), Brooks Orpik (2013-14), Kris Letang (2013-14), Engelland (2013-14), Paul Martin (2014-15) and Zbynek Michalek (2014-15).

One of the benefits of poolies spot-starting someone like Engelland is that since he's on D, you'll be able to save the more valuable forward games in your line-up for guys who are more likely to garner you offensive points. He, in the meanwhile, can net you fights against key opponents. The vast majority of guys who fight on a regular basis in the NHL play up front, which is where most nightly PIM grabs will have to come from in the fantasy hockey world.

Mike from TO: "Hi Chris,

I love the work that you're doing so far this year. I just pulled off a trade in my keeper pool - I'm interested to know what you think about the trade and my team long-term. The deal was Zetterberg and Montador for Mike Green. I wasn't going to be able to keep Zetterberg so he was expendable to me. My keepers going forward would be: Backstrom, Parise, Hall, Nash, Green, Fleury (or Rask). Do I try to deal Byfuglien since I won't be able to keep him? Trading draft picks is allowed in the league. I've been in 2nd/3rd place for a while now, but I can't seem to bump up any higher..

Characteristics: 10-team roto counting G,A, +/-, PIM, PPP, SHP, W, GAA, SV%, SO 20 team rosters (but we play 3C, 3RW, 3LW, 4D, 1Util, 2G - the rest are on the bench) 6 players to keep from year to year (1 of each C, RW, LW, D, G and 1 util (not a goalie))

My team (post trade): C- Backstrom, M.Koivu, Boyle LW - Nash (RW), Avery, Hall RW - Selanne, Bertuzzi, Rene Bourque, Justin Williams D - Green, Hedman, E. Johnson, Erhoff, Byfuglien (RW) IR - Parise G - Fleury, Rask, Thomas, Neuvirth

Thanks for your help. Happy New Year"

Chris: Same to you Mike and thanks. I like the deal to get Mike Green, especially since you're upgrading your keepers in the process.

In terms of Byfuglien, it really depends on whether or not you think there's a chance for you to push past the next couple of teams. I'm not sure how the standings look with each category, but it certainly seems like you have enough pieces there to have a shot. Your goaltending alone can make up for a lot of flaws.

You know what though? There will never be a better time than right now to go after someone like Alex Ovechkin in a keeper league. You could attempt to capitalize on Byfuglien's awesome first half by packaging him with Rick Nash to get Ovechkin and maybe a good draft pick in return. Having the Ovechkin-Backstrom duo would be tremendous, especially with Mike Green on D now, and Ovechkin is going to break out before too much longer.

Dave in Big D: "Hey there Chris, is it time in a 14-team H2H (points awarded for everything except hits, blocked shots and faceoffs) to cut bait on the struggling Neal, Shattenkirk and Sturm? I know you stress the importance in H2H of racking up the points nightly and these guys are just not getting it done right now.

Potential FA replacements (no trades) on D are Weber, MacDonald and Jackman and at forward are Ruutu, Benn, Parenteau, Fehr, Cooke, Stafford, Upshall, Hecht, Helm, Blake, Galiardi, Kennedy, T. Jackman, Torres, Sobotka, Bolland, Perrault, Purcell, Bailey, Samsonov, Neil, Recchi, Frolik, J. Jokinen, Brassard, Peverley, Berglund, Dupuis, Gagner, Bergenheim, McCormick, Anisimov and Stepan. Thanks."

Chris: Assuming positions matter up front, as I suspect they do since I have a good idea which team this is, you're likely going to want to stick with Neal and Sturm because they're both in positions to succeed. Neal has struggled, but is showing signs of life and should be fine. Sturm has only missed producing in his last two games... as long as he's L1, he's worth considering.

The main one from the FA list who interests me as a potential long-term pick-up would be Tuomo Ruutu, although there are a number of possibilities like Gagner and Stepan (depending on the usual line assignment shuffle in NY). Stafford has been hot and I could see trying to cash in on that, although I still wouldn't bank on him for the entire second half. Short-term, maybe he's worth it.

In terms of Shattenkirk, there was no way he could keep that pace up so this drop-off was natural. Just keep an eye on his PP time and as long as it's still strong, he'll be worth having around on that Avs team.