You're probably had enough of COVID by now. Yet judging by the number of cases, hospitalizations, and deaths still happening around the world, COVID hasn't had enough of you. Or your fantasy team, given the number of key players that have spent time in COVID protocol this season.

Last season was exceptional in the fact that teams were forced to cancel games due to breakouts. Although vaccinations will likely prevent entire teams from being shut down and spreading illness again (case in point the Vancouver Canucks), fantasy managers will still need to be nimble in adjusting lineups. Hopefully you have ample bench/IR+ slots for substitutions. Hanging onto fringe options that end up sidelined probably isn't the best use of your roster resources.

Some more prominent names were added to the list on Saturday. Kris Letang's positive test meant that he was forced to miss Saturday's game, as if the Penguins don't already have enough key players sidelined. And as if the Blackhawks' season couldn't get any more difficult, Patrick Kane, Erik Gustafsson, and Ryan Carpenter were placed into COVID protocol. Blake Wheeler and Mark Scheifele also remain in COVID protocol, missing Saturday's game as well.

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The injury situation didn't seem to bother the Penguins on Saturday. Or maybe the 7-1 win was more indicative of the dysfunction within the Toronto Maple Leafs. Regardless, if there was one outcome of Saturday's games that I never would have predicted, that would be the one. In case you need a refresher of who was out of the lineup for Pittsburgh:

No Carter.
No Crosby.
No Letang.
No Malkin.
No Rust.
No problem. https://t.co/U0ZyExJPTy

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) October 24, 2021

You may have never heard of Drew O'Connor, but he is currently tied for the rookie scoring lead with five points (with Anton Lundell). O'Connor scored two goals and finished the game with a plus-3 and six shots. Because of the Penguins' current situation, O'Connor played on a line with Jason Zucker and Danton Heinen. For more on O'Connor, see his Dobber Prospects profile, where you'll see that he was a point-per-game player (19 points in 20 games) in the AHL last season. He’s worth paying attention to with all the injuries.

No Letang meant that Marcus Pettersson saw significant power-play time. Although he didn't score any power-play points, he finished the day with an impressive stat line of a goal, two assists, and a plus-5. Pettersson's defense partner Mark Friedman also finished the game with a plus-5.

First-line center Evan Rodrigues scored a goal and added an assist with five shots on goal. Rodrigues now has points in four of his five games. While he's on the first line with Jake Guentzel, Rodrigues is worth a gamble.

Jack Campbell allowed five goals on 17 shots – a disastrous result. Thankfully for those who were stuck with Campbell in their starting lineup (like me!) Sheldon Keefe cut Campbell's losses by pulling him after two periods. Obviously not a solid game from Campbell, but the Leafs have a lot of issues to work through right now having lost games on back-to-back days and three games overall. As you'd expect, the faithful are panicking.

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The Leafs' original six rival in Montreal had been having their own problems this season, but at least they were able to put them to bed for one game. Mathieu Perreault recorded a hat trick with a plus-4 and six shots in helping power the Canadiens to their first win of the season. Perreault benefitted from being used on a scoring line with Tyler Toffoli and Cole Caufield, with their usual linemate Nick Suzuki moved onto a line with Mike Hoffman and Brendan Gallagher. Hoffman also scored his first goal as a Hab in this game.

Filip Hronek was surprisingly made a healthy scratch (coach's decision). The Red Wings play again today (Sunday), so it's possible that Hronek is back in the lineup, especially with the team losing 6-1 without him.

Tyler Bertuzzi was also not in the Wings' lineup, as he was unable to cross the border because of his vaccination status. According to Elliotte Friedman, Bertuzzi is set to be the only unvaccinated player left in the NHL. Mackenzie Blackwood is set to be eligible to cross the border with the Devils once they play in Canada on December 3. Sunday's game is in Chicago, which I assume Bertuzzi will require separate transportation for.

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COVID protocol also didn't matter for the Jets on Saturday, as they were able to defeat the Predators 6-4. Paul Stastny also scored his first two goals of the season on Saturday, one of which was on the power play. Stastny also played nearly 22 minutes in this game, while Andrew Copp logged a team-high 24:10.  

With a goal and an assist on Saturday, Pierre-Luc Dubois has now scored goals in four consecutive games. This is an important season for Dubois not only because it's his first full season in Winnipeg, but also because he needs to rebound from a season where he was on a 37-point pace. Even despite the absences of Scheifele and Wheeler, Dubois was not on the first-unit power play (but Nikolaj Ehlers was). Dubois' offensive upside may be limited as a result, but his strong start has to be reassuring for both Jets fans and managers who roster him.  

Eeli Tolvanen has been held without a point in his last four games. More concerning has been his icetime and his line usage. Tolvanen has been used over 15 minutes in a game just once in five games (and it was 15:12), while he has been down on the fourth line with Thomas Novak and prospect Philip Tomasino. He's also been on the second power-play unit with those linemates plus Nick Cousins (who by the way, scored three points in this game). Just something to keep an eye on if Tolvanen is on your roster.

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Vitek Vanecek had appeared to grab the starting job in Washington, receiving the nod for the fourth time in five games. However, Vanecek was pulled after first period after allowing three goals on 13 shots to the Flames. Vanecek had posted quality starts in each of his first three games, allowing only a combined four goals. It remains to be seen whether Vanecek or Ilya Samsonov will start Monday's game against Ottawa, but those who drafted Samsonov may not receive starts as easily as they thought they would.

Elias Lindholm scored two of those first-period goals, then scored the overtime winner for the hat trick. With that hat trick goal, Lindholm became the NHL's co-leader in goals, although he has yet to record an assist. Lindholm was only one point behind linemate Johnny Gaudreau for the team lead in scoring last season. Consider him an underrated option in fantasy leagues.

When Darryl Sutter shuffled his lines last season, the odd man out appeared to be Gaudreau's longtime linemate Sean Monahan. The move down the lineup seems to have really affected Monahan, who scored just eight points over his last 24 games. That slump has continued into this season, where Monahan has yet to record a point in four games. With the Gaudreau – Lindholm – Matthew Tkachuk line performing well, Monahan might be on the outside looking in for a while. He might be a player that you have to consider dropping at this point.

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Nearly three-quarters of the way through the third period, the Senators had a 2-0 lead on the Rangers. Then Chris Kreider scored the following goal, which knocked Matt Murray out of the game.

Matt Murray left for the locker room after taking a knee to the head on Chris Kreider's goal. pic.twitter.com/1nXyf22nky

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) October 23, 2021

The Rangers then scored two more goals on Anton Forsberg to skate away with a sudden 3-2 regulation win. Should Murray miss time again, Filip Gustavsson would likely compete with Forsberg for starts.

Kreider might irk some fans in the way he makes a living bumping into goalies. Regardless, he had a solid fantasy day, filling every stat in one of my leagues: 1 G, 1 A, +1, 1 PPP, 5 SOG, 6 HIT, 1 BLK. As of the time this game finished, Kreider was just outside of the top 10 in shots (18 SOG) and fifth in the league with 22 Hits. He's also scored four goals to start the season as a top-notch option in bangers leagues.

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David Perron just keeps piling on the points. One week ago, I mentioned him after he scored two goals against the Avalanche. This Saturday, he scored a hat trick while adding an assist on six shots on goal. Perron now has five goals and seven points in just four games, continuing to prove himself as an underrated fantasy option.  

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The first player to ever score a goal at Seattle's newly renovated Climate Pledge Arena is… Vince Dunn.

H-I-S-T-O-R-I-C!

Vince Dunn scores the first-ever #SeaKraken goal at @ClimateArena! pic.twitter.com/qVWhhoyRLu

— Seattle Kraken (@SeattleKraken) October 24, 2021

I know I'm getting away from fantasy for a bit, but I'd like to show you some pictures of the NHL's newest arena. There are a few features that might be different from other arenas that you're familiar with, such as two scoreboards instead of one, the large windows on one side of the building, and the… food and beverage prices?

Another one of the NHL's beautiful buildings. Climate Pledge Arena is an engineering marvel, dug down under the protected landmark roof of old Seattle Center Coliseum. I'm standing at street level. #Kraken #Canucks pic.twitter.com/vDBZ414VVg

— Iain MacIntyre (@imacSportsnet) October 23, 2021

A lot of fans outside Climate Pledge Arena standing in the rain to watch @SeattleKraken because these screens are MASSIVE and have floor to ceiling windows.

Indoor vs. outdoor pic.twitter.com/rgLFuPRGLx

— Alyssa Charlston (@Alyssacharlston) October 24, 2021

Important update… these are the beverage prices at Climate Pledge Arena pic.twitter.com/YF45pvH1wk

— Rob Williams (@RobTheHockeyGuy) October 23, 2021

I’m a lifelong Canucks fan and BC resident, but I love visiting the Emerald City. So I look forward to driving down the I-5 one day to check out a game there, and I'll remember to bring lots of American dollars. It looks very state-of-the-art and a massive upgrade from the building's days as KeyArena. Hockey looks like it’s going to be a major hit in Seattle, with the Kraken organization pushing all the right buttons in marketing Seattle’s newest sports franchise.

Back to the game itself, which Vancouver won 3-2. With the game-winning goal and an assist, Conor Garland now has multiple points in back-to-back games, along with a season-opening point streak of six games. Even though Garland is not on the top line or even the first-unit power play, the Canucks seem like a great fit for him. From a general play perspective, Garland seems to provide the Canucks with a spark when they need one. As the Canucks debut at home next week, expect Garland to quickly become a fan favorite in Van City.

Garland's linemate Bo Horvat scored the Canucks' other two goals, which gives him points in three of his last four games.

Those with Brock Boeser on their team will be happy to know that he was back on the first-unit power play, replacing Alex Chiasson.

Thatcher Demko was the best player on both teams in the new Canucks/Kraken rivalry. He stopped 29 of 31 shots in earning the win. Demko has a league-high 155 saves in facing 168 shots, also a league high. Expect him to be near the top of the leaderboard in both categories, since he should start plenty of games while the Canucks give up a ton of shots. Here are a couple of samples from this game:

That'd be a 🙅‍♂️ from Thatcher Demko!

🇺🇸: @ESPNPlus ➡️ https://t.co/CLqyKVUD2q
🇨🇦: @Sportsnet ➡️ https://t.co/uEVY6yXLpz pic.twitter.com/Lk6a8coNGN

— NHL (@NHL) October 24, 2021

thatcher demko is just so cool pic.twitter.com/Hlp60ZnvUN

— clarissa! (@quinnsedgework) October 24, 2021

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Some other goalie and scheduling notes:

Both Frederik Andersen and Cam Talbot have won each of their first four starts of the season. Andersen has posted quality starts in each of his last three games, while Talbot earned quality starts in his first two games. Both the Wild and the Hurricanes are undefeated over four games, while neither Kaapo Kahkonen nor Antti Raanta have seen any game action.

Expect Raanta in particular to see some game action next week, as the Canes play four games – all at home. One of the back-to-backs on Thursday against Boston or Friday against Chicago seems the most likely. The upcoming week has a superb schedule for the Canes with the four home games, so load up on them. For more advice on handling the schedule this upcoming week, check out Looking Ahead.

It might only be the Coyotes, but Ilya Sorokin earned a 26-save shutout on Saturday. With Semyon Varlamov still not ready to start the season, Sorokin has started all five games for the Islanders. The Isles have another game today (Sunday) in Vegas, and it is not known who the starter will be. Check Goalie Post for updates.

Also keep in mind that the Islanders play just one game next week (on Saturday in Nashville), so you’ll want to keep Varlamov benched for sure and perhaps even Sorokin.

With both Mackenzie Blackwood and Jonathan Bernier injured, Nico Daws received his first NHL start, making 24 saves in a 2-1 win over Buffalo. If either Blackwood or Bernier remains out through next weekend, Daws could make another start in one of the Devils' back-to-back games on Saturday and Sunday.

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For more fantasy hockey discussion, or to reach out to me, you can follow me on Twitter @Ian_Gooding