A few years ago, Dobber was closely tracking Andreas Athanasiou in his quest for the most abysmal season ever, at least in terms of plus-minus. Through his first 12 games, Athanasiou was minus-16, and if it weren't for a mid-season injury, he may have given the minus-100 mark a good run. As it was, he finished at minus-46 through 55 games (with a trade from Detroit to Edmonton really evening things out over the last 10 games).

The all-time mark for the lowest plus-minus in a season is minus-82, by defenceman William Robert Mikkelson, playing for the Washington Capitals in their inaugural season. This year, Jacob Chychrun is looking to give that mark a run, already sitting at minus-22 and was minus-20 through his first 12 games. Not only is he on a historic pace, he's blowing it out of the water!

I'll keep tracking that as the season goes on. In the meantime, he scored his first of the season… on the power play, so no plus marker for that one.

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Jack Eichel tells me surgery went well..is leaving the hospital in 15 minutes..Dr. Chad Prusmack told Eichel the disc he took out was a mess..he took some extra time & couldn't have been more Precise and happy. Eichel: "I honestly feel really good. I just went for a walk."

— Bucci Mane (@Buccigross) November 12, 2021

Jack Eichel had his ADR surgery on Friday, and early reports are saying it was a successful procedure and everything looks great right now. Eichel himself was saying he felt a lot better.

I know everyone is penciling him in with Max Pacioretty and Mark Stone when everyone is healthy, but I am starting to wonder if that makes the most sense. Eichel can be a 100-point player with whatever wingers he is given. Meanwhile, Pacioretty and Stone have formed one of the best lines in the league when flanking Chandler Stephenson, so if you put all three together, how much better are they really going to be? My thinking is that there is more to gain with them apart than together, and ideally you run a lineup that looks something like this:

Patrick – Eichel – Dadonov

Pacioretty – Stephenson – Stone

Marchessault – Karlsson – Smith

Janmark – Roy – Kolesar

I am however aware that Vegas doesn't have the cap space to have everyone healthy at the same time, so it's possible that one or both of Smith or Dadonov is moved out. It's a work in progress for Vegas, but I do think that giving Eichel his own line will prove to be a more efficient lineup than stacking the top line.

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Yegor Chinakhov was up over 15 minutes of ice time for only the second time this season. He just played game number eight, and it will be interesting to see if they keep him around past game nine. On one hand, they already have Cole Sillinger sticking with the team, and thriving offensively, so it's not like they are just trying to hold onto every ELC year available. On the other hand, Chinakhov hasn't exactly lit the world on fire, and sending him down may be the best for both sides, allowing him to develop a little further, and keeping the ELC year and the extra year before he becomes UFA eligible down the line.

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On a related note, Mark Stone returned for the Golden Knights after missing a dozen games. He makes a big difference to this lineup, and the entire team gets a bit of a fantasy boost upon his return. At this point, aside from Paul Cotter or Jonas Rondbjerg, none of the forwards even really loses out because the couple of players pushed down the lineup end up back in their usual roles anyways.

Alex Pietrangelo looks to be off the top power play unit for the time being though, so that's a bit of a hit to his value. Note Keegan Kolesar in there though, as he could provide a short-term boost if you're in a pinch for some power play production.

Mark Stone also skating as part of PP2 (Stone-Stephenson-Dadonov-Kolesar-Theodore). All signs point to his return tonight

— Justin Emerson (@J15Emerson) November 13, 2021

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The Flyers welcomed back Kevin Hayes and Ryan Ellis, though the end result of the game wasn't exactly what they hoped for. Hayes may need a few games to get back up to speed. Ellis is still over a point-per-game, and as long as his nagging injury is behind him, should be back in your lineup ASAP. They both picked up assists on a power play goal later in the game.

Staying in Philly, Derrick Brassard was moved down to left-wing on the third line, which may help him get out of his funk of late. Hopefully you sold high on him after his first handful of games, but if you're holding on in a shallower league, it's past time to cut bait on him.

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Former first-round pick Riley Tufte made his NHL debut last night on the fourth line for the Dallas Stars. He has had a slow road to the NHL since the 2016 draft, where he underwhelmed offensively for a while, but the large frame (six-foot-six) seems to have finally caught up, and he is shining in the AHL as a heavy presence at both ends of the ice.

His DobberProspects profile can be found here.

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Drake Batherson absolutely stuffed the stat sheet last night with four points (two on the power play), six shots, two hits, and two blocks. Everyone (rightly) talks about how much of a multi-category beast Brady Tkachuk is, but I hope you haven't been sleeping on Batherson as he has the higher offensive upside of the two. He's currently sitting just over a point-per-game, but none of his metrics look unsustainable, so he may be able to finish around 80 points.

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I have watched this no-look pass by Dawson Mercer more times than I care to admit:

Okay, Jesper Bratt and @DawsonMercer14 are quite the combo. Goodness. pic.twitter.com/d3qJesNtLD

📢 advertisement:

— NHL (@NHL) November 13, 2021

Hopefully those two stay together once Jack Hughes is back in the lineup. The team needs Hughes back soon though, because they can't keep relying on Jesper Boqvist to centre Tomas Tatar and Janne Kuokkanen. Combined they're scoring less than a point every other game, and winning less than 40% of their faceoffs. If the Devils can ever figure out how to get three scoring lines running at the same time (and they have the talent to do it) then they could show themselves as contenders for a playoff spot.

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Ho-hum, another multi-point game for all three of David Pastrnak, Patrice Bergeron, and Brad Marchand. What has changed of late though is that Charlie McAvoy is getting in on the action, especially with the man advantage. He has notched five power play points, and seven points overall in his last six games. If the window for you to buy-in on him hasn't already slammed shut, then I hope you're diving through while you still can. It blows my mind that he's still only 23.

Speaking of the Boston power play, Nick Foligno was up on the top unit in place of Taylor Hall. If he clicks as a net-front presence, then his fantasy stock goes sharply upwards from here. Something to keep a close eye on.

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Jake Allen left the period early just moments after this https://t.co/jKCoMns6yG

— The Hockey News (@TheHockeyNews) November 14, 2021

What a terrible and dangerous play by Jeff Petry to throw Dylan Larkin right in to Jake Allen. Petry continues his sub-par year by turning the puck over leading to this play. Larkin appeared to be shaken up on the play but didn't seem any worse for the wear, potting two goals from ridiculous angles, the second of which was the game winner, and his 300^th career point.

Meanwhile, Jake Allen left the game and didn't return. It's possible he misses some time and that Sam Montembeault sees some volume in the short term. Cayden Primeau could also get a chance to get into a few games too. He has some high upside – with his AHL numbers to this point bearing that out – and it would be good to get him another taste of NHL action.

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Nicolas Aube-Kubel was plucked off waivers by the Colorado Avalanche. In seven games with the Flyers this season, NAK put up only one assists and a minus-three rating, however he did manage to squeeze 17 hits in despite seeing less than 10 minutes of ice time per game. He should be able to carve out a bit of a role on the fourth line for the Avalanche, so he should see an uptick in hits if you're desperate for that specific category.

In today's news:

Leo Komarov and Riley Sheahan on waivers today. Komarov unconditional and headed to KHL.

— James Mirtle (@mirtle) November 13, 2021

Riley Sheahan I would expect to get claimed somewhere, as he has a decent history with winning faceoffs, and showed well with the limited minutes he got in Seattle.

Meanwhile, the Islanders continue to walk the cap tightrope so well that I have no idea if they’re over the cap or have enough room to acquire Vladimir Tarasenko. It’s not worth trying to keep up here, but it’s fun to watch.

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Top line Philip Tomasino is something I'm going to be keeping a very close eye on in my one-year leagues. He has the talent to light things up from here on out, and could be considered a Calder dark-horse at this point. He shouldn't be available in dynasty leagues or anything with a minors system.

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Everyone: it's impossible for a 16-year-old guy to score a Michigan in his second game for national team

Matvei Michkov: hold my stick pic.twitter.com/fszlwahS3o

— СКА-1946 (@ska1946) November 13, 2021

Yes, Shane Wright and the 2022 crop is going to be a good one, but if I'm retooling for the next two years and I have the choice between a lotto pick in 2022 or 2023, I'm taking the 2023 one without any hesitation. Between Matvei Mitchkov, Connor Bedard, and the rest of the crop, there may be five of six guys in 2023 that would contend with or surpass Wright as the top option if they were eligible in 2022.

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Sometimes the universe just gives you the bounce you need.

What a bounce for Morgan Rielly's game-winning buzzer beater pic.twitter.com/8kTAbXtphR

— Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) November 14, 2021

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Feel free to find me on Twitter @alexdmaclean if you have any fantasy hockey questions.