Roto league stud Darnell Nurse has been placed on IR, as he is expected to miss the next 2-3 weeks with a broken finger. Nurse's 26:05 TOI is the fifth-highest total in the league, and his 53 SOG is the second-highest total among defensemen. He also has the second-highest hits total among blueliners (66 Hits), along with 11 points (all assists) in 16 games. It will be easy to replace his production in hits and blocked shots from your waiver wire; however, you'll have a tougher time replicating his scoring and shot totals.

In a related move, the Oilers have recalled Philip Broberg from the AHL, where he has 10 assists in 13 games this season. For more on Broberg, see his Dobber Prospects profile.

In case you're wondering which player has the highest shots total among defenseman, it is Jakob Chychrun. That's one more reason not to drop him, which I expanded on in yesterday's Ramblings.

The Oilers also announced that Mike Smith is "week to week, at best." They will have to continue to ride Mikko Koskinen, win or lose. Stuart Skinner, who made 46 saves in a 2-1 win over Winnipeg on Thursday, should also continue to see some action. If the Oilers have serious Stanley Cup hopes, I wonder if they start to shop for another goalie since it is the biggest question mark on their team.

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Unfortunately, Max Comtois hasn't benefitted from the Ducks' early-season success. Now he will miss the next six weeks or so following hand surgery. This injury may explain his lack of production (just one assist in 13 games).

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Kevin Labanc was suspended for one game for slew-footing Tyler Bozak on Thursday. Labanc will miss Saturday's game against Washington. Here is the play:

#SJSharks forward Kevin Labanc will have a hearing today for slew-footing #StlBlues Tyler Bozak pic.twitter.com/QR1iPX1a4K

— NHL News (@PuckReportNHL) November 19, 2021

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It looks like Anders Lee will miss the Islanders' home opener on Saturday, as he has been placed in COVID protocol. Josh Bailey is also currently there.

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I was preparing to use up major digital ink with a rant about the Canucks, but then… they won. Lucky I didn't prewrite anything! (Yes, I've had to delete sentences and even paragraphs of pre-written material on this job before.) I probably won't need to write a fantasy take this weekend about Travis Green and/or Jim Benning losing their jobs, but I might want to prewrite one for later this season or even the offseason the way things have been going.

Expected to be one of the team's strengths, the Canucks' power play has languished near the bottom of the league. That meant the struggling Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser were moved off the first unit for this game. Overall, PP1 and PP2 were in name only for the Canucks, as the two units were used fairly evenly throughout the game.

Pettersson snapped a four-game point slump with a power-play assist and three shots. He still doesn't look like the dominant version of himself. I think it will take a while, given his wrist injury and late start to the season combined with the lack of confidence that he is showing. Whatever it is, he just isn't feeling it right now. You're probably better to hold than to try to shop him at a discount, as he also started slow last season.

As for Boeser, he's been ice cold with no points in his last five games. Pettersson likes having Boeser on his line, but it might be better for the two to be split up for the time being. Once a serious power-play threat, Boeser has just two power-play points in 15 games. Both Pettersson and Boeser have a significantly lower than expected 5-on-5 shooting percentage, so better days appear to be on the horizon. The overall advanced stats line up better for Pettersson than Boeser, for what it's worth.

Bo Horvat is in an even deeper slump than both Petey and Boeser. Horvat has now been held without a point in six games. Someone asked me this week if he is droppable, and I told them to remain patient. The Canucks captain is usually a consistent, reliable player whose pace has checked in at around a 60-point pace over the past few seasons. The Canucks might not be a playoff team, but they won't play this badly forever. Overall, the Canucks punch above their weight fantasy-wise relative to their place in the standings.

Conor Garland recently snapped a 10-game goalless drought, but now he has goals in back-to-back games. He's yet another example of the ups and downs that Vancouver scorers have had this season. So far, the only truly reliable fantasy options on the Canucks have been J.T. Miller, who has scored over a point per game, and Quinn Hughes, whose point totals are about what you'd expect.  

The Canucks' 3-2 win over Winnipeg wasn't possible without Thatcher Demko, who made 37 saves. This was Demko's first quality start in six tries, which is more of a reflection of the team in front of him than Demko himself. He's yet another example of how a goalie's fantasy value is greatly affected by his team's performance. That means he's still kind of a risky option, but he's also capable of putting together strong outings.

What's the best solution to a bad penalty kill (60.3 PK%)? Don't take a penalty at all! That was a major key to the Canucks' win on Friday.

With one of the Jets' goals, Nikolaj Ehlers now has goals in three consecutive games along with a five-game point streak. Ehlers has been shooting the puck lately with six shots in back-to-back games.

After a tumultuous 2020-21 season, Pierre-Luc Dubois is bouncing back nicely. With 10 goals in 17 games, he has already surpassed his total from all of last season (nine goals in 46 games). In his first full season with the Jets, he has emerged as more of a key component, especially with Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler missing multiple games earlier this season. Dubois also has five points over his last five games.

With an assist on Friday, Kyle Connor extended his point streak to six games.

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If you looked at the expansion Seattle Kraken roster before the season, you might have guessed that goaltending and defense would be its strong point. Yet with expansion teams, you never really know. Only Arizona had a goals-against average worse than Seattle's before this game, and after yielding seven goals to the Avalanche, the expansion Kraken are now at the very bottom of the sea in terms of goals allowed. Over their current six-game losing streak, Seattle has allowed 31 goals (over five goals per game).

Chris Driedger was given the unenviable task of facing the Avalanche, and he was pulled after allowing four goals on 13 shots in just over a period. Philipp Grubauer had to take over against his former team and wasn't much better, allowing three goals on 17 shots. Because Grubauer has been an absolute anchor to fantasy teams, I removed him from the Top 100 Roto Rankings this month. Leave Grubauer and Driedger on your bench for the time being. I'm just glad I decided not to keep Grubauer even though I had the opportunity and needed a goalie.

Seven goals scored means that Colorado had some scoring stars. Andre Burakovsky was one of those players, scoring two power-play goals. He now has five points (all goals) over his last five games.

Cale Makar is on fire at the moment. With two goals and an assist on Friday, he now has three goals, five points, and 10 shots over his last two games. Makar also has 12 points over his last eight games and is scoring at a higher pace (1.08 PTS/GP) than any other defenseman who has played at least 12 games.

Nazem Kadri is a popular Frozen Tools search at the moment because he is riding an eight-game point streak. More recently, he has eight points in just his last three games, including two assists on Friday. With Nathan MacKinnon on the shelf, Kadri is cashing in with first-unit power-play time, recording six power-play points in just his last four games. Start him with confidence while MacKinnon is out and perhaps even longer on this stacked Avalanche team that is finally rounding into form with four consecutive wins.

The Avs as a team have been filling the net during this win streak with 24 goals – an average of six goals per game. They don't play again until Monday, but they are set up for a four-game week facing Ottawa, Anaheim, Dallas, and Nashville. Expect lots more goals next week from your Avalanche players, even without MacKinnon.

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For more fantasy hockey discussion, follow me on Twitter @Ian_Gooding